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'.

AVOIDING THE FISCAL CLIFF

HANG ON TIGHT!!!!

IMAGINATION RUN (Relatively) WILD? Shorter cycle-times/closer markets

IMAGINARY BEINGS

HEAVY SNOWS

Dirge Inferno

XXxx ~{~ ******* \\// \\// \\// Queen of Winter, Throned \\// \\// \\// ******* ~}~ xxXX

TRAPPED UNDER ICE

NO MORE FADE TO BLACK (Tribute to David Helfcott, Geoffrey Tozer, Nikola Tesla, Josef Hassid and John Ogden)

In honour of Professor Patrick McGorry: 'Life it seems will fade away Drifting further everyday Getting lost within myself Nothing matters no one else I have lost the will to live Simply nothing more to give There is nothing more for me Need the end to set me free Things not what they used to be Missing one inside of me Deathly lost this can't be real Can't stand this hell I feel Emptiness is filling me To the point of agony Growing darkness taking dawn I was me, but now he's gone No one but me can save myself, but it's too late Now I can't think, think why I should even try Yesterday seems as though it never existed Death greets me warm, now I will just say goodbye'

__________ { BOUNDARYLESS BEHAVIOUR } ___________

BACK AGAIN.......................

'Kickstand, you got loose and I threw up Kickstand, you got the juice to fill my cup My mother says that it's alright My mother says that's the only life So do it right Do it right Come stand me up Come stand me up Kickstand, I got a saddle made of leather Kickstand, I got the words to come together I got the urge to ride your trike My mother says that's the only life'

TO NONE WILL JUSTICE BE DENIED...

'Oh let the sun beat down upon my face, stars to fill my dream I am a traveler of both time and space, to be where I have been To sit with elders of the gentle race, this world has seldom seen They talk of days for which they sit and wait and all will be revealed Talk and song from tongues of lilting grace, whose sounds caress my ear But not a word I heard could I relate, the story was quite clear Oh, oh. Oh, I been flying... mama, there ain't no denyin' I've been flying, ain't no denyin', no denyin' All I see turns to brown, as the sun burns the ground And my eyes fill with sand, as I scan this wasted land Trying to find, trying to find where I've been. Oh, pilot of the storm who leaves no trace, like thoughts inside a dream Heed the path that led me to that place, yellow desert stream My Shangri-La beneath the summer moon, I will return again Sure as the dust that floats high in June, when movin' through Kashmir. Oh, father of the four winds, fill my sails, across the sea of years With no provision but an open face, along the straits of fear Ohh. When I'm on, when I'm on my way, yeah When I see, when I see the way, you stay-yeah Ooh, yeah-yeah, ooh, yeah-yeah, when I'm down... Ooh, yeah-yeah, ooh, yeah-yeah, well I'm down, so down Ooh, my baby, oooh, my baby, let me take you there Let me take you there. Let me take you there'

I'VE KNOWN THE BLACK. NOW I'M FOLLOWING THE LIGHT

Sir Michael Tippett, A Child of Our Time

MELVAAR: VAPID SPACE BLOB + SCI-FI FAN (In Honour of Dr Sulu)

INTO THE 4th DIMENSION (Alive In The Super Unknown)

'Stretch the skin over my head I'm going to the holy land Stretch the marks over my eyes Burn the candles deep inside Yeah you know where I'm coming from Give up to greed, you don't have to feed me Give up to fate, you don't have to need me So let it go, let it go, won't you let it Drown me in you, drown me in you, drown me in you Slip down the darkness to the mouth Damn the water burn the wine I'm going home for the very last time So throw it away, you don't have to take me Make no mistakes I'm what you make me So let it go, let it go, won't you let it Drown me in you, drown me in you, drown me in you I see you turn around and burning down The feeling starts to sink I feel the hurt surround me Please dissolve me She's resolved to be Heal my wounds without a trace Seal my tomb without my face I'm going to the lonely place Give up to greed, you don't have to feed me Give up to fate, you don't have to need me So let it go, let it go, won't you let it Drown me in you, drown me in you, drown me in you'

K. 427 (K. 417a); BWV 1060R

INTELLECTUS ARCHETYPUS + PRINCIPIUM INDIVIDUATIONIS

Harrison Birtwistle, Endless Parade; Bartok, 44 Duets for Two Violins

MINDS ENSPHERED

'HARK! some wild trumpeter—some strange musician, Hovering unseen in air, vibrates capricious tunes to-night. I hear thee, trumpeter—listening, alert, I catch thy notes, Now pouring, whirling like a tempest round me, Now low, subdued—now in the distance lost'..

