Hasta luego

Tomorrow I'm going on vacation with my daughter to Wales - I don't intend to be online much; I see the next 10 days as a chance to really disconnect, unwind and recharge...all in the company of one of my three favorite people in the world (my husband and son are the other two).

It's been pretty wild for me since Growing Great Employees was published at the beginning of January -- good wild, but wild nonetheless. I need to integrate everything that's been happening, personally and with my business.

I wish more of my clients would give themselves the kind of opportunity I'm about to give myself: way too many of the executives with whom I work stay firmly chained to their Blackberries and cell phones during supposed vacations. Even if you love what you do, you need time off -- otherwise you lose your balance. You get tired and un-resilient in subtle and not so subtle ways; you forget the relative importance of things (the preciousness of being alive, for instance, vs. whether a particular project was completed an hour late); you feel less satisfaction, joy and curiosity.

By Saturday afternoon I intend to be sitting in a cottage in Cricieth, feet tucked up, sipping a cup of tea and talking to my daughter about her wedding plans, with no other agenda in sight.

I invite you to do your own version of that in the not-too-distant future, and I hope you enjoy every minute of it.

I'll see you when I get back...