harlekins spirit

Scilly Taxi Tale

Dear Harlequin fans, I confess, over the summer I neglected my educational mission and did not publish any “stories that life writes” for our blog. This will change again instantly, laughter provoked by bizarre stories helps best to banish winter blues and pandemical tin-foil theories.

The German title of this article is based on the Stern magazine column “News from Kalau”, which specializes in excruciating puns; no doubt the cartoonist would also think of a suitable cartoon for the following story. In short, the following story is about foreigners in strange places, weird streets and an irritable taxi driver.

We know the truth

We can’t explain why, but a whistleblower has granted our platform Harlekin.blog access to documents from whose content sounds so absurd that we thought it was a joke at first. But it is no joke. The documents are genuine, as insiders have confirmed to us; we must of course keep their identity secret for their protection.

Old Heads on Young Shoulders

Sometimes clients surprise me when I learn from them “how to do it right”. By that I mean how quickly transformations that no one previously thought possible sometimes succeed. For several years now, I have been discussing how to continuously change and improve with the board of an association that has set itself the goal of redefining and shaping youth work. What makes CREW, as the association is called, special?

An answer to everything?

But the question is simply, “Which one?”

Here in the Netherlands I am often asked very interesting questions. Older relatives of my husband’s, who are not familiar with navigation devices (or even Google Maps), call and ask me for the best route to drive from Würzburg to Tauberbischofsheim. Now, I haven’t been to this – undoubtedly very beautiful – region of Germany very often and can’t do much to enlighten them. That’s why I almost have a guilty conscience.

4 minutes

I was at the baker‘s again recently. In our town they are all pretty flabby (the rolls, not the bakers). So on Sunday mornings I like to cycle a longer distance to the next town and hunt for rolls. Besides, the local entertainment is remarkable. So here’s my latest experience…

Does it help or does it do harm?

I simply can’t hear it any more. I am repeatedly told that project managers need domain know-how, i.e. expertise beyond project management and leadership. This is also practically always a requirement in job advertisements.

About flour in the meal swallow and flying shit

Today I have brought you an article from the category: Knowledge we don’t actually need in everyday life and that is precisely why we keep it in mind.

Those who know me well know that ornithology has long been close to my heart and that in this context I make a tiny contribution to improving the climate, at least in my garden. Recently, when I was looking for a gift for a friend with whom I share a passion for observing wild birds, I came across the German book “The Names of European Birds” by Viktor Wember. It is scientifically structured, with a lot of diverse information and an attempt to derive or explain both the German and scientific names of the birds.

The Crazy PMPprep – A Novel

Let me say this right away: I don’t really know anything about project management – what I do know is just enough for the usual small projects of my professional and private everyday life. And I don’t need to know much more about it.

My motivation for reading “The Crazy PMPprep” (A novel to prepare for PMP and CAPM certification) was therefore not to further qualify myself in the field of project management (or even to get certified), but simply curiosity. I witnessed various discussions between the authors during the writing process and wanted to know what exactly it was all about. So I asked the authors, my Harlequin colleagues BCO and RGE, for the manuscript and after only 30 pages fell for the charm of the tragic hero Henri, music therapist in a psychiatric institution.

Listening is not for sissies

The other day a client asked me: How exactly does good listening work?

Actually, it’s quite simple: listening is always about the other person. Always….Listening has something to do with turning towards the other, with openness towards the other‘s world. And with my willingness to do so.

Empathy and dead aunts

A few days ago I had a look at a training video on LinkedIn. The course was about “Empathy for Customer Service Professionals” and while I was actually looking for something completely different I was hooked. (That’s what often happens on these platforms – the algorithms send you merrily through the inventory and at some point you’ve completely forgotten what you were originally looking for).

The course was relatively short and an American trainer explained clearly what empathy is all about. Some practical examples were role-played.