Temperance and Free Markets – Comm...

I just attended a conference at Koch Industries, Inc. in Wichita, Kansas; the world’s largest privately-held company with revenues near $100 billion.  Any one who has been in business has to marvel at the size of this enterprise, especially given the commodity nature of most of the products it produces, gathers, sells, and trades.  It is really quite impressive. This impression, though, did not emanate from where you think.  It wasn’t the building that was impressive.  It wasn’t as big or luxurious as you might think.  It was actually quite humble...

Screwball Letter #9...

The Screwball Letters by Dave Geenens (In the time-honored tradition of The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis) Diversity At Work My Dear Friend Salamander, On the heels of my thoughts about women at work, is another concern . . . women at work is just another indication of the diversity that is being embraced at enterprises.  Discrimination laws in the U.S. are one thing . . . you can’t discriminate in hiring and firing practices based upon all sorts of really important differences like gender, faith orientation, creed, or sexual orientation.  The desire to comply with...

Screwball Letter #8...

The Screwball Letters by Dave Geenens (In the time-honored tradition of The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis) Women At Work Dear Salamander, Something interesting has caught my attention recently.  Women are competing for jobs on par with men as if they have the same capabilities.  And companies are hiring them!  A negative consequence of this is that us men get shut out more often from job opportunities.  I know of one man in my neighborhood whose wife works and he stays home with the kids.  Something is amiss here! Women simply don’t have the necessary attitude,...

Screwball Letter #7...

(A parody on effective leadership in the time-honored tradition of The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis) Blue Sky Dear Salamander, Vision is the greatest asset of a leader; so much so that little else has to be emphasized other than casting vision of what could be.  A little pixie dust here . . . a little pixie dust there, and everyone is excited about what can be.  Great leaders constantly cast vision.  Or better yet; they incessantly cast vision.  Every cloudy day gets a little brighter when the leader walks in and casts vision.   Really good leaders use vision...

Screwball Letter #6...

Legal Prudence Must Prevail (A parody on effective leadership in the time-honored tradition of The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis) Dear Salamander: I expect you are swamped making sure our employees are so busy working that they can’t hear the call of the rebel leaders shouting, “Lead people!” from the neighborhoods and streets.  I certainly hope this is true. While you are pushing your employees to the limit, be ever mindful of legal prudence.  You see, the spirit of the law in the United States has been lost in their distorted and beautiful legal...

Screwball Letter #5...

Management vs. Leadership (In the time honored tradition of The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis) – a parody and a paradox on effective leadership My Dear Salamander: I hope you are “beating others to the punch,” as it were, with our Golden Rule.  I have recently heard that this annoying hoard of new leaders is attempting to make people believe that there is a difference between management and leadership. This is just semantics. You see, human beings, the worker bees of the world, are intended to work for the benefit and wealth of you and me; the...

Screwball Letter #4...

(In the time honored tradition of The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis) Do Unto Others . . . Dearest Salamander, I understand and hear that you are quickly building your personal knowledge vault to bring attention and admiration to yourself.  Way to go!  Don’t listen to those who will tell you that the way to build an effective enterprise is to share knowledge and to develop others.  This will just take your time away from more important things, and, ultimately, bring rewards to others and not you.  Ultimately, business is about building personal wealth. There...

Screwball Letter #3...

Hoard Knowledge Dearest Salamander, Not only is business competitive in nature, but the fight for the fewer positions at the top of an enterprise can be highly competitive.  There are only so many spots for a Manager; fewer spots for a Director; even fewer for a Vice President and so on; with only one spot for the top dog or CEO.  The fight for these positions can be intense and takes a great strategy and a strong political acumen to give you the best chance of success. One critically important strategy for giving you the best shot at one of the top positions in an...

Screwball Letter #2...

Rank Has Its Privilege Dearest Salamander, Everybody is different.  Some are better business men than others.  Some are better artists, mathematicians, plumbers, or teachers than others.  For millennia, human beings have differentiated between those who are better than others through a ranking system.  In some societies, like those that exist in India, rank is imbedded in a cast system whereby people born into a band of society tend to be forced to stay in that band.  Cultural norms and inertia keep them there. Rank can be identified in many ways.  In the military,...

Screwball Letter #1...

If you want something done right . . . Dearest Salamander, Entrepreneurs are revered in today’s society.  Many onlookers envy the creativity and calculated risk an entrepreneur like you is willing to take to achieve a dream.  Some live vicariously through you; riding the ups and downs; all the while looking on with anticipation and hope that you will be successful; that they might participate collaterally in your success. “I knew old Salamander before he was somebody!” Your work ethic will be of great personal advantage.  Of course, requisite skills and relevant...