The wife was watching TV this evening. Most of the time I usually pay half attention because I don’t have much intrest in most of the shows she likes, tonight wasn’t much different. I noticed she was watching one of those feel good made for TV Christmas movies that I really find boring as hell. As I briefly looked up at the set I noticed one of the main characters was played by over a decade done has-been “party girl” Jenny McCarthy? The same Jenny McCarthy that not that long ago was breakin’ out her boobies and wolfman in the pages of dirty magazines for money! What casting agent in their right mind would throw Jenny McCarthy in a “family” movie? I kept waiting for the plot action in the movie to switch to Jenny giving Santa a hand-job or her feeding the Reindeer naked, but it never happened. I guess as the years go by the bar of family television morality has been dumped somewhere off the continental shelf which I guess I shouldn’t have a problem with. Maybe next year we’ll get to see Jenna Jamison and Peter North in a remake of It’s a Wonderful Life? Could Ron Jeremy perhaps be cast as the ghost of Christmas past in a Christmas Carol? I bet they could break out  Candy Samples old ass as a huge titted Mrs. Claus! I guess we’ll have to wait till next year to see what new bottom-feeders pop up in “Family” entertainment?

…isn’t that one can purchase an article of clothing bearing an image of Revolutionary War financier Robert Morris.  The surprising thing is that it’s this particular article of clothing.

Malcolm Gladwell

If you have not discovered Malcolm Gladwell’s essays yet (from The New Yorker), then check out his own web site for the archived essays.  They are rich, valuable, and absolutely engaging.  (yes, many of them have been put in his new book, What the Dog Saw:  And Other Adventures.  Read Bob Morris’ review of this book here).

Although it seems an impossible task to choose a favorite, I think my favorite essay is:  In the Air:  Annals of Innovation.  In it, Gladwell chronicles how, on many occasions, a “discovery” is not made by “one person” – the discovery is “in the air.”  It is as though the idea is floating around, waiting to be grabbed.  And frequently, it is “grabbed,” by more than one person – people working far apart (geographically, and in every way), not knowing of the work of the others.

In the essay, he talks about a legendary/repeated brainstorming session led by Nathan Myhrvold, which includes a group of very, very smart people.  And the entire essay is an investigation into the simple but profound question, “where do ideas come from?”

Here’s a favorite quote from the essay:
Invention has its own algorithm: genius, obsession, serendipity, and epiphany in some unknowable combination. How can you put that in a bottle?

Check this one out – and his others.  They are great, short reads, that will get your creative and thinking and learning juices flowing.

Robert Morris's Digital Mash design portfolio

Whether you’re a web guru or not, it may be time to brand yourself online— andoutside the realm of social media. Scooping up a domain name and creating a portfolio Website is highly encouraged for students like ourselves, so what does it take to get started?

1. Brainstorm a website name, and keep it short, sweet and memorable. A good domain name will let people know what to expect from the site. More often than not, it’s best to use your own name or your brand name for a portfolio site. However, if you have a popular name or a really complicated name spelling, you might want to think twice about using it.
2. Don’t fear the “com”; in fact, you should befriend it. A .com Website will be more successful because most people think in .com terms. A .net or .me domain can also be used, but avoid .org unless it’s actually an organizational site.
3. The more, the merrier. Take advantage of an opportunity to buy multiple domain names. This will help with traffic stealing if another person has a domain name similar to yours, and can account for misspellings on the user’s part.
4. Scope out what’s available. GoDaddy’s bulk upload feature allows you to see what domain names are up for grabs. It’s quick and easy. The nameboy search is also a good time saver.
5. Decide where you want to purchase your domain name. There are tons of registrars online, and prices vary.
6. Choose a host. The Site Wizard has a good list of what to look for while selecting one.

Purchasing a domain name doesn’t mean you have to launch a website overnight, but it lets you have some control over what comes up when you Google yourself. It’s a way of self-branding, displaying best works and putting your information out there for potential employers.

