WHITHER "VIRTU"???

With the impending Fiscal Cliff, real or imagined, one returns to Machiavelli's basal political question: How does one sponsor Virtu? Virtue, in a republican polity, is the consitution of order and progress. Above all, however, Republicanism is defined by the principle of Civic Participation. _____ Our leaders have truly - (squarely and succintly) - failed us. But we cannot call defeat in as much as we cannot claim victory. Republicanism is Struggle... _____ Without the struggle of arms, Republicanism is the struggle of conscience. Dear leaders, choose (and perform) the right thing.....

GLOCALIZATION = "DEPTH AND WIDTH"

http://www.salagram.net/parishad77-g.htm; http://jubal.westnet.com/hyperdiscordia/library_of_babel.html

IMAGINATION AT WORK

DOLL - LUXE MODEL

HOLISTIC VISION: Barber, 'Medea's Meditation and Dance of Vengeance' ~ 'Full of grief I scream at the wind Thought I heard the words of others Imprison myself and stay in a shell I won't let you in to have a story to tell Things tend to drag me down Don't understand so they hate me now My fear grips the will of stone My fear grips I'll die alone I promised myself somewhere in the teenage life I'd never submit to the ones I will not be like Live in a hole but stay close to my kind Cause they understand what burns in my mind I still feel incomplete Friends are few and far between'..

Samuel Barber, Piano Concerto, Op. 38: II. Canzone: Moderato

'If ever words were spoken painful and untrue I said I loved but I lied In my life all I wanted was the keeping of someone like you As it turns out deeper within me love was twisted and pointed at you Never ending pain, quickly ending life You keep this love, thing, love, child, love, toy You keep this love, fist, love, scar, love, break You keep this love, love, love You keep this love, love, love, you keep this love I'd been the tempting one stole her from herself This gift in pain her pain was life And sometimes I feel so sorry, I regret this the hurting of you But you make me so unhappy, I'd take my life and leave love with you I'd kill myself for you, I'd kill you for myself You keep this love, thing, love, child, love, toy You keep this love, fist, love, scar, love, break You keep this love, love, love You keep this love, love, love, you keep this love No more head trips You keep this love, thing, love, child, love, toy You keep this love, fist, love, scar, love, break You keep this love, love, love You keep this love, love, love, you keep this love You keep this love, you keep this love You keep this love, you keep this love'

ERNEST BLOCH, 'HIVER-PRINTEMPS', TWO SYMPHONIC POEMS

THE 'BRIC' TALENT MATRIX: CHRSYALIS NOT A CACOON [http://hbr.org/2008/11/winning-the-race-for-talent-in-emerging-markets/ar/1]

Hats off again to Harvard Business Review for its winter 2012 edition regarding talent management, 'Talent: How to Find It - How to Keep it'. And there could not be a more appropriate and timely topic.. _____ The article that really struck me, among the outstanding contributions, was "Winning the Race for Talent in Emerging Markets" co-authored by Professors Douglas A Ready, Linda A Hill and Jay A Conger. (A lot of A's there!) Though reprinted from HBR's November 2008 edition, the article remains remarkably prescient. This is only a short post, for it is unecessary (pleonastic is the literary term, I think) to add to the authors' excellent summary approach to conducting talent management in the BRIC countries. A few points may, however, suffice preparatory to reading this wonderful article. _____ Ready, Hill and Conger negotiate the emerging markets' talent matrix by focusing on four cardinal points: purpose, brand, opportunity and culture. Whereas the authors label this matrix a Framework, I see the four-point framework as a foundational 'true north' compass to engaging with the region with the rapidly shifting, and evolutionary trajectory, of BRIC emerging market potential. Drawing on examples from HCL, a software company and Standard Chartered Bank, the authors emphasise the power of an energising brand unified with an elevating global mission. As Liu Chuanzhi of Legend and Bill Amelio, current, CEO of Lenovo, China attest, in another instance, Lenovo offers a 'stage without a ceiling for every employee' in what was once an impoverished and financially undernourished region. Similarly, TCS Iberoamerica, a $160 million Tata consultancy unit in Uruguay represents the cutting-edge confluence of brand and opportunity for a "glocalised" workforce ( my interpellation). TCS's star platform is its Project Arogya, led by Olivier Jarry, providing health care and education to Uruguayan villages. As Jarry notes proudly, 'We provide a source of revenue for local talent working with us on the ground. We are helping local doctors and pharmacists. This is a tremendously exciting mission' {Emphasis added}. _____ Hence all-in-all, a wonderful blueprint for emerging market (and general) talent management. If I had to add my own short gloss to their effort, however, I would highlight the potential for "reverse mentoring" in Ready et al.'s true north compass. As the authors suggest, this will very much take global companies to the next level of 'promises made, promises kept'. In order to fulfill the long-suppressed potential of emerging market candidates in BRIC markets, corporate headquarters will profit immeasurably from sincere alignment to emerging market cultures. Our top business leaders, both senior and middle management, must not be above learning from our new BRIC colleagues and their increasingly crucial perspectives regarding global talent development and engagement. The bottom line, here, is ever more in view.. _____ Thus Katherine Tsang, CEO of Standard Chartered China asserts: '{These] challenges forced us to tell the SCB story with passion, but to make sure that our culture and management practices matched that story in an honest way'. _____ So, adding to that story, the authors do a phenomenal job of relating the talent 'promise' and key to accomplished success in our emerging global economy. What an exciting story that is, and yet could be............ :-) !

