It's been 10 years since the fall of Dick Grasso, Chairman and CEO of the New York Stock Exchange. Not so long ago, we had Enron and Tyco too. The topic of executive compensation continues to bubble up as humanity produces each new round of corporate autocracies and oligarchies, as they capitalize on ever shifting currents of economic opportunity. The Los Angeles Times … [Read more...]
Western Work Culture is About to Move Way Beyond Getting the Team Involved
I read an excellent article from Chester Elton on LinkedIn: Your Team Can Smell a Rat I agree, employee involvement can help avoid appointing a tyrannical leader whose behavior creates dysfunctional teams and erodes productivity. But the real mistake is this: that managers assume it is their responsibility and their right to decide. Western work culture is about to move … [Read more...]
Adam Smith Didn’t Have a Nose Ring
I was selling books today and one of the buyers said "of course books or any physical objects have no inherent value - a thing is only worth what someone will pay". One of the other buyers chimes in with "that's right" (it's slightly to the right of Strom Thurmond, to be sure), and that was that. There wasn't even any mention that there was any other legitimately thought out … [Read more...]
Good Coffee – The First Tool You Reach For
I've been fairly critical of coffee snobs, but I think I get what their saying - the ones that aren't snobs in general. Life's too short to drink bad coffee. Nothing makes the waking up part of life that should be relaxing a chore more than coffee that screws up your face. I've decided I'm willing to pay a little more. The preparatory time for serious work should involve a … [Read more...]
A Stable Web Host is a Stable Company
We've become used to the idea that a fancy front desk, nice corporate stationary, and a bunch of stock photos - with smiling receptionists who are as wooden as those photos, is where you find stability. We've come to confuse polish with reality, and the evangelists of polish are always telling us the clothes make the company. For one thing, it's easier for us to feel we have … [Read more...]
