I know I've moaned about August a lot. But this week I realised that it also has its advantages.

I know I've been whingeing a lot lately. But not this week. This was one of those weeks when lots of things (some big, some small) go right, and you end the week in a much better position than you started it. I think entrepreneurs desperately need that from time to time, because it reinforces your belief that you're on the right track, and it infuses the whole place with a bit of positive momentum - particularly useful after the slower summer months. Anyway, these were my three highlights:

1. Contrary to my expectations, and after a suspiciously slow start, it looks like we've had a really good August. I guess the good thing about everyone going away this month is that some people come back (unlike me, as discussed last week) with a renewed sense of enthusiasm and vigour - determined to make real inroads into the nether regions of their to-do list. And in some cases, that means they'll hire us to do some work for them. We've won three quite chunky projects since I got back from holiday, and although the money won't all show up in the August numbers (since we won't do all the work straight away) it definitely leaves this quarter looking a lot healthier.

2. My new COO (aka Fixer) started on Monday. And I've already managed to dump a load of stuff on him that I've been wanting to do for ages but have never got round to (my general principle is that sales trump everything else, though it's more of a guideline than a rule). The other good thing about August and the summer months, I've realised, is that you have a bit more time on your plate (not a lot, but a bit) to think about these things. And because I knew he was coming, I've been able to concentrate on planning it all in principle, safe in the knowledge that I could foist the nitty-gritty onto him when he arrived. He's only been here a couple of days, so it's a bit early to salute him as my greatest ever hire, but first impressions have been very good - he seems incredibly competent and, in his quiet way, seems to be getting on well with everyone else.

3. And speaking of which... Perhaps the most surprising event of the week came yesterday, when my HR manager dragged me and Fixer into a meeting room and actually apologised - completely unprompted - for her crazily passive-aggressive behaviour at their first meeting the other week. She said her nervousness about her own prospects just got the better of her. Now arguably this was the only sensible thing for her to do, given that she must know that she didn't exactly hit it off with her new boss, and now he's in situ he (theoretically) gets to decide whether or not she has a job. And unfortunately for her, I get the impression that Fixer did indeed see it as little more than a fairly desperate self-preservation measure. But knowing her as I do, I really don't think she's the calculating type; in fact, her big problem is her tendency to go with her heart, not her head. So I believed her apology, and - as I said to Fixer afterwards - I think it earns her the chance for a fresh start with him. If nothing else, it takes the heat out of that situation a bit.

So there you have it: a week of surprises, almost all of them pleasant. Maybe I was wrong about August after all.

Should business owners ever admit they hate coming back from holiday just as much as everyone else?

Do you know what I hate about coming back to work after a holiday? Everything. I hate the weather, I hate the early starts, I hate the commuting, I hate the air, I hate being inside, I hate having to make decisions... I basically hate all the things you have to do that you don't have to do on holiday (which was lovely, incidentally - thanks for asking).

But SD, why are you boring us with this self-indulgent whining, I hear you ask? Who doesn't find it hard getting back into the daily grind after a week in the sun? Tell us something we don't know, you may well scoff.

But the difference is, I think, that when you're in my position you feel almost duty-bound not to admit it. Every time I get back from holiday I lie through my teeth to people about how much I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things, possibly even suggesting that my typing fingers were getting twitchy towards the back end of my week away (I mean this metaphorically, of course - you don't really think I'd go away without my BlackBerry, do you?).

None of which is true, of course. But I feel as though I have an image to maintain. It's partly personal: if I want people to see me as a positive, driven, highly motivated leader, I can't afford to let that slip even for a second. But it's also corporate: I want people to think this office is such a great place to work that you'd have to be mad not to enjoy being there. In practice, of course, you can get sick of the sight of the place, and everyone in it. I know I do. But I feel like the MD's role in setting the atmosphere and culture is so crucial that I can't let up on the positivity for one minute. So even on those days (particularly common post-holiday) when I'd rather be anywhere else than in the office, I always feel as though I have to look and sound happy to be there. After all, if I'm not, why should anyone else be?

But I do find this pretence very wearing. And ironically, it also makes the problem worse: pretending not to hate coming back from holiday makes me hate coming back from holiday even more.

Now, maybe this is just me. Maybe it's just insecurity on my part. Maybe it would actually be better if I did admit to post-holiday blues, because my staff would find me more human and easier to relate to. I'd be interested to know your thoughts (secretdiary@managementtoday.com) - even if your advice is just to belt up, stop feeling sorry for myself, and accept that this is the price you pay for being in the big chair...

I hate going on holiday in August. But this year, I decided that if you can't beat them...

Would you believe that by the time you read this, I'll actually be on holiday? It's so long since I had a proper break that I'm not sure I'll remember how to do it. So not much of an update on the last week today, I'm afraid, for the obvious reason that - hopefully - I won't have seen or spoken to any of my staff all week. I'm not sure who's happier about that prospect, me or them.

