Making Stuff Up: The Korean Crisis

They are at it again.  I was watching the experts discuss the North Korea crisis.

The quote à la mode begins: "The only one who can solve the problem of North Korea is China, but they won't because if they do, it will..."  cause some or all of the following problems....

Well, by definition, they would not have solved the problem.

The list:

• Humanitarian:  Millions of North Koreans will stream into China.

• The two Koreas will united strengthening America's presence in the region.

• Other assorted bad things varying with who is doing the talking.

First, the experts presuppose that the solution is the assumed but unstated solution which by definition is not a solution.  Then the experts suppose that their predicted results

a. will happen

b. are a problem

China has the resources to prevent the stream of presupposed immigrants streaming into China.

The presumed unification

a. may not happen

b. need not happen

c. would not be a problem if it did happen.

A. May not happen. 

Experts presume it will happen to segue into their doom & gloom forecast to embellish their street cred. After all, only the naive see things through Pollyanna's Glasses. 

B. Need not happen.

If China solves the problem, according to0 the chattering heads, a unification is not necessarily the result.

C. Would not be a problem if it did happen.

Our alliance with South Korea is sufficient for a US military presence.  North Korea in its present state is not a buffer, or a sufficient buffer between the US and China.  It is, rather, an enabler of a "greater threat" whatever that threat may be or may be presumed.

China can solve the problem by influencing a shift in the North Korean paradigm that will sustain North Korea, reduce any justification for a military buildup, and work to enhance a growing economic and diplomatic relationship between China and North Korea. 

However, yet again, middle aged, middle class, suburban white men are "talking about the elephant in the room" instead of "talking to the elephant in the room".

As I stated in another article:

The Korean Peninsula Contretemps

Do not worry about recent events on the Korean Peninsula.

1. If this were a serious threat, the Chinese Government would be concerned.

2. If the Chinese Government were concerned, they would take action.

3. If they are not taking action, they are not concerned.

4. China knows that serious threats would bring greater US Military involvement.

5. China does not want to invite an elevated US military presence in the region.

6. See # 2.

Regards,

Slim

slimfairview@yahoo.com  

Copyright © 2013 Bob Asken

All rights reserved.

If you find anything here to be helpful, please do not hesitate to send me a really tricked-out Mac Book  and to tuck a few dollars into the envelope along with the thank you note. Slim

[
Bob Asken
Box 33
Pen Argyl, PA 18072

www.linkedin.com/in/slimfairview/

Regards,

Slim

Clichés, Slogans and Lew, Oh, My!

Jack Lew or Fairview?

Clichés, Slogans, and Platitudes will not solve the EuroCrisis.  Reporting that Secretary Lew is going to Europe to urge leaders to "balance economic demand" is inane.

For almost two years, I've been inveighing against Merkelism:  "An economic system based on the fear that someone, somewhere is earning a living.

For those in desperate need of equations:

A = B

B = C

A = C

Therefore:

Merkel = Austerity

Norquist = Austerity

Merkel = Norquist

However, we've been supporting The Chancellor throughout her campaign.

You cannot cut wages, fire people, raise [property] taxes, and call it a solution.  Austerity is a one-pronged approach.  A one-pronged approach is not a solution. It is a weapon.

What Europe Needs

Capital Investment

Economic Development

Growth

But don't bother listening to me. Everyone always doesn't listen to me.  And the European economy is contracting nicely.

Further reading listed below.

Sincerest regards.

Slim

slimfairview@yahoo.com

LinkedIn Profile:

www.linkedin.com/in/slimfairview/

Copyright © 2013 Slim Fairview

All Rights Reserved.

Merkel Invades Russia

http://sidestreetjournal.blogspot.com/2013/03/merkel-invades-russia.html

Beware!  The Chancellor is Consolidating Power

http://sidestreetjournal.blogspot.com/2013/02/beware-chancellor-is-consolidating-power.html

EU Growth Summit: Slim Defeats Merkel

http://slimviews.blogspot.com/2013/03/eu-growth-summit-slim-defeats-merkel.html

Merkel's Last Stand

http://slimviews.blogspot.com/2011/12/merkels-last-stand.html

The EuroCrats' Trojan Plan

http://slimviews.blogspot.com/2011/09/eurocrats-trojan-plan.html

Too Greek to Fail

http://slimviews.blogspot.com/2012/01/too-greek-to-fail.html

If you find anything here to be helpful, please do not hesitate to send me a really tricked-out laptop and to put a few dollars into the envelope along with the thank you note. Slim

Work Visas & The Korean Crisis

Do you ever wonder why?

