Category: something to say

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My 1st Bday… Again! (Because apparently, I’m a Toddler)

My 1st Bday… Again! (Because apparently, I’m a Toddler)

So, here we are. Another lap around the sun. One more year stacked onto the fifty, making it fifty-one. Yes, you heard that right. I’m practically ancient, yet still possess the youthful exuberance of a person who just discovered coffee. Does that make me wiser? Oh, absolutely. My brain is now a veritable encyclopedia of useless facts and existential dread. It feels less like aging and more like I just unlocked a new, slightly more achy level, probably with some utterly fascinating bonus features like inexplicable joint pops. This year feels like a proper “new beginning” for the last part of my life, assuming I still make it to 75. You know, just throwing that out there to the universe, manifesting good health, and trying not to trip over my own feet. Because that would be tragic.

Over the past 51 glorious, chaotic, and occasionally questionable years, I’ve had my fair share of ups and downs. My personal life has been a rollercoaster (the kind where you constantly question your life choices mid-loop), and my professional life? Let’s just say it’s been a character-building exercise that apparently involved a lot of soul-crushing bureaucracy and people who majored in “being difficult.” I’ve had moments of pure joy that made me feel like I was floating on a cloud made of kittens and rainbows, and moments so sad I questioned if gravity had a personal vendetta against me. It’s all part of the charming narrative, right? A real page-turner, I assure you.

This year, my birthday landed on a Tuesday. A working day. Gasp! The sheer inconvenience! But I, in my infinite, dazzling wisdom, outsmarted the corporate overlords by taking both Monday and Tuesday off. Monday was dedicated to “home stuff things” – which sounds incredibly vague but basically means I engaged in the thrilling sport of moving dust from one surface to another and pretending it was productive. Tuesday, though? Oh, Tuesday, May 27th, was all about me. And by “all about me,” I mean I successfully avoided all significant human interaction not involving my immediate family. Peak self-care, folks. You should try it. It’s truly revolutionary.

Just as a side note, I’m writing this for me to read when I’m 61. So, hey, future me! Hope you’re still fabulous and haven’t forgotten where you put your keys. Also, please tell me you finally got that thing fixed. You know the one. The one that’s been perpetually almost-fixed for years. I’m sure you got right on that.

May 27th – My Day: A Masterpiece of Mundanity (and Presents!)

The morning kicked off as usual, with me rolling out of bed around 6:15 a.m. and embarking on the thrilling adventure of taking the trash cans to the curb. Yes, Tuesday is trash day. Because nothing says “Happy Birthday” quite like the sweet symphony of a garbage truck at dawn. What a glamorous start to my personal new year, I tell ya. Truly the stuff of legends.

Then, until about 7:30, I consumed the daily dose of national anxiety via the news. We’d just had presidential elections, and let me tell you, politics is currently all over the place. We’re the proud (and slightly bewildered, but mostly just exhausted) nation that somehow ended up with a provisional president due to “external interference” in the election process. Because, naturally, we couldn’t possibly manage our own affairs. And a provisional parliament because the prime minister decided to play political games and then, with impeccable timing, resigned. Now, the real fun begins: trying to mitigate an approximate 9% budget deficit and avoid major macro-economic issues and economic defaults. You know, just light, casual birthday morning viewing. Nothing to see here! Everything’s fine!

After that delightful dose of reality, I took a long, long shower, mostly because I was stalling until my significant other and daughter finally decided to grace the world with their presence. Around 8:15, everybody finally creaked to life, and I got my birthday presents. And guess what? They weren’t socks! I repeat, not a single pair of socks. It’s the small victories, people. The ones that truly indicate you’ve won at life.

We finally piled into the car and drove to Cluj for a fun day. There, we had a nice lunch at a restaurant my significant other (bless her culinary wisdom, she does have some good ideas) had chosen, followed by a small, leisurely walk downtown. After a quick visit to the mall (because apparently, you can’t have a fun day without at least Browse things you don’t need and judging people’s fashion choices), we came home around 6:30 p.m. It was perfect. No grand gestures, no skydiving, just good food, good company, and expertly avoiding my actual responsibilities.

This year, my birthday was entirely about what I want, not about what I need. Because after 51 years of vaguely adulting and being a responsible member of society, I figured it was finally my turn. Revolutionary, I know.

What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to do for your birthday, but felt you needed to skip? Share your dream birthday indulgence!

The Decades: A Semi-Serious (Mostly Humorous) Retrospective

I remember when I turned 20, my guiding principle was: “Let’s focus, get school done, get a job, and make some money.” Ah, the naive optimism of youth. So adorable. At that time, I even managed to save enough to send my parents on a two-week, fully paid vacation. I was, and still am, incredibly proud and happy I could do that for them. It was my first taste of financial independence and the pure joy of spoiling someone else. Highly recommend. Try it sometime, if you have any money left after paying taxes.

