What About Paris?™

January 27, 2012

In Progress: Bennet Kelley's 2012 Working World Hacklist.

Steal a peek: Hack Exchange 2012 through January 27, 2012, courtesy of the founder, B.G. Kelley.

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January 26, 2012

That's what I'm talking about.

How often have you felt like this? We hope it's a lot.

Injured 2 weeks ago, Rafael Nadal celebrates beating Roger Federer yesterday in the Australian Open semifinal in Melbourne. (Photo: Daniel Munoz/Reuters)

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At TechRepublic: Anonymity in Social Media.

Two days ago at TechRepublic Jason Falls wrote about "The case of anonymity in social media". One lawyer Falls interviewed said that courts are just starting to police anonymous commenting on websites, but that it's a "growing trend". Excerpt:

Anonymous comments are often the bane of every community manager’s existence. Even the website editorial staffs for major newspapers - perhaps the biggest perpetrators of allowing anonymity online - hate the fact random people can leave random anything on their websites.

Gannett, one of the largest publishers of newspapers and media properties in the world, introduced article comments in 2006 and, according to social media director Jodi Gersh, the company’s dismay with comments has grown. Now the media giant is pushing toward holding commentors accountable for their words.

With thanks to Kevin Driscoll (not pictured above).

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Redux: Think like a client. The trick now is to win cheap.

For an experienced client, the cost of the lawsuit is part of the "victory" analysis. So is closure--or just getting it over with.

In America, the state and federal trial courts of record--rather than arbitration panels or mediation (which we Americans group together under the heading Alternative Dispute Resolution, or "ADR")--are still the "poison of choice" to resolve commercial disputes. That is likely to be true for a long time.

True, also, that our courts in the U.S. give even civil litigants (a) due process rights, (b) pre-trial access to the discovery of evidence, and (c) opportunities to present evidence at trial--each on a scale the world has never known before. While that "experience" is often tainted with inefficiencies and waste, it is at least predictable. Litigants generally accept the risks of what can happen to them--through flukes, brilliance, or the triumph of moral order in the universe--in American courts.

However, the "bad news" here is also considerable--and, of course, predictable. Business litigation in the courts is (a) extremely expensive, (b) highly disruptive to clients reps and witnesses, many of whom are managers or workers, and (c) very lengthy from start to finish. Even the "winning" client generally loses--and loses a lot in terms of resources and time.

Continue reading...

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January 25, 2012

At CorporateCounsel.net: UK considers shareholder Say-on-Pay and performance-based Bonus Clawbacks for execs.

See one of today's posts at Broc Romanek's TheCorporateCounsel.net. Excerpts:

The United Kingdom has been on a path to revise its executive compensation laws to rein in excessive pay. Yesterday, the UK announced a slew of proposals that would push the envelope in the executive pay area...:

- Say-on-pay votes would be binding
- Approval threshold increased to 75% from 50%
- At least two compensation committee members would have no prior board experience
- Clawbacks of bonuses if executives failed
- Enhanced disclosures

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Heroes: Hermann Hesse.

Below Hesse (1877-1962) appears at 48 in a 1925 Gret Widman photo. For much of his life he was broke, alone, sick or nomadic. He sold books and antiques. He kept writing, and finally won widespread recognition with Siddhartha (1922) and Steppenwolf (1927). At the outbreak of WWI, friends and countrymen turned against him for knocking German nationalism. Hesse resigned German and acquired Swiss citizenship in 1923. In the 1930s and 1940s, his writings were suppressed, and sometimes destroyed, by the Nazis. The Nobel Prize in Literature came in 1946 at age 70.

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January 24, 2012

WAP Guest Writer Mike O'Neil: "National Spotlight to Turn on Arizona: Four Reasons Why."

Political consultant and on-air commentator Mike O'Neil has written and talked about national politics for three decades. In this WAP guest post, he writes on why his adopted state of Arizona has become thrust into the national limelight.

National Spotlight to Turn on Arizona: Here Are Four Reasons Why.

By Mike O'Neil

1. The Special Election for Gabrielle Giffords' seat may be a very early indicator for the mood of the entire country in 2012: The primary for the special election will be in April and the general special election will be in June. A vote in a tossup district with no incumbent in the middle of a Presidential election year? You don't get a better early indicator of the national mood than that.