            I met the art professor in the bank over summer break. Small talk is not my forte so I let him speak about what he is up to (he appeared very excited though it also could have been described as nervous). He is off to Jordan. It is a conference of Iraqi bookmakers that he has been in contact with. He is learning Arabic. The plane ticket will be on his own dime! He wore these things as a badge of honor, a distinction of his commitment to the process. At the same time there was a hint of unease in the conversation (dis- ease). This was a high cost to impress, and both of us knew that the trip, et al would mostly look great on a resume. Though I didn’t let it show, the word fashionista immediately sprang to mind; this week it is Iraq and Arabic, next week it may be Iran and Farsi, perhaps the following week it may be Columbia and Spanish or North Korea and Korean. Then I thought of it more as this is what he is doing to make art. This IS his art. What a curious thought.

            In a Critical Inquiry essay (The Idle Idol, or Why Abstract Art Ended Up Looking Like A Chinese Room) Robert Morris stumbles along, page after page considering theoretical explanations for the state of abstract art today (Morris has taken to making outdoor labyrinths). The last two pages are memorable. Here he dispenses with theory (though he knows that what he writes is still theory). He describes what he considers to be the current art scene in the NYC area where he resides (the real reason for the state of abstract art today). My own interpretation of his description would be that the scene is a group ethos without the “idol” of authorship. The individuals contribute to what is taking place within the group, with the entire group participating as well as experiencing (celebrating) the outcome ( the outcome being the participation or rather, the act of participating). Morris describes it as singing. Artists sometimes are curators or show organizers, and curators are considered as artists. There is a fluidity, a constant exchange and interaction with an emphasis on the connectivity of networking. It is curiously analogous to the chorus in ancient Greek tragedy (if you can stretch your imagination enough). It “sings” its art, its message, its ideas, etc. But there is no claim to individual ownership or origin. It is in a communal sense (much as the chorus embodies the community within Greek tragedy) with a heavy emphasis on networking and belonging (which can only be done by actively singing; singing along with everyone else, not counter, questioning or critiquing, but going with the flow). To sing with the chorus is to go with the flow, one way only. The chorus is univocal though it may be polyglot. 

            Recently I returned to the mundane process of casting with all the mold making, etc. that it entails. Making the original to be reproduced was an adventure in itself, with its anguish of materializing something that doesn’t exist to the intense concentration (almost meditative) on the refinement of surface and detail for the final outcome. Then came the mold making and casting, etc. Here the term process really made itself apparent- its association with learning, experimentation, research, discipline, commitment, etc. It became very clear why the emphasis on process is such an integral part of American studio art pedagogy.

            I think Morris makes some accurate insights. The emphasis on process within studio art pedagogy over multiple generations has created a slippage into a disappearance of product. There is no longer any need for the idol. The art professor was quite correct in trusting his intuition with regard to continuing his art practice down this corridor of the labyrinth. He was likewise quite justified in his dis-ease. Saying the process is the art (and what is produced is totally superfluous) dispenses with any distinction between art and non art (he does, after all, earn his living as a “professor” of art). A process, any process, is generic and ubiquitous. Historically, it has been the outcome of a process (the effect) which has helped determine its character, its significance. This outcome is now considered of no import. Taking part in the process (singing as part of the chorus) is what makes the signifier. As Morris points out, the signifier is not if it is not continuously made. What a curious thought.

Watch: The Immutability of Grace – by Pastor Robert Morris

From the Overwhelmed by Grace Series.

Click here.

Doug Caldwell keeps telling me that I’ve got to get better at all this social networking.  It comes more naturally for some than others.  I acknowledge the obvious — I’m something of a Luddite.  But I’m working on it.

So — here’s a little…

Yes, I’m on twitter.  You’ll find me as Randy1116, and you can follow me here.  (I’m still learning about what it means to tweet, and how to do it effectively — but there’s usually a few tweets a week from me).

I try to put the title of the next book I’m preparing up on my LinkedIn and Facebook pages.

And Doug Caldwell posts new videos from our First Friday Book Synopsis gatherings, and our Take Your Brain to Lunch gatherings, up on youtube and other sites.  Thanks, Doug.

Here’s the First Friday Book Synopsis youtube page.

You can get a taste of Take Your Brain to Lunch here.

But, of course, my primary attention is given to this blog.

And, don’t forget Bob Morris’ main page at Amazon.

Thanks to all of you for reading.

Finally the epic “Chew” for your viewing pleasure.

