Up the Organization

Well, I suppose it's a good thing that blogging has moved down the list of priorities in my life at present. Driven jointly by arriving in a hectic new job and having a IT network that seems to circumnavigate the world before getting to the www. (Damn slow it is too).

My posting history this month has been abysmal, I do concede. Ironic - that being in a environment that I'm learning so much & having my brain crammed with so much information and thoughts of how to deal with this information I just don't have much time to share that with my dear blog community.
Some thoughts on business life now that I'm finally outside the professional services.

• Selling time by the hour sucks, how on earth did I ever manage 8 years of weekly timesheets?
• This is so much more real but I learned a hell of lot by being allowed to scratch around in the underbelly of many paying clients over the years.
• People believe they can and do succeed in getting away with virtually anything . I still believe it will catch up with them one day.
• Racism remains frighteningly present in our society.
• Traffic sucks , one cannot believe what a pleasure it is to get to work in less than 5 minutes.

I noted in my previous post of how good this book is. But I'm now convinced. I've selfishly decided not to give it my MD just so that I can quote little bits from it and quietly put plans into action based on the ideas in this book. Robert Townsend's book, "Up the Organization: How to stop the Corporation from Stifling People and Strangling Profits" is the best guide to managing a small business I have yet to stumble upon.

Just as an indication of Towsend's tone he makes suggestions that all executive offices ,including the CEO's, should be the same size (small) and furnished with the same basic furniture. Anyone who makes over $150 a week (in 1970!) should set his own office hours and should never have a job description. He also instigated a revolt when the book was first published and he indicated that no-one should have a secretary. (bearing in mind my borrowed copy is nearly 40 years old and coming apart at the seams - As it is now out of print I've ordered a replacement 2nd hand copy via Amazon for about $20 including shipping).

One of those weird quirks is that searching for this book, Amazon suggests I may also be interested in Gustav Mahler : Vienna : The Years of Challenge (1897-1904) by Henry-Louis De La Grange. I am not sure I see the relationship between the two subjects!

I've had a weird hunch since January 2006 that this year was a turning point in my life and that as look back on it over the years hence that this will become ever more apparent. So far so good. Just got to find a good pub in PE + (not that I haven't been trying) and it'll be a done deal.

+ by the way - kyk - the pub you mention is mere spitting distance from my new (very old) house.

And that reminds me I haven't quite worked out how my bank manager is going to handle our household's shift from 2 income single mortgage operation to that of a single income and double mortgage. (anyone want to buy/rent a decent place in Paulshof?).