Comments on Work Visas & the Korean Peninsula Contretemps

Foreign Worker Visas

Being that emerging nations desperately need 

• Teachers
• Nurses
• Doctors
• Engineers
• And other highly educated and skilled people

why don't we educate them here; then we can grant them work visas so they can work in the US instead of their own countries 

This will deprive emerging nations of teachers, nurses, doctors, engineers, and other highly educated and skilled people to keep the people in those countries shackled to poverty by keeping them shackled to poverty programmes?

Then we can wonder why other countries don't like us.

Quick: Send them a diplomat with some foreign aid.

The Korean Peninsula Contretemps

Do not worry about recent events on the Korean Peninsula.

 
1. If this were a serious threat, the Chinese Government would be concerned.

2. If the Chinese Government were concerned, they would take action.

3. If they are not taking action, they are not concerned.

4. China knows that serious threats would bring greater US Military involvement.

5. China does not want to invite an elevated US military presence in the region.

6. See # 2.

Regards,

Slim

slimfairview@yahoo.com  

Copyright © 2013 Slim Fairview

All rights reserved.

Suite-Cred or Sweet-Cred?

We've all heard the expression, "Street Cred,"  but I digress.

Do you have Suite Cred or Sweet Cred?

SUITE CRED

In the suite we are talking real.  In the vernacular of youth: "Get real," or "Make it real."  We can quote Yoda, "Do or do not. There is no try."  Or we can cut it short: "Do or do not."

Slim Fairview's Four Rules of Communication.

• Precision

• Concision

• Enumerate

• Specify

Anyone who went to B-School knows the rule: One Page.  

The morning memo to the boss: One Page, 

The résumé: One Page.

The more important you are, the shorter the résumé.  E.g. 

Name:  The Queen

Address:  Buckingham Palace

Work History:  Queen of England.

Personal:  Loves Corgis 

The bottom line

Suite Cred is all about the bottom line.  One thing we've lost in this country, an elsewhere, is the focus on the empirical method of analysis.

Then:  Perform the experiment, document the results, repeat the experiment, duplicate the results, report the conclusion.

Now:  Form an opinion, seek data to support your opinion.

For those who need a brief refresher, I've created the metaphor for understanding The Empirical Method of Analysis

Eggheads & Cracked Eggs--Why We Can't Solve Problems

http://slimviews.blogspot.com/2013/02/eggheads-and-cracked-eggs.html

From The  Bauhaus we learned "Form Follows Function."

Case in point:

In the supermarket bakery, the croissants sell at twice the price of doughnuts.  These sell to the people with money to spend.  The new baker adds goop to the croissants.  The croissants do not sell.  This is reported to the owner of the store by the customer.  The response to the customer from the new baker. "Not everyone likes it the way you do."  None the less, the croissants do not sell with goop on it.  The owner fails to tell the new baker, "Do not put goop on the croissants."

Second:

In the supermarket bakery, the new baker does not make baguettes. The loaves are shorter and fatter.  The customer complains to the manager.  The new baker's response to the customer, "It's the same weight."  The manager fails to tell the new baker, "Make baguettes!"

Two real life examples of management that doesn't. Doesn't what? Doesn't Manage.  In the first store the baker is putting out product in a form  that does not sell.  The only opinion is that of the baker.  The opinion, put out croissants with goop on it because not everyone likes them the same way.  In the second, as long as the loaf weighs the same, the shape doesn't matter.  The function: Sell baguettes.  The form: long and skinny.

The problem worsens when we try to solve problems with committees.  Committees involve more people.  More people want to talk about it. Why do people want to talk about it?  To bully other people into doing things their way.

More people = more words.

More words = more bad.

More people = more bad.

