Quote of the Day

Noble deeds that are concealed are most esteemed.

- Blaise Pascal

The Joy of Recognition

A classic scene from Parks and Recreation: 

Libertarian Ron Swanson receives the "Government Employee of the Month" award.

How Judges Should Decide

But sometimes the license isn’t about general welfare. In Louisiana, for instance, the state requires a license to practice floristry. In order to earn such a license, applicants take a written test and then must pass a practical exam in which they create four floral arrangements to be graded, completely subjectively, by a panel of certified florists. Very few applicants pass this ludicrous exercise, suggesting that the Louisiana floristry license is really an example of a business cartel hijacking the power of the state and using it to protect its interests.

Read all of Jonathan V. Last's essay on Clark Neily's theory of judicial engagement.

Drama Break

The trailer for "The Petrified Forest." All they needed was Walter Brennan and Sidney Greenstreet.

The Explorer

The question continues regarding Eclecticity Light: Where does he find that stuff?

When Jerry Quit

This story by Wally Bock should be posted in every Human Resources department. An excerpt:

When he got his new job, he gave notice. He knew his boss was supposed to do an exit interview with him. Jerry thought maybe if he told the company how it was, they'd make it better for others. The day before he left, Jerry asked his boss about the interview.

The Real Meeting

The meeting did not achieve its goal but it revealed what would not work, who was working at cross-purposes, how the department needed to be reorganized (although not a word was said about that topic), and how sizable amounts of money could be saved.

Some might have thought the meeting was unsuccessful because they were locked in on its stated goal. In reality, the meeting was a valuable moment of clarity; a turning point for the organization. 

Items were revealed which would not have been seen if approached directly.

Make It Happen

I cheered when I saw the "highest evolutionary state" identified by the insightful Nicholas Bate.

Loud and Clear

At Cultural Offering: Check out the rules of the new head coach of the Texas Longhorns.

The Plain Words Process

Yesterday afternoon I had the chance to write a summary of a class I've been preparing. The workshop covers a sizable amount of material and one of several challenges is determining what to put in and what to leave out.

So I used a "plain words" strategy.

Each key area was reduced to a description of the items which would have to be covered and the ideas were put in plain words. No jargon. No vague descriptions. It had to be an easily understood summary that I'd use if casually talking to a stranger about the topic. That helped to clarify the patterns beneath the surface so I could spot how one event drew from or fed another. Once that was done, it was easy to make a list of possible slides and then reduce that list to around six essentials.

There has to be some clarity in your own mind before writing the plain word summaries but the process of preparing the summaries also produces clarity. I knew a lot about the topic before writing and much more about what was important once I finished. I'm following the Elmore Leonard technique of eliminating the stuff I'd skip if I were the reader.

It's going to be a great workshop. The subject is still hush-hush. I know of no one else who is doing this. The class is definitely a niche that will be of strong interest to a specific audience. 

I'll pull back the curtain once it's ready to roll. 

In the meantime, the mantra is "plain words."