THE RIGHT PEOPLE ON THE BUS

..(=).. For the Time of Your Life! ..(=)..

Fallt mit Danken, fallt mit Loben ~ BWV 248

Ralph Vaughan-Williams - Dona Nobis Pacem

*v* ~ WRONG WAY, GO BACK ~ *v* (indebted to Grotius and Sir Hersch Lauterpacht)

HOSTIS HUMANI GENERIS: http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/138179/walter-russell-mead/peace-out

## 'SEVERIN, YOUR SERVANT HE AWAITS YOU' ##

Contra Slayer, Desire, Point

PLEAS WASH AWAY THE CRUELTY {ELLE EST "La-Bas"}

WARZONE: "Now I am become Death, Destroyer of worlds" - Robert Oppenheimer: http://www.lrb.co.uk/v34/n24/jackson-lears/oh-god-what-have-we-done; 'Eternal, the kiss I breathe Siphon your blood to me Feel my wounds of your god Forever rape mortality I smell of death I reek of hate I will live forever Lost child, pay the dead Bleeding screams of silence In my veins, your eternity I'll kill you and your dreams tonight Begin new life Bleed your death upon me Let your bloodline feed my youth First breath born, come alive, learn to kill Bloodfest awaits to feed your hunger Dark side has no rival, test your faith in blood Night hides the hunting packs a feeding frenzy I'll kill you and your dreams tonight Begin new life Bleed your death upon me Let your bloodline feed my youth I am the first not the last Condemned by a single kiss Betrayed eternally I'll rip inside your soul Contaminating the world Defying God and Son Black heart that brings your death Living in infamy Drink the flesh of life itself Prepare to reign a thousand years I'll kill you and your dreams tonight Begin new life Bleed your death upon me Let your bloodline feed my youth Bleed your death upon me Bleed your death upon me Bleed your death upon me Let your bloodline feed my youth Blame God, chosen children As you die I'm immortal Captive blood enslavement Pain and hunger drives your passion Faithless no religion Pain and hunger drives your madness Drink flesh life itself Prepare to reign a thousand years'

SAMUEL BARBER ~ Symphony No 1, Op 9: Andante tranquillo

THE CHRISTMAS "SPIRIT" ~ Fit For a King ~ 'ERBARME DICH:' BWV 244

"On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh: Matthew 2:11"

LEPER MESSIAH = THE GOD THAT SAVED

"Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, "Prophesy!" And the guards took him and beat him: Mark 14:65" 'Pride you took, pride you feel Pride that you felt when you'd kneel Not the word, not the love Not what you thought from above It feeds (It feeds), it grows (It grows) It clouds all that you will know Deceit, deceive Decide just what you believe I see faith in your eyes Never you hear the discouraging lies I hear faith in your cries Broken is the promise, betrayal The healing hand held back by the deepened nail Follow the god that failed Find your peace, find your say Find the smooth road in your way Trust you gave, a child to save Left you cold and him in grave It feeds (It feeds), it grows (It grows) It clouds all that you will know Deceit, deceive Decide just what you believe I see faith in your eyes Never you hear the discouraging lies I hear faith in your cries Broken is the promise, betrayal The healing hand held back by the deepened nail Follow the god that failed I see faith in your eyes Broken is the promise, betrayal The healing hand held back by the deepened nail Follow the god that failed Pride you took, pride you feel Pride that you felt when you'd kneel Trust you gave, a child to save Left you cold and him in grave I see faith in your eyes Never you hear the discouraging lies I hear faith in your cries Broken is the promise, betrayal The healing hand held back by deepened nail Follow the god that failed Follow the god that failed Broken is the promise, betrayal, betrayal'

BROKEN TERMINAL FROST: GREAT CELEBRATIONS AT THE CONSECRATION OF THE HOUSE, Op 124

A SILENT ACCORD - Raging Against the Dying of the Light xxxx

'The sweet smell of a great sorrow lies over the land Plumes of smoke rise and merge into the leaden sky: A man lies and dreams of green fields and rivers, But awakes to a morning with no reason for waking He's haunted by the memory of a lost paradise In his youth or a dream, he can't be precise He's chained forever to a world that's departed It's not enough, it's not enough His blood has frozen & curdled with fright His knees have trembled & given way in the night His hand has weakened at the moment of truth His step has faltered One world, one soul Time pass, the river rolls And he talks to the river of lost love and dedication And silent replies that swirl invitation Flow dark and troubled to an oily sea A grim intimation of what is to be There's an unceasing wind that blows through this night And there's dust in my eyes, that blinds my sight And silence that speaks so much louder than words...'