“Chew” Materials – Bubble Gum, Plaster, Body/Performance

I created this piece as my final project of my Undergrad at Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. Influenced by Janine Antoni and her notion that she must have an experience with the sculpture in order for the viewer to have an experience with it. The experience that I had with the materials in “Chew” relate to the theories of Anti-Form, working with the physical properties of the objects/materials and how I can manipulate them with body/intimacy.

BEANERY ONLINE LITERARY MAGAZINE

ARTHUR ST. CLAIR

Shirley Iscrupe

      Arthur St. Clair, Ligonier Valley’s most famous citizen of Revolutionary times, was born in Thurso, Caithness, Scotland, in 1734. As a young man he joined the 60^th (Royal American) Regiment of Foot to fight in Canada against the French.

     After marriage to a niece of the governor of Massachusetts, he served as an agent of the Penn family interests in western Pennsylvania, and as civil commandant of the decommissioned British fort at Ligonier. At the outbreak of hostilities with the English, St. Clair was commissioned as a colonel in the American army. He rose to the rank of major-general, becoming the highest ranking Pennsylvania officer in the Revolutionary War.

     After the close of the war, St. Clair held civil offices in Philadelphia, and in 1787 was elected president of the Continental Congress. When the ordinance for establishing the government in the Northwest Territory was passed, he was nominated as first governor, a post he held until 1802.

