I was taken by surprise to read the announcement that Melissa Mayer, the glamorous new wunderkind C.E.O. of Yahoo has announced that all workers must now report to a desk in the Yahoo office with no more in-home working to create better solidarity and inspire more creativity.
This seems to me a bold step---backward. One of the reasons given is that brainstorming is better in a large group participating together. Whatever happened to teleconferences and Skype? Aren't there plenty of means to make your face and views known in a group seesion of creative thinking?
The increased use of in-home workers makes a lot of sense, especially for working mothers who need to be available at certain key times in their family life with husband and, especially, kids. There are also any number of Mr. Moms around who can benefit from the flexibility of working in your own home in an age of computer/smartphone importance.
I thought the following from The Economist particularly relevant:
"Slapping down the sisters"
"Ms Mayer’s move is not just a bad idea in itself but also a nail in the coffin of the naive notion that women with big jobs help their sisters up the ladder. Her plan will knock out a few rungs. Flexible employers help women run families and jobs simultaneously. Rigid working practices make combining the two impossible or unpleasant. To be fair, as somebody who took two weeks off to have a baby, Ms Mayer is hardly asking others to do what she would not; but then she has dulled the pain of separation from her child by installing a nursery next to her office. Yahoo’s less privileged and less Stakhanovite women may well hoof it to a friendlier organisation.
But this is not just about women. A well-managed company’s workers want to be productive, and managers trust them to decide how and where they will perform best. If that’s not happening, the boss needs to find out why. You can shackle a Yahoo to his desk, but you can’t make him feel the buzz."
In the same article it is noted that the productivity per worker (total sales divided by number of workers) is three times as high at Google than at Yahoo---and Google is a titan in the field of working at home.
Of course, Mrs Mayer has the penthouse atop the Four Seasons Hotel as her home and has built (at her own expense, it should be noted) a nursery next to her office for her baby. Maybe they should convert the office to a gigantic Costco plus-sized office and build day care/nursery facilities there at corporate headquarters!
Somehow I don't think the sisterhood will find this a shrewd move, and Mrs Mayer may have to change her mind one day.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Thursday, February 21, 2013
THE PUSH-PULL FACTOR
I live on an island in the Gulf of Mexico off the southwest coast of Florida called Sanibel Island, separated from the mainland and the southern portion of Fort Myers, Florida by a causeway. My family and I first came here as tourists in 1974, purchased a beachfront condo which we still own in 1977 and my wife and I moved permanently here and built a house in 2002. It is a lovely, serene and ecologically aware place to live with about 12,000 permanent inhabitants. it is reknowned as one of the great shelling beaches of the world and famous for "the Sanibel Stoop" where you see only asses and elbows of the avid shellers.
In 1974 a group of ecologically-minded visionaries constructed a charter called "The Sanibel Vision" which laid out the groundwork for a controlled sound environment with the density per mile controlled and limiting the height of condominiums to palm tree height; i.e., 3-stories. Having seen what uncontrolled greed in development had done to the beauty of other Florida resorts, these farsighted leaders did not want such to happen to Sanibel. It was enacted into law by a far-sighted city commission, and any changes to this charter, The Sanibel Vision, must be by a referendum vote.
In spite of this enactment, some realtors, local store owners, restauranteurs and developers push for economic growth. Translated, this means, let the island grow so we can make more bucks. The last few years have seen a rivalry formed in electing city commisioners between those wanting more development and those wanting to maintain our island paradise. Commission meetings are a real push-pull battle.
Most of us who live on the island realize that we don't have an exclusive on its beauty and welcome tourists, especially in the winter months, because our stores, retaurants and service establishments need to earn a living, and tourist seaon is where the action is. We are willing to live with traffic congestion, For example, the main artery of our island, Periwinkle Way, is a two-lane road and has no stop lights. In tourist season, if you want to get off the island, you best do so before 3:00 p.m.; else you will have a traffic wait of two hours, in some cases, to get off the island. It is a pain in the neck sometimes, but you learn to live with this fact of life. We "natives" (anyone who lives here permanently) know all the tricks of taking the back roads to avoid the congestion in tourist season and to approach Causeway Boulevard by a couple of alternate routes to avoid in some part the long lines on Periwinkle Way. And, I note this year, the lines to get off the island are even starting to form before 2:00 p.m., and the back routes are filled!
The well-known Frommer Travel Guide listed Sanibel as Art Frommer's favorite destination, beating out Bali and Paris, to name a couple of hot spots. Maybe, I thought at the time I purchased a t-shirt last year showing Frommer's Top Ten with Sanibel Island as numero uno, this publicity might be the kiss of death.
