Solving Tomorrow's Problems with Yesterday's Solutions

 

My Great Grandfather, Fair Slimview, owned an upscale buggy whip factory. [A fictive device I created for today's observation.]

When the Motor Car was invented, his business began to fail. So he made drastic changes. He summoned his employees to make an announcement.

"With people switching to the Motor Car, running an upscale buggy whip factory is no longer viable. Therefore, I've invested in new equipment. From now on, we will manufacture mass market buggy whips. When folks see how cheap they are, they'll flock back to the donkey wagon showrooms and we'll be back in business

Now, I'm sure my distinguished LinkedIn colleague, Paulette Dale, PH.D can explain the fallacy of logic in Pap-pap Slimview's thinking. The only logical fallacies I know come from Google

Nonetheless, today we are trying to solve problems with yesterday's solutions. The forward thinkers are trying to solve tomorrow's problems with today's solutions. We simply don't get it. We need to rethink the way we rethink the problems and solutions to get anywhere.

Case in point, China will succeed if China does as we did, not as we say.  China is using our strategy against us.

We will fail if we do as people tell us to do and not as we did.

"Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it."

Santayana

"Those who remember history are able to repeat it." Slim Fairview

Regards,

Slim

Box 33

Pen Argyl, PA 18072

Etats-Unis

The Quotations of Slim Fairview

Copyright © 2023 All rights reserved

Henri-Claude ENOUMBA U.S. Department of State United Nations Economic Commission for Africa MacArthur Foundation The Brookings Institution The New York Times Chicago Tribune The Washington Post UN Women FRANCE 24 CNBC BBC News The Atlantic The New Yorker Esquire magazine The Wall Street Journal European Central Bank J.P. Morgan Council on Foreign Relations Foreign Policy Research Institute Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

The Unfinished Fable

The Unfinished Fable:

Belling the Cat, by Aesop

In the fable, Belling the Cat, The mice decided

the best protection from the cat would be to hang a bell

around the cat's neck. Then they could hear the cat

coming & flee to safety.

All the mice cheered.

Then, one mouse asked, "Who is going to hang the bell

around the cat's neck?

The mice went silent.

That fable is incomplete.

In my retelling, an older mouse rises & says,

"I will hang the bell around the cat's neck."

And all the mice cheer.

Then, one mouse cries out,

"How are we going to pay for the bell?"

And the mice go silent again.

Then, the older mouse says, "I will take charge of

finding the money to pay for the bell"

And the mice cheer again.

Then the older mouse formed a committee

Soon, no mice were left & the issue became moot.

Best of luck.

Best wishes,

Regards

Bob

Box 33

Pen Argyl, PA 18072

The Quotations of Slim Fairview

Copyright © 2023 Robert Asken

All rights reserved

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The Philadelphia Lawyer & the Murdaugh Trial

 When I was about eight years old, I was having a discussion with my Mom.  I forget the topic, but I do remember my mother's words ringing out as clear as a bell.  "Robert. Stop using my words against me."

About the same time, my Dad was chiding me about some minor interpretation of what may or may not have been one of the rules. Or customs. And I offered my side of the story.  And my Dad said,

Robert. Do you know what you are?

No.

Have you ever heard of the expression, a Philadelphia Lawyer?

No.

Well, that's what you are.  You're a Philadelphia Lawyer.

And I was so proud.

I remembered that because I've been following the Murdaugh Murder Trial and paying close attention to the Defence Tactics.

The pressing question was a 404b objection. What 404b says is not in dispute; but my first thought was what was behind it.

It goes to motive. 

If you have financial problems. And you murder your wife. Prosecution can infer motive.  However, what if the real reason you murdered your wife is because she burned the toast at breakfast?

Now we enter Dr. Phil territory.

The fact that you are having financial difficulties leads you to have feelings of low self-esteem.  And when you murdered your wife, it made you feel marginalised and low self-esteem. Then, when she gave you burnt toast, you felt disrespected. And this led to this socially/legally unacceptable response.  And, yes, this really was a thing a few decades ago.  A bit of this goes into post hoc ergo propter hoc.

