Thought-Provoker: Working in Wiki

From a Governing article directed at public sector employees, but its concepts just as easily apply to the private sector:


These sites are not just a means of taking usual routines — in-person meetings, conferences, briefings — and turning them into electronic equivalents. What marks Web 2.0 and makes it potentially transformative is that the tools pull the legs out from under the typical management structure, practically flattening it. A wiki is a collaboratively edited Web page that allows users to edit or add content. Within a government agency, it can be used to allow information to bubble up from all corners, and from people who might never have been invited to attend a meeting but who might have ideas about how to proceed or where to exercise caution — whether it's on a construction project, the delivery of a service or a means of raising revenue.




Read the rest of the article by Ellen Perlman and Melissa Maynard on working in wiki.

Why They Didn't Act

Someone else was supposed to act.
Well, at least they thought someone else was supposed to do it.
True, they could have checked to see if anyone else was going to act but they had other things to do.
Of course, the other things weren't as important as the task at hand and yet if someone else was supposed to do it then it wasn't really their task, right?
And they didn't check because they thought it wasn't their responsibility in the first place.
So you might say that convenience trumps importance.
Doing what was important was out of their way.
And whatever is convenient is always their way.

Quote of the Day

Time is your most precious gift because you only have a set amount of it. You can make more money, but you can't make more time. When you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you'll never get back. Your time is your life. That's why the greatest gift you can give someone is your time.

- Rick Warren

40 Big Ones

Author Sebastian Faulks lists 40 books that inspired him.

And a good list it is, although I'm still wondering about that Ian Fleming one.

Faster! Faster!

Kudos to Ann Althouse for bringing our attention to this video that cleverly condenses the Democratic presidential race.

Character

She crawled back to first but could do no more. The first-base coach said she would be called out if her teammates tried to help her. Or, the umpire said, a pinch runner could be called in, and the homer would count as a single.

Then, members of the Central Washington University softball team stunned spectators by carrying Tucholsky around the bases Saturday so the three-run homer would count - an act that contributed to their own elimination from the playoffs.

Read the entire story here.

Quote of the Day

The intuitive mind will tell the thinking mind where to look next.



- Dr. Jonas Salk

Explanations and Excuses

There are people who go through life using explanations as excuses.

The fact that some behavior can be explained does not mean that it should be excused. I may act discourteously because I was upset about a completely unrelated event. That explains my behavior but does not necessarily excuse it.

The individuals who use explanations as excuses often hide their misconduct in the forest of feelings. "I was angry," "I was tired," and "I had other things on my mind" are just a few of their alibis. Those would have some impact if they were combined with a sincere apology and a commitment to strive to avoid such conduct in the future. The explainers, however, often see the explanation as sufficient unto itself. No apology is required. There were reasons. Case closed.

Henry Ford II said, "Never complain. Never explain." I wouldn't go that far. But I'd add, "If you are going to explain, make sure that you are not equating your explanation with an excuse."

Miscellaneous and Fast

Get your cotton candy: There's an excellent Carnival of HR up at The Rainmaker Group.

Sending in the paras: The trailer for The Battle of Algiers. [Great film, but it should be watched with Arthur Herman's Commentary article in mind.]

Attention jazz fans! Cultural Offering has Thelonious Monk.

Home run hitter Wally Bock looks at how not to run a steakhouse company.

Not four hour video: Google and Tim Ferriss.

Eurociao notes a paragraph repeated in stories about anti-Semitic attacks.

Michael at 2Blowhards looks at the growth of icons/pictographs.

Back by popular demand: Ronald Colman in A Tale of Two Cities.

Rebound by Japanese carmakers?

O, the humanity! Law prof sues students.

Don't forget the baseball bat: Ask a Manager gives solid advice on dealing with a jerk at work.

Bad investment: Does it make sense to own a newspaper?

Quote of the Day

There is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.



- Kenneth Grahame