I pretty much tore into the late Peter Drucker a couple of weeks ago for his description of, as I see it, you and me as “mediocrities,” even “idiots.” (Perhaps not you, but I know for a fact he thought of me as a charlatan-idiot. Well, I didn’t think much of him either—so fair is fair.) (I participated in a Drucker tribute a few weeks after his death, appearing with several grandees. I was supposed to open with 5 minutes of laudatory remarks; me, essentially “never at a loss for words.” I’ve seldom worked so hard on a thing—but in the end I couldn’t pull it off, couldn’t make it work—so I demurred. I did remain as a for once quiet participant—and did murmur a few supportive words—which, concerning constrained subjects, were genuine. Not gonna make the Highlights Tape.)
For me, as you know, the answer to everything is … another PowerPoint. (Hmmmm … maybe I am an idiot.)
The poet (my favorite) Mary Oliver said: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
Picasso said: “Every child is born an artist. The trick is to remain an artist.”
I’m hardly he-who-wears-rose-colored-glasses. Yet I do have a rather exalted view of human potential—daily headlines on human barbarism notwithstanding. Attached you’ll find the Special PowerPoint Presentation: “Peter & Mary on Their Fellow Humans.”