You’ve heard about idiot employees Facebooking themselves out of jobs. If you manage folks in a shop that allows access to socnets you’ve probably spent some time wondering whether your people are using Facebook to dick around at work or are leveraging it for meaningful connections (or some such nonsense)….
When you are crap you do crazy things. You have to…you’re crap. The New Jersey Nets’ recent promo efforts prove this point beyond a reasonable doubt. The Nets, who currently inhabit the NBA’s cellar with a 6-53 record, are giving away free tax returns to anyone over 18 who buys a…
(Hat tip on this to Julien Smith) Lots of your time and mine is spent thinking about commerce and engaging in it. It was thus refreshing to read this NYT piece from a former US Marine named Maurice Decaul. Check it out – it is REALLY worth your time. Having returned…
I am frugal in most circumstances and definitely not a label whore. Last Thursday, however, I got bit by an alligator. Next thing I knew, a short sleeve polo shirt priced at over $125 was mine. The tags are now off, so the garment is here to stay. That a…
When I was young I spent a summer working in a glass factory. It made bottles of all types. The shifts were 12 hrs at a time, from 7 am to 7pm or vice versa. Breaks, lunch and station changes were scheduled to the minute. They have places like this…
I just read a great post by David Silverman re how bad biz writing is partly a result of what we learn in school. Talking about the excessive use of big words and the tendency for length to trump clarity he says: In every essay, “-ion” and “-ing” words outpace simple…
In a dictatorship candour is generally absent from public life. This creates situations where the dictator has trouble getting good information about what is actually going on. For example, in the first Gulf War Saddam Hussein had such faulty intelligence re his own military’s capacity that the Iraqis got into…
Since yesterday was so much fun I am back again with installment two of “Shoot that term in the head.” Today’s victim is “this is a critical time.” This unfortunate group of words is often employed by managers who are trying to impart a sense of urgency to their troops….
Today’s post relates closely to yesterday’s in spirit and maybe even topic. This may mean I am incapable of thinking up new ideas and need to stop blogging now. Anyway, here goes… ———————————————————————————————————————— You may have noticed the happy little fellows in the header of this blog. They are holding…
Tintin, the popular French speaking comic book character, speaks a slang known as “joual” (at least in books sold in Quebec). Profs, columnists and others in salons in the Plateau Montreal and Outremont are outraged reports the National Post. The above piece singled out two reactions from members of the Quebec intelligentsia that…