In troth to you, mystic princess, for to see thee flush with joy, not weeping...

"Sister Awake" When the winter was over she returned there to find him and her memories filled her with light she remembered the beauty she remembered desires and her memories filled her with light I am the sun in the flame cold from the flame turns away and in these winds came a change she awakes... Sister walk through these fields of delight but I want you to know desperation's the tenderest trap so gently you go what will it take sister awake When this beautiful cult of desire has left you for dead isolation will cradle the lies of things left unsaid what will it take sister awake and you'll look to the heavens above and taste its deceit these temptations have blinded desires to sleep at their feet what will it take sister awake and you'll hear them call out your name invoking the fates chances are you've travelled too far in stirring their hate what will it take sister awake awake'

I have become the After-Thought. The naked flame, once extinguished, yet bleeds afar...

My sufferings became this cry.

`UT PICTURA POESIS... `

A ROMAN ELEGY - The Fairy Tale of the Green Snake and the Beautiful Lily (http://wn.rsarchive.org/RelAuthors/GoetheJW/GreenSnake.html)

Under his terrible host, Leviathan makes known his Will

In the Van and In the Host: Thou Art 13th Caesar

I AWAIT THEIR TERRIBLE RETURN *{Neu pranse Lamiae vivum puerum extrabat alvo - Horace, Ars Poetica}*

IN DELIRIOUS DREAD OF DUTIFUL Drakaina

~ #o(0)# ~ POND LIFE ~ #o(0)o# ~ The terrible beauties of Egdon Heath `

GOING NATIVE/COURTING BAPHOMET; "The heaven being spread with this pallid screen and the earth with the darkest vegetation, their meeting-line at the horizon was clearly marked. In such contrast the heath wore the appearance of an instalment of night which had taken up its place before its astronomical hour was come: darkness had to a great extent arrived hereon, while day stood distinct in the sky. Looking upwards, a furze-cutter would have been inclined to continue work; looking down, he would have decided to finish his faggot and go home. The distant rims of the world and of the firmament seemed to be a division in time no less than a division in matter. The face of the heath by its mere complexion added half an hour to evening; it could in like manner retard the dawn, sadden noon, anticipate the frowning of storms scarcely generated, and intensify the opacity of a moonless midnight to a cause of shaking and dread... In fact, precisely at this transitional point of its nightly roll into darkness the great and particular glory of the Egdon waste began, and nobody could be said to understand the heath who had not been there at such a time. It could best be felt when it could not clearly be seen, its complete effect and explanation lying in this and the succeeding hours before the next dawn; then, and only then, did it tell its true tale. The spot was, indeed, a near relation of night, and when night showed itself an apparent tendency to gravitate together could be perceived in its shades and the scene. The sombre stretch of rounds and hollows seemed to rise and meet the evening gloom in pure sympathy, the heath exhaling darkness as rapidly as the heavens precipitated it. And so the obscurity in the air and the obscurity in the land closed together in a black fraternization towards which each advanced halfway"

(LAMIA-NATED) _v_ FROM THE CRADLE _v_ "I see the serpentine in your eyes - the nature of the Beast as revelations..

ARISE!!!!

TO MY BEAUTIFUL FAMILY AND FRIENDS (ALL FAMILY) WHO PUT UP WITH ME: Beethoven, Trio, Op. 38 (an arrangment of Septet) for Piano, Clarinet and Cello

Distilled Essence: ----- / :: OUT OF THE BOTTLE ::\

RIMSKY-KORSAKOFF'S Scheherazade ~ SPINNING ~*~YARNS ~

== 0 == DANCING THE MOON WALK == 0 ==

FELICIFIC CALCULUS

"Mr Gorbachev, Tear Down This..

"!

Noches en los Jardines de España

FALLA ANGEL

MUSS ES SEIN? ES MUSS SEIN... : LOVE THE GAME - To Brahms' Second with Corpus Medicorum under Carl Pini (and maybe with Schumann Piano and Cello Concerti)..

'Imogen Holst once told me something amazing. She asked if I knew the four songs that her father had written for voice and violin. I knew them and played them often. "I think they are my father's greatest work", she said. "There is nothing more personal in his music than those four little songs".. I once played these pieces with a singer who was perfect. When she sang, the fiddle trembled; it shook with sonority.. I find it fascinating that she picked those four songs. To me, they represent total immersion in music' - 'CHRISTOPHER MARTIN: "In the Middle of the Music" - Memoir & Memories'

TRANSLATE THE STRATEGY DOWN + PUSH OPERATIONS UP=STRETCH, STRETCH, STRETCH, STRETCH, STRETCH!.... (Having read Barnley/Griffin, "The Management of Organizations: Strategy, Structure, Behaviour")

ARGGH! WE FORECAST PROFITS AHEAD...

