Apparently NPR's idea of humor?

Thanks, BizzyBlog.

If I hear one more person say: "Why don't the oil companies drill on the 68 million acres they currently lease from the federal government?" I am going to hurl.

Please read this.

Also, here is Factcheck's writeup on the issue:

"And there is a lot of activity occurring on leased lands that does not qualify as "production." For 2006, the BLM reported that there were 77,257 productive holes onshore in the U.S. Beyond that, there were 6,738 applications for drilling permits, 4,708 holes in which companies had begun drilling and 3,693 where drilling had ended among onshore lands. That's a total of more than 15,000 holes that were being proposed, started or finished that do not count as "productive" holes. And that doesn't even include holes that might have been continually drilled throughout the year for exploratory reasons."

Great characteristics both.  Every once in a while in my office someone will talk about how they want to know what other people are thinking:  "Let's do a survey."  "Let's find out what they think about. . ."  I don't really want to know EVERYTHING that people are thinking and they certainly don't want to know what I am thinking.

Courage - always, anywhere, anytime be prepared to walk or stand up for what is right.  I tell my kids that it isn't easy BUT it gets easier.

Michael Wade defends courage and discretion at U.S. News and World Report:

"Forget what you've heard about letting it all hang out. There are plenty of times when people would rather experience your caring than your candor. They don't want to learn about your sex life, or whether you wear underwear, or what you think of their spouses. They aren't interested in what you smoked in the Sixties or whether you think they could stand to lose a few pounds. They want discretion."

Damn straight.

Rowan Manahan on PowerPoint presentations:

"If I may put my teacher hat on for a moment: "Considerable room for improvement" is the score I would be awarding most frequently for the PowerPoints I suffer through. Come on folks, don't tell me that you don't still hanker after a gold star ..."

Read the post here.

Not here:

The Eagles - "Take it Easy":



John Mellencamp - "What Say You":



Volume up.

I was digging through some old files and came across this from 2001.  Still holds true:

"Stellar teams are invariably made up of quirky individuals who typically rub each other raw, but they figure out -- with the spiritual help of a gifted leader (such as Phil Jackson at Chicago or Los Angeles) -- how to be their peculiar selves and how to win championships as a team."

"Virtue is a habit of right action."

"Virtues are destroyed by both excess and deficiency."

                                                                          Aristotle

Deficiency		Mean		Excess
Cowardice		Courage		Rashness
Insensibility		Temperance		Profligacy
Meanness		Liberality		Prodigal
Paltriness		Magnificence		Vulgarity
Smallness of Soul		Greatness of Soul		Vanity
Unambitiousness		Industriousness		Ambitiousness
Spiritlessness		Gentleness		Irascibility
Self-Deprecation		Truthfulness		Boastfulness
Boorishness		Wittiness		Buffoonery
Surliness		Friendliness		Obsequiousness
Bashfulness		Modesty		Shamelessness
Envious		Righteous Indignation		Malice

We just went through a significant bid process.  We had knowledge of each of the four finalists.  One was the incumbent and three had some relationship with our organization.  Here are some observations from this decision-maker:

1.  Be on time and be prepared - I've talked about this previously, but continue to be amazed by people who show up for a 10:00 a.m. presentation at. . .well, at 10:00 a.m.  They set up and tweak equipment in front of a room full of people.  Being prepared means knowing how many and who will be in the room.  If you are permitted, show up at least a half-hour before your presentation, set up and iron out all the technical kinks.  Be ready.  If you are not permitted, iron out all the kinks beforehand and be ready to set up quickly.

2.  Don't assume credibility - A difference I noticed between the successful presenter and the unsuccessful ones is that the successful presenter spent time establishing credibility.  Staff experience and credentials and successful business relationships were reviewed by the effective presenter even though we knew who they were.  The unsuccessful presenters spent little or no time on this topic.  Too bad.

3.  It's okay to ask a few questions but don't spend too much time asking the potential client questions - A thorough RFP was distributed yet one prospective vendor practically interviewed us.  Irritating.

4.  Let your experts speak if at all possible - The successful vendor had a marketing person in the room but their President and a key executive reviewed how our business would be handled.  They knew their stuff and it showed.  One presenter had three layers of sales people presenting.  Not good.  If you get to the finalist stage of a big presentation be prepared to demonstrate competence with your experts.  Very effective.

5.  Not too many people, but enough - I've also written about this before, but I believe the power of the presentation declines as the number of people sent to present increases.  One vendor had six presenters:  Three levels of sales people (one who almost fell asleep), two administrative people and a relationship manager.  Too many.  One potential vendor sent a single person who was a marketing person.  Not good when compared to three people, very knowledgeable in three areas of the business.

6.  Speak about benefits - The successful presenter spoke to benefits for our organization and even highlighted benefits that they believed differentiated them from the competitors.  The unsuccessful vendors were less organized and focused on how they conducted business regardless of whether it would help us or not.

7.  PowerPoint was not a factor - The successful presenters didn't have a particularly good PowerPoint.  They didn't need it because they were educating us about why they were the best.  It was an interesting, informative presentation.  One unsuccessful finalist spoke from a brochure - bad.  One had a PowerPoint but ignored it. 

8.  Value not price - The successful presenter never addressed price.  They spoke to their value.  We may need to negotiate price but I noticed that the unsuccessful vendors went to price as a critical part of their presentation.

9.  Ask for the business - One of the presenters never even ask for our business.  The successful presenter not only asked for the business but said, very sincerely:  "We are ready to get this started and can begin implementation at 5:00 p.m. today if you would like."  It reminded me of a story on bidding that I once read.  A detailed project bid packet was mailed out and a famous architect (whose name I forget) responded with a fax stating "I'll do it."  Ask for the business.

