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Sacred Cows

Change is always greeted by the most hard-nosed and yet subtle opposition. Sacred cows and expired traditions don’t help guard doctrine. They actually encourage dangerous and deceptive ideas.

As long as we keep our sacred cows, then we won’t care if the nation’s leader calls for the slaughter of millions of Jews. As long as a president uses the word “patriot” we don’t care if he illegally spies on our personal phone calls. And as long as the Sunday morning answer man is called “pastor”, it doesn’t matter if he defines “Christ” as ANYONE who pretends to bring “world peace”.  · · · →

Old School Ain’t Bad

Trends circle. What was trendy yesterday isn’t trendy today, but it will probably be trendy again tomorrow. Consider steampunk or “Gothic” fashion. What about furniture?

The Aeron chair from Herman Miller didn’t fit the fashion; it contradicted fashion to be more comfortable. In turn, it set it’s own fashion and many other pieces of furniture, not only chairs, tried to mimic the “un-fashion” of the Aeron.

Is it really fashion that sells well? Or is it function? Gothic and steampunk are very anti-functional. Old school ain’t bad. Perhaps old school fashion sells because some functions never go out of style.  · · · →

Fights and Understanding

Conflict escalates when people use the same words to talk about different things. People agree about their ideas and have neither need nor room to compromise. But because they use the same words to discuss different perspectives, they don’t agree.

“Explaining” is not “excusing”. “Politeness” is not “pandering”.

If I don’t like you, I’ll feed you, not because I’m afraid of you, but because that’s what Christians do to enemies. If you mock me, I’ll listen to you and thank you and love you because that’s what a wise man does to a fool.

Ask yourself: What Would Fools Do?  · · · →

Managing the Management

Coming trends are for companies to eliminate managers. By and large, they are useless. Managers were invented in the late 1800’s to push workers, who were deemed “lazy”. The cut will save money and, more importantly, reduce turnover.

Instead of nannies who constantly badger about teamwork, skilled workers will have “leaders”—or “go-to” people. Being  irritable and quirky will no longer get a craftsman fired, bad craftsmanship will.

Managers are not specially trained in the core skill of a company’s product or service—they’re trained in working with people as a skill itself. But a company can’t sell “people skills”.  · · · →