“Can I lick it?” That may be the weirdest thing someone’s ever asked me in a business meeting. For context, they were talking about their product that we had just treated with an antimicrobial.

I've used 👍 to respond to a surprising number of texts over the years: Thanks. Okay. Got it. Congrats. My wife recently informed me that some people read it as the text-message equivalent of an F-you. I promise I've just been saying "okay."

The competition to become my favorite security guard at my daughter’s high school is heating up. On mornings when I drive her, I pass the same two guards directing traffic. I've been seeing them for years, since my son first went there. 1/3

One thing work has taught me about being a dad: not everyone needs the same thing from me. Sometimes my kids want advice. Sometimes they want help thinking something through. Sometimes they just want me to listen. I'm still learning to tell the difference.

Sometimes I go for a walk because I need the exercise. Sometimes I just need to get out of my own head. Usually, it’s a little of both.

I've had multiple teachers explain my kids' high school grading system to me. I understand all the individual words they use. Standards. Growth. Reassessments. A scale from 1 to 4 where you usually can't get a 4. It's when they put the words together that I run into trouble.

I can share what I've learned with my kids and tell them what I value, but I also hope they question my perspective enough to decide for themselves what success looks like. I don't want them to build the life I would choose for them. I want them to build one that feels like theirs.

No idea why my parents thought this was a good idea. When I was 12, I had surgery on a Friday and played hockey the next night. Somehow, I had 3 goals and 3 assists. We won 6-2. Afterward, some parents joked that maybe the doctors gave me something extra. No drug testing back then.

My daughter introduced me to dirty soda. I can't get behind adding cream to a drink, but I have gotten very into making my own combinations. Current favorite: lemonade, sparkling water, blue raspberry, and cherry. I'm not sure this still qualifies as dirty soda.

Fantasy hockey season is almost back. I have two teams. Both are named Team Chicago. I've been told this is boring and that fantasy teams are supposed to have clever names. I disagree. I already spend enough time thinking about third-line left wingers. I'm not wasting valuable brainpower on a pun.

Some of my favorite times with my kids are the in-between times. Driving together. Waiting for dinner to finish cooking. Sitting around before someone has to go. Playing a quick card game. Nothing planned. Nothing particularly exciting. Just a little time together in the middle of everything else.

Before my last back surgery, I asked my surgeon two important questions: Did you play Operation growing up? How good were you at it? I felt like these were reasonable things to know before letting him operate on me.

I can get pretty focused on the outcome when I'm considering a new career goal. Lately, I'm trying to think more about what pursuing it would ask of the rest of my life. The time, energy, and attention it would require. I may still want it. I just want to understand what I'm agreeing to.

We once went to a dinner party with a very specific theme: "balls and other sphere-like shapes." Everyone committed. There were meatballs and cheeseballs, but also pizza balls and peanut butter Rice Krispie balls. And apparently the theme wasn't limited to food. ⬇️

I spend a lot of time thinking I should reach out to a friend and not nearly enough time actually doing it. That's the strange thing about adult friendships. Nobody has to get mad. Nothing has to go wrong. You can both just get busy, and suddenly it's been six months since you last talked.

Family dinners feel different now that my kids are teenagers. We ate together when they were younger, too, but I don't remember thinking much about it. Now, when everyone's schedule lines up and we're all sitting around the same table talking and laughing, I appreciate it so much.

My first real job was a full-time summer job when I was 12. I worked 40 hours a week in the mailroom of a magazine subscription company and loved it. There was just one problem. You had to be 13 to get a work permit, and my application was denied. ⬇️

I usually have two books going at once. One is almost always a thriller. The other is usually nonfiction, whether it's business, self-improvement, or something else entirely. I read both every day because I enjoy it. Reading can get my mind going and help me unwind at the same time.

My brother and I once had a Diet Coke drinking contest on a flight from Chicago to Phoenix. I won with six cans, but I spent most of the trip questioning some of my life choices.

I'm learning that being needed and feeling needed are two different things when you're parenting teenagers. They need you for fewer things than they used to. But some of the best conversations happen unexpectedly, whether you're driving somewhere, up late, or just playing a card game together.

There's usually more going on in my head than anyone would guess. Work. My kids. Something I forgot to do. A decision I haven't made yet. Something next week. And at least one completely unnecessary thing that somehow made the list. It's rarely as quiet in there as it looks.

Years ago, I met with two guys who claimed they'd developed an incredible heat-resistant coating. They brought samples and offered a live demonstration. One held a coated piece of metal while the other started heating the opposite side with a large lighter. ⬇️

What do I want my kids to remember about the way I worked? I hope they saw someone who cared about what he did and wanted to do it well. I also hope they saw someone who knew when work had taken enough.

When I was in high school, my grandfather took me to a potato chip factory. We put on earplugs and goggles and walked onto the floor. Machines roared. Potatoes rattled down steel chutes. The whole place smelled like oil and salt. ⬇️

When my wife and I got married, we received an Ooni pizza oven. I wasn't much of a cook, but I was immediately determined to make great pizza. There was one problem: I couldn't launch a pizza to save my life. ⬇️

Sometimes you know something feels off long before you know what it is. Maybe you’re more tired than usual. A little less patient. Restless for no obvious reason. I’ve learned that the feeling tends to show up before the explanation does.

My freezer’s ice dispenser stopped working. The motor still hummed, but no ice came out. For months, I did the completely reasonable thing and ignored it. Whenever I wanted ice, I just reached into the tray. Eventually, curiosity got the better of me. ⬇️

Early in my career, I was leading a meeting with a very largest manufacturer. There were nine people on their side of the table and two colleagues with me. 1/3

I visited my favorite museum for the first time in more than 20 years. I expected the rockets, spacecraft, and airplanes to leave the biggest impression on me. They didn't. ⬇️

My doctor made me feel 80 before I turned 30. It started with a pain in my shoulder. Then a rash showed up on my back. One phone call and my doctor immediately said, "You've got shingles." Turning 30 was already supposed to make me feel old. Shingles just felt like overkill.