“Once outside the magic circle the writers became their lonely selves, pondering on poems, observing their fellow men ruthlessly, putting people they knew into novels; no wonder they were without friends.”
~ Barbara Pym, Jane and Prudence
Maybe Ezra Pound wasn't insane, but he was certainly delusional, paranoid, and megalomaniacal. His madness was destructive — and key to his genius... keys to smarter creativity »
This paper provides an empirical description of the organizational culture of public sector organizations in Australia. A comparison of the culture over time and in comparison to the culture of private sector organizations is provided. The organizational culture of public sector organizations in Australia
The prize we pay: US focus - parts 1 and 2
Ian Macca reads some of the 'Why I Live Where I Live' letters he's received; and following on from last week's AAO from Gatton, Dick Smith rings to talk about the possible public funding (crowd funding) of a cannery in that region ... the death of the manufacturing such as car industry and local council amalgamations going wrong in Queensland ... Extreme Capitalism Gone Mad ...
Amalgamation a dirty word out west Oberon's Marj Armstrong followers will be in Martin Place on 18 November 2015
D Day 18 11 2015 "When I first saw the letter, I looked at that paragraph and it really is Premier Baird bringing out the big stick. If I can mix up my science fiction villains, what Premier Baird's really saying is 'resistance is futile; amalgamate or be exterminated'." Peter Primrose on Mike Baird's letter proof NSW councils to be forced to merge
For people who happen to carry the label of genius or visionary, it may be the case that they have a head-start, literally. They’re wired to think in a different way. For example, Richard Feynman, who invented the field of nanotechnology, provided an insight into the way his mind works during a talk he gave about physics and engineering: “After thinking about the problem of shrinking things down to the size of molecules, he proposes some solutions, then thinks some more about what issues those ideas would create, proposes some more fixes and on and on until a full picture emerged.” Keeping up?
Big thinking is key, but another common denominator is action. Visionaries don’t just have an idea; they get stuck into making it happen. For example, Tim Berners-Lee, the man responsible for the World Wide Web, continues to take an active role in the growth and development of the internet through the W3C consortium, which he helped set up.
Finally, and perhaps most obviously, visionaries don’t tend to follow the pack – they zig while others zag. And they carry on zigging, even when others don’t accept their views or even turn on them. They remain curious, because in their heart, they’re born discoverers. Perhaps that’s the starting point when you look at some of the great discoverers and inventors of our world today with an eye to identifying who might be considered visionaries in future. Here’s an interesting list, Utne Reader’s 50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World.
~ Barbara Pym, Jane and Prudence
Maybe Ezra Pound wasn't insane, but he was certainly delusional, paranoid, and megalomaniacal. His madness was destructive — and key to his genius... keys to smarter creativity »
This paper provides an empirical description of the organizational culture of public sector organizations in Australia. A comparison of the culture over time and in comparison to the culture of private sector organizations is provided. The organizational culture of public sector organizations in Australia
The prize we pay: US focus - parts 1 and 2
Ian Macca reads some of the 'Why I Live Where I Live' letters he's received; and following on from last week's AAO from Gatton, Dick Smith rings to talk about the possible public funding (crowd funding) of a cannery in that region ... the death of the manufacturing such as car industry and local council amalgamations going wrong in Queensland ... Extreme Capitalism Gone Mad ...
Amalgamation a dirty word out west Oberon's Marj Armstrong followers will be in Martin Place on 18 November 2015
D Day 18 11 2015 "When I first saw the letter, I looked at that paragraph and it really is Premier Baird bringing out the big stick. If I can mix up my science fiction villains, what Premier Baird's really saying is 'resistance is futile; amalgamate or be exterminated'." Peter Primrose on Mike Baird's letter proof NSW councils to be forced to merge
A Scottish politician who got rid of numerous public toilets has been left red faced after he was caught by police urinating in public. Jackie Burns is the council’s deputy leader in his area of South Lanarkshire and was involved in the axing of public toilet facilities as part of £22 million ($47m) budget cuts. But it was a move that has come back to bite him. “I was approached by police, who gave me a £40 fine which I have duly paid. I am embarrassed by the incident and have apologised,” Burns told Yahoo News UK
But how do they do it? An article by Greg Satell on Forbes says visionaries are able to see into the future because they care about it. Their motivation isn’t about themselves, or about the here and now, but to understand more and to ask questions and to not stop until they’ve figured it out. You might say they suffer from an overactive imagination, one that comes up with preposterous ideas and impractical solutions, in the best way possible.
For people who happen to carry the label of genius or visionary, it may be the case that they have a head-start, literally. They’re wired to think in a different way. For example, Richard Feynman, who invented the field of nanotechnology, provided an insight into the way his mind works during a talk he gave about physics and engineering: “After thinking about the problem of shrinking things down to the size of molecules, he proposes some solutions, then thinks some more about what issues those ideas would create, proposes some more fixes and on and on until a full picture emerged.” Keeping up?
Big thinking is key, but another common denominator is action. Visionaries don’t just have an idea; they get stuck into making it happen. For example, Tim Berners-Lee, the man responsible for the World Wide Web, continues to take an active role in the growth and development of the internet through the W3C consortium, which he helped set up.
