« October 24, 2010 - October 30, 2010 | Main | November 07, 2010 - November 13, 2010 »
November 06, 2010
Stop me before I Twitter Stoned again.
"My name is Holden O.--and I'm powerless over keyboards after 6:00 PM." Hull says that the 1980s version of this was phoning ex-girlfriends or others while intoxicated and talking until they hung up (the "Indian Hill flu", he calls it). Now there's New Age brakes for this sort of thing--sort of: A Social Media Sobriety Test. It's not even (on purpose) a joke. See Scott Greenfield's "If This Helps" at his way-too-sane Simple Justice. Query: Just what is Twittering Success? Not getting arrested or beat up by someone's boyfriend? We don't get it.
Greenfield in late 1990s photo, pre-hunting accident.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 09:05 PM | Comments (0)
November 05, 2010
R.D. Lewis: Hungary Business.
At Cross-Culture by Richard Lewis, see "Country Focus: Hungary". It's a quick but fair rundown, and one with an historical thread, of doing business in Hungary. Plus ten rules to guide you. The last three:
8. Show your individuality. Hungarians are rather cynical, for ancient historical reasons, about leaders. The Soviet rule did nothing to change this attitude. But you will gain respect if you can show your individuality and expertise in a particular field, especially if it is intellectual, scientific or artistic. Intelligence, energy, shrewdness and a quick wit are admired. But remain generous-spirited and friendly.
9. Respect high achievement and competitiveness. They are eager to demonstrate that they can recover from the communist era faster than anyone else, and that they have been progressive (such as in having been early candidates for the EU.) They have an obsession to achieve and to show the fruits of their success in the form of status symbols like plush offices, cars and good clothes. It will do you no harm to do the same, if you can.
10. Choose the countries you talk about carefully. It will not help your case to overly praise Romania or Slovakia, or to talk about ethnic minorities unless you are well informed. The same goes for the communist period in general. You are on very safe ground asking about their difficult language and their linguistic and racial ties to the Finns, whom they admire. Always refer to Hungary as being part of Central Europe, not Eastern.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
November 04, 2010
Bill Gates and his IBM moment.
Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can’t lose.
--Wild Bill Gates
Posted by JD Hull at 12:07 AM | Comments (0)
November 03, 2010
One college daily on the elections: "A changing of the guard".
From today's Duke Chronicle:
G.O.P. takes House while Democrats retain slim Senate majority
By CIARAN OCONNOR
In a sharp rebuke of President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party, citizens across the country voted Tuesday to shift the balance of power in Washington, handing Republicans control of the House of Representatives and whittling down the Democrats’ Senate majority.
While the Grand Old Party made significant inroads in the Senate, knocking out well-established incumbents like Arkansas’ Blanche Lincoln and Wisconsin’s Russ Feingold, Democrats won crucial races in California and Nevada that ensured they would retain control of the body.
In the House, Republicans took advantage of widespread voter discontent to beat a range of Democratic incumbents, many of whom fell victim to their unshakable association with a sagging economy and an unpopular president. As The Chronicle went to press, the GOP had picked up 59 seats, more than enough to guarantee it will control the chamber for the next two years. Sixteen seats remained undecided, according to The New York Times. [more]
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
November 02, 2010
So what's a "wine" arbitrator? Episode II of McIlwrath-Kirby IDN Interview.
Have you ever gone back and reviewed your firm's bill to a client to determine the fees on your end to select a panel of three arbitrators? How much was that? How long did it take?
Was having three arbitrators important to the client? And was it worth it?
Part II: Is one arbitrator enough? And if there's more than one, how do you spot a "wine" arbitrator on the panel? In June we featured Part I of Mike McIlwrath's interview with Jennifer Kirby, former Deputy Secretary General of the ICC's Court of International Arbitration in Paris. See "The $10 Million Business-to-Business Contract: 1 or 3 Arbitrators?", and McIlwrath's podcast No. 88 (taped April 23) of the CPR Institute's interview series on International Dispute Negotiation.
A month later, McIlwrath--he is Senior Counsel, Litigation for GE Infrastructure, Oil & Gas, and based Florence, Italy--continued his discussion with Kirby. Interestingly, they agreed that, with few exceptions, one arbitrator is preferable to a panel of three in business-to-business contract disputes, even higher value ones. Some of the reasons may surprise you. Hear IDN podcast No. 89 (taped on May 11), and Jennifer Kirby's "rule of thumb" at the conclusion.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
November 01, 2010
Lance Godard: "Are You Reading These Posts?"
"Value is the new golf." Consultant Lance Godard is apparently a man of a few well-chosen sentences--and we do like the one we just quoted on changes in outside lawyer-in-house relationships. As much as we often take a dim view of legal marketing experts, we also like his blog Are You Reading These Posts?, where he collects the better posts on getting and keeping clients. This site is not daily--but it's regular, high quality and with an international scope. Godard has taste in marketing resources, and he won't waste your time.
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Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
Ted Sorenson (1928-2010)
Lawyer's lawyer, Kennedy's wordsmith, pluperfect international advisor.
Posted by JD Hull at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
Make Mine Catholic.
Great Moments in Papal Moxie. In the Western Christian tradition, today is All Saints' Day. It began in 610, when Pope Boniface IV in effect converted the Pantheon--which five centuries earlier had been dedicated to all the gods of ancient Rome--into a Catholic church. Boniface re-dedicated the Pantheon to the the Virgin Mary and all of the Christian martyrs. Talk about sand.
Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)