A Pebble in the Shoe

I once noticed a significant increase in efficiency resulted from simply changing from one type of briefcase to another.

Until the switch, I hadn't realized how the old briefcase had turned into a paper trap. The new one facilitated the organization of projects and saved time. I'd sensed a problem, but had not identified the culprit.

There are people who serve as a pebble in the shoe for teams and who need to be reformed or removed. But what I'm focusing on now are devices; consumer goods that you've found to be an extraordinary aid in increasing productivity and efficiency.

Are there any that come to mind?

[BTW: The briefcase is the Swiss Army combination computer case/briefcase on rollers.]

Quote of the Day

It is easier to act yourself into a better way of feeling than to feel yourself into a better way of action.

- O. H. Mowrer

Niall Ferguson

An interview with Niall Ferguson on the economics of history.

I have not read his recent book. He's been getting a fair amount of publicity on issue of repudiating the debt. A bright guy. I'm not sure if he's right on that one.

SRO in the Sky

Will Ryanair make customers stand?

A bar stool with a seat belt might be an improvement over some airline seats.

"Basically, I want to be Jim when I grow up."

An enticing look at the Montana abode of novelist Jim Harrison:

The wilderness is never far away. One night a few years ago, wolves ate 44 of a neighbor’s sheep, right under the Harrisons’ bedroom window. The front yard is full of rattlesnakes, which Mr. Harrison says he shoots at with a pistol.

Sun drenches the big open kitchen, where Mr. Harrison and guests occasionally cook elaborate, multi-course meals—many featuring birds and game he’s hunted himself. Earlier this summer, Anthony Bourdain, chef and host of the Travel Channel’s food show “No Reservations,” visited Mr. Harrison’s home during a trip to Livingston. Mr. Harrison cooked an elk and antelope stew and grilled about two dozen doves, washed down with several bottles of Côtes du Rhône. “Basically, I want to be Jim when I grow up,” Mr. Bourdain said in an email.

Our Sophisticated Press

Consider the front page attention given to the demise of Michael Jackson and then search for the stories of real substance.

Iran seizes British diplomats? That's on page nine.

North Korea fires off more missiles? That's pages behind the story about the rescued cat.

Remember when President Bush went to Iraq and some reporter with Baathist ties threw a shoe at him? Which received greater press attention: the throwing of the shoe or the substance of the President's meeting with the Iraqi government?

Setting aside press bias - and the bias favoring the Obama administration is an embarrassment - is there any doubt that editors favor fluff, and especially celebrity-related stories, far more than ever?

Quote of the Day

Instead of having "answers" on a math test, they should just call them "impressions," and if you got a different "impression," so what, can't we all be brothers?

- Jack Handey

Stopping the Bullies

Employment attorney John Phillips on the three groups to deal with on the issue of bullying.

In my experience, organizations usually don't know about bullying because they don't want to know about it.

Should most cases of bullying result in progressive discipline rather than termination?

Why shouldn't it be the other way around?

Age Without Rules

Victor Davis Hanson looks at the mixed signals of our confused society. An excerpt:

The point? We live in an age without rules only to reinvent them at a whim. A prudish society does not invest billions in Botox, reconstructive surgery, and sexual enhancement; yet a Gomorrah does not demand public contrition for sexual intercourse outside of marriage. I am not passing moral judgment as much as confused about the consistency, and puzzled over what are the exact rules, if any any more.

Rising Stars

There are rising stars in organizations.

They are whispered about as people to watch. Long before gaining any serious power, they benefit from an unusual amount of deference because of their perceived potential.

No one wants to cross a rising star.

A great many of them fall. It is often difficult to determine the reason. Sometimes their fortunes were linked to a mentor and when the mentor went into disfavor, so did the protege. On other occasions, the rising star ran afoul of some arcane corporate rule or unwisely stepped on a person who still retained enough power to be lethal.

This is not surprising because rising stars are targets. Not everyone who smiles on their fortune is a friend. And for students of Machiavelli, there are twelve different ways to ruin an opponent before breakfast.

Other rising stars self-destruct. They take reckless risks that seem designed to produce scandal and perhaps they were.

There are times, however, when nothing but simple exposure brings about the decline of the rising star. The space telescopes reveal there is not much substance beneath the glitter.

That condition that fascinates me. What creates the image of a faux rising star? These are some common characteristics:

• They are good looking. Few people who are flat-out ugly are regarded as rising stars. They look the part.
• They are articulate. Listen to a faux rising star and you may be impressed. Read the same words and you will be less impressed.
• They dress well. These folks know how style seduces.
• They have powerful allies. Their main skill may indeed be the cultivation of connections.
• They hide a vague grasp of issues in the guise of sophistication. For them, matters are always complex. Very complex.
• They are famous for being famous. Search for a real accomplishment and you'll probably find few, if any. They rise on potential, not on achievement.

But they can give a good speech.