When I turned 30, I thought to myself, “Let’s enjoy and make better what I’ve achieved.” In this period, I made several significant life steps: got married, got a house (which, let’s be honest, is just a giant money pit disguised as shelter and a constant source of DIY projects you’ll never finish), and got car(s). I was more or less behaving like an adult, experiencing the glorious highs and the soul-crushing lows of life. It was basically a montage of me learning to pay bills and occasionally wondering if I’d chosen the right path. Spoiler: no one ever truly knows.

Turning 40 made me declare: “No more bullshit, no more compromises in life.” If I had something to say, I said it straight out. Usually with a very direct, no-nonsense tone that probably startled a few people who were used to my more compliant, younger self. This decade brought some very happy and some very sad moments, but it was also a period of immense self-development. I finally mustered the patience (a rare commodity for me, right up there with free time) to start and finish my PhD in Economics. Yes, I brained hard. Don’t be too impressed; it mostly involved reading very long, very dry papers.

During this time, I also discovered that I actually like teaching at the college/university level, even though the pay was… well, let’s just say it was character-building. As in, it built my character and my debt. I wanted to see if I could meet the requirements of higher education as a teacher. After about 6-7 years, I had to face the harsh reality of no commitment and no real desire from the university to offer me a permanent position. I guess in this regard, I couldn’t be the “kiss-ass” personality they apparently expected. My apologies, I must have missed that memo. So, I didn’t play along with their “politics” and gave it up. It simply wasn’t worth the effort. My 40s truly showed me what I can do and what I am capable of doing, especially when I refuse to bend the knee to bureaucratic nonsense. Who knew integrity could be so inconvenient?

But the real, undisputed highlight of my 40s? Discovering that I love being a dad to my daughter. My daughter is turning 9 now, and even though she makes me absolutely bonkers sometimes (like when she decides her room is a biohazard zone that only she can survive, or she questions my taste in literally everything), I still love her very, very much. She’s proof that I can handle chaos and still manage to produce a semi-coherent sentence. Most days.

Looking back, what’s one “decade-defining” moment or lesson that completely changed your perspective?

And Now? The Grand Plan for 51 (and Beyond)

I guess now, having turned “one” (plus 50, but who’s counting?), I’m thinking I have to take more care of me. To be more oriented towards my own well-being. I want to enjoy, savor whatever is going on and whatever I’m involved in. Call it a mid-life re-evaluation, call it finally learning from my mistakes, or call it just being tired of everyone else’s nonsense. Pick your poison.

Don’t get me wrong, I am by far not an egoist. Never was, never will be. I’m just now considering that I should also put myself on the first place and enjoy and afford whatever makes me feel good. It’s not about being selfish; it’s about finally realizing that if I don’t fill my own cup, I’ll just be running on fumes. And nobody wants to be around a fifty-something running on fumes. Trust me. It’s not a good look.

What’s one small “want” you’re going to prioritize for yourself this week, even if it feels a little bit selfish?

Final Wisdom for Future Me (and Anyone Else Still Reading)

Sixty-one-year-old me, if you’re reading this, I truly hope you’re still having a blast, still doing cool stuff, and hopefully, you’ve finally figured out how to use that newfangled smart home device. And if you’ve forgotten how to enjoy life—re-read this. Then go do something fun. Something just for you. Buy that ridiculously expensive gadget. Take a spontaneous trip. Eat cake for breakfast. Life’s too short to be constantly adulting without a healthy dose of “what I want.”

Also, here’s a crucial bit of advice, old man: do not avoid a new start. Whether it’s a new hobby, a new routine, or even a completely new direction in life, embrace it. Because, let’s be real, you might actually like this version of you better. The one who’s perhaps a little wiser (a negligible amount, probably), a little more weathered, but definitely more content and significantly less stressed about trivial things. Don’t cling to the past just because it’s familiar. The future, with all its unknowns, might just hold your best self yet. Or at least a slightly less annoying one. You’re welcome.

Now it’s your turn to join the conversation! What new beginning are you contemplating, or what piece of “no more bullshit” wisdom have you embraced recently? Share your thoughts in the comments below – let’s make this wisdom contagious (unlike that budget deficit).

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TopCFO project gone live

As of today the TopCFO project has gone  live.

What it is all about , why and further details can be found at

https://www.facebook.com/TopCFO

Check it out for details.

For more updates and news please “Like”

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When life gives you lemmons …..or when my L turned into F

When life gives you lemons …

…as I have found out you have several options.

You can go ahead and make lemonade, meaning you can do the best out of the existing situation.

What if you got from life also a big load of lemons and also a big lemonade ?

What now ?

…or lemonade ….

Well , you can either throw them right back , meaning that you somehow deny what has happened or try to keep up the optimistic point of view regardless of what has happened because life has to go on no matter what …..

Actually you do not have to many choices, you have to get you things together and keep on with life.

It might be hard to accept and it might be impossible to understand what has happened…but in my view you have to keep going.

You might also get very mad about life and “demand to see life’s manager”… but hey what can you do …..it might suck but you gotta love it.

….or both ….

All is getting even more complicated when you get at the same time also a BIIIG lemonade ….somehow everything got much more easier to cope with.