Finally, and perhaps most obviously, visionaries don’t tend to follow the pack – they zig while others zag. And they carry on zigging, even when others don’t accept their views or even turn on them. They remain curious, because in their heart, they’re born discoverers. Perhaps that’s the starting point when you look at some of the great discoverers and inventors of our world today with an eye to identifying who might be considered visionaries in future. Here’s an interesting list, Utne Reader’s 50 Visionaries Who Are Changing Your World.
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| Never Giver Up - For Even Rivers, Like Thames and Cold River, Someday Wash Damns Away |
That environment, ranging from social media to the recovery movement, has encouraged openness in how we interact. Duh.
Given that default, smart professionals simulate being transparent, while holding their cards close to their vest. After all, the world, as Machiavelli, Shakespeare, and Sigmund Freud told us, is filled with human darkness - hostility, envy, and vindictiveness.
The mandate to protect ourselves and insist on our right to privacy is critical after a setback. You didn't get the job or assignment. That's exactly the time when you have to position and package a cover story or elevator speech. Don't leave home without it. The truth is only for a handful of trusted humans in your little life.
Here are 5 tips how to put together that insulation around yourself.
Understand that one way of defining "growing up" is accepting that not everyone loves you. From the get-go, human beings are socialized to simulate caring. That's the cornerstone of civility. Seeing through that code of behavior indicates you are embracing the world as it is. Therefore, since most others out there haven't made your well-being their priority, you owe them nothing. That includes authenticity.
Figure out what summary of the situation will be credible. Remember there are so many ways for the intrusive to check out the supposed facts. The good news is that your elevator speech can be brief. You can simply say, "The chemistry was off" or "The money wasn't right."
Test out that take with those you trust. After a defeat, your judgment may be off. You need input about your cover story.
Role play. Rehearse everything from body language and facial gestures to word choice and pacing.
Focus on what's next. You will less focused on what didn't work out. That distancing from the past will show. The intrusive will back off.
A few years ago, I didn't land the contract to ghostwrite a book for a well-known personality. Who was completing for the assignment was well-known.
Immediately, I confided that disappointment to the 90-year-old French woman in my building. She asked me how I felt. I was honest. I admitted how blown apart I was. That's all I needed to then move on to a cover story. No miscreant could put an emotional glove on me about the defeat.
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| Rosehip by The Thames River |
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| Colourful Fruits by the Thames River |
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| Berries showing off shades of Reds, Purples and Blacks by Thames River |
Talk with sidelined, underemployed, and underachieving lawyers. Many attribute the pickle they're in to being "idealistic" in law school. Instead of being totally strategic about playing the game, they were focused on a fantasy about how they could "make a difference."
The easiest way to do that is to use the new book "Machiavelli - a Portrait" by Christopher S. Celenza. Make it your private playbook. In it, the author hammers the pragmatic thinking which has been maligned through the centuries as "Machiavellianism."
The reality is that each of those centuries had their idealistic thought leaders who were hell-bent on imposing a Happy Valley world view on Everyman and Everywoman. Usually they got away with it. Boys went off to World War II to end all wars. Duh.
Yet, conflict is wired into mankind. That's why societies have their version of lawyers. A useful read on the universality of disagreement is "Making Conflict Work" by Peter T. Coleman and Robert Ferguson.
Well, what was so subversive about Niccolo Machiavelli, born in 1469 in Florence, Italy, was that he made it his business to see life as it is. Not as the politicos or church heads pontificated it should be. And, Machiavelli had plenty to see. Florence was a hotbed of double-dealing and murdering for power, material goods, and just staying alive.
Since there were no modern concepts like rights and equality to impose checks and balances, those who didn't see things as they were could wind up being tortured, exiled, and/or killed. Once Machiavelli himself found himself on the wrong side of power and was brutally roughed up.
Therefore, the mandates he sets down in "The Prince" about how to get, keep, and grow power were born of the political instability of his times. But our times aren't much different.
Therefore, Machiavelli recommends the prince always be at war. War is good. Today that translates into having the insight and courage to generate conflict. No, you don't want to be the "excellent sheep" which William Deresiewicz describes in the book by that title. Plaintiff/defense attorney David Boies is an iconoclast. In contrast, my immigrant family, dominated by the Roman Catholic Church, didn't want to rock the boat. They said the rosary every day for peace.
As Chris J appreciates a third value to embrace from Machiavelli is to opt for being feared versus loved. Why? Machiavelli, like William Shakespeare, observes:
" ... of men one can say this, generally speaking: that they are ungrateful, fickle, fakers and liars, inclined to flee danger, desirous of financial gain."
Sure, the successful, such as Ronald Reagan, superimposed on that a genial disposition. Likeability is a source of power. But everyone alert to reality knew not to mess with Reagan. So, yes, 1Ls, you have to bone up on your performance art.
In class, with mentors, and when attending career pep rallies, don't agree with the party line seems to be. Read between the lines. Seeing things as they are will be your edge.
An arms race among venomous animals?Science Daily
