I try to have an All Hands meeting for my staff once a quarter.  In the past, I know they've dreaded it, and something usually happens like executive meetings that I can't say no to which make me late or have to leave early from my own meeting.  I really wanted this one to be different, so I broke all of my previous traditions.  First, I  scheduled it on a Friday.  I usually have them mid-week because more people are in the office, and there is a better chance of getting people to attend.  Second, I made it all day.  They are usually only three hours, but when I'm late or get called away, why even bother, right?  So I had my assistant block out my entire day over two months ago and made sure this time the date was not the same day as the executives' bi-weekly meeting.  Should have thought of that one a year ago.  Third, I brought in someone from outside to talk to us about stress and change management.  The plus of that is I didn't have to talk for three hours.  And finally, I made the managers who report to me give the afternoon presentations instead of delegating to members of their staff.  We have some really talented staff people, but a lot of them are not used to presenting in front of large groups.  This made the managers more involved in the meeting and made the tone more conversational.  The results: I got to actually wear a casual outfit because I didn't have to spend part of my day in the executive conference room, the change management people were really good and make everyone relax, people asked questions because they felt comfortable with their managers, the entire meeting was like a long conversation between everyone, and we laughed a lot.

To break with even more tradition, I'm wearing white after Labor Day, and I paired gingham with even more gingham.  Honestly, I always wear white after Labor Day.  Living in Los Angeles, we will still have another month of heat, so Fall clothes are still a dream.  I bought these shoes early in the summer because I thought they would be fun to pair with jeans and a red shirt.  Since my jeans were all tight around that time, I shoved them in disgust onto a shelf.  Last week I was looking for a pair of blue pumps and found them.  I wore them that day with black pants and this blue blouse, but I like them much more with the white pants.

I owe you a picture with my hair down since I haven't done one since I had it cut.  I think you can tell from the pony in these pictures that it's quite a bit shorter.  I can still pull it back though, thank goodness.