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« August 19, 2012 - August 25, 2012 | Main | September 02, 2012 - September 08, 2012 »

September 01, 2012

Work, Workaholics and Dreams: When did hard work become a loathsome disease?

So it's safe for driven folks to come out of the closet? Really? There is one thing some of us really love about The Recession, which slogs seemingly forever into its 5th year. It is simply this: no one seems to be telling us anymore how many hours or how intensely we should "work". See this 2006 classic by our friend Stephanie West Allen, a vindication (and explanation) of Ben Franklin, Tom Edison, Steve Jobs---and other "sick" folks. Her article is "Hot Worms and Workaholics: Let the Workers Be". It's inspired in part by a study which showed that some simple life forms thrived in conditions that would harm, and even destroy, fellow members of the same species. Excerpt:

I have met many hot worm lawyers and I suspect there may be whole firms composed primarily of hot worms. These lawyers thrive on conditions that might prove injurious or even fatal to other lawyers. I am concerned for the hot worm lawyers and the damage that might be done to them if someone decided that these torrid wigglers needed to swim in cooler waters, to achieve life balance as defined by some other worm.

Denver-based Ms. Allen

Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 12:44 AM | Comments (0)

August 30, 2012

Burning Man Festival 2012: Day 4.

The festival began in earnest in 1986 with about ten people on San Francisco's Baker Beach. The idea was, in part, to observe and celebrate the summer solstice with an evening bonfire. The event grew quickly and moved to the desert in 1990. Burning Man Festival is now an eagerly-awaited 8-day gathering, romp, art show, living experiment of "radical inclusion" and alternate reality held and experienced each year in Back Rock Desert, Nevada. Interestingly, and to the festival's great credit, each of the 50,000 gushing aficionados and devoted tribesman who do regularly attend describe it a bit differently. This year (August 27 through September 3) our firm is honored, amused and a tad horrified that the entire board of directors of one of our few start-up clients--they are grads of fancy B-schools back East but dress year-round like extras from "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome"--are shilling a few ideas of their own at 2012 Burning Man. Good luck, guys.

Posted by JD Hull at 02:49 AM | Comments (0)

August 29, 2012

And why not?

We love China and, of course, Chinese culture, one of the oldest in the the world: literature, philosophy, music, visual arts, martial arts and cuisine. We, too, covet Yang Le Le, the versatile model and actress.

Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)

August 27, 2012

In the Movies, and in Real Life, the Chinese are now buying up American assets at a record pace.

The figure is about $8 billion so far this year, mainly in energy, aviation, and entertainment. The previous "record" for Chinese buying was the spree of 2007, totaling roughly $7 billion. See, e.g., in the LA Times "China eagerly buying up American assets", in the Financial Times (via CNN) "Chinese acquisitions in U.S. near record", and the new Warner Bros. fictionalized account of the misfortunes of North Carolina's 14th Congressional District in The Campaign, with Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis and half our mainstream media, all playing themselves.

Posted by JD Hull at 11:50 PM | Comments (0)

The Trinities: Why "Threes"--with siblings, kids, dogs, cats, women, neighbors, co-workers--are always the most Instructive.

1. Just one (1) is one creature alone.

2. Two (2) means #1 has a Friend or Ally.

3. Three? Three (3) is Politics. And it is politics in its most basic, primal, emotional, methodical, swing-voting, fickle, devious, productive, infinite, uplifting and interesting form.

But dogs and cats are just as much fun to watch--and a lot easier than humans. A lot more.

The Trinity on "Dogmatic Sarcophagus", c. 350 AD, Vatican.

Posted by JD Hull at 01:37 PM | Comments (0)

August 26, 2012

Canadians Get Client Service. Yanks & Brits Go Through Motions.

Clients don't care that you're smart--or that you're nice. So if you're stymied about what Client Service really is, see the Canadian Bar Association's Practice Link and particularly "Client Relations: Creating Loyalty in Your Best Clients", by Susan Van Dyke. Susan's piece cites a Quebec-based study which found

personality (29%), proactivity (18%), and work management skills (16%) were the top three attributes respondents valued. It also found an “irreversible shift of legal services toward an advisory approach,” supported with the following respondent comment:

“Clients are better informed and more demanding. When faced with equal ability, they will opt for a better understanding of their business situation and thoughtful proactivity based on innovative ideas. They are looking for a partner who is ready to get involved in their success, with whom they can develop business solutions. They do not want to deal with the moods of their outside counsel."

One senior corporate counsel interviewed in the study said:

We want to feel they [outside firms] are interested in our business. We are not an interesting legal case. We want a partner to find business solutions along with us.

Comely Ms. Canada: She still rules Western Client Service models.

Posted by Holden Oliver (Kitzbühel Desk) at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)