HEARING VOICES: THE ACCENT OF OUR TIME...

'Leaders who create high-performing teams that are greater than the sum of their parts value difference as opposed to merely tolerating it. They are curious about other cultures and know to check their own assumptions; Learning the science of leadership will keep emerging global firms growing. But only by mastering the art will they become giants' http://hbr.org/2012/11/the-art-of-developing-truly-global-leaders/ar/1

Mit Andacht

Praeludium I ~ BWV 870

DO U WANNA "X" THE FINISH ---- ?!

https://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20121217172219-19748378-innovation-requires-courage-and-intelligence-but-not-permission

//()\\ ~ SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW ~ //()\\

Messiaen, Turangalila Symphony

THE SUN IS HIDING : ( ... PLEASE SHINE AGAIN :) ...

BENEDICTUS

'VII. _TO LUIGI DEL RICCIO._ _Nel dolce d' una._ It happens that the sweet unfathomed sea Of seeming courtesy sometimes doth hide Offence to life and honour. This descried, I hold less dear the health restored to me. He who lends wings of hope, while secretly He spreads a traitorous snare by the wayside, Hath dulled the flame of love, and mortified Friendship where friendship burns most fervently. Keep then, my dear Luigi, clear and pure That ancient love to which my life I owe, That neither wind nor storm its calm may mar. For wrath and pain our gratitude obscure; And if the truest truth of love I know, One pang outweighs a thousand pleasures far'; 'X. TO GANDOLFO PORRINO. _ON HIS MISTRESS FAUSTINA MANCINA._ _La nuova alta beltà._ That new transcendent fair who seems to be Peerless in heaven as in this world of woe, (The common folk, too blind her worth to know And worship, called her Left Arm wantonly), Was made, full well I know, for only thee: Nor could I carve or paint the glorious show Of that fair face: to life thou needs must go, To gain the favour thou dost crave of me. If like the sun each star of heaven outshining, She conquers and outsoars our soaring thought, This bids thee rate her worth at its real price. Therefore to satisfy thy ceaseless pining, Once more in heaven hath God her beauty wrought: God and not I can people Paradise'.

+/- ~ +/- OUT OF SLAVERY: THE ART OF SUBLATION +/- ~ +/-

Poi che spiegate 'Now that these wings to speed my wish ascend, The more I feel vast air beneath my feet, The more toward boundless air on pinions fleet, Spurning the earth, soaring to heaven, I tend: Nor makes them stoop their flight the direful end Of Daedal's son; but upward still they beat:--'; ''tis the balance and the powerful sword Of Justice, not false Echo, that we need'.

WRITTEN BY THIS HAND: THE ARTS OF VALERA & ALBENIZ

SCHUMANN VIOLIN CONCERTO

BRUCKNER QUINTET - III Adagio

THIS TIME WE CAN SEE (To the music of Purcell and Gluck)

