This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

An article in the Wall Street Journal the other day caught my attention.

It appeared under this headline:  “’The Best Advice a Boss Ever Gave Me:’  We asked five luminaries for the most indelible counsel that has stuck with them over the years — and you might need to hear it, too.”

Good stuff, but not just that.  The story by Journal editors reminded me of occasions in the past when a boss for whom I worked gave me solid advice…advice that stood me in great stead in succeeding years.

The advice — actually two pieces of advice:

• One of the easiest things to do, my boss said, is to be cynical about legislative processes in Oregon.  Don’t be.
• Another easy thing to do, he said at a different time, is to be careful to thank those who have helped you along the way.  Do it.

Both pieces of advice came from the director of Oregon Executive Department, Fred Miller, when I served with as one of his three deputies.  His first piece of advice was on target because one of my tasks was to direct the department’s relationship the Legislature.

I also kept the advice top of mind when I transitioned to a role as a private sector lobbyist.

Watching the Legislature up close and personal could have given way to cynicism.  But that would have not been helpful, so using the advice of my one-time boss, I tried to keep an even keel.

The second piece of advice came from Fred because he was good at thanking people for good work they had done with and for him.  Easy, in the crush of business, to forget that simple task.

So, to mimic his approach, I have tried, at least once every day, to thank someone for the good things they have done for me.

Here is how the Wall Street Journal article started:

“Truly good advice from your boss — the kind that turns a manager into a mentor — is rare enough that when it comes, it stays with you (sometimes as a post-it note permanently attached to your monitor). 

“As part of a special deep dive into ways to improve one’s work life, we turned to luminaries in the fields of design, fashion, food, technology and travel and asked them for the best counsel a supervisor ever gave them. The wisdom that stood out amid all the platitudes and buzzwords.

So, I add all the advice the Journal imparted:

José Andrés:  As a teenager, I worked for the legendary Ferran Adrià at El Bulli — one of the most creative people ever.  One day I was frying artichokes and he had an idea to add gelatin to the hot oil.  We thought he was crazy!  And he was:  It exploded everywhere.  But from that idea, he created some incredible dishes.  He wasn’t afraid to fail, which inspired me to always take risks.”

Bear Grylls:  “When I first joined the military, a sergeant major told me:  ‘If you’re less than five minutes early, you’re late.’  I’ve never forgotten those words and have always tried to make it a mantra when filming or working. I really notice it too in others, on expeditions for example.  It speaks to diligence and dedication.”

[I add that another piece of advice – no, it was action — from my mentor listed above, Fred Miller was that he always started meetings on time.  If someone was late, it was his or her problem.]

Joa Studholme:  “When I was developing the color-consultancy service for Farrow & Ball in 1994, Tom Helme, who owned Farrow & Ball, asked what I was trying to do.  And he said, ‘Right. What you need to do is pluck the color that the customer wants out of their heads and onto the wall.’  It means you have to put the customer first, and that’s sort of become the backbone of how I work.  It’s not about me.”

Victor Glemaud:  “The best advice came from Patrick Robinson, the creative director of his namesake brand and my first-ever boss.  ‘When you know yourself, everyone will see you,’ he told me around 2000.  

Adam Savage:  “Back when I was a young model maker, my boss and I were bidding on a prop build for an indecisive client.  After six rounds of communication, we still didn’t know enough to make our bid.  My boss told me to tell the client we got another gig and couldn’t take the job. ‘When the client is difficult before you’ve even agreed to work with them, they’re going to be a nightmare,’ he said.  I’ve found that holds true.” [And this closing note:  I had the same experience in my lobbying business.  When a potential client was tough to work with during an interview process, go the other way.  The best example was when a potential client said he wanted us “to open our rolodex” to help him succeed.  Stupid request.  We always did more than that.  So we headed out the door without