About Eric Barrett

Eric Barrett is an organizational psychologist who specializes in connecting the dots of work, life, and meaning. He has worked as an organizational psychologist for over a decade, and is most recently working on developing social media guidelines for a real estate company. He also teaches psychology at Xavier University. In his spare time he… wait, who are we kidding… he has no spare time. You can follow him on Twitter @MeaningToWork or his blog at Meaning to Work.

Prime Air: Why Your Business Isn’t Safe

AmazonPrimeAir

Amazon recently announced Prime Air. No, it’s not the latest Transformers movie, although it might as well be. It’s Amazon’s way of delivering packages, through the air, using robots. Yes. Robots. Welcome to the future.

Fearless Questioning

Fearless Questioning

Maybe living by the motto of just “one more question” is a lonely way to live. After all, how do we know when to stop? How do we know when we’ve learned enough? Can you learn enough? Is it possible to write an entire column by simply asking questions?

When People Destroy What You’ve Built

SticksAndStones

In everything that you do there are people whose sole purpose is to destroy. Even in the midst of suffering. Perhaps especially in the midst of suffering. So if you’re an entrepreneur launching an idea, prepare to see the kid who throws stones.

Who Holds You Accountable?

AccountabilityKey

Very few of us give people the keys to our lives. We’ve never had a time where it’s easier to connect with people. And yet, we’ve never been further from having true accountability with one another.

The 7-Word Bio

ElevatorSpeech

If I stopped you on the street, could you tell me who you are? Not your name. Maybe not even what you do. But at a deep, fundamental level, could you tell me who you are? Could you do it without taking 10 minutes?

The Loss of Creativity

DisappearingCreativity

My mind used to race with new ideas. New thoughts. New dreams. I was constantly inspired to produce. But where once inspiration flowed, my mind’s creativity has been replaced by fear, doubt, worry. Where I once heard a muse, I now hear the mocking laughter of pain and anxiety.

Being Mentally Overweight

Jello Brains

You can’t consume unhealthy television shows without becoming mentally unhealthy. You can’t avoid learning and expect to make good decisions. You can’t read only one side of an argument and not become hateful toward the other side.

What Dinner and Boredom Have in Common

boredanddinner

Humans have always fought against habituation. I’m sure after the first caveman invented fire, someone came along and said, “Yeah I saw that last week.” This can creep into our work, whether we find ourselves becoming bored with our work, or thinking there’s nothing “new” we can learn. We simply get used to what we already know.

What Kind of Leader Are You?

roadrage

Sometimes we try to make leadership more complicated than it has to be. More often than not, leadership is about making one good decision after another. It’s about putting together a string of small steps that eventually take us to a new place.

Do Companies Have A Right to Your Facebook Password?

FacebookPassword

Imagine you’re at a job interview and you’re asked for your Facebook password. What do you do? How about if you’re working at a company where they are investigating “misconduct” and ask for your Facebook password? Do you turn it over? Can you be fired for refusing?