'Standing on flagstones of the sidewalk at the entrance to Hades Orpheus hunched in a gust of wind That tore at his coat, rolled past in waves of fog, Tossed the leaves of the trees. The headlights of cars Flared and dimmed in each succeeding wave. He stopped at the glass-paneled door, uncertain Whether he was strong enough for that ultimate trial. He remembered her words: “You are a good man.” He did not quite believe it. Lyric poets Usually have – as he knew – cold hearts. It is like a medical condition. Perfection in art Is given in exchange for such an affliction. Only her love warmed him, humanized him. When he was with her, he thought differently about himself. He could not fail her now, when she was dead. He pushed open the door and found himself walking in a labyrinth, Corridors, elevators. The livid light was not light but the dark of the earth. Electronic dogs passed him noiselessly. He descended many floors, a hundred, three hundred, down. He was cold, aware that he was Nowhere. Under thousands of frozen centuries, On an ashy trace where generations had moldered, In a kingdom that seemed to have no bottom and no end. Thronging shadows surrounded him. He recognized some of the faces. He felt the rhythm of his blood. He felt strongly his life with its guilt And he was afraid to meet those to whom he had done harm. But they had lost the ability to remember And gave him only a glance, indifferent to all that. For his defense he had a nine-stringed lyre. He carried in it the music of the earth, against the abyss That buries all of sound in silence. He submitted to the music, yielded To the dictation of a song, listening with rapt attention, Became, like his lyre, its instrument. Thus he arrived at the palace of the rulers of that land. Persephone, in her garden of withered pear and apple trees, Black, with naked branches and verrucose twigs, Listened from the funereal amethyst of her throne. He sang the brightness of mornings and green rivers, He sang of smoking water in the rose-colored daybreaks, Of colors: cinnabar, carmine, burnt sienna, blue, Of the delight of swimming in the sea under marble cliffs, Of feasting on a terrace above the tumult of a fishing port, Of tastes of wine, olive oil, almonds, mustard, salt. Of the flight of the swallow, the falcon, Of a dignified flock of pelicans above the bay, Of the scent of an armful of lilacs in summer rain, Of his having composed his words always against death And of having made no rhyme in praise of nothingness. I don’t know – said the goddess – whether you loved her or not. Yet you have come here to rescue her. She will be returned to you. But there are conditions: You are not permitted to speak to her, or on the journey back To turn your head, even once, to assure yourself that she is behind you. And so Hermes brought forth Eurydice. Her face no longer hers, utterly gray, Her eyelids lowered beneath the shade of her lashes. She stepped rigidly, directed by the hand Of her guide. Orpheus wanted so much To call her name, to wake her from that sleep. But he refrained, for he had accepted the conditions. And so they set out. He first, and then, not right away, The slap of the god’s sandals and the light patter Of her feet fettered by her robe, as if by a shroud. A steep climbing path phosphorized Out of darkness like the walls of a tunnel. He would stop and listen. But then They stopped, too, and the echo faded. And when he began to walk the double tapping commenced again. Sometimes it seemed closer, sometimes more distant. Under his faith a doubt sprang up And entwined him like cold bindweed. Unable to weep, he wept at the loss Of the human hope for the resurrection of the dead, Because he was, now, like every other mortal. His lyre was silent, yet he dreamed, defenseless. He knew he must have faith and he could not have faith. And so he would persist for a very long time, Counting his steps in half-wakeful torpor. Day was breaking. Shapes of rock loomed up Under the luminous eye of the exit from underground. It happened as he expected. He turned his head And behind him on the path was no one. Sun. And sky. And in the sky white clouds. Only now everything cried to him: Eurydice! How will I live without you, my consoling one! But there was a fragrant scent of herbs, the low humming of bees, And he fell asleep with his cheek on the sun-warmed earth'; 'A groan of tedium escapes me, Startling the fearful. Is this a test? It has to be, Otherwise I can't go on. Draining patience, drain vitality. This paranoid, paralyzed vampire act's a little old. But I'm still right here Giving blood, keeping faith And I'm still right here. Wait it out, Gonna wait it out, Be patient (wait it out). If there were no rewards to reap, No loving embrace to see me through This tedious path I've chosen here, I certainly would've walked away by now. Gonna wait it out. If there were no desire to heal The damaged and broken met along This tedious path I've chosen here I certainly would've walked away by now. And I still may, I still may. Be patient. I must keep reminding myself of this. And if there were no rewards to reap, No loving embrace to see me through This tedious path I've chosen here, I certainly would've walked away by now. And I still may. Gonna wait it out'

بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

تَبَّتۡ یَدَاۤ اَبِیۡ لَهَبٍ وَّ تَبَّ; مَاۤ اَغۡنٰی عَنۡهُ مَالُهٗ وَ مَا کَسَبَ; سَیَصۡلٰی نَارًا ذَاتَ لَهَبٍۚ; وَامۡرَاَتُهٗ ؕ حَمَّالَةَ الۡحَطَبِۚ; فِیۡ جِیۡدِهَا حَبۡلٌ مِّنۡ مَّسَدٍ

'CLUTCH IT LIKE A CORNERSTONE'..

FROM UNDERTOW TO OVERFLOW

FIGHTING BACK ~ 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these'..