     Although at times living near Philadelphia or in the Northwest Territory, St. Clair and his family maintained large land holdings and a home in Ligonier Valley throughout his long military and civil career. When his mansion house, “The Hermitage” (two miles north of Ligonier on the right side of the road), iron furnace, grist mill, and adjoining lands were sold by the sheriff for debts in 1808, St. Clair was forced to move to property in Unity Township on the Chestnut Ridge.

~~~

     The Chestnut Ridge tract had been granted to St. Clair in September of 1783 by a special resolve of the General Assembly of Pennsylvania:

     Whereas Major General St. Clair of the Pennsylvania line hath signified to the General Assembly of this state his desire to obtain leave to take up and purchase a tract of Vacant mountainous land lying adjacent to his other land on Loyalhanning Creek and known by the name of the Chestnut ridge, beginning at the lower end of a tract of land settled by George Keltz, Jr.,…including by estimation about 5,000 acres; therefore and in consideration  of the merits of the said Major-General St. Clair; Resolved, a preference of right  to the above described tract of land be given unto the said Major-General St. Clair.”

     When the tract was surveyed for St. Clair on Oct. 21, 22, and 23, it was found to contain 6,219 acres and 35 perches. Adjoining landowners included David Band, George Leashle, George Eager, and the heirs of William Jenkens. Two other properties belonging to St. Clair also formed the boundary. The Kittanning Path intersected the northeastern side of the survey, and the Pennsylvania Road (sometimes called the State Road or the Great Road), which followed the old Forbes Road, cut across the southern end.

     In 1794, St. Clair sold the entire Chestnut Ridge tract to Revolutionary War financier and friend, Robert Morris, of Philadelphia, for $5,600, but in 1796 he repurchased two parcels for $510.13. One lot contained 209 acres 54 perches and the other, 300 acres 134 perches. Morris sold the remainder of “St. Clairs Forrist” to fellow Philadelphian Samuel Mickie Fox for $12,000 the following year.

     St. Clair’s residence on the ridge was a small log house along the State Road, where he operated a tavern. His wife, Phoebe (much impaired in mental health), divorced daughter Louisa St. Clair Robb, and several grandchildren lived with him. Although his daughter Jane often visited and he maintained correspondence with his other children, particularly Daniel in Montgomery County and Betsy and her children in the state of Indiana, no doubt his was a lonely existence.

     When work was begun on the Stoystown-Greensburg Turnpike in 1815, the route followed the Loyalhanna Creek, thus by-passing St. Clair’s tavern. A few hardy souls continued to use the old trail and some folks even followed the road up from Kingston Forge, stopping to visit the old General. Lewis Cass reported seeing St. Clair “some years before his death in a rude cabin, supporting himself by selling supplies to wagoners on the road, one of the most striking instances of mutations which checker life.”

     Ohio congressman Elisha Whittlesey wrote to a friend, “In 1815 three persons and myself performed a journey from Ohio to Connecticut on horseback in the month of May. Having understood that Gen. St. Clair kept a small tavern on Chestnut Ridge, eight miles east of Greensburg, or the distance may have been greater, I proposed that we stop at his house and spend the night. He had no grain for our horses, and after spending an hour with him in the most agreeable and interesting conversation respecting his early knowledge of the Northwestern Territory, we took our leave of him with deep regret.

     “I never was in the presence of a man that caused me to feel the same degree of veneration and esteem. He wore a citizen’s dress of black of the Revolution; his hair clubbed and powdered. When we entered he arose with dignity and received us most courteously. His swelling was a common double log house of he western country, that a neighborhood would roll up in an afternoon. Chestnut Ridge was bleak and barren. There lived the friend and confidant of Washington, the ex-Governor of he fairest portion of creation. It was in the neighborhood, if not in the view, of a large estate at Ligonier that he owned at the commencement of the Revolution, and which, as I have at times understood, was sacrificed to promote the success of the Revolution. Poverty did not cause him to lose self-respect; and were he now living his personal appearance would command universal admiration.”

     In August of 1818, on his way down to the neighboring community of Youngstown, perhaps for supplies or a visit with his friend William Findley, Arthur St. Clair fell from his wagon onto the rutted road. He was found, unconscious, later in the afternoon, and taken back to his home. There he died on August 31, to be followed in just eighteen days by his wife. Both are buried in old St. Clair Park in Greensburg.

     Early in the twentieth century the St. Clair chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution marked the tavern location with a wooden sign denoting it as the site of the “cabin where died Major General Arthur St. Clair.” The Daughters of the American Revolution, feeling that a more permanent plaque was needed, dedicated a monument there as reported in The Ligonier Echo of June 7, 1935: Members of the Phoebe Bayard Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution of   Westmoreland County, paid tribute to the memory of Phoebe Bayard St. Clair and her illustrious husband, Maj. Gen. Arthur St. Clair, Memorial Day, by unveiling a tablet on a large boulder erected near the log dwelling house near Ligonier, where the two patriots died in 1818.

     The bronze tablet has inscribed upon it the following: “Site of the last home of Phoebe Bayard, 1734-1818, and her husband, Gen. Arthur St. Clair, 1734-1818. This monument erected in honor of the beautiful, cultured and wealthy woman, who sacrificed all she had for liberty of the American colonies, and in commemoration of the 200^th anniversary of the birth of her soldier husband, Maj. Gen. Arthur St. Clair, who was one of Washington’s faithful friends and trusted officers, Phoebe Bayard Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution.”

     Several hundred persons were in attendance at the unveiling of the marker at the very place on Chestnut Ridge where the two patriots lived and died. Boy Scouts participated in the program.

     Mrs. John Brunot, regent of the Chapter, gave the welcoming address and dedicated the marker. Miss Elizabeth Sweeney, chaplain of the Chapter, read the ritualistic grave-marking service and the closing ritual. The flags with thirteen stars and thirteen stripes, that of the latter part of the Revolutionary War, which draped the marker, were removed by Miss Nellie Woods and Mrs. Frank E. Madocks.

     Dr. Thomas St. Clair, of Latrobe, a descendant of General St. Clair, was the orator. He urged the members of the Daughters of the American Revolution to strive to preserve the ideals that the couple carried out during their lives. (Author’s note: Dr. Thomas St. Clair of Latrobe was not a direct descendant of Arthur St. Clair. They did, however, share a common ancestor.)

~~~

     Along Route 30 East near the former Sleepy Hollow Inn are two markers designating St. Clair Hollow, which is to the right. The metal marker was placed there by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission. The stone monument was erected by E. B. McColly and Son in 1927. County Commissioners Elliott L. Hibbs, James F. Torrence, and John P. Kilgore approved the $350 cost in 1928. The inscription reads:

“St. Clair Hollow,

Named In Honor Of

Gen. Arthur St. Clair,

The Source Of This Hollow Is

A Large Spring Two Miles

South, Where Gen. St. Clair, In A

Log Cabin, Spent His Last Days.

He Was

A Major General In

The Revolution.

President Of The

Continental Congress.

First Governor Of The

Northwestern Territory

A Pioneer Ironmaster In

Western Pennsylvania

Born 1736—Died 1818

Buried In Greensburg.”