2. The February 28 Arizona Presidential primary looks like it will matter--and there will be an extended period in the national limelight. In the week after the Florida primary, there are four caucuses. Then there are three weeks (February 8-27) with no primary or caucus. For those three weeks, Arizona and Michigan (that also has a primary on the 28th) should be a major focus of national attention.

3. President Obama is coming to Arizona tomorrow, Wednesday, January 25--the day after his State of the Union address. His trip also includes Iowa, Nevada, Colorado and Michigan, all battleground states. Why Arizona? Except for Missouri (which was a virtual tie in 2008), Arizona is probably the only state Obama did not carry in 2008 that he has a prayer of carrying in 2012. And the state has had more than its share of national newsworthy events (probably why the New York Times assigned a full time reporter to the state last year). While Arizona might be a stretch for him to carry, even making the attempt may be important. Otherwise the political narrative is exclusively about him playing defense, trying to hold on to enough of his 2008 states to get re-elected. Arizona represents almost his only opportunity to play offense-and change the narrative.

4. Competitive Districts without Incumbents. Perhaps 10% of the congressional districts in the country are truly competitive --and most of these have incumbents. Giffords district is competitive. (It was held by a moderate Republican, Jim Kolbe, for many years). Interestingly Arizona now will now likely have three of these rarities (truly competitive and without an incumbent): Giffords' District (CD2), the newly created central CD9, and (if Paul Gosar moves to the Western CD4 as he has indicated), the Northeast/Flagstaff CD1 will also be vacant. Three very competitive districts, each without an incumbent. A rarity.

Stay tuned. Should be fun.

--Michael J. O'Neil, PhD

(Copyright MJO. All Rights Reserved.)

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January 23, 2012

Nigeria as Battlefield: "Western education is sacrilege."

Over sixty years after gaining independence from European rulers, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer, and home to Africa's largest population, continues to be a battlefield. Yesterday in Kano, Nigeria, in northern Nigeria, over 150 people were killed in a coordinated terrorist bombing claimed by the Islamist sect Boko Haram. Nigeria's current government is widely regarded as inexperienced and weak. But, as news reports rarely emphasize, one of the more troubling aspects of recent attacks by Boko Haram and other groups is that, since independence in 1960, traditional tribal and religious leaders in Nigeria have seen their power and influence weaken in times of crisis and violence. Increasingly, and in most circumstances, they can no longer be counted on or trusted to step in. See this AP article. Excerpt:

On Monday, Emir of Kano Ado Bayero and Kano state Gov. Rabiu Kwankwaso sat together at the front of a mosque typically full of worshippers during Friday prayers in this dusty, sprawling city. However, the special service to commemorate the dead and ask God for peace and justice drew much smaller crowds than usual, with half of the prayer mats unoccupied.

"I call on people from all groups to pray for this place," Bayero said.

Meanwhile, secret police officers stood guard outside with assault rifles.

Bayero is one of the premier rulers of the emirates of Nigeria, a system of governance that dates back to the 1800s and still carries spiritual importance to Muslims. British colonialists used the emirates to rule the north by proxy until Nigeria gained its independence in 1960.

Many believe Nigeria's corrupt politicians now do the same, as the vast majority of those living in the north deal with crushing poverty in a nation where most earn less than $2 a day.

The influence of traditional leaders in Nigeria has waned in recent years and the 81-year-old emir himself showed his age as he walked slowly away from the mosque, leaning heavily on his cane.

Such leaders previously promised to intercede for the government to stop the increasingly violent sectarian attacks of Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa language.

Sky News

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Jamesetta Hawkins (1938 – 2012): She gave us reason to live.

You can leave your hat on, Etta.

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The Racehorse Speaks.

I would have won them all if my clients hadn’t kept reloading their guns and firing.

--Richard Haynes, Houston (1927- ) Trial Lawyer. Artist. Seer.

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January 22, 2012

H.R. 3261 and S. 968: "Congress, can you hear us?" This Social Media Groundswell worked pretty well.