"Recalling that, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations has proclaimed that childhood is entitled to special care and assistance"..; http://www.childrights.org.au/background/croc-in-australia; http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm; "Wear the grudge like a crown Of negativity Calculate what you will Will not tolerate Desperate to control All and everything Unable to forgive Your scarlet letterman Clutch it like a cornerstone Otherwise it all comes down Justify denials and Grip 'em to the lonesome end Clutch it like a cornerstone Otherwise it all comes down Terrified of being wrong Ultimatum prison cell Saturn ascends Choose one or ten Hang on or be Humbled again Humbled again Clutch it like a cornerstone Otherwise it all comes down Justify denials and Grip 'em to the lonesome end Saturn ascends Comes 'round again Saturn ascends The one, the ten Ignorant to The damage done Wear the grudge like a crown Of negativity Calculate what you will Will not tolerate Desperate to control All and everything Unable to forgive Your scarlet letterman Wear the grudge like a crown Desperate to control Unable to forgive And sinking deeper Defining Confining Sinking deeper Controlling Defining And we're sinking deeper Saturn comes back around To show you everything Lets you choose what you will Will not see and then Drags you down like a stone Or lifts you up again Spits you out like a child Light and innocent Saturn comes back around Lifts you up like a child Or drags you down like a stone To consume you 'til you Choose to Let this go Choose to Let this go Give away the stone Let the ocean take and transmutate This cold and fated anchor Give away the stone Let the waters kiss and transmutate These leaden grudges into gold (gold... gold... gold... gold... gold... gold... gold... gold... gold...) Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go Let go"

PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN

SEX BOMB

MERRY XMAS, VARMINTS!

F MIN VIOLA SONATA

"Es dämmern im Bücherständer die Bände in Gold und Braun; und du denkst an durchfahrene Länder, an Bilder, an die Gewänder wiederverlorener Fraun";___ "Fremde Geige, gehst du mir nach? In wieviel fernen Städten schon sprach deine einsame Nacht zu meiner? Spielen dich hunderte? Spielt dich einer?"

~ _ .. (((*^*))) .._ ~ TSAR BOMBA OF THE SOUL ~_ .. (((*^*))) .. _ ~

{ DEDICATED TO THE CANBERRA COMMISSION }

THE SOCIAL-LABOUR "TRADE-OFF": SOCIAL DISCIPLINE IN ECONOMIC THINKING

In the car, I listened to a fascinating edition of RN Drive's 'Religion and Ethics Report'. During the report, host, Scott Stevens interviewed well-known Age columnist and economics correspondent, Ross Gittins and subsequently Tim Harcourt, another well-known Australian economist. The topic was the notion of social value and its application to economic theory (and practice). Indeed, the very juxtaposition of economics with religion - or even ethics! - may seem jarring to 'pure' economic theorists. In this regard, Tim Harcourt denominated himself, with self-deprecating humour, the "airport economist" in reference to Milton Friedman's brief sojourn at Sydney Airport. Friedman, answering a reporter how he knew so much about Australia and how long he had been here, replied: "I just got here". I must say, nonetheless, Harcourt did not come across as Milton incarnate! ______ What was so engaging about these interviews? Well, the discussion ranged across Hayek and Friedman, across Adam Smith and John Neville, economic adviser to the Hawke Government. Interspersed, though, were numerous anecdotes in which Gittins and Harcourt fondly recalled their Salvation Army band father and 2nd Cornet position in the S.A. Band and their Jewish Methodist father and quiet Adelaide upbringing respectively. According to Tim Harcourt, his father would say to acquaintances, "I'm the only Jewish Methodist in Adelaide" (a complicated story). I may be wrong, but anecdotal evidence or humour is not something ordinarily associated with economic expertise, patterns or behaviour! ______ And this is precisely what was so fascinating.. In a world of econometric tables and economic rationalism, what economic value could Gittins' position in the S.A. Band, the intricacies of Harcourt's background or John Neville's Christian slant on labour mobility theory even remotely portend for economic discipline and practice and, in the final analysis, economic growth? Ought policy makers and corporations fret about the adventitious facts of personal and family life to homo economicus and the lives their economic "inputs" live? ______ In response, Gittins and Harcourt state, most assuredly, YES. From Gittins' perspective - and I hear echoes of Clive Hamilton on this point - the fundamental nostrum of pure laissez-faire theory will be devastating to actual economic stability. Uncontroversially, I think, Gittins says Australian households are rapidly replunging themselves into a sea of debt and ultimate despair. The externality, to paraphrase Gittins, for governments and socio-economic stability will be enormous. Consumerism dominates ecnonomic discourse and, in turn, the advice proferred to successive Australian governments. Explosive income gains and the consequent income gap (cf Gini Coefficient) has exploded beyond the 20% to secure a top-heavy marginal portion to the top 1%. This is not, according to Gittins, the stuff of social happiness. ______ I find this argument intriguing beyond the usual socio-economic disparities to which the 'society vs economics' debate refers. In fact, Harcourt rightly acknowledges, Adam Smith himself insisted upon the right to a minimum wage and corporations' responsibility to society within the context of a competitive market. Whereas they looked to each for their livelihood and ultimately their bread, the butcher, baker and candle-stick maker intermediately relied upon a socially conscious business class to avert the trade distortion of imperalist monopoly and social dislocation. Workers had a right to fair work conditions and a decent wage. Reminding me simulataneously of Coase's Theorem as well as Keyne's later work on the problem of abundance/affluence, Gittins asserted that the moral dimension is central to the discipline of economics as a social science. "Physics envy" apart, Harcourt subjoined, neither practicing economists nor elected officials and wider policy makers can ignore the economic and moral value of social harmony and mutual responsibility. _______ I would not agree completely Gittins and Harcourt's accounts regarding economists' moral deficiency. For instance, I would disagree with Harcourt's assertion that Hayek operated within a non-moral (I am reluctant to say amoral) economic framework. As Harcourt rightly stated, Hayek was above all a liberal who opposed collectivist solutions to the inefficiencies of human enterprise. I would argue it was precisely this liberalism which impelled Hayek to his 'catallaxy' theory of spontaneous order and the overriding principle of price discovery in efficient markets. One should remember, furthermore, Hayek used his Nobel Lecture (and authored several papers) denouncing rational economists pretensions to scientific accuracy in economic thought. Not to labour the point (no pun on labour mobility lol), I think I have refracted the discussion Gittins and Harcourt continue to lead. ______ 'Economics", to conclude, "in a moral void, no one in their rational as opposed to rationalist mind could honestly (another non-economic adverb) want that"? Could they??

