Reinke Faces Life

FROM AN EMAIL I WROTE

Meetings without notes are just “campfires”.

***Begin Quote***

“Campfire” meetings are just like a potlatch which could involve a feast, with music, dance, theatrically and spiritual ceremonies. In it’s simplest form, the campfire meeting is just a gathering that tell stories. Often, promises are made, deliveries scheduled, oaths given. And all is lost when the meeting ends. Even before the last final Kumbaya has been sung, the agreement begins to erode. There needs to be a “totem pole” erected recording who was to do what.

***End Quote***

I like a very structured meeting. Otherwise nothing seems to be accomplished.

The CHAMPION is the one who calls the meeting, ensures attendance, and justifies the effort. The ORGANIZER is responsible for the venue. The ARCHIVIST (the politically correct name for the Secretary) creates the agenda and minutes. The TIMEKEEPER keeps the meeting on schedule. The FACILITATOR moderates the debate with in the rules of engagement.

At the very least, there is an ANNOUNCEMENT, the AGENDA which may be sent with the announcement, and the MINUTES which may be in the form of informal notes.

Without structure, accomplishments are by luck; not design. I used to have a boss, who would announce at the beginning and end of a meeting, how much that meeting could / did cost the organization in salary dollars. It kept meetings short and focused. He made me crazed about meetings.

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http://sports.myway.com/news/10092007/v2657.html

Alex Rodriguez’s Agent Hints A-Rod Likely to Opt Out of Contract and Become Free Agent
Oct 9, 10:03 PM (ET)
By RONALD BLUM

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NEW YORK (AP) -Alex Rodriguez is ready to cash in. Again.

Agent Scott Boras hinted Tuesday that A-Rod will opt out of the final three seasons of his contract with the New York Yankees and seek a new deal in the free-agent market that will lock him up through his pursuit of Barry Bonds’ home-run record.

***End Quote***

And, I’d say “good riddance”. He was an empty uniform in the post season.

As a proxy for the real world, one must always seek to keep one’s options open while locking down “sweetness”.

For example, when I am “in” and the hunter comes calling, I want a contract, or at least double what I have. If I am “out”, then I’m not so choosey because a double of zero is zero.

Take Posada for example. He’s in his option year and did well. He’s old. He’s a catcher. And, he keeps his mouth shut. I’m sure he will do quite well. If I were him, I’d want “long” at the expense of “big”. He might not be physically able to do as well as he did this year. So, if the Yankees have 20M$ budgeted for a first string catcher, then they might off a one year contract at 20M$. He, otoh, say wants a ten year deal (10*20M$=200m$). So let’s say the Yankees offer him either 1 year @ 20M$, 3 years @ 15m$, or 5 years @ 10M$, what does he pick? Sigh, I should have such problem.

From a productivity pov, we are all working for the benjamins. How do you get max? How do you even know what is possible? Hopefully, you’ve thought out what you need to make you happy. Or, at least satisfied.

Now where is my bat and glove.

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http://execunet.blogspot.com/2007/10/whats-in-name.html

Monday, October 08, 2007
What’s In A Name?

***Begin Quote***

Actually, it isn’t just me who’s interested in the “title of the week” stuff. At ExecuNet, we have been following it for a bit as well in terms of how companies are using different titles to describle some of the senior level executives, a few examples of which have been:

Chief Digital Officer
Chief Encouragement Officer
Chief Innovation Officer
Chief Learning Officer
Chief Momentum Officer
Chief Networking Officer

{Extraneous Deleted}

***End Quote***

Everybody wants to be a “Chief”!

Let me tell you that being a “chief” ain’t it is all cracked up to be.

I read somewhere that CIOs only last 18 months on average.

Perhaps this is indicating that the modern large corporation has finally grown to big. The magic number 7±2. Roman centurions commanded 60-80 men. So we can see the limits of humans as limits to organizational growth.

It would appear that this is ignorged at peril.