E.g., at PC World, "SOPA, PIPA Stalled: Meet the OPEN Act". And thank you, Peter Friedman.

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January 21, 2012

Father Time: "The light in a lover's eye."

Death is in everything in the cosmos--woven into the bright blue sky, a blade of grass, the pulse of a baby's fontanelle, the light in a lover's eye.

--Mark Booth, The Secret History of the World (2008).

Vouet, “Father Time Overcome by Hope, Love, and Beauty” (1627)

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January 20, 2012

Benjamin Siegelbaum: Best Hood Ever.

Bugsy Siegel

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January 19, 2012

Dupont Circle: Best 'Hood in Any City.

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January 18, 2012

Alexandria: Best 'Hood in Northern Virginia.

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January 17, 2012

Transcript of last Monday's SCOTUS argument in Sackett v. EPA: Some Justices Peeved by EPA?

We posted briefly last Monday (January 9) on the oral argument that morning in Sackett v. EPA (No. 10-1062), the right to pre-enforcement review dispute which pitted the EPA against Mom and Pop America and their backyard. A few people asked for the transcript to determine which, if any, justices were actually "riled" at the EPA. The transcript is here and you can decide for yourself. In any event, the best post-Sackett argument lead came in an article by Greg Henderson at Drovers CattleNetwork in "Supreme Court Justices Critical of EPA in Wetlands Case". It begins:

One of the little guys had his day in front of the U.S. Supreme Court Monday, and a lot of the big guys were watching.

In what could become an important decision regarding the Environmental Protection Agency’s enforcement rules, several Supreme Court justices appeared sympathetic to the cause of Mike and Chantell Sackett in their battle against the EPA and the Clean Water Act.

"Outrageous": Associate Justice Samuel Alito, Man of the People.

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January 16, 2012

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)

Above: King in 1957 at his home in Montgomery, Alabama. Had he lived, King would have turned 83 yesterday. In 1964, at the age of 35, he won the Nobel Peace Prize. He was 39 when he was killed.

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If you are actually doing business in Canada or America, then please get this actual book: Legal Aspects of Doing Business in North America (2nd Edition).

Here's an actual book about doing business and making investments in Canada and the United States America that businesses and law firms--especially non-North American players--actually need to buy. Salzburg-based Dennis and Chris Campbell are once again the Editors of Legal Aspects of Doing Business in North America (2nd Edition) published by Juris. It features a state-by-state and province-by-province analysis. As with the 1st Edition, a 1540-page looseleaf that is updated annually, the Campbells have kept and expanded upon the talented team of American and Canadian working lawyers who write it.

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The High Sweet Smell of Spirited Mediocrity: SNL's New Ode to the Slackoisie, Happysphere and Self-Esteem Movement.

"You can do anything."

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January 15, 2012

Working = Marketing.

Small, powerful ads. See our Rule Six: When You Work, You Are Marketing. Every moment your law firm "works for a client"--it sends the client something, it talks with the client, it does virtually anything for or about that client that the client knows about or should know about--the firm transmits barrages of small but powerful ads. The client notices then and there.

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January 14, 2012

At Cross-Culture: Are Chinese business people getting their American thing on?

At Richard Lewis's great Cross-Culture, Maria Chow, based in Singapore, and a founder of Spark Asian Leadership Practice, has written "As the Dragon Leads..." in which she contends that the traditional Chinese business style of "collective" and "reactive" is being slowly but noticeably replaced by more competitive and individualistic modes of behavior. In short, Chow says, China business leaders are starting to act more and more like Americans. Excerpt:

...I have trained hundreds of Chinese managers and hi-potential graduates from state-owned companies as well as multinationals in leadership.

What strikes me as rather unique in terms of Chinese talent is how competitive everyone is: individuals do all that they can to stand out from the “crowd”. Few shy away from stating openly their career aspirations. This contrasts interestingly with the common belief that socialistic societies are largely collective in most things people do.

With increasing opportunities in the country though, Chinese managers are displaying individualistic behaviour, pursuing their own careers and dreams with much fervour, almost as if to catch up on lost time.

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January 13, 2012

Patrick Lamb: Two Posts on Writing Well that Cover it All.

