Making someone work on multiple projects doesn't give you multiple person years of effort, it makes people more likely to exploit the confusion.
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Turkey, the nation, is lead by morons
Turkey is a confusing ally. On the one hand, they don't like the Assad regime next door. They also don't like the Kurdish parties inside Turkey and Northern Iraq and Syria.
On the other hand, they refuse to help fight Islamic State (Caliphate). They refuse to let US fly from Turkish airports. They refuse to let Kurds move in to reinforce their brothers fighting the Caliphate. They consider the Kurds and Islamic state equal enemies.
They have forgotten a simple maxim: the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Why wouldn't they allow Kurds to go fight in Syria? The more that empty out into Syria the less are left in Turkey. The weaker Islamic State is then the better for Turkey.
No one says they have to let Kurdish fighters back later on. They could solve two problems at once.
The fact that they can't see where their true interest lies, leads me to think they aren't lead very well.
On the other hand, they refuse to help fight Islamic State (Caliphate). They refuse to let US fly from Turkish airports. They refuse to let Kurds move in to reinforce their brothers fighting the Caliphate. They consider the Kurds and Islamic state equal enemies.
They have forgotten a simple maxim: the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Why wouldn't they allow Kurds to go fight in Syria? The more that empty out into Syria the less are left in Turkey. The weaker Islamic State is then the better for Turkey.
No one says they have to let Kurdish fighters back later on. They could solve two problems at once.
The fact that they can't see where their true interest lies, leads me to think they aren't lead very well.
One thing a manager can't turn down.
A manager can follow all sorts of madness in the name of better management. They adopt all sorts of fads in the quest to remain relevant: Right sizing. Divestment. Agile programming. Tsun Tzu for business decisions. And so on.
There is one condition that survives all this needless poking and prodding. Success.
If you are successful you make your manager look good. I've said it before you aren't hired to do a job you are hired to make your boss look good. If you adopt that philosophy it improves your chances because every decision is win/win. Work done the right way pays off twice.
Succeeding makes your boss look good.
If he interferes with how you got to successful he risks ruining continued success. By actively changing it, his fingerprints are all over the failure. He will be accountable for wrecking the success you have given him.
That's worse than laissez-faire. Letting it be.
So it's simple. If you want to be left alone to work then be successful. You leave your manager no choice but maintain the status quo.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
When an Army becomes a bureaucracy, the results are predictable:
This is a thoughtful and frank discussion of what is wrong with the US military.
An Officer Corps That Can’t Score
Any Army officer worth his salt should accept reality. If an officer becomes political - all about themselves - rather than tactical then the system is doomed.
The greatest indictment is that the "Up or out" professional progression breeds the wrong kind of behavior from leaders. Military operations are a costly and difficult skill to master, why would you want the successful ones to leave what they know best?
What has happened is the reliance on technology to make up for shortfalls in personal training. When your weapons are getting better then how can you see your officer corps is not as dedicated to the profession?
The root cause is the same for all the ills: it should not be shocking to anyone, that when politicians meddle with the military and the military doesn't stand up for itself. It becomes a bureaucracy.
An Officer Corps That Can’t Score
Any Army officer worth his salt should accept reality. If an officer becomes political - all about themselves - rather than tactical then the system is doomed.
The greatest indictment is that the "Up or out" professional progression breeds the wrong kind of behavior from leaders. Military operations are a costly and difficult skill to master, why would you want the successful ones to leave what they know best?
What has happened is the reliance on technology to make up for shortfalls in personal training. When your weapons are getting better then how can you see your officer corps is not as dedicated to the profession?
The root cause is the same for all the ills: it should not be shocking to anyone, that when politicians meddle with the military and the military doesn't stand up for itself. It becomes a bureaucracy.
Post-war Ukraine will look like post-war Yugoslavia
Since neither NATO nor Russia want a fight to the death over Ukraine, this crisis won't go nuclear and therefore the only other option is an uneasy peace.
I predict that the #Ukraine will look like post-war Yugoslavia with a divided ethnic separation. The peace deal won't go far enough until they agree to weapons cantonment sites, disarmament of militias, and an UNPROFOR-style peace observation force.
One side will drift into the Russia sphere and the other into the Western sphere of influence.
If I was an ethnic Russian war criminal, I wouldn't feel safe in post-war Russian-side Ukraine. Look what happened to Ratko Mladić, the commander of the army.
I predict that the #Ukraine will look like post-war Yugoslavia with a divided ethnic separation. The peace deal won't go far enough until they agree to weapons cantonment sites, disarmament of militias, and an UNPROFOR-style peace observation force.
One side will drift into the Russia sphere and the other into the Western sphere of influence.
If I was an ethnic Russian war criminal, I wouldn't feel safe in post-war Russian-side Ukraine. Look what happened to Ratko Mladić, the commander of the army.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
Bartering: Pots for Soil
I found a great way to save tree pots that you get from the garden stores from the recycling bin.
I collect my pots from all the bushes and trees from the season, at least 10 or more, and I take them to a local business garden shop. I trade a set of pots for a few bags of potting soil. I don't ask for much and I am consistent.
I reason it like this: a couple of bags of soil can be written off each year and also if this business has a greenhouse he or she can raise a few trees in those pots and sell them for a couple of bucks to tens of dollars that will more than make up for a couple of bags of soil.
Helps the economy, saves recycling.
I collect my pots from all the bushes and trees from the season, at least 10 or more, and I take them to a local business garden shop. I trade a set of pots for a few bags of potting soil. I don't ask for much and I am consistent.
I reason it like this: a couple of bags of soil can be written off each year and also if this business has a greenhouse he or she can raise a few trees in those pots and sell them for a couple of bucks to tens of dollars that will more than make up for a couple of bags of soil.
Helps the economy, saves recycling.
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