Maybe everything is just too big.

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text

http://sports.myway.com/news/10072007/v5693.html

Boss of Old: George Steinbrenner Says Yankees Must Win Or Joe Torre Likely Won’t Return
Oct 7, 5:58 PM (ET)
By RONALD BLUM

***Begin Quote***

NEW YORK (AP) -Win or else! That was George Steinbrenner’s message to Joe Torre before the New York Yankees played the Cleveland Indians on Sunday night.

***End Quote***

As a “professional transitioner”, who has been on the … … errr, non-clean, end of the stick many times, I can emphasize with Joe’s situation.

At the beginning of the season, Yankee watchers knew the Yankees had no pitching. Time after time, game after game, we watched Torre tiptoe thru tight spot after top spot. The killer story was the one, years ago, that Pettite and Clemens left the Yankees because no one asked them if they wanted to stay. That story was confirmed with the Yankee GM Cashman. He said they were pursuing other pitchers and the deals didn’t work out.

So, George, you’re threatening the wrong fellow. I think that Torre did an unbelievable job with what your team gave him.

imho

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If I can help you in any way please don’t hesitate to ask. Some times the Universe can be bewildering. So if you just want to ask what you think is the dumbest question imaginable, then feel free to bounce it off me. If I can’t answer it, I’ll ask the appropriate people. They already think I’m a “character, so “dumb” will just be confirming their beliefs.

I personally believe that there are literally no “dumb” questions.

Those supposedly “dumb” questions are: (1) not so “dumb” because probably some one else has the same question but is too “embarrassed” to ask something so “dumb”; AND (2) even if it is “dumb”, all those “smart” people should have made the question unnecessary (i.e., FAQ, documentation, help files, wiki). So as you can see, I never fault anyone who asks “dumb” questions. Or, even think less of them.

And, I’ve learned over my career is that I can learn quite a bit from “dumb” questions. Best is when children ask them because they see things completely differently.

So, if I can help, please just ask.

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Lesson Learned: Always watch the traffic.

Interesting, during my recent trip to LV, there must have been a bad accident on the interstate. Let me start at the beginning, departing one casino, we were waiting at the traffic light. (If you miss a light in Vegas, you have a lot of time to admire the scenery!) I noticed a helicopter hovering in the distance. It had to be a “traffic” copter. You just don’t see helicopters hovering in one spot. What would they be doing — drying a lawn? Upon closer study, it was over my road. So I immediately began thinking of alternatives. (Who wants to waste gambling time stuck in traffic?) So as I closed the distance, I could see the interstate was bumper2bumper. (Hey great, I ain’t going that way, and I wasn’t planning to go that way. Thanks Intelligent Designer for not putting it on my path!) As me, and two of my closest competitors to get across town first raced down Flamingo Boulevard, we approached the on ramp to the interstate. Did the guy in the right lane (I was in middle) get a surprise when some bozo from the on ramp made a tight left turn in front of him. Right-lane guy was doing 65; down-the-on-ramp guy was doing 5 as a result of that tight reverse 135 degree turn! People were streaming down the on-ramp. It was like a TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It) movie where people were escaping from Godzilla on the interstate. Luckily, the right lane guy wasn’t turning to get on the interstate, or it would have made an even bigger big mess. More importantly, (after all this is all about me), I recognized the situation, and in true Christian fellowship, ever mindful of the Pontiff’s directive on Christian Driving, I had slowed down to permit the right hand guy to use my lane to escape the accident that was going to happen should he not have an escape route. (The fact, that if right-lane guy had hit down-the-on-ramp guy, there was a very good chance one or both of those bozos would have hit me, thus delaying me from my appointed rounds delivering my cash to casinos though out the Las Vegas valley! Of course, that fact never entered my mind.)

Lesson Learned: Don’t assume that on ramps won’t have exiting traffic! There may not be a traffic helicopter hovering over the road to alert you.