But what if we eliminate motive?  We've often heard, my client committed the murder because he was high on cocaine.  Which also is a crime.  Can we exclude the cocaine use?  What if you rob a bank to buy cocaine.  Then get high and commit murder?  We are on the slippery slope of eliminating motive.

Reductio ad absurdum?

Your honour, I move that the bank security video be excluded because the video shows my client killing the bank teller.  If the jury sees that video it could prejudice the jury.  And the only other witness was the other teller.  But she is the victim's sister. Her testimony will be prejudiced.  I move that her testimony be excluded.  Your honour, I move that the charges against my client be dismissed on the basis of lack of evidence.

Moving along, we have defence tactics. Repeating questions, rewording questions, restating and changing witness testimony.  One Commentator said, I don't know what his strategy is.  Well I do.  His strategy is an attempt to trip up the witness, to provide the jury with confusing testimony, to give rise to reasonable doubt and to go for a hung jury.  

The other tactic is to ask the witness questions about matter not within the witnesses field or purvu of jurisdiction.  And the result is:

I don't know

I don't know

I don't know

These can be talking points in summation.

Years ago, two defence attorneys double teamed me during informal discovery.  For example only:

My coworker attacked me, so I filed a complaint.

So what you're saying is that you attacked your coworker and he filed a complaint against you?

That strategy failed, but it was amusing to watch.

When did 404b become the basis for excluding motive?

The attorneys for the Defendant are attempting a brilliant but dangerous strategy.  If I were sitting on the fence, and was undecided about the verdict, the attorneys' tactics would tilt me towar a guilty verdict.

Best wishes,

Slim.

Box 33

Pen Argyl, PA 18072

Etats-Unis

If you find anything here to be helpful, please don't hesitate to send me a really tricked out Mac & tuck a few dollars into the thank you note.

Alternative: reprint rights available. Drop a check in the mail.

The Quotations of Slim Fairview

Copyright © 2023 Robert Asken

All rights reserved

B School or Pizza Night?

 

Skip B-School, Go out for Pizza instead.

My wife & I are out for our weekly dinner:
Cold ante-pasta for two, pizza, BYOB claret.

A woman comes in with two children.

Owner: Are you here for a pickup?

Wife: No. We're here for dinner. My husband is
picking up a bottle of wine. Can you bring us
two glasses.

The husband comes in carrying a brown, paper bag.
I have a bad feeling about this.

Wife: Where's the wine?

Him: I thought we'd have beer instead...

Silence.

I feel chills up my spine.

As we get ready to leave, my wife goes to powder her
nose. I pay the check. 

Before we leave, I say to the woman,
"My wife & I weren't able to finish our wine, would you like
it?"

She says thank you. I pour her a glass. 

As we leave, she says in a loud voice--for her husband's benefit--not mine, "What a nice man. What a very nice man."

The B-School lessons:

1 Bait & Switch:  He offers a customer 

Pizza and Wine--he delivers Pizza & Beer.

2 Over promise [wine] Under deliver [beer]

In cans, not even bottles.

3 Market penetration from a competitor

Seizing the opportunity, a competitor 

delivers a free sample of wine.

4 Inventory optimisation.  Why 

leave inventory on the shelf when

you can use it to attract new customers?

5 Marketing strategy:  From the old canard

"Marketing:  Find a need and fill it."

6  Shelf space optimisation: Create 

additional shelf-space by rotating 

stock or giving discounts or by repurposing.

7 Revenue enhancement: What I gained

with the bottle of wine will see diminishing

returns--hence, I put the product into circulation

and add benefits to the investment in the wine.

8 Consumer demands:  Consumers want wine,

I deliver wine.

9 Market expectations:  The market expectations

were not fulfilled.

10 Sales

11 Customer retention

12 Customer Service

13 Product distribution

There is so much to be learned if you simply

see things in a new light or from a different 

perspective.

Regards,

Slim

Box 33
Pen Argyl, PA 18072
Etats-Unis

Copyright © 2022 Robert Asken
All rights reserved