CELTIC TIGER REARS NEW CUBS (In Appreciation of Professor R G Foster)

'A great Irish poet once wrote: "I believe profoundly . . . in the future of Ireland . . . that this is an isle of destiny, that that destiny will be glorious . . . and that when our hour is come, we will have something to give to the world": http://www.jfklibrary.org/Research/Ready-Reference/JFK-Speeches/Address-Before-the-Irish-Parliament-June-28-1963.aspx

REVERSE INNOVATION

HERD-INSTINCT

I KNOW. SOMETIMES IT FEELS..

"Sick of this life Not that you'd care I'm not the only one With whom these feelings I share Nobody understands, quite why we're here Searching for answers That never appear But maybe if I looked real hard I'd I'd see your trying too To understand this life That we're all going through (Then when she said she was going to like wreck my car... I didn't know what to do) Sometimes I feel like I'm beating a dead horse An I don't know why you'd be bringing me down I'd like to think that our love's worth a tad more It may sound funny but you'd think by now I'd be smiling I guess some things never change Never change I met an old cowboy I saw the look in his eyes Something tells me he's been here before 'Cause experience makes you wise I was only a small child When the thought first came to me That I'm a son of a gun and the gun of a son That brought back the devil in me Sometimes I feel like I'm beating a dead horse An I don't know why you'd be bringing me down I'd like to think that our love's worth a tad more It may sound funny but you'd think by now I'd be smiling I guess some things never change Never change I ain't quite what you'd call an old soul Still wet behind the ears I been around this track a couple o' times But now the dust is starting to clear Oh yeah!!! Sometimes I feel like I'm beating a dead horse An I don't know why you'd be bringing me down I'd like to think that our love's worth a tad more It may sound funny but you'd think by now I'd be smiling Ooh yeah, I'd be smiling No way I'd be smiling Ooh smiling Sick of this life Not that you'd care I'm not the only one"

٣٤ وجيد كجيد الرئم ليس بفاحش إذا هي نصته ولا بمعطل

'Every breeze that blows brings your scent to me; Every bird that sings calls out your name to me; Every dream that appears brings your face to me; Every glance at your face has left its trace with me. I am yours, I am yours, whether near or far; Your grief is mine, all mine, wherever you are'

TO ME MATES!! THANKX FOR EVERYTHING..

THE EASIEST WAY TO BEAT THE DARKNESS

WHIPPING BOY ~ All is Forgiven in contemplation of Mercy

WE KNOW NOT WHAT WE DO

THE POWER WITHIN

Matthew 8:5-13 "When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. 6 “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” 7 Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?” 8 The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. 9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 10 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. 11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment".

.. ~ .. * KONDRATIEFF WAVES * .. ~ ..

~ O ~ BHARATA DHARMA ~ O ~ http://www.sacred-texts.com/tantra/sas/sas01.htm

.. < ^ >.. STORM AND STRESS .. < ^ > ..

'A general is a specialist insofar as he [Sic] has mastered his craft. Beyond that and outside the arbitrary pro and con, he keeps a third possibility intact and in reserve: his own substance. He knows more than what he embodies and teaches, has other skills along with the ones for which he is paid. He keeps all that to himself; it is his property. It is set aside for his leisure, his soliloquies, his nights. At a propitious moment, he will put it into action, tear off his mask. So far, he has been racing well; within sight of the finish line, his final reserves start pouring in. Fate challenges him; he responds. The dream, even in an erotic encounter, comes true. But casually, even here; every goal is a transition for him. The bow should snap rather than aiming the arrow at a finite target' - Ernst Junger

CREAMPUFF & CO: HIGH-PERFORMANCE TEAMS - (IT'S ALL IN THE FILLING)...