Read two fine back-to-back posts on writing spanning the sublime to the all-important nuts and bolts. Flowing from the irrepressible pen of Chicago trial lawyer and thought leader Patrick Lamb--Pat's responsible for getting me started blogging seven years ago, so I have sharply conflicting emotions whenever I even think about the guy--are two recent items at his highly-regarded In Search of Perfect Client Service on writing well: "Do you have a Muse?" and "The Importance of Proofreading".

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January 12, 2012

"First, I look at the purse." Customer costs are your problem, too.

And while we're on the subject, since when was "partner" a verb, anyway? Are you really partnering with your customer or client--or is all that just another hollow note in your firm's marketing song-and-dance? See Rule 8, from our compelling yet irritating 12 Rules of Client Service, on other people's money.

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January 11, 2012

London's Mayoral Race: Is Boris Johnson going to keep his job?

That is one of the questions--and a good one--posed by The Economist this past weekend in "London's Mayoral Race: Back into the Fray". In May, London's incumbent mayor Boris Johnson, a flamboyant and often very funny Conservative, former MP, journalist and author (hatched from the Conservative Party's usual lower England Etonian-Oxford tribe) will run against the same opponent he faced in 2008: "Red" Ken Livingstone, the Labour Party candidate, and a serious lefty, who was Johnson's predecessor. Both Johnson and Livingstone are capable pols and managers. While Johnson's eccentricities and manic kind of charisma have made him a popular mayor, Livingstone, who is two decades older than Johnson, may have the advantage of pitching to his more natural constituency in the traditionally liberal urban electorate of London. Johnson is eccentric as hell, fun to watch and connected very well with voters in 2008. Whether or not he is re-elected five months from now, he is expected by many to become Prime Minister some day. But he may not be a shoe-in May. Excerpt from The Economist January 7 article:

London leans left—-as big, diverse cities tend to. Mr Livingstone, knowing that voters often punish governments between general elections, aims to paint his rival as just another Tory. And although the polls suggest that Londoners prefer Mr Johnson on policing, the economy and the Olympics, he trails on the vital issue of transport. A spate of strikes on the Tube has encouraged the view that Mr Livingstone, a machine politician and a man of the left, is better at dealing with London’s ornery unions.

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson, Mayor of London.

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The Original Comeback Kid: Benjamin Disraeli.

I am dying for action, and rust like a Damascus sabre in the sheath of a poltroon.

--Benjamin Disraeli, about 1835

British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli (1804–1881) was provocative, precocious, and a comeback kid all his life. Though he had very early success as a writer, he failed miserably in business.

He then ran for office--but kept losing. As a young man, he picked ill-considered political fights that he often lost with Daniel O'Connell, the dangerously witty Irish barrister-politician. Finally, in 1837, he was elected to the House of Commons. But he blew his maiden speech so badly he was laughed at uproariously from beginning to end. A shameless self-promoter, he attracted too much attention. He even dressed to provoke. He shunned most men, preferring women, especially the high-born.

Mainly, Disraeli was restless. He bored easily. He simply liked the limelight, and getting important things done. As a student, the idea of practicing law, which he pursued briefly, left him feeling stale and useless. "Izzy" said he felt most alive when he was doing something both public and difficult. Early in his career, he once wrote unhappily to a friend: "I am dying for action, and rust like a Damascus sabre in the sheath of a poltroon." Disraeli, A. Maurois (Random House 1928).

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January 10, 2012

Cummer Gallery: Rombouts's "The Concert".

"The Concert", c. 1620, Theodoor Rombouts (Flemish, 1597-1637). Oil on canvas, Cummer Gallery, Jacksonville.

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January 09, 2012

The Clean Water Act case before SCOTUS today: Backyard or Protected Wetland?

Homeowners or Industrial Polluters? Given the current makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court, the case of Sackett v. EPA being argued before it today is probably as important, and certainly as "political", as environmental law gets. Our take? Despite the David v. Goliath hype, it's a relatively straightforward exercise on the right to pre-enforcement review under the APA. Lots of amicus briefs, mainly by private industry in support of petitioners, the Sacketts. Before this Court, the Sacketts have a shot of prevailing in their pre-enforcement argument. In any event, the due process challenge they are claiming in the alternative should fail. For background, see in the Los Angeles Times "Supreme Court Takes Up Property Rights Dispute" plus this summary and Lyle Deniston's preview, both at the SCOTUS blog.