I always find going on holiday an incredibly stressful experience. Not the trip itself, but finding the right time to go. There's always something going on at work that you feel like you ought to be there for, or you worry about someone else being away at the same time, or... Well, ok, some of them are probably just feeble excuses for the fact that you just don't want to leave your baby all on its own. But it is hard to find a good time.

Also, I hate going away in August. It seems completely perverse, when you have the choice of the whole year, to go away at a time when a) it's the sunniest month of the year in the UK (supposedly), b) holidays are twice as expensive as normal,and c) everywhere you go is chock-full of Brits abroad (which is exactly my idea of hell).

But I'm increasingly feeling these days like I haven't got a choice in the matter. It's become a vicious circle, a sort of nationwide conspiracy - because so many decision-makers go away in August, for the benefit of their children, all kinds of business activity basically grinds to a halt for the whole month.

I was in a meeting the other day, which had gone really well, and when we were working out next steps this guy said, 'Well, why don't we pick this up early September, most of us disappear for August.' I mean, how ridiculous is that? That's just writing off an entire month - one-twelfth of the year.

The thing is, though, what I think doesn't really matter. As long as people keep treating August like a holiday month, and refuse to do anything useful, I might as well fall into line and go on holiday too. Chances are that I'll be missing less this week than at any other time of the year (with the possible exception of Christmas week - the only period more expensive than this one). And so, slightly against my will and completely against my better judgement, I find myself paying through the nose to go away this week.

Still, I don't intend to let any of the above spoil my enjoyment of the whole thing, you understand. In fact, I'm quite excited about the fact that I'll hopefully be sipping on something with an umbrella even as you read this. I really need to take more holidays...

Can two people work together successfully if they have nothing whatsoever in common?

I'd been feeling guilty about upsetting my HR Manager over the hiring of my new COO, so this week I arranged for them to meet, ahead of his official start date (which is TBA later this month). I wanted it to be as informal as possible, so instead of having a meeting in the office, we went for a drink in a bar round the corner, after work on Tuesday. It's fair to say that it wasn't a resounding success.

I guess to some extent it was my fault, in that I obviously didn't make it clear enough to her what the purpose of the occasion was. In my eyes it was a nice, relaxed, 'getting to know you' type of thing - a chance for them to bond over a glass of wine and reassure her that she was still very much part of the loop. But she obviously saw it as being only one step removed from a final round interview. I'd say this was slightly odd of her, given that he's already been offered and accepted the job. But then, she's a slightly odd girl.

Anyway, the three of us had only been sitting there for a few minutes, our wine virtually untouched, when out of nowhere she says to him: 'So what are your initial impressions of our HR strategy?'

'Excuse me?' says Fixer.

Now this question couldn't have been any more pointed if she'd wrapped it in barbed wire and stuck a javelin on the end of it. She might as well have just come out and said: 'What the hell can you possibly know about our HR that I don't?'. Frankly, I've no idea how I would have answered it. I'm not sure we even have an HR strategy, or at least, not one that can be summarised in a sentence - 'Keep our best people and make them better', is, I suppose, what it basically boils down to. (I actually asked her later what answer she would have liked/ expected; she said she didn't know, but just wanted to see whether he'd given it any thought.)

'Our HR strategy. What do you think of it?' And worried though I was about the potential car-crash unfolding before my eyes, I was interested to see how Fixer would handle it.

'Well, to be honest,' he says, 'I haven't given it much thought.'

'Really?' she says, virtually recoiling in horror. If she could have got away with arching her eyebrow and putting her little finger in her mouth like Dr Evil without looking ridiculous, I'm sure she would have done.

'No, not really. My view's always been that it's very dangerous to pre-judge this stuff. The last thing people like you need is someone like me coming in and trying to impose some pre-conceived ideas that might not even be appropriate for the business. Don't you agree?'

'Oh... Yes, of course,' she says, looking flustered.

As you can imagine, this set the tone for one of the most excruciating half-hours of conversation of my adult life. She never quite recovered from being out in her place, while Fixer was obviously distinctly irritated by her general tone and demeanour. I suppose he probably expected her to be going all out to impress him, rather than exploding in a cloud of passive-aggression. And all my stumbling attempts at chit-chat foundered as it rapidly became clear that these two people had virtually nothing in common in terms of outlook, interests or character. It was like being present on one of those horribly embarrassing episodes of Blind Date, when the two people clearly hate each other.
 
The question I was asking myself on the way home (after hoovering down my Pinot Grigio and wrapping things up as rapidly as possible) was whether it's possible for two people to have a productive working relationship when they clearly have so little chemistry. Of course you're never going to like everyone you work with, and being professional means finding a way to co-exist with them. But with this kind of reporting relationship? I'm not convinced.