MEANINGFUL VISION + EXECUTION = YIPEEE!!!!!!!!

GLOSSING KOTTER: OFF (AND BACK ON) THE BEATEN TRACK

Another excellent edition of HBR this month. In this post, I want to gloss what is otherwise a very fine article by renowned change expert, John Kotter. The article, "Change Faster" introduces the concept of 'dual operations' to Kotter's eight point change lexicon. In essence, Kotter argues that traditional operational command-and-control hierarchies cannot keep up with discontinuous, rapid change. Another, hierarchy-less or "non-hierarchy" (if I may put it that way) needs to generate strategic imperatives for traditional corporate bodies to follow in anticipation of evolving threats and, particularly, opportunities. I agree with Kotter, subject to one caveat: that strategy, being itself in flux, a team of dual operatives must revise, or 're-translate' existing strategy down the pipeline. More aptly, this requires dual operatives (who are recruited, Kotter notes, as a volunteer army) to represent, and re-present strategy 'down and across' the organisation. If the current strategy fails to meet, or inadequately, meets the organisation's goals in the competitive environment, the dual op group/network will need to regenerate strategy in accordance with new conditions. Here is my gloss re Kotter in point form. Yes, I'm lazy, but I think the point structure captures what I (and, extensively, Kotter) mean.. - Dual Operation Structure, but with 'retransmission belt' to translate, redesign/refine and implement discontinuous, strategic change. - Hierarchies necessary for standard, D2D Ops ('day-to-day'), but NOT SUFFICIENT. Need agile bolt-on structure. Can be team or Kotter's "network". - Need to design virtuous circle of change into ordinary operational structure (or, alternatively, to generate new initiatives) comparable to Kanban, "pull" system. - Too much change is still a bad thing. Dual operational-strategy team, drawn from various areas of the organisation, obviates this problem by test-driving ideas and methodologies. - In tune with Kotter's principle of 'acceleration', agile companies will capitalise on new ooportunities where slower, heavier organisations CAN'T or WON'T compete. - Ideal structure, in many ways, to move in on competitors' territory a la Porter's Five Forces. - Similarly, near-ideal structure to DEVELOP, MONITOR AND RETAIN HIGH-POTENTIALS IN (ULTIMATELY) DEFINING AND, IN THIS STRUCTURE, 'REFINING' STRATEGY. - I agree with Kotter that 10% selection from among the traditional ranks is sufficient to generate buy-in, to solidify ideas, to isolate potential and to complement traditional command-and-control. VISION AND 'RE-VISION': 'PUSH, STRETCH, ENGAGE'. - Dual ops should Know the Mission, thoroughly, or be capable of being brought up to speed. At the same time, it is necessary for this second, non-affiliate structure to be flexible in meeting the mission by revising strategy or D2D ops in light of emerging threats or opportunities. - In terms of membership, look for candidates who verbally and visibly WANT TO PLAY, AND PLAY HARD.. - To get the right people on the carousel, differentiate and ENGAGE, ENGAGE, ENGAGE.. - Dual ops structures, in line with Kotter's thoughts, need to drawn from across the organisation - at all levels - consistently with their ability to see "outside" their own windows. In other words, these members will constitute Kotter's "urgency" team. - Look for an individual's capacity to think freely [even free-form] and determine their capacity to energise others. - As a fluid, creative group, the dual ops team acts like a 'STELLAR SATELLITE' to drive alignment, performance and execution in anticipation of emerging trends. The group is thus TOTALLY MISSION-BASED. - Kotter mentions the eg of Paul Davidson and his urgency team's work on B2B sales. - Finally, Kotter admonishes dual op teams to 'NEVER LET UP'. They are assisting the organisation, non-traditionally, to realise a STRATEGICALLY BETTER FUTURE in harmony (not conformity) with existing D2D ops.

PERFORMANCE/VALUE IS DEFINITELY IT!!