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January 08, 2012

Englishness: The Novel.

The English novel, the single most potent agent of English culture on the Continent, was par excellence, about characters and manners.

--Paul Langford, Englishness Identified: Manners and Character, 1650-1850 (Oxford University Press, 2000)

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At Invisible Paris: A New Revolution in Levallois.

Levallois is a town without a museum, and seemingly also a place that feels no need to display any traces of its past. It's the classic tale of the nouveau riche with a deep feeling of shame about its unprosperous ancestors.

--Invisible Paris, January 4, 2012

Some of the best parts of our world disappear without much fanfare. But one of the Internet's redeeming cultural features is its ability to set down a meaningful biography of place, and indulge in a fair tribute, before a storied town or village is reduced to a few memories, or to a fleeting mention in history. Don't miss the photographs and some fine and poignant writing at Invisible Paris in "Disappearing Levallois: The Rue Marjolin", about Levallois-Perret, a mid-19th century commune in working class suburbs, just a few miles north of Paris.

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January 06, 2012

Peter Friedman: Problems, Creativity and Uncertainty.

For many of us, "Weird Done Well" (to borrow a great phrase from my school chum Jay Harris) can never be Smart or Workable, and we will balk at it, and even jeer, when we see it.

Over the last few years we've written a lot about the (1) elegance and (2) utility of complexity in the workplace. See, for example, "The Great Things at Work: Novelty, Complexity and Ambiguity." Last month, Legal OnRamp's Paul Lippe took the subject another step in his fine "How Client Complexity Will Shape the New Normal For Firms and Law Schools". And yesterday Hull McGuire's Peter Friedman commented at his own blog on a Cornell study last year which showed that humans, precisely at the times they seek and even come up with "creative" solutions to problems, paradoxically exhibit a firmly-entrenched bias against creativity. In "Creativity? YOU CAN’T HANDLE CREATIVITY!", Peter explained that "creative responses to problems create uncertainty, and that people reject those creative ideas because they can’t handle the uncertainty". So the equation might be put roughly this way: Problems or Complexity + Creative Responses (read: sound but "outside the box" possible solutions) = Uncertainty. So why bother being "creative" if it wastes time and leads to just another workplace moment of paralysis?

This, of course, is not what we all wanted to hear as being the knee-jerk response for co-worker reactions to tougher issues at work. However, it does ring true. Most of us are uncomfortable with anything beyond cookie-cutter solutions to problems or, at a minimum, solutions to problems that somehow seem tried, tested and "normal". We have difficulties, moreover, in distinguishing between the unconventional and the illogical. For many of us, "Weird Done Well" (to borrow a great phrase from my school chum Jay Harris) can never be Smart or Workable, and we will balk at it, and even jeer, when we see it.

Solving problems, addressing complexity and even "thinking like a lawyer"--once described by a legendary Skadden partner as thinking about something inextricably attached to something without thinking about the thing to which it's inextricably attached--does not mean Group-Think. It doesn't mean shooting from the hip, either. It does mean a little eyes-wide-open risk taking. But most of all, you need balls. Or courage. Peter, thankfully, is that rare business lawyer who can sell "different" to clients and employees alike--and then deftly implement it. A respected and versatile IP expert and litigator with a Big Law background who has gone from private practice to law professor and back again to practice, he can be counted on to look at things freshly but practically. In his post, Peter puts it succinctly and, I think, accurately:

I’ve always told students and colleagues that being genuinely creative requires courage and the ability to persevere in the face of rejection. There’s good reason for that. As much as “innovation” is the catchword of our age, very few people in decision-making positions are really brave enough to accept innovative ideas (whether they’re teachers, school administrators, politicians, lawyers, or corporate executives).

Peter Friedman

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Wilder on Truth Telling.

If you're going to tell people the truth, be funny or they'll kill you.