Well it is not that easy to cope with both at the same time, lately I have got exactly this two from my life ….I have got a big , big pile of lemonades but on the same time I have got also an unexpected big and sweet lemonade.

I got pretty messed up coping with this two at the same time but in the end I had to adjust and get on with my life and try to make the best of it.

So to wrap it up …..when life gives you lemons AND lemonade you are in an situation that either your L… (from Luck )  turned into F…. or the other way around.
It is up to you to get a grip with your life and make the best of it .

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Change ….how much ?

Change …how much ? How far should you go ?

Recently I have posted some thoughts about change in the case of senior management / executives.

Fact is that the posting ended with the dilemma “To change or not to change ?”

This dilemma is valid for the individual and also for the organization .

Change …how much ?

It is a known fact that when you enter a new organization you have to go through a “accommodation” with each other. In this important period is all about positioning and getting to know everybody and everything.
Now certain “surprises” start to show up from both sides , you and the organization,  Certain things start to show up not as presented.
In this case the first compromises starting to take shape….what should you do ?
Up to a certain degree it is expected to adapt to the new environment and to cope with it.
Now coming back with the senior management / executive aspect, the guy was hired because of the fact that some change was needed.
Important to mention that the guy was hired by stakeholders that are part of the existing organization and that have the means to evaluate and judge the newcomer….
The newcomer has, according to my understanding,  two options:
Change / adjust and give up part of who you are
Fight  and do not get assimilated ( remember Star Trek Borg 🙂 ) try to make a change , try to make a difference.
None of the mentioned options are good or bad, it is matter of what you should choose best.
If you are choosing the first option , change / adjust and try to make out of the trenches some small changes and get set with small but many victories.
Fact though if you try to change / adjust you will be scrutinized by the ones that choose you as a senior manager / executive for their organization .
During this change / adjustment hope that you not loose on the way the skills, aspects that made you appreciated by the organization.
If you decide that you are here to fight and trying to make a change , it is perfectly OK , but fight until when ?
You might get labeled during the fight as not able to integrate into the organization.
What is actually the proper / better way ?  Change / adjust and give up on yourself or fight it through but taking the risk of being labeled as unfit by the stakeholders ?

Change ? How much is enough not to give up on yourself and still to get your recognition as a senior manager / executive in the specific role / organization ?

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Change or not to change ?

When companies change their executives / senior management the ideal profile is depicted in the “famous” job profile.  In this document the HR responsible usually with help of the stakeholders ( Shareholders, Board of Directors, CEO, Consultants, etc.) do their best to describe the ideal profile for the vacant job.

Funny thing though , the described profile is something that the specific organization would like to have, or let me say it differently , it is something that is nice to have …..

Let’s assume that the recruiting , through own resources or through external help (recruiting companies), runs smoothly and you get almost a perfect match to the described and documented ideal profile.

From here on the adventure starts and a very big question is starting to be more and more visible.

Is the organization ready to receive the almost perfect match ? 
Are they ready to adjust to the new person coming in ?
Are they ready for the change ? 



If you talk to each and every stakeholder they will say that yes they want the new guy…but are they ready for the change and what this change will imply ?

People are different from each other therefore it is more than obvious that the new guy coming in will have his/ her own view on the organization and thus the change.

Usually this topic is solved through induction days/ programs that should help to adjust to the new organisation easy and quickly. Here usually HR is the main contact.

Coming back to the change ….What do you do in case of executives / senior management ?

For executives / senior managers change management is or at least should be part of their leadership ability. Leadership can be traced back to results and results are most of the time benchmarked against targets.

A successful organization should have clear vision , mission , values statements that again are part of the strategic management of any organization.

So coming back to  executives / senior managers and change …..it is only fair to say that executives / senior managers must be strategic management savvy.

Well seasoned managers with experience in several areas are needed to have an successful organization. This kind of managers have a strong personality and character and are not very easy to handle.

Therefore the organization must adjust in order to be successful or can choose not to adjust and take the risk that the new hired executive / senior manager will not fit in and eventually leave the organization.

What is more costly ? To change or not to change ?



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My first post

I know it sounds very cheesy… “my first blog” ….but it actually is my first blog attempt.

I thought what can go wrong….I’ll try an go all social …with all kind of social networks and stuff.

So I think I will most probably do all kind of mistakes regarding blogging but …I’ll do my best.

So here I am staring at the blank screen and …
Yep, it is not easy to write just like that ….more what you write must make sense and be logical for an outsider that has no clue of what you where thinking.

I have just turned 40 and can to the conclusion that …I have something to say ….
I do not know from where I got this sudden “something to say”.. maybe it has something to do with my age 🙂

Anyhow, I got pretty much involved in all this social media….and am trying to understand what and how this things can help me out. I have found out that there are really a LOT of social media websites and web services. I’ll take this one at the time and hope that I’ll improve over time.

I am going to try to do my best to understand all this social media , how it works , what is the targeted audience , what are the best features, etc . Maybe my future posts will be of some interest to someone….if not… I got my something to say cleared out of the way.