A MOTLEY CREW

~X~ PIRATES & PIGS ~X~

CIVITATE DEI

SIN CURVES: TO DREAM & CONFESS

*O* THE ILLUMINATI *O*

TRUST THIS

(1+) TIME

THE DUMBEST IDEA IN THE WORLD?

So, QBE has experienced another profit shortfall on the back of Sandy et. al: $1B vs $1.75 forecast/earnings guidance. (Funnily enough, insurers have to insure things)... Yes, there was a change of leadership at the top, and no, QBE did not adequately provision for unexpected losses. But a 12% drop in intra-day trading?... Unsurprisingly, Neal was impelled to engage in a $500M Capital Raising to staunch the loss to QBE's NA business. The Big Cheese issued a mea culpa... As Buffet repeatedly advises Berkshire holders, however, cost-to-float and one-time, unprovisioned, or even recurrent unforecast losses are synonymous with disaster claims and reinsurance operations... At the same time, QBE remains a stalwart brand with what appeared, in the past, to be very strong management. They invest significantly in training as well as organic growth etc... Can we really allow, in this 21st Century, half-baked investors who can't see past their own (very short) noses to determine the plight of capitalism?... How do we insure AGAINST THAT??? (Cf. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/business/economy/on-wall-st-a-keynesian-beauty-contest.html?_r=0)

ROGUE TRADER

"GOD DAMMIT, GEKKO, YOU'RE OUT OF ORDER!" - Blue Star management

TEMPER TRAP: THE HIGHWAY TO HELL ====== *V*

'He lost his mind today He left it out back on the highway On "65" She loved him yesterday Yesterday's over I said okay That's all right Time moves on That's the way We live an hope to see the next day That's all right Sometimes these things they are so easy Sometimes these things they are so cold Sometimes these things just seem to rip you right in two Oh no man don't let 'em get ta you She loved him yesterday He laid her sister She said O.K. An that's all right Buried her things today Way back out deep Behind the driveway And that's all right Sometimes these women are so easy Sometimes these women are so cold Sometimes these women seem to rip you right in two Only if you let 'em get to you Ya get out on your own And you/take all that you own And you/forget about your home And then you're/just fuckin' gone There's no logic here today Do as you got to, go your own way I said that's right Time's short your life's your own And in the end We are just DUST N' BONES'

"POSITIVE DEVIANTS" AT YOUR SERVICE..

LES GASPARDS DE LA NUIT/SIDING WITH THE TITANS

THE ALCHEMIST

Swinging on the Magic Circle

OPERATING MARGIN: DON'T PLAY FOR CHUMP CHANGE (or, Welcome to My/Our World)

DARK LIQUID POOLS - BREACHING THE STYGIAN DEPTHS 'How could she look so fine How could it be she might be mine How could she be so cool I've been taken for a fool So many times It's a story of a man Who works as hard as he can Just to be a man who stands on his own But the book always burns As the story takes it turn An leaves a broken man How could she be so cool How could she be so fine I owe a favor to a friend My friends, they always come through for me Yeah It's a story of a man It's a story of a man Who works as hard as he can Just to be a man who stands on his own But the book always burns As the story takes it turn An leaves a broken man If you could only live my life You could see the difference you make to me To me I'd look right up at night And all I'd see was darkness Now I see the stars alright I want to reach right up and grab one for you When the lights went down in your house Yeah that made me happy The sweat I make for you Yeah... I think you know where that comes from Well I'd look right up at night And all I'd see was darkness Now I see the stars alright I want to reach right up and grab one for you When the lights went down in your house Yeah that made me happy The sweat I make for you I think you know where that comes from (2×) How could she look so good (So good) How could she be so fine How could she be so cool How could it be she might be mine'

EN GUARDE! (You Could Be Mine)..

