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Recent Articles from Laura Newman
Chef Laura: Halloween humbug
Maybe it was the self-induced pressure to make this year even better than last year? Maybe it was the barrage of costume mega-stores that pop up where a failed JCPenney’s used to stand? Or maybe my glycemic index was sluggish and I just wasn’t feeling like myself? Snickers, stat! Last night, wh...
Leaving the office better than you found it
Marriages have ended over commode seat placement. Children have been grounded over blue streaks of Crest in the sink. And everyone within earshot feigns ignorance when the accusation “Who didn’t replace the TP?!?!” is hollered. It exists at the office, too. The sly kitchen elf who pours themselv...
Chef Laura: Secret sales magic trick revealed
Behold! Nordstrom is where I learned this sleight-of-hand. I pulled an Al Bundy and did a stint in the shoe department. This magical maneuver works like a charm with shoes, and it might work for your company’s widgets/services, too. Before given free roam of the showroom, I shadowed the store’s...
Chef Laura: Flawed to perfection
As we weave our career tapestries, let’s not beat ourselves up too much over the minutia. There’s no need to advertise our flaws like the town crier. And if someone notices a small imperfection in our work, tell ‘em the Tale of the Persian Rug. It reminds ourselves that we are all human, not go...
Focus forward by working backward
A milestone birthday is in my immediate future. Next week, I gain entry to the “fourth floor”. Like New Year’s Eve, birthdays are a good time for resolutions; except we don’t call them that. Instead we pause for a moment, conjure up a wish, blow out a candle (or 40), and hope for the best. It se...
Chef Laura: Double negatives equal double trouble
When we say “No problem,” what we mean is that the request potentially is a problem, and we’re not really interested in doing this favor. But we are forced to comply; hence, “No problem” nonchalantly rolls off the tongue. Saying something negative: “no”, plus another negative: “problem”, equals a...
Chef Laura: Going to The Source
Philadelphia has Reading Terminal Market, San Francisco’s got the Ferry Building, and who could visit Seattle without a mandatory trip to Pike Place Market? Now it’s Denver’s turn to jump aboard the long-standing yet super-trendy culinary-mecca bandwagon. The Source, located in the RiNo district,...
Chef Laura: Project Jet way — a fashion experiment
I didn’t intend to do a scientific experiment of “Does your attire affect how you’re treated?” But over the course of several business trips, the results unfolded before my eyes. With the airport as my laboratory, and the jet way as my fashion runway, here’s just one day in the life:
Chef Laura: The geranium effect
Keeping up with the Joneses isn’t new. You hear about it in the ‘burbs all the time. Even in dilapidated urban settings, cleaning up graffiti and planting flowers has a wonderfully contagious effect. My psychology professor called this phenomenon The Geranium Effect: a tiny red blossom in a wind...
Chef Laura: Father of Invention reinvented himself
To say Leonardo DaVinci was “busy” would be like calling the Brown Palace a “motel”. Displayed in the warehouse-like space was a generous collection of replica creations he invented. We can credit DaVinci for gadgets we use every day: pulleys, levers, ball bearings, bridges, and bicycles. A team o...
Chef Laura: Rising to the occasion
Companies would be wise to learn from my Grandma. Get what you need out of your work force and don’t agitate the mix too much. With a lighter management hand, your employees will naturally separate themselves into various performance layers.
Chef Laura: Don’t smile until Christmas
New managers are a lot like novice teachers. Some overly-eager managers want to befriend their staff from day one. If that’s your style and it works for you, then kudos to you! But more often than not, that approach backfires.
