Taking your eye off the ball

8.1.2009
I have just woken up after a long sleep under an apple tree. It is amazing how things change over even short periods of time.
Take the weather, and at the moment I wish someone would. Arctic conditions over Europe, coldest temperatures for over 100 years in some places, and this despite the large number of patio heaters in the world. Perhaps the recent banning of their use to keep smokers warm outside entertainment venues to help combat global warming has contributed to this global frosting?

The skiers may be happy, but I suspect that businesses have been hit hard.
Yesterday the Simply British shop was closed due to snow.
The perimeter wall of the bungalow across the road has fallen over into their garden. They have recently had their house, entrance and another of their boundary walls painted, but this wall had been left as it was, in breezeblock state, unrendered. Perhaps they expected it to fall down?

The French electricity company recorded the third successive highest ever usage in a row.
At least my town is not at a standstill and the falls of snow have been light.

I hope that anyone leaving their properties uninhabited over the festive period and beyond, remembered to switch off the water at the mains and that they left a shovel in a handy place for digging their way back to their front door.

The Christmas trees are still blocking the town’s pavements. Perhaps there is a plan to remove them all at the same time?

In the UK, businesses have started collapsing due to the world economic crisis. Woolworths has gone. Where will Dawn get her pik-'n-mix fix now?

Adams and Marks and Spenser branches closing. Will my parents no longer be able to buy M&S quality grapes in their high street?

Due to complaints about always having the date that the post refers to in my header, you will notice that I have taken the comments on board.

Welcome back everyone. Remember to buckle-up, we could be in for a bumpy ride this year.

7 November 2008 Friday – Political correctness and crap management

Daveed’s parents seem to have spent the night with him again. I see them heading off in the direction of town with empty shopping bags.
I carry on scanning slides into the computer and listen to Mr Archer’s “Prisoner of Birth” on my MP3 player whilst I work.
I am not a J.A. fan, and the story is just too far fetched for words, but if you suspend your disbelief at the impossibility of it all, it is a good listen.

Late afternoon the tenant’s car leave. Hooray! I go out and turn my car round so that I can drive nose first onto the road tomorrow morning when I go shopping.
In the evening, S, HB and I have a Skype conference. This disables using the web cams and it is difficult to know when there will be a gap to speak. You can have up to 24 people in a conference at the same time, but that would be very difficult to manage.
I get a brief email from Ex-libris, my new blog follower. She is going to Britany for a holiday. I hope the weather gets better soon.
I keep an eye on the British news. The latest stupidity is from the councils who have banned their staff from using any Latin phrases. Just when I was not getting used to “baa baa rainbow sheep”, and Noddy and Big Ears not sleeping together any more. Next step will be to burn all the books with words longer than two syllables, and of course all the paintings whose content is not crystal clear to the viewer, same for sculpture too. We can keep that Emin bird’s bird sculpture in Liverpool though as it looks just like a real bird. Now that’s what real Council’s call art!
Perhaps the F***w**s in Weston will keep the burnt Grand Pier as it is, call it art and change its name to “Unfinished Pier” and charge an entrance fee to look at it.
Damn they think of everything!
In France they appear to respect authors and artists, and value their contribution to society.
It was S’s last working day today. It never ceases to amaze and disappoint me that all of the management that I have ever been within earshot of is so piss poor.
The real tragedy of it is, that lacking the knowledge, skills in management and social skills, they seal themselves into a little safety bubble and ignore what is going on in that nasty world around them. I suspect that they do not realise how useless they are and the demoralising effect that they have on their staff and on to the service that management should be providing.
They may talk the talk, but they do not have the least idea what it all really means.
They should be constantly reviewing their own performance, seeking honest opinions about their performance from below and above, and then doing something to improve themselves. Heaven forbid that they should set an honourable, hard working caring example for their staff to follow.
Leader? ship? Titanic more like. They will not change, because if they should by some chance ask themselves the question, they think they are doing a good job. Nope the thought would not arise in the first place.
Please get a grip ladies and gentlemen and stop being so self centred, ignorant, small minded, technologically ignorant, rude and lazy as you coast towards your pensions or your promotions. Yes this applies to you. Be open to new ideas, listen, and do not just pay lip service to your staff and customers. Get off your arses, out of your offices, out of your comfort zones and tackle the difficult things.
Don’t just appoint useless clones who have no management experience to management positions, where they can only have a negative and demoralising effect on those that they manage.
Make sure that they have a proven track record. Speak to those who have been “managed” by them.
If you are not prepared to manage, ship out and let the people who are capable of managing make the difference. Life can be hard enough without being managed by a bunch of headless chickens.
What? You’re late for your lunch appointment? Oh well you had better go then.
Rant over….
Any similarities to persons "alive" or deceased in the above rant is entirely unintentional and coincidental....