All I know is, I have never seen the island, in my thirty-nine years here as, first, tourist and, later, resident so crowded---no, JAMMED. It is not simply inconvenient to get around the island, it can be absolute hell. Yesterday, for example, I went to our municipal Rec Center to work out---normally a trip of fifteen or less minutes. It took me forty minutes to get there and forty-five to come home! A road accident involving a car hitting a bicyclist. plus roadwork by a utility crew made it worse, but, even without that, the road are jammed. We have bike paths all over the island, and they are equally congested.
I bumped into a friend, a retired surgeon and former Professor at a well-known university in the Midwest, and he commented to me his concerns. He has lived on the island longer than I and is a true nature lover and ecologist. He made the observation that even the charitable organizations which buy up land on the island as natural preserves (2/3 of the island is preserved) or rehabilitate wildlife and even the arts organization and the famous Ding Darling Bird Sanctuary are building new facilities or offering more programs to attract more visitors. We both commented that we don't see the quantity of birds at the beach we once did. "They've been crowded out by people," he wryly observed.
So, I am wondering, are we nearing the point of no return? Will we continue to encourage unbridled growth and/or attraction of tourists? Will the balance between the economic growers and developers and the ecologically concerned swing to the greed side? The push-pull factor is in operation, and I suspect that the near future is going to bring this battle to the foreground . I know with whom I will enlist to fight the good fight!
In 1974 a group of ecologically-minded visionaries constructed a charter called "The Sanibel Vision" which laid out the groundwork for a controlled sound environment with the density per mile controlled and limiting the height of condominiums to palm tree height; i.e., 3-stories. Having seen what uncontrolled greed in development had done to the beauty of other Florida resorts, these farsighted leaders did not want such to happen to Sanibel. It was enacted into law by a far-sighted city commission, and any changes to this charter, The Sanibel Vision, must be by a referendum vote.
In spite of this enactment, some realtors, local store owners, restauranteurs and developers push for economic growth. Translated, this means, let the island grow so we can make more bucks. The last few years have seen a rivalry formed in electing city commisioners between those wanting more development and those wanting to maintain our island paradise. Commission meetings are a real push-pull battle.
Most of us who live on the island realize that we don't have an exclusive on its beauty and welcome tourists, especially in the winter months, because our stores, retaurants and service establishments need to earn a living, and tourist seaon is where the action is. We are willing to live with traffic congestion, For example, the main artery of our island, Periwinkle Way, is a two-lane road and has no stop lights. In tourist season, if you want to get off the island, you best do so before 3:00 p.m.; else you will have a traffic wait of two hours, in some cases, to get off the island. It is a pain in the neck sometimes, but you learn to live with this fact of life. We "natives" (anyone who lives here permanently) know all the tricks of taking the back roads to avoid the congestion in tourist season and to approach Causeway Boulevard by a couple of alternate routes to avoid in some part the long lines on Periwinkle Way. And, I note this year, the lines to get off the island are even starting to form before 2:00 p.m., and the back routes are filled!
The well-known Frommer Travel Guide listed Sanibel as Art Frommer's favorite destination, beating out Bali and Paris, to name a couple of hot spots. Maybe, I thought at the time I purchased a t-shirt last year showing Frommer's Top Ten with Sanibel Island as numero uno, this publicity might be the kiss of death.
All I know is, I have never seen the island, in my thirty-nine years here as, first, tourist and, later, resident so crowded---no, JAMMED. It is not simply inconvenient to get around the island, it can be absolute hell. Yesterday, for example, I went to our municipal Rec Center to work out---normally a trip of fifteen or less minutes. It took me forty minutes to get there and forty-five to come home! A road accident involving a car hitting a bicyclist. plus roadwork by a utility crew made it worse, but, even without that, the road are jammed. We have bike paths all over the island, and they are equally congested.
I bumped into a friend, a retired surgeon and former Professor at a well-known university in the Midwest, and he commented to me his concerns. He has lived on the island longer than I and is a true nature lover and ecologist. He made the observation that even the charitable organizations which buy up land on the island as natural preserves (2/3 of the island is preserved) or rehabilitate wildlife and even the arts organization and the famous Ding Darling Bird Sanctuary are building new facilities or offering more programs to attract more visitors. We both commented that we don't see the quantity of birds at the beach we once did. "They've been crowded out by people," he wryly observed.
So, I am wondering, are we nearing the point of no return? Will we continue to encourage unbridled growth and/or attraction of tourists? Will the balance between the economic growers and developers and the ecologically concerned swing to the greed side? The push-pull factor is in operation, and I suspect that the near future is going to bring this battle to the foreground . I know with whom I will enlist to fight the good fight!
Monday, February 11, 2013
A BAD PENNY TURNS UP AGAIN
I have been distracted by my wife's health problems recently; hence, my lack of blogs.