--Billy Wilder, 1906-2002. Writer, Producer, Journalist.

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Late Great Arts of the Client.

Rule Three: Make Sure Everyone in Your Shop Knows That The Client Is The Main Event. The truth is that they probably don't. That's your fault--not theirs. From our hopelessly in-your-face, annoying, repetitive and now world-famous 12 Rules. Bite us.

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January 05, 2012

To non-Americans starting to do business in America: The informality, and openness, is no myth.

It drives Brits, Germans and most northern Europeans nuts: American informality, openness, non-stop cheerfulness and friendliness. Over on their side of the pond, even a very self-assured and accomplished southern England executive, consultant, lawyer or other professional, for example, would rather choke to death than talk to strangers in a subway or ask how to get to a bank or money exchange. But "wide-open" is what Americans are and have always been; if you want to do business in the U.S., you need to step up. When we Yanks are over there, you guys can complain and be mortified all you want.

There is no end to multi-cultural etiquette primers on "doing business internationally", and most of them are of course drivel. The best advice in a nutshell? Go where you need to go, and watch your American hosts carefully as you work--but do "go native". Be prepared to amp yourself up just a notch. The website of UK-based Kwintessential does a nice job of laying out the overall business atmosphere here in a few sentences:

American friendliness and informality is legendary. People will not wait to be introduced and will even begin to speak with strangers as they stand in a line, sit next to each other at an event, or gather in a crowd.

Americans are direct in the way they communicate. They value logic and linear thinking [note: not sure I agree with foregoing clause] and expect people to speak clearly and in a straightforward manner. Time is money in the U.S. so people tend to get to the point quickly and are annoyed by beating around the bush.

Communicating virtually (i.e. through email, SMS, Skype, etc) is very common with very little protocol or formality in the interaction. If you are from a culture that is more subtle in communication style, try not to be insulted by the directness.

We're not ugly. We're noisy and playful. But you need to join in.

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American White Collar Literacy: Is It Time Yet?

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January 04, 2012

Environmental Protection: U.S. Department of Homeland Security Has a Huge Weed Problem.

Well, that explains a lot. Poised at a rare intersection of the environment, inland waterways, immigration policy and national security, Environmental Protection magazine reports that "Giant Weed Creates Threat to Our Nation's Ecosystems and Border Security". Seriously, we have here a textbook example of "the complex society" at work. Think of the divisions of labor needed to address this issue fully. You need specialists. But who quarterbacks it? Excerpts:

Along U.S. southern coastal rivers, most particularly Texas’ Rio Grande, an invasive species of plant known as giant reed is encroaching on the water, overrunning international border access roads, and creating a dense cover for illegal activities. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has called for a plan to control this weed.

Giant reed, more commonly known as Carrizo cane in Texas, is a nonnative bamboo-like plant that can grow more than 32 feet tall. To support its rapid growth rate, it consumes large amounts of water compared to native vegetation. The weed reduces arthropod diversity and abundance in our ecosystems and destroys wildlife habitat.

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Iowa: You got me where you want me.

Results for Iowa Republican Caucus (U.S. Presidential Primary)

Mitt Romney 30,015 24.6%
Rick Santorum 30,007 24.5%
Ron Paul 26,219 21.4%
Newt Gingrich 16,251 13.3%
Rick Perry 12,604 10.3%
Michele Bachmann 6,073 5%
Jon Huntsman 7,450. 6%
Herman Cain 58 0%
Buddy Roemer 31 0%
No Preference 1,350. 1%
Other 1,170 .1%

Source: AP

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Ron Paul's Rage Against the DC Machine.

Is Dr. Paul finally learning "how to sell" himself and his ideas? In his enduring bid to become the GOP presidential candidate, Rep. Paul, 76, released his feisty 30-second "anti-DC ad" one week ago, and it has been playing in Iowa and New Hampshire for the primaries. It is angry, authentic and awfully well-done, as NBC's Anthony Terrell and Domenico Montanaro show in "In New Ad, Paul Rages Against the DC Machine". You can see and hear it if you peek behind the foregoing link. But it doesn't come close to this.

What can a poor Gynaecologist from Pennsylvania do?

