Why Dog Days?

Musings on a Monday Morning from Mike Mullin…

The weekly Newsletter of Without A Vision Consultancy LLC

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August 12, 2019 – Why Dog Days?

Good morning!

It’s sweet corn season — and the really good stuff only lasts for a week or two – unless you smartly staggered your plantings. Yummm! (None better in the world, by the way, than the Amaizing Corn at Byerly’s.)
Oh, and we might as well herald the home-grown garden tomato, too!
The Blue Jays are active this morning.
Our newest grandson, Max Michael, was christened and baptized yesterday.

• Do you know why these are called the dog days of summer?
• • Since it is generally understood as a pejorative, it doesn’t seem fair to either the dog nor to summer.
  • • Nevertheless, the designation of these days as dog days goes way back to Greek and Roman times, some say related to the appearance of Sirius, the brightest star in the sky.
    • • Enjoy them; there is enough else about which to worry should you choose.
• Got myself a library card last week; hadn’t planned to but it just happened. Met a former student while doing it.
• • Turns out it had been nearly fifty (50) years since I last updated my library card; I feel on top of the world.
• There are a few things that puzzle and perplex me:
• • Why do they close the swimming pools (maybe just in this town?!) in mid-August when there are still four or five of the best weeks of summer left?
  • Why are there so many chairs and couches on the curb — in the rain, sometimes dressers and tables?
  • In a town of 100,000 people there are probably that many different schedules, but why are so many people always driving around everywhere, even in alleys and on quiet streets?
  • Why would someone order a genuine, authentic Pizza Napoletana and not eat the entire outer one-half of the pie?!
  • • Do the math, that’s probably two-thirds of the pizza if you use the pi.
• What do you make of these data? (WSJ August 9, 2019)
• • Exactly the same number of women as men over age 25 in the work force today have a bachelor’s degree or higher.
  • • “Over the past half-century, women have profoundly reshaped the U.S. economy. The changes that are happening now could be just as significant. Investors should take note.”
    • • Read the entire story on the back page of the weekend Exchange.
      • • On the front page of that section you can read about the Home Depot success story — led by a woman.
• Who(m) would you rather work for: A narcissistic leader or a humble leader? (Adam Grant)
• • In a Fortune 100 company, researchers studied whether customer service employees were more productive under narcissistic or humble leaders. The least effective bosses were narcissists — their employees were more likely to spend time surfing the internet and taking long breaks. Employees with humble bosses were a bit more productive: they fielded more customer service calls and took fewer breaks, but the best leaders weren’t humble or narcissistic.
  • • They were humble narcissists.
    • • How can you be narcissistic and humble at the same time? The two qualities sound like opposites, but they can go hand in hand. Narcissists believe they’re special and superior; humble leaders know they’re fallible and flawed. Humble narcissists bring the best of both worlds: they have bold visions, but they’re also willing to acknowledge their weaknesses and learn from their mistakes.
      • • Humble narcissists have grand ambitions, but they don’t feel entitled to them. They don’t deny their weaknesses; they work to overcome them.
• More on relationships, in case you’ve been following along:
• • The thing about a relationship is it’s never finished. Unlike painting the house or completing a big project at work, you can’t ever say, “There, that’s done!”
  • • Daresay, therein might be the number-one reason for failure. A relationship is always waiting, wanting, imperfect, in need of some attention. It’s not unlike a chronic disease which requires daily attention and maintenance. One is never cured, you just keep working on keeping the disease under control.
    • • Some might chafe at this analogy, but because I have some chronic ailments, the analogy works perfectly for me; no offense.
      • • If you prefer another analogy, note the garden which is soon overgrown with weeds absent daily attention.
• The Economist: In e-commerce China accounted for less than one percent (1%) of the value of worldwide transaction only one decade ago; that share is now more than forty percent (40%).
• When will you give yourself the greatest gift of all, the gift of time?
• • Schedule a no-cost preliminary visit today at Without a Vision Consultancy LLC.

From my good friend and reader, Tammy: “What’s the best way to starve a horse?” Assign two people to feed it.

Chairs on the Curb

By Michael A. Mullin

Who decides when a chair’s life is over?

Why is one chair kicked to the curb

while another seemingly identical chair continues

its usefulness for another century?

A chair whose life has ended might get rescued from the curb

or be crushed in the massive jaws of the truck.

Is the executioner to blame or the one who placed

it there on the curb in the free pile?

Does the free pile absolve the decider?

A dead chair might get handed down,

given to the Good Will,

fetch a fortune in an antique store,

or provide an hour’s worth of warmth during a Siberian winter.

What standard is used to decide?

A chair combined with a table is sacramental;

it welcomes you to supper, invites you to rest,

encourages conversation with others seated there.

Too many chairs suffer premature deaths,

they’re preventable.

We have rescue dog programs, why not something for chairs?

©2017 Michael A. Mullin

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