Ever read the magazine-journal Foreign Affairs? As pragmatic businessperson, not statecraft aficionado, I suggest you do. Consider the July-August issue. It starts with editor James Hoge’s “A Global Power Shift in the Making: Is the United States Ready?” Which in turn ominously begins: “The transfer of power from West to East is gathering pace and soon will dramatically change the context for dealing with international challenges—as well as the challenges themselves.” Other good stuff includes a remarkable piece by BP* CEO (and pro environmentalist!) John Browne: “Beyond Kyoto.” Starting point: “Global warming is real and needs to be addressed now.” (*In their new logo, BP now stands for “Beyond Petroleum.” P.S.: Skepticism merited? Of course. But I 90% buy their act.)
Pens, Swords, Etc.
On my studio wall is a framed card that reads, “The pen is mightier than the sword, but nothing compares with the vocal chords.” Four days of gavel-to-gavel convention watching have reminded me, a professional speaker, of the difference between bad, mediocre, good, and great speechifying. There was a lot of “not nearly ready for prime time” dross … and some truly magical moments. I’m also reminded that although I am an avowed “action fanatic,” ideas do matter. Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton both said the 2004 election is a “battle for the soul of the nation.” Obviously, they’d both like you to vote for John Kerry, but the point is that this vote is, whatever your political persuasion, about a turning point concerning nothing less than the idea of what America is all about.
PENS, SWORDS, VOCAL CHORDS
More Barack Obama: Loved his phrase “audacity of hope.” As in: “the hope of slaves sitting around a fire singing freedom songs … the hope of a skinny kid with a funny name [Barack Obama] who believes that America has a place for him, too.” Audacity of Hope … NICE!
Bonjour, Best Seller
A French economic advisor’s tongue-in-cheek attack on corporate culture went largely unnoticed when published in May. Corinne Maier’s Bonjour Paresse (Hello Laziness) is subtitled The Art and Necessity of Doing the Least Work Possible for Your Employer, and her employer is not amused. The author’s upcoming disciplinary hearing has both the press and the unions coming to her defense. One U.K. article calls the book “an elegantly written call to arms to the ‘neo-slaves’ of middle management … condemned to dress up as clowns all week and waste their lives in pointless meetings.” (If you parlez francais, this article in Ici will tell you more.) Mme. Maier’s next book may well be Bonjour, Reprint: The Art of Letting Your Employer Prove You Were Right.
Tagging Credit
Infineon believes its break-through idea on RFID technology will create sand grain sized tags soon. Which means everything could be tagged. So you enter a shopping mall … pick up all the stuff you want … leave the shopping mall and NEVER STOP AT CHECK-OUT. The info on the smart tags immediately uploads to a server which itemizes your purchases, distributes the info to the various stores, and accesses your credit card verification. Ooopps. That is if you have credit card verification. While I love this technology, it does mean the digital divide is increasingly becoming a financial divide. The divide used to mean having enough money for a computer and access. It now may mean having enough credit.
Young folks struggle to manage credit. Over 1.6 million Americans filed for personal bankruptcy last year. This doesn’t take into account the 1.2 billion or so on the planet below the poverty level.
Some claim this type of technology will enable a leveling of the literacy field. But what about the financial field? Love to hear from some of you about this.
Barney’s to Buddha … WOW!
Opening October 2, the Rubin Museum of Art will turn a darkened Barney’s in Chelsea to what the New York Times calls “a glittering showcase for a reclusive spiritual art from the other end of the earth.” As the story goes, Donald Rubin, businessman and collector of Himalayan art, noticed the vacant building while stalled in a cab and immediately decided to turn it into a museum like no other. Six years later, this gift to curious minds should garner lots of good karma for Mr. Rubin.
A Pox
A pox on (almost) all their houses! 
Republican or Democrat (or Naderite—de facto Republican), November’s election is important. And the Conventions are important, absence of drama notwithstanding. Thus I’m with PBS’s Jim Lehrer who on Sunday ripped the three “major” (quote marks increasingly merited) networks for granting only an hour a night to live convention coverage. Whoops, a pox on Mr. Lehrer’s house, too—at exactly 11:00PM Monday night, PBS cut President Clinton off mid-sentence. That cost them any 2004 Pledge Week $$$ from me, for one. As to the “almost” in my first line of this comment … hats (way) off to C-SPAN‘s gavel-to-gavel coverage, which also mercilessly saves us from the ceaseless drone of talking-head commentators.
Not For Everybody!
We all start our journeys toward Greater Awareness as a result of a unique set of circumstances that capture us and turn us toward action at a particular point in time—and not a moment before. My first inclination is not to share. But, I am compelled to write a little something—in case I happen to catch a single soul in the place I was five weeks ago. Read this: Tom’s Summer of Soul.
Ye Gads!
Did you ever think you’d see the day when a news headline (07.26.2004) reads, “AT&T Said to Be Takeover Target.” KKR/Kolberg, Kravis, Roberts is teaming up with ex-ATT execs to line up a possible bid for the firm. Hard to disagree with Newsweek‘s summary: “Being taken over by a financial operator like KKR would mark the final fall of [AT&T].” The battering—and fall—of the mighty continues at an unprecedented pace. If you want more of my (strong) views, see the “Destruction Imperative” chapter in my latest book, Re-imagine!
Web Bible
There will doubtless be updates in the world of Internet research, but for now Tara Calishain has written the “bible.” Moreover, the lucid and jargon-free style of Web Search Garage means that amateur searchers-researchers like me can benefit immensely. This is not theory: I’ve known Calishain for years, and used her services continuously; she is the Master! (Note: Her book is coming out Mid-August.)