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January 03, 2012

How do you pick a fight in a Global Recession?

There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full.

--Henry Kissinger, quoted in The New York Times Magazine, June 1, 1969

Answer: You choose them more carefully--and you go on the offensive only when you must. As Rome discovered too late, protecting every terrain and border is expensive and draining. As business and trial people learn young, butting heads with everyone who has ever done you a disservice, or fighting every point in an oral argument, or an evidentiary or discovery dispute, will not just be expensive and draining. It will defeat you. And it will make you go bonkers. In an economic downturn, however, you have to be even more careful, and often plainly conservative, in reigning in your warrior ways. Put another way, and as a friend of mine likes to day, "allow yourself two or three assholes every day". Don't engage every jerk you meet. Don't right every wrong. I've been told this my whole life. I hate it. It's a hard lesson--but merely part of the wages of being competitive and bellicose. For me, our old friend Henry, who turns 89 this year, said it in a way we can all remember it, and even plan a little.

No Worries, Bubala: Henry steps out with Ms. Allison last year. I do like Henry.

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Edward Gibbon: Europe out of Germany. Discuss.

The most civilized nations of modern Europe issued from the woods of Germany; in the rude institutions of those Barbarians we [received] the original principles of our present laws and manners.

--Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Chapter IX (1782)

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January 02, 2012

Edinburgh's Hogmanay Celebration is Decadent and Depraved.

So we'd like to go to it next year. See this BBC piece on Scotland's New Year's bash this year: "Edinburgh Hogmanay Revellers See In 2012". And then take a look in The Guardian at this one: "Pit Them Away Hen! Guide to a Real Scottish Hogmanay". For more on this shameful ancient annual fire lit Pagan bender, with its Robert Burns overtones of Celtic mysticism, witches and pleasures of the flesh, to which no one has ever invited us, see Biggar Bonfire 2011.

Three days ago, the Up Helly Aa Vikings from Lerwick in the Shetland Islands started Hogmanay's annual torchlight procession in Edinburgh. (David Moir/Reuters)

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Our 2nd "most popular" post in the last 12 months was about....Proofreading.

The Damning Quality of Faint Self-Praise. Yeah, Proofreading. Which is important to writers, lawyers, advertising execs and most civilized business people and--often like Writing Itself these days--is an underappreciated and endangered discipline.

The first, or "most popular", post at What About Clients/Paris? site in 2011 was infamous, often detested and the one of which we're most proud in the past year hands down (or thumbs down). We'll try get back to that one later this week or next and make a few important (we think) points about the offending post.

But the second most clicked-upon piece, from August 19, 2011, was this: "Proofreading: It's a Client Thing--Not Optional." We're even more pedestrian than we had thought. And could you check for typos in this post, please? There must be at least one.

Proofreading: Unsexy but hard.

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Emerson on the Family of Man: Time yet for us fragmented humans to rejoin the world?

Egypt, Greece, Rome, Gaul, Britain, America, lie folded already in the first man. Epoch after epoch, camp, kingdom, empire, republic, democracy, are merely the application of his manifold spirit to the manifold world.

The world exists for the education of each man. There is no age or state of society or mode of action in history, to which there is not somewhat corresponding in his life.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson, "History" in Essays: First Series, 1841

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Rule Seven: Know Thy Customer, Jack.

Rule Seven is from our wise, world-famous, tortuous and highly irritating 12 Rules which make their appearance here in some form roughly 52 times a year. Sorry. Write nasty comments. Sue us. Complain to the Junior League. But get used to it. Excerpt:

The client, it seems, actually wants you to know him, her or it. Take time out to learn the stock price, industry, day-to-day culture, players and overall goals of your client. Visit their offices and plants.

Do it free of charge.

Associates in particular need to develop the habit of finding out about and keeping up with clients and their trials and tribulations in and out of the areas you are working in. Learn about your client--and keep learning about it.

Devise a system to keep abreast.

You're a Servant, Jack: Whatever the hell your client does, find out about it and find out in 3-D. Do it for free.

Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk). Permalink | Comments (0)

January 01, 2012

My Marrakesh: Talk to "people different from you."

