A parable, in place of a proper post because I am busy
In business circles, particularly among a certain kind of aggressive American businessman (or consultant, or banker, or politician, they're fairly interchangeable), there is a favourite proverb about a pig:
"When you have bacon and eggs for breakfast, you've got your breakfast from a chicken and a pig. The difference between them is that the chicken is 'involved' but the pig is committed"
which is of course, true. It should also be noted, however, that when you go out to get your next few breakfasts over the course of the rest of the month, the chicken will have laid another egg every day, but the pig will eventually run out of bacon.
Stay lucky guys, and never read your own marketing material.
Are you suggesting releasing a live pig into the office scenario in order to rationalise workplace efficiency?
ReplyDeleteYou know, I don't think I ever offered congratulations on your recent wedding, so well done Mrs D2 on making an honest man out of an investment banker. I hope it was easier than it sounds.
ReplyDeleteSo, where was I? Oh yes, not all of us go out for breakfast, you know?
By the way, I've a blog post on this in the back of my mind, but maybe you can offer an opinion, even if you're not covering the US election.
Kevin Drum posted on Carly Fiorina because she called Tina Fey of Saturday Night Live 'sexist' -and there was quite a lot of hate for Ms Fiorina in the comments, so I Googled Carly Fiorina. She "a top economic advisor to Republican presidential candidate John McCain"? Jesus Christ, hasn't she done enough damage already? This really couldn't happen here, could it?
Best bit: "Hewlett-Packard's stock jumped 7% on news of her departure." link.
Ok, ok, I should have used preview. Apologies for missing verb, pointless query point, and typos everywhere.
ReplyDeleteThe late Paul Foot used to say that he had only two golden rules. One was that when somebody comes into the office saying they've got a great story for you, they haven't got a great story for you. The other was that when somebody says they don't want paying for their story, that want paying for their story.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, when a company says that they are committed to something, it means that they are not, in fact, committed to that thing.
Oh yeah, chickens. My fiancée's brother's family keep chickens, for eggs (they don't, as it happens, lay every day the whole year round). Anyway, the kids give names to these chickens - Susan was one, I recall - and occasionally, when they feel the need, and it's not a good layer, they (the parents, that is) kill one of these chickens to eat. So the kids will be saying things like "on Friday we ate Susan".
ReplyDeleteThis is in Norfolk, should anybody be wondering.
u r a gd blgr. frsms pgnt, tmlss, pthy. nu spn n gdn gus mprsv. l plad.
ReplyDelete-wtf w vrfctn n lsh?