The Three Questions Day 4 – December 4, 2024

You can find the background to The Three Questions in my recent post about it. I’ll be answering the questions each day for the next year and putting this experience into a book. Here we go!

What was the most beautiful thing I encountered today?

Today the most beautiful thing I saw were the decorations at the mall on my walk. They did a really nice job with some drop lights and these hairy wreath stars. I’m not a big Christmas person but the decorations were quite nice an I got some nice images for my Instagram page.

What did I learn today?

As with most days, it’s not so much something brand new that I learned, but something that I was reminded of applied to a new situation or in a new way. Today I was reminded just how bad leadership is at most institutions and how important it is that there are good people in key positions that make institution works. A really talented administrator that I know was up for a position they had been an interim in for a year and a half. From all reports they did a magnificent job and the campus thought they were a shoe-in for the permanent position. Of course, they didn’t, it seems that the president was intimidated by their success. The good thing for my friend, they had anticipated this outcome and have concurrently been offered a job at another institution.

What made me happy today?

I made a great hire two years ago, a really excellent faculty member. They are also incredibly nice, someone, were they not someone I supervise, I would absolutely spend time with and likely be good friends with. Today they dropped a lovely Christmas present for me in the office, that gift included a six pack of Coke, and if you know me, you know I’m a bit of a Coke junky so that six pack made me smile.