American expat Maryam Montague's My Marrakesh is consistently first-rate. Stylish and playful, yet profound and lovingly-written, this blog, like its author, is eclectic, well-traveled, highly educated and elegant. Fun, too. And she knows that life is, and should always be, a journey and adventure. Here's one we like we can use to carry us through the Year 2012: "A tale of a new year of new adventures."

Photo: My Marrakesh/Vogue Italia.

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December 31, 2011

If Groupon and its competitors can help people get health care, what's not to like?

Unbundle. Lower Prices. Offer Choices. Forget for a moment that the Net has helped dumb-down our social and political discourse to Neanderthal and hopelessly dishonest levels. Commercially, and at the very least, the Internet does the aforementioned three things quite well. Have at it, Groupon. See via MSNBC this AP piece: "Uninsured Use Groupon, Other Daily Deal Sites, for Health Care". Warning: Some of the comments to the article are revolting, even to me.

Groupon CEO Andrew Mason.

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Janus: God of Beginnings.

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December 30, 2011

China in Ethiopia: Let the Big Dog Eat.

Century upon century, Africa has inspired. The beauty, mysteries and vibrancy of the African continent has steadily catapulted novelists and poets to their best stories and verse for over 3000 years. And the very old, enduring and populous civilization of Ethiopia, even in all of Africa's drama and cultural diversity, and with its ringside seat at the Horn of Africa to both the rest of the continent and the Middle East, has always stood out. Me? I'm shallow, if romantic. I like the people--they are the handsomest on earth--and to hear Amharic suddenly spoken and flow over you in the middle of breakfast at the upscale Afterwords restaurant in Dupont Circle is like hearing Flaubert stand up and recite his best two sentences in a bowling alley. China, too, is discovering the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia--and state-sponsored China business and industry likely focuses on the landlocked country's non-oil natural resources, its livestock, coffee and other agriculture, and its human capital, which includes 80 million potential consumers. See at The Guardian today "Ethiopia's Partnership with China" and think about how a planned, careful and respectful investment approach--at least ostensibly--to a weaker nation could be a win-win. Some excerpts:

Ethiopia at the end of 2011 reflects the surprising complexity of Chinese engagement in Africa, how it differs from that of the west and – possibly of more significance to the continent – how central is the role of African agency.

China is no newcomer here. In 1972, China financed the Wereta-Weldiya road across Ethiopia's Rift Valley. Between 1998 and 2004, the Chinese contributed 15% of the cost of Addis Ababa's ring road (Ethiopia paid the rest).

Ethiopia is clearly in charge in this engagement. Chinese traders and shopkeepers, who are fixtures across many African cities, are absent on Ethiopia's streets. These positions are reserved for locals, and Ethiopians enforce their rules.

And China listens. A decade ago, Chinese companies building the ring road complained they couldn't find enough local skilled workers. The Ethiopian government asked China to establish a college that would focus on construction and industrial skills. The fully-equipped Ethio-China Polytechnic College opened in late 2009, funded by Chinese aid. Chinese professors offer a two-year degree with Chinese language classes alongside engineering skills.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, August 15, 2011. China had just given $55 million for food to drought-striken areas in Ethiopia's troubled western region. (Photo: China Daily/Xinhua.)

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World-Class Talent in the Queen City: Megan Heekin Triantafillou.

Get to know the artist Megan Triantafillou now. Revel in her work. Tell people you discovered her. I am doing all three.

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December 29, 2011

Overheard on Delta Flight 1537: The State of Facebook, Twitter, Social Media and other Cyber-Society.

No one wants to be alone. So what does the Net offer non-business humans? Only this: the illusion of companionship and support without the demands and responsibilities of friendship.

--A passenger.

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Mannish boys grow up to be Senators.

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December 28, 2011

Is China and China business really all over Africa? If so, just how much? Discuss.

Finally, there's a site that covers the above inquiry. See by American University's Deborah Brautigam the blog China in Africa: The Real Story. Start out with this one, "China's 'Checkbook Diplomacy' and Overseas Investment Reconsidered".

Workers at Imboulou Dam, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a power plant funded by the China National Mechanical & Equipment Corporation. Photo: Paulo Woods.

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