BURROWING DOWN AND BURROWIN' IN

'GUILTY AS CHARGED, BUT DAMMIT IT AIN'T RIGHT'

LOCK N LOAD 'We all come in from the cold We come down from the wire An everybody warms themselves To a different fire When sometimes we get burned You'd think sometime we'd learn The one you love is the one That should take you higher You ain't got no one You better go back out and find her Just like children hidin' in a closet Can't tell what's goin' on outside Sometimes we're so far off the beaten track We'll get taken for a ride By a parlor trick or some words of wit A hidden hand up a sleeve To think the one you love Could hurt you now Is a little hard to believe But everybody darlin' sometimes Bites the hand that feeds When I look around Everybody always brings me down Well is it them or me Well I just can't see But there ain't no peace to found But if someone really cared Well they'd take the time to spare A moment to try and understand Another one's despair Remember in this game we call life That no one said it's fair Breakdown Let me hear it now Breakdown Let me hear it now Yeah Breakdown Let me hear it now Breakdown Let me hear it now Get down with yo' bad self Alright I've come to know the cold I think of it as home When there ain't enough of me To go around I'd rather be left alone But if I call you out of habit I'm out of love and I gotta have it Would you give it to me If I fit you needs Like when we both knew we had it But now the damage's done And we're back out on the run Fun how ev'rything was roses When we held on to the guns Just because you're winnin' Don't mean you're the lucky ones Breakdown Let me hear it now Breakdown Yeah Breakdown Breakdown Let me hear it now There goes the Challenger being chased By the blue blue meanies on wheels The vicious traffic squad cars are After our lone driver The last American hero The-the electric sintar The demi-god The super driver of the golden west! Two nasty nazi cars are close behind The beautiful lone driver The police cars are getting closer-closer... Closer to our soul hero in his soul mobile- yeah baby! They about to strike, they gonna get him, smash! rape! The last beautiful free soul on this planet But...it is written if the evil spirit Arms the tiger with claws Brahman provided wings for the dove Thus spake the super guru" * "Did you hear that" '

JUNK FOOD

PABULUM PROFANIS

BEAT GENERATION AIN'T BEAT: ON THE ROAD AGAIN (Alternatively to Charles Ives' setting of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Celestial Railroad")

EVOLUTION CALLING 'Gonna find a way to cure this loneliness Yeah I'll find a way to cure the pain If I said that you're my friend And our love would never end How long before I had your trust again I opened up the doors when it was cold outside Hopin' that you'd find your own way in But how can I protect you Or try not to neglect you When you won't take the love I have to give I bought me an illusion An I put it on the wall I let it fill my head with dreams And I had to have them all But oh the taste is never so sweet As what you'd believe it is - Well I guess it never is It's these prejudiced illusions That pump the blood To the heart of the biz You know I never thought That it could take so long You know I never knew how to be strong Yeah, I let you shape me But it feels as though you raped me 'Cause you climbed inside my world And in my songs So now I've closed the door To keep the cold outside Seems somehow I've found the will to live But how can I forget you Or try not to reject you When we both know it takes time to forgive Sweetness is a virtue And you lost your virtue long ago You know I'd like to hurt you But my conscience always tells me no You could sell your body on the street To anyone whom you might meet Who'd love to try and get inside And bust your innocence open wide 'Cause my baby's got a locomotive My baby's gone off the track My baby's got a locomotive Got ta peel the ***** off my back I know it looks like I'm insane Take a closer look I'm not to blame No Gonna have some fun with my frustrations Gonna watch the big screen in my head I'd rather take a detour 'cause this road ain't gettin' clearer Your train of thought has cut me off again Better tame that boy 'cause he's a wild one Better tame that boy for he's a man Sweetheart don't make me laugh You's gettin' too big for your pants And I's think maybe you should Cut out while you can You can use your illusion - Let it take you where it may We live and learn And then sometimes it's best to walk away Me I'm just here hangin' on It's my only place to stay at least For now anyway I've worked too hard for my illusions Just to throw them all away I'm taking time quiet consolation In passing by this love that's passed away I know it's never easy So why should you believe me When I've always got so many things to say Calling off the dogs a simple choice is made 'Cause playful hearts Can sometimes be enraged You know I tried to wake you I mean how long could it take you To open up your eyes and turn the page Kindness is a treasure And it's one towards me you've seldom shown So I'd say it for a good measure To all the ones like you I've known Ya know I'd like to shave your head And all my friends could paint it red 'Cause love to me's a two way street An all I really want is peace But my baby's got a locomotive My baby's gone off the track My baby's got a locomotive Got ta peel the ***** off my back I know it looks like I'm insane Take a closer look I'm not to blame No Affection is a blessing Can you find it in your sordid heart I tried to keep this thing ta-gether But the tremor tore my pad apart Yeah I know it's hard to face When all we've worked for's gone to waste But you're such a stupid woman And I'm such a stupid man But love like time's got its own plans 'Cause my baby's got a locomotive My baby's gone off the track My baby's got a locomotive Got ta peel the ***** off my back I know it looks like I'm insane Take a closer look I'm not to blame Yeah If love is blind I guess I'll buy myself a cane Love's so strange'