10. Tell stories - The successful presenter tells stories because people connect with stories (see number 42).  When they explained how they would help us, there was a story used as an example.  When a complex question was asked, the answer was explained and a story was told demonstrating a similar situation.  Compelling.

I thought about our team as well.  I've been in sales meetings where the listeners were barely there or treated us poorly.  They weren't looking for the best results.  When you are listening to a presentation don't belittle presenters or their brand (what will that get you?).  Pay attention so that you hear what is being said.  Help the presenters understand your situation.  After all you want the best solution.  Tell presenters if they have a deal-breaker as part of their package.  I prefer presenters who are comfortable and able to put their best foot forward rather than those that might just be good on their feet.

These are the people who hang out on street corners with signs that say "Honk if you want more death and destruction in Iraq."


'No Values Voters' Looking To Support Most Evil Candidate

Heads Carolina, Tails California.  G. Gordon Liddy's favorite country artist.

With gas prices north of $4.00 per gallon, Democrats want Manbearpig to make himself scarce:

"'I think the American public will be much more receptive to arguments about climate change when gas prices aren’t so critical,' said Rep. Zack Space, a freshman Democrat who represents a mostly rural district in Ohio."

Ah, the power of the market.

Read the story here.

Watch the episode here.

Thanks, Hot Air.

Seth Godin on the "broken" button.

Slow Leadership has a good posting on when to - and when not to - present good ideas to your boss:

"More good ideas are shot down, more sensible requests denied, and more important questions are ignored because they were presented at the wrong time than for any other reason. You need your boss to be ready to listen — attentively — and at least partially primed to consider what you’re saying as important. You don’t want to present your big idea when the boss is tired, distracted, irritated or half a dozen others are clamoring for attention. Nor do you want to have others sniping at you are trying to shoot your idea down while you’re still trying to explain it.

That’s why meetings are nearly always bad times to share fresh ideas. Most of them are too competitive. There’s always someone at the table itching to get their own idea in. If that means shooting yours down first, that’s what they’ll do. In fact, most meetings to ’share ideas’ do nothing of the kind. They’re much more like a group of people telling one another jokes at a bar: each person is only interested in capping the last joke with one of their own."

I believe that part of being a good "boss" is seeking out good ideas and trying to set aside time for people who want to discuss their plans but I also tell people that it is a good exercise in business leadership to "push through" initial barriers that you might encounter and make sure that your idea is heard and considered.  My experience is that good "bosses" appreciate sincere and persistent employees.

Nicholas Bate boils it down to seven good rules for email control.  Please do your part because I am drowning in CC's.

My favorites are the buried "gems:"  The devastatingly bad statistic stuck inside the third attachment that you are matter-of-factly asked to review and comment on.  Or the request that is buried in a paragraph so that you suddenly become the bottleneck.  Argh.

I remember when Ronald Reagan went to Bitburg.  There was an editorial cartoon (that I can't find) that depicted him as a Nazi.  Heck, I remember our college social justice group calling him a Nazi and meaning it.  I just smiled and walked on to class knowing that someday they would have to actually work for a living.  I guess it is okay when you mean it but not-so-okay when you are poking fun at the people who pass around those Obama history emails.

In reality the sad truth about race today is that jokes and satire are okay only when the anointed few (Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and now Barack Obama) say so.

I've written before about this here and here.

I found John Phillips' post on the topic well-reasoned:

"What’s troubling is that Obama understands this.  The man who forgave Jesse Jackson for wanting to “cut off his nuts” isn’t about to forego something he thinks will give him some political mileage.  Despite his better self, Obama is embracing the victimhood Jackson clings to–the victimhood those young black fathers Obama recently chastised for being AWOL will use anew to excuse their irresponsibility.  Why would the New Yorker apply satire to me the way it’s done to George W. Bush except, in the case of Bush, much more savagely and much more often?  Because I’m black.

As he well knows, when the New Yorker’s satire is directed toward Bush, it’s to aid and abet W’s enemies.  On its most recent cover, the New Yorker was trying to shame Obama’s."

The only place I depart from Phillips line of reasoning is on the emerging reality of Obama's March 18, 2008 speech.  It will never get here because it won't serve Obama well.

"When one understands that the great things of the world and of life consist of a combination of small things, and that without this aggregation of small things the great things would be nonexistent, then he begins to pay careful attention to those things which he formerly regarded as insignificant."

                                                                                                                                                James Allen
                                                                                                                                                The Mastery of Destiny

"Secretary of State George Marshall and Joint Chiefs Chairman Omar Bradley, two of America's most respected generals, felt Berlin was indefensible and we should withdraw. One man disagreed. President Harry Truman, in one crucial meeting after another, said, We're not leaving Berlin."

Fast forward:

"There are many similar stories out of Iraq and Afghanistan, even if today's media, unlike the media of 1948, are not disposed to tell them. Another is that presidential determination to avoid defeat and retreat can prevail against the advice of experts. Just as Truman's Pentagon opposed the airlift, so George W. Bush's Pentagon mostly opposed the surge strategy in Iraq. In late 2006 and early 2007, the advice from experts, notably the Baker-Hamilton commission, was the same as that from Marshall and Bradley to Truman—get out with whatever fig leaf you can. The surge, like the airlift, was said to put undue strain on the military, to degrade the readiness of men and materiel for other missions. All these claims were plausible and, in the case of the surge, dominated press coverage and were supported by the incoming leaders in Congress."

Read Michael Barone on standing fast.

Break out the chicken nachos and cheese, polish the brass and mist the ferns.  Hal Ketchum singing "In Front of the Alamo."  What's with the beard?