The Committee:

In my article:  "China: Economics and a word beginning with the letter P" I explained this:

http://slimviews.blogspot.com/2011/06/china-economy-and-word-beginning-with.html

If you don't believe me, witness the GSA scandal.  And the head of the GSA who was fired was reinstated with all back pay.

Our problem is systemic. It is inculcated into the fibre of our collective being.

Next we have

SWEET CRED

Consider the lollipop.  Pretty, sweet, tastes good.  However, it has no nutritional value.  The real downside, however, is not the lack of nutritional value.  It is that the lollipop spoils our appetite for nutritious food.  This metaphor extends to education and to business management. It also extends to the news.  "I want news. I don't want coverage." Slim Fairview

Consultants have been handing out lollipops for so long that the owner of the store is unable to say, "Make the croissants without goop on them."

Now, why the committee?

• Billy wants to be on the committee.
• You don't have a committee.
• Billy wants to be on the team.
• All the positions are filled.
• Billy bullies you into having a committee instead of a team.
• Why?
• So he can bully you into letting him on the committee.
• Why?

Herein lies the reason

• Billy has a warehouse full of bottle caps.
• Billy wants the final report to include: "Bottle Caps are crucial to the solution."
• The final report reads: "Bottle Caps are crucial to solving the problem."
• The report is issued.
• The price of Bottle Caps skyrockets.
• Billy has a warehouse full of bottle caps.
• Billy makes a fortune.

This is understandable.  Specially if Billy owns a Bottle Cap Making Company and this creates jobs.  And, if Billy makes money without hurting anyone.

However, if valuable resources are diverted to buying Bottle Caps, the problem won't be solved.  Conditions will not get more high, good, better.  The situation will get more low, bad, worse.

When hiring a consultant, be careful about the consultant you hire.

Of course, you can always call in an expert.

• 10 experts say, "Do this."
• 10 experts say, "Do that."
• 10 experts say, "Do something else."
• 10 experts say, "They're all right."
• 10 experts say, "They're all wrong."
• 10 experts say, "Who's to say what's right or wrong?"
• 10 experts say, "There is no right or wrong."

If you don't believe me, ask an expert.

If anyone still believes that a committee is the best way to solve a problem, I shall now refute, repudiate, and debunk your assertion with one word: Congress.

Regards,

Slim

If you find anything here to be helpful, please do not hesitate to send me a really tricked-out Mac Book and to tuck a few dollars into the envelope along with the thank you note. Slim

www.linkedin.com/in/slimfairview/

slimfairview@yahoo.com

Bob Asken
Box 33
Pen Argyl, PA 18072

Copyright © 2013 Slim Fairview

All Rights reserved

The Culture of Bad Management

What is the problem?

Answer:  It starts early.


On 3. February 2011, I wrote "Watching the Process"

http://slimviews.blogspot.com/2011/02/watching-process.html

It answers the question:

Management, Project Management, Process Management, each a process. Can you isolate the moment you realised that?

I was seven years old. 

It really doesn't matter whether you rely on the "Up Series" by British Sociologists of the 1960s or the 16th Century writings of Francis Xavier. It holds true.  

The Winning Team Syndrome

I was in the second grade. We were out in the playground for recess. We were playing kickball.

Recess was unstructured. There was no micromanagement of children then.

The two usual classmates were captains. This was SOP. Then, one day, one of the teams had a co-captain.

 

While some of the other boys in my class complained, 

• “Why do they always get to be captains?”  
• “They always pick their friends." 
• "That’s not fair.” 

I observed the process.

The captains were the natural leaders. This was because they were good at the game and good at picking players.  

(Athletes will routinely hang out with athletes. Question: Are they picking their friends, or good athletes, or both? Answer: both.)

We root for the underdogs; but we want to run with the winners. Good at sports or bad at sports, each of us wants to be on a winning team. [Remember that point.]

If given a choice, a seven year old boy would rather be a  player on the winning team than be the captain of the losing team.

We now had co-captains. I was less concerned with why. I simply wanted to be on a winning team. That was over 50 years ago. I still remember the day.