I listened to another youth unemployment dirge on BBC last night. Of course, unemployment is shocking, and really a disgrace to a civilized conscience. In the Arab world, for example, the primary concern, according to the BBC, is the availability of jobs. As Albert Hourani pointed out in his great History of the Arabs, the Middle East - I'm thinking Egypt particularly - has experienced a phenomenal youth "bulge".... However, I must say I am nonplussed by young peoples' understanding of what makes a 'good' employee. Putting your head down makes sense, IN CONTEXT... I am always dismayed nonetheless by the failure to address the concept of Value. Your primary mission, as an employee (I conceive), is to generate VALUE for your organisation in alignment with whatever it is YOUR EMPLOYER WANTS TO ACHIEVE. Naturally, that includes young people, temporary or otherwise, entering into or further negotiating the workforce.... Hence, I feel young employees and/or job hunters should be encouraged to expand their roles to seek new perspective for their employers and themselves. Try to DO THINGS UNASKED. THINK BEYOND YOUR CURRENT ROLE, WHILE PERFORMING. BROADEN THE QUESTION AND OVERDELIVER to GIVE YOUR BOSS NEW INSIGHTS. Don't just hop on the employment version of the Hedonic Treadmill. Show how you can deliver for the employer's mission by finding better ways for the organisation to win. Very frequently, I hear variations on the narrow theme, "I did this degree. I'm smart. I went to a good school. Sorry to break it to young people: although relevant, this is NOT WHAT REALLY MATTERS.. Instead, make yourself indispensable as Booker T Washington knew from his incredible rise from slavery and poverty to notoriety as an honest, heartfelt leader.... What does this mean? Not just doing the same-old. No bailouts. No tenure. No keeping your head down at all times. No ageism. No discrimination. No Machivellian shenanigans. Moreover, your degree and general background is only tangentially relevant. Better, I think, to ask these questions: ARE YOU ANY GOOD? DO YOU PERFORM OUTSIDE THE NORM? ARE YOU GENUINELY PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT YOU DO AND DO YOU WISH TO CONTRIBUTE MORE? DO YOU GET A KICK OUT OF YOUR COLLEAGUES' SUCCESS? IS IT MORE ABOUT YOU OR THEM?.... The worst offenders, I am afraid, are managers. Too often I have read about and have seen firsthand managers, with 'skimpy characteristics', who hold back on praise, are lavish with blame and have no idea or intention when it comes to motivating their teams. Without "intentional" leadership, managers too often assume the team to be 'THEIR'team. All too often, these supervisors, though a burden on the organisation and its mission, skirt valuable criticism by deflecting it to direct reports. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. THESE MANAGERS ARE THE PROBLEM. So yes, differentiation is in order (even though pratice may differ).... As a young person and through my own trials and tribulations (none as serious perhaps as those youth encounter in the Middle East), I have learned that you get nothing anymore for free. You have to EARN IT.. Performance and value with integrity are more and more "IT"... (sorry no paragraphs, figuring out blog layout change lol!)

ROLL-OVER FACILITY )))))).......>

A Rolling Stone Gathers Moss.........

JEWEL-ALITY

CO-BRANDING = BOLT-ON PERSONALISATION = $(Paisa Vasool)$

WE'RE DOIN THE DOUBLE TALKIN' JIVE (Purcell, Chacony in G Min: 'She sang beyond the genius of the sea. The water never formed to mind or voice, Like a body wholly body, fluttering Its empty sleeves; and yet its mimic motion Made constant cry, caused constantly a cry, That was not ours although we understood, Inhuman, of the veritable ocean. The sea was not a mask. No more was she. The song and water were not medleyed sound Even if what she sang was what she heard, Since what she sang was uttered word by word. It may be that in all her phrases stirred The grinding water and the gasping wind; But it was she and not the sea we heard. For she was the maker of the song she sang. The ever-hooded, tragic-gestured sea Was merely a place by which she walked to sing. Whose spirit is this? we said, because we knew It was the spirit that we sought and knew That we should ask this often as she sang. If it was only the dark voice of the sea That rose, or even colored by many waves; If it was only the outer voice of sky And cloud, of the sunken coral water-walled, However clear, it would have been deep air, The heaving speech of air, a summer sound Repeated in a summer without end And sound alone. But it was more than that, More even than her voice, and ours, among The meaningless plungings of water and the wind, Theatrical distances, bronze shadows heaped On high horizons, mountainous atmospheres Of sky and sea. It was her voice that made The sky acutest at its vanishing. She measured to the hour its solitude. She was the single artificer of the world In which she sang. And when she sang, the sea, Whatever self it had, became the self That was her song, for she was the maker. Then we, As we beheld her striding there alone, Knew that there never was a world for her Except the one she sang and, singing, made. Ramon Fernandez, tell me, if you know, Why, when the singing ended and we turned Toward the town, tell why the glassy lights, The lights in the fishing boats at anchor there, As the night descended, tilting in the air, Mastered the night and portioned out the sea, Fixing emblazoned zones and fiery poles, Arranging, deepening, enchanting night. Oh! Blessed rage for order, pale Ramon, The maker's rage to order words of the sea, Words of the fragrant portals, dimly-starred, And of ourselves and of our origins, In ghostlier demarcations, keener sounds'.