She underwent shunt surgery last July where a polyethylene tube and dial were inserted in the head, threaded through a hole in the neck and another in the belly to drain excessive water on the brain (hydrocephalis) to restore her balance. She was doing well after that surgery. Her head was shaved, and her hair has regrown beautifully with a surprising amount of black for a lady of advanced years with wonderful "silver fox" sides and front. Then, in early January, after coming home from a party, she was writing a letter when she noticed the vision in her right eye was gone. It turned out she had a ministroke of the eye, a retinal occlusion, which took her vision in that eye. Now, the last two weeks. her blood pressure is yo-yoing, sometimes as high as 210/83 (which is scary). We have a conflict among doctors: the cardiologist had her on one set of medications; then her primary doctor, an internist on the island where we live, tried another set of medications, and the results were not good. Now she is sticking to the cardiologist's care, and we have a date with him on Wednesday where we hope he can review her numbers and come up with the right combination of medications. It's a real crap game, this searching for the right combination, and it's really tough on her. She has lots of spunk, but it has taken its toll.
So, I have been busy as a caregiver/caretaker/chauffeur, to say the least. I feel a bit battered myself!
I was shocked but pleased to read that Pope Benecict XVI plans to resign. I know he is a good and righteous man, but, frankly, it's time for him to go. I hope retirement brings needed freedom from stress.
I don't make it a habit to comment on other people's religions, but, frankly, I think the Roman Catholic Church needs some new thinking and a younger, more progressive pontiff for the 21st Century. Pope Bendict was a 16th Century thinker, espousing the old doctrines and offering little relevance for the 21st Century. The spate of sex scandals were bad enough; the cover-ups were just as bad, allowing deviate priests to be moved elsewhere and continue their errant behaviour. In view of the shortage of priests, it is also time to take a new look at celibacy of priests and allow priests to marry. In my own church, the Anglo-Catholic (Episcopal) church, we have always allowed priests to marry, and I think it makes for a more integrated productive priest. Certainly, we have had scandals in our priests: I can remember cases of a few pedophiles and skirt chasers who were serially sexually predatory but not to the degree of the Roman church's scandals. it is unnatural that you you have to give up earthly love for heavenly love; the two can go together harmoniously. A happy priest can also be a devout priest.
In any case, I'll be back at you in a shorter time span, I hope. Don't give up on me!
She underwent shunt surgery last July where a polyethylene tube and dial were inserted in the head, threaded through a hole in the neck and another in the belly to drain excessive water on the brain (hydrocephalis) to restore her balance. She was doing well after that surgery. Her head was shaved, and her hair has regrown beautifully with a surprising amount of black for a lady of advanced years with wonderful "silver fox" sides and front. Then, in early January, after coming home from a party, she was writing a letter when she noticed the vision in her right eye was gone. It turned out she had a ministroke of the eye, a retinal occlusion, which took her vision in that eye. Now, the last two weeks. her blood pressure is yo-yoing, sometimes as high as 210/83 (which is scary). We have a conflict among doctors: the cardiologist had her on one set of medications; then her primary doctor, an internist on the island where we live, tried another set of medications, and the results were not good. Now she is sticking to the cardiologist's care, and we have a date with him on Wednesday where we hope he can review her numbers and come up with the right combination of medications. It's a real crap game, this searching for the right combination, and it's really tough on her. She has lots of spunk, but it has taken its toll.
So, I have been busy as a caregiver/caretaker/chauffeur, to say the least. I feel a bit battered myself!
I was shocked but pleased to read that Pope Benecict XVI plans to resign. I know he is a good and righteous man, but, frankly, it's time for him to go. I hope retirement brings needed freedom from stress.
I don't make it a habit to comment on other people's religions, but, frankly, I think the Roman Catholic Church needs some new thinking and a younger, more progressive pontiff for the 21st Century. Pope Bendict was a 16th Century thinker, espousing the old doctrines and offering little relevance for the 21st Century. The spate of sex scandals were bad enough; the cover-ups were just as bad, allowing deviate priests to be moved elsewhere and continue their errant behaviour. In view of the shortage of priests, it is also time to take a new look at celibacy of priests and allow priests to marry. In my own church, the Anglo-Catholic (Episcopal) church, we have always allowed priests to marry, and I think it makes for a more integrated productive priest. Certainly, we have had scandals in our priests: I can remember cases of a few pedophiles and skirt chasers who were serially sexually predatory but not to the degree of the Roman church's scandals. it is unnatural that you you have to give up earthly love for heavenly love; the two can go together harmoniously. A happy priest can also be a devout priest.
In any case, I'll be back at you in a shorter time span, I hope. Don't give up on me!
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