Gratuitous Management

 

When I was a little older than seven, I participated in Pop Warner Football.  We one quarterback. He had two plays: Two to the left--dive.  Two to the right--dive.  They were running plays.  One, two openings from the center on the left,  the other, two openings from the center on the right.  Simple enough.  There he knelt--cogitating.  He tugged at the grass. He looked  over us at the opposing team as we were in the huddle waiting for the play.  

Finally, "Two to the left--dive."

I don't recall if it worked.  None the less: back  into the huddle. The same scenario replayed.

He tugged at the grass.  He looked over us at the opposing team. He cogitated. 

Finally, "Two to the right--dive."

We teach boys that the simplest of decisions are monumental.  The team  waits upon their every word.  It's Important!


However, this carries into adult life.

I am going to make changes to protect the gratuitous.

Take two jobs:  Sweeping the halls on floor seven. Buffing the halls on floor eight.

The bosses are gone for a conference.  One boss must remain behind.  One worker took the personal initiative to arrange for permission  to buff the floors.  Noisy, heavy, dirty. He cleared it with the bosses.  The equipment will be there.  The morning arrived.

Boss: "What are you guys doing?"
One:  "I'm going to buff the halls on floor eight.
Two:  "I'm going to sweep the halls on floor seven."

Boss:  Cogitating.

Boss, to number one. "Okay, I want you to sweep the halls on floor seven."
Boss, to number two. "Okay, I want you to buff  the halls on floor eight."

Half an hour later,  the two are in the bosses office.  Problem?  Number two doesn't know how to run a buffer.

Boss:  Cogitating.

Boss: to number two:  "Okay, I want you to sweep the halls on floor seven."
Boss: to number one:  "Okay, I want you to buff the halls on floor eight."

If anyone needs further explanation...... Enough said?


The Structure of Failure

Let's take Odious Bilgewater and Offal Dungnoodle.  (If  Charles Dickens can do it with Uriah Heep, Mr. Fezziwig, and Ebeneezer Scrooge,  I can do it too.)

Mr. Odious Bilgewater promotes Offal Dungnoodle.  Offal is now, the Captain of the Team.  He is the Winning Captain.  Mr. Bilgewater declared Dungnoodle to be the winner when he declared Dungnoodle to be the Captain.  However, Mr. Dungnoodle is not competent.  More on that, later.

Some people want to be on Mr. Dungnoodle's Team.  Why?  Some are incompetent. Some are shrewd.

Some people do not want to be on Dungnoodle's team.  Why?  They don't want to be part of a failure.  They don't want to be blamed for the failure. 

How did Mr. Dungnoodle manage the promotion?  Easy.  Mr. Bilgewater wants someone like himself. 

Why do people want to be on Odious Dungnoodle's Team?  This is how Mr. Odious Dungnoodle got his promotion.

• Odious wants people who obey orders
• Odious wants credit for success
• Odious wants scapegoats for failure
• Odious knows how to set up a scapegoat
• Odious knows how to credit his team for his success
• Odious knows all the clichés, slogans, and platitudes of  "leadership"

Why do people go along with this?

• Odious is the boss
• Odious has Mr.Bilgewater's support
• This is the path of least resistance
• They want to be on the winning team

You will  never change the system, the culture,the paradigm by sending employee's to team building seminars, group dynamics seminars, anger management seminars, or any other programmes.  You will never solve your bad management culture problem until you fire Odious Bilgewater and Offal Dungnoodle.

Still, this begs the question: 

Bad Leaders or Bad Consultants?




However, from The Quotations of Slim Fairview © 2012  

• "You can't lead if you can't manage."
• "Look behind you. If people are following you, you're a leader. If they're not, you're not."
• "Leaders are defined by their followers."
• "In times of a crisis, people will follow their leader. Not their boss."

Must Read:

You Can't Lead If You Can't Manage. 





You Can't Lead If You Can't Manage 2.0




Warmest Regards,

Slim 

slimfairview@yahoo.com

If you find anything here to be helpful, please do not hesitate to send me a really tricked-out Mac Book and to tuck a few dollars. into the envelope along with the thank you note. 

Bob Asken
Box 33 
Pen Argyl, PA 18072

LinkedIn Profile


Copyright  © 2013 Slim Fairview
All rights reserved.