Thought I’d share this as I know not everyone is on Twitter and it’s been keeping me entertained this week.
Poo Lady’s feed (Oh yes it is! Oh no it isn’t! Oh yes it is!)
Poo Lady’s web site with commented out Twitter link. (View Source and scroll down to the Social Networks bit).
One of the great things about the internet is how you start looking at one topic and end up looking at something else that’s equally, if not more, interesting.
I found this essay by William Deresiewicz on Solitude and Leadership whilst following a thread on the Mini Microsoft blog about the demise of the KIN and how the Danger team seem to have been actively demotivated by incompetent management and marketing wonks at Microsoft in the time immediately after the buyout.
In particular, this caught my eye :-
Excellence isn’t usually what gets you up the greasy pole. What gets you up is a talent for maneuvering. Kissing up to the people above you, kicking down to the people below you. Pleasing your teachers, pleasing your superiors, picking a powerful mentor and riding his coattails until it’s time to stab him in the back. Jumping through hoops. Getting along by going along. Being whatever other people want you to be, so that it finally comes to seem that, like the manager of the Central Station, you have nothing inside you at all. Not taking stupid risks like trying to change how things are done or question why they’re done. Just keeping the routine going.
Finally, maybe, we’re starting to wake up to what is fundamentally wrong with Western business ethos.
Incidentally, if you read the Mini Microsoft blog and wonder if it’s just a bunch of whiny techies … no, I think not. My recent experience in this business area suggests that this sort of thing is all too common. Most of the people doing the actual work know what customers want – after all, a lot of them are customers themselves. Those calling the shots, on the other hand, give the impression that they’ve never even seen the internet, let alone a smartphone.
I fear this is all too common across all aspects of our business lives.
Get yer free music here.
I don’t think I’ve mentioned this lot before. I’ve been listening to “Idiot Jones Will Have His Day” for several years, dating back to the days when they still had a “pay what you want” scheme still going on their website (which, of course, I promptly used). Since then they’ve recorded five more EPs.
Definitely worth a listen if you like anything vaguely seventies, art-rock flavoured, although they label themselves “progressive pop”, whatever that means. The vocalist reminds me of Marc Bolan quite a lot and the shorter songs have a classic T Rex flavour to them in places. There’s elements of Roxy Music, Pink Floyd and all sorts of quirky goodness in the mix as well.
And did I mention that it’s all free?
1. Sack the board of the FA.
2. Appoint a director of football with real power who is a football man with authority over the development of the game in England.
3. A minimum of 7 English players in every premier league starting 11
4. Reduce size of premier league to 18 teams
5. Instigate a winter break
6. Break up current national team. The “golden generation” is flawed. Only Cole, Gerard, Milner and Rooney should remain.
7. Build a new team for the long term, with the expectation of improving in the next world cup and peaking for the 2018 world cup. Should be made up of only players with the necessary technical skills, the ability to take the ball under pressure, control it, pass and move, some tactical and positional sense, and the ability to be part of a team.
8. Look for this team in the academies, Under 21s, Under 20s and under 18s. Build it and allow it to grow. No pressure to achieve results for the first 2 years.
9. Keep Capello. He is an excellent manager. It’s football in this country which is rotten.
10. Recognise that the media are part of the problem in the way they set the agenda, hype the team up and then knock them down. They are creating a climate where the players are playing with fear. It’s time to educate the public, improve the standard of punditry and set realistic expectations.
We were promised a root and branch review of the English game in 2007, but the FA appointed Capello and swept the problem under the carpet, and no review took place. If it doesn’t take place this time, nobody should go to any England games, nobody should buy replica shirts, nobody should watch internationals on TV, and the England supporters trust should be organising sack the board demos outside Soho Square.
Then lets see if there is a change in the way football is run in this country.
Everyone and his dog is going to be suggesting what went wrong and how to fix it, so I thought it was worth resurrecting this thread so that we can all have a go at some armchair management.
Delivered confidently and effectively, and sent a clear message to the markets and the ratings agencies. And that message was “we’ve seen what’s happened to Greece and Spain, and we’re taking decisive steps to make sure it doesn’t happen here
Well that’s how I saw it. How about you ?
We’ve got one of the best managers in the world who cut out the nonsense and got us playing as a team again (at least in the qualifiers).
We’ve got some of the best and most valuable players in the world.
Yet the performances in the two group games so far have been dreadful, and it looks like we may struggle to qualify in a group we should be managing to top quite easily.
What has gone wrong ?
Speculate and discuss ?
FIFA have revealed they are going to look at the world cup ball again after shock horror, Greece score two goals with it !!
Yes that’s right, they are in their third World Cup finals, and until yesterday they had never scored a goal.
What next, is Heskey going to score with it ?
How are you all enjoying the world cup so far, and what are your highs and lows ? For me ..
HIGHS : Greece getting their win, France bombing out, Maradonna’s Argentina coming good and getting the best out of Messi, Germany’s performance against Australia
LOWS : How awful England were, defensive football, teams being too scared of losing their first games
TRENDS : South American teams all performing well and unbeaten so far against European teams. Asian teams outperforming African teams.
The vuvuzelas seem to be causing some polarised opinions amongst fans, as exemplified in the comments section on this news story in The Guardian today.
So what’s your opinion?
I was hoping to be the first one to post about the WC but Double Bubble seems to have beaten me. My post isn’t about betting though.
So what are your predictions for the World Cup? Who will win the Group Stages? Who will win outright? Who will be the surprise package?