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LESSONS LEARNED: Use a code table and use list. Keep the relationship in your wallet.

*** Begin Code Table ***

x-\-x x1 x2 x3 x4 x5
0x U5IB5JCH MO62COFV CXK5NDTC QS5MIJ7Z JDWM3GVU
1x 2VC1HCDX 9H72D530 O1L4LFVW UCUO2I0B UOO6BW2S
2x 0DLEDCCD 1UE0N2MW 98HA8KOZ KA9XE209 X139J5CE
3x 83F4P5ET PNF0OJA0 LCI97MR0 JPUMGL8Q CELBU500
4x PHYCON9A P5UNLY44 IW5ELJU6 PQOWNQUN 357IAZRX
5x X7S20GBQ CYVO3MFS 9V0FKHW8 9V8LPBTG EGIAZSC6
6x B8ZQ86ID LO2Z933A NLNU5Q1B W199RQ4O X9E87EC3
7x 39WIUPC0 50AY93LM I8JU6RZ9 CWOKP55V MY3HIJHO
8x JUJLVVEH 3Q5MYSBI GKENZ791 NZVRLYIS 3M2GWOHJ
9x FF5EJ6E1 DW2G0YB2 0MMEC4AG 0KIOUTQW 0X8UK0SQ

x-\-x x6 x7 x8 x9 x0
0x 824VSDRM 5V6DMV25 YELP0X09 N41LQYSC KPBCYC33
1x 43YVM947 9YC4OCH1 3XYG7PBY 7CKPL5QC MEQ6I2M5
2x R0GBO1BY 3X4W0MF7 KG09IQXU 6E9EJ6SR VUSP17HI
3x 9B2EH2EQ QKUCB07I FK40EBS5 3O2EDQRX K7JLXH0K
4x BMUM4FPO F9PHHC9G EGRVZ9LW AD7460EW UK7TTG1V
5x KILLCL65 B8QNT7X9 DD0NDONJ VZTVZDYW W9NND6KX
6x X6ZL2EK3 8NHB2RTH KM8DY4GF DNX0WQUZ VMLM2BVV
7x Y3VCXTNL U1DQ17HM NOHGF3HF YXIC1JWZ TX6TILCU
8x 8M8LRM81 LUA3MPEO SQ17REAP 4TKHZ2TB CTXNJHZF
9x PAFBK3O4 4OTKORX4 7Z7LXXDJ WVA7UU5L 8955TEXN

***End Code Table ***

and

*** Begin Use List ***

Bank #1, 2, 3, and 4.

Email #1, 2, 3, and 4.

Website #1, 2, 3, and 4.

Blogsite #1, 2, 3, and 4.

*** End Use List ***

and

*** Begin Xref ***

1 31 2 42 3 92 4 81

1 17 2 71 3 24 4 15

1 88 2 92 3 51 4 65

1 14 2 22 3 79 4 52

*** end xref ***

And, all you need is the web page and it will all unfold.

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Lesson Learned: Put the itinerary and all key numbers on paper that you can carry in the wallet. Make copies and put it in several key places.

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http://www.luggageforward.com

Impedimenta
2. The baggage and equipment carried by an army.

This time, to minimize the stress on Frau Reinke, we used one of the many “luggage shipping” services. Again, not cheap! But, handy. IF, and only if, you can be packed and ready to go 3 days ahead of your trip and wait for it arrive 4 days after.

It was easy. And, I recommend it to relieve your stress level.

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I need checklists.

When I was traveling a lot, I used them extensively. When I later traveled personally, I used to make them up. Not having traveled in awhile, I was out of practice. I should have used several on this trip. Most notably, the biggest disaster, the forgotten power supply would not have happened. The forgotten handicapped placard, the forgotten key ring, the needed phone numbers, show times, and reminders would have been front and center.

Be it resolved, from henceforth and forever more, each stage of a troop movement will have it’s own checklist.

Argh!!

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