     The Planinsek family, owner of the tavern site since 1917, report that travelers over the Darlington-Youngstown Road still visit the spot where St. Clair spent his last years. While the present spring house and watering trough are not the original structures, no doubt they stand on the same locations as in St. Clair’s day.

     A solitary stone step is all that remains of the cabin; a mute reminder of Arthur St. Clair’s years of poverty and his belief, “I hold that no man has a right to withhold his services when his country needs them. Be the sacrifice ever so great, it must be yielded upon the altar of patriotism.”

ADDITIONAL READING:

Moving to the (Laurel Ridge) Mountains

AT FORT LIGONIER: Excerpt from book, WARPATH

LAUREL HIGHLANDS

THE OHIO COMPANY AND SCIOTO ASSOCIATES LAND PURCHASES (Novel #2)

BOOKALICIOUS!

There’s a Bug (Moth) In Carolyn’s Ear

Furtuna Velaj.

No sophomore slump here, Velaj had a hat trick, scoring the only 3 goals while goalie Biz Cook recorded her 4th shutout today against Robert Morris at the soccer fields. The Bobcats are now 6-2-1 in conference play and have clinched a spot in the NEC playoffs. Robert Morris is now eliminated from playoff contention.

The Furtuna Velaj Goal Count now stands at 11

Blessed Life
Robert Morris

Book Description
This book will transform your life for the better, bringing you guaranteed financial results. But it will do more than that. It will change every area of your life: marriage, family, health and relationships. For when God changes your heart from selfishness to generosity, every part of your life-journey is affected. If all believers followed the practical guidance of The Blessed Life, every church could be built, every nation would have an abundance of missionaries—and all would reap the benefits of having a generous heart. With humor, passion and clarity, Robert Morris presents the secrets of living a blessed life both financially and spiritually.
More Robert Morris

Get Anger is a Choice at Emmaus Road Christian Store - 

http://www.emmaus-road.com/1815

Robert (Bob) Morris is a key member of our blogging team, and knows and shares a true wealth of valuable information and insight.  I interviewed him for this blog over the last week.

Robert (Bob) Morris

Robert Morris

Morris was born and raised in Chicago, attended public schools there, earned a B.A. degree with a triple major from Beloit College and an M.A. in comparative literature from Yale University, taught English and coached varsity football and baseball at Kent School and then St. George’s School in New England, served as Director and CEO of the National Humanities Faculty, held a number of senior-level corporate executive positions, and since 1986, has sustained his practice as an independent management consultant who specializes in accelerated executive development and high-impact organizational performance. For the past ten years, he has reviewed more than 1,800 business books (more than 1900 book total) for the US, UK, and Canadian Web sites of Amazon and Borders and has interviewed more than 100 business thinkers who include Warren Bennis, Marcus Buckingham, Jim Collins, Bill George, Michael Hammer, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, and Chris Zook.

(The following interview was conducted by Randy Mayeux).

Mayeux: Let’s start with titles.  What have you been when in your life? Recently, Judith Bardwick called you a “famous literary critic.”  (Seth Godin refers to you as a critic who matters).  I think that is an accurate current title – but you are so much more.  Title yourself, then and now.

Morris: Frankly, I have always been uncomfortable with labels and titles insofar as they are used to explain who someone is. Over the years, I have been a high school English teacher and varsity football and basketball coach, CEO of a non-profit organization (the pre-collegiate division of the National Endowment for the Humanities), an entrepreneur, corporate executive, independent management consultant, and book reviewer. With all due respect to Bardwick and Godin, I am neither a “famous literary critic” nor “a critic who matters.” Rather, I see myself as a “bridge” between the books I admire and those who read my reviews of them.

Mayeux: You are a great synthesizer.  You draw from so many arenas – literature, sports, film, books….Have you always had this ability to pull from so many places?  Where did you lean to do this?  And, why is it important to be so broad instead of “narrow?

Morris: That’s an especially interesting question because I am constantly struggling to find an appropriate balance between the scope and depth of what I characterize as the “sources of nutrition in my life”: family, friends, the creative arts, the performing arts, sports, etc. Almost everyone and everything in my life seems to be connected. Here’s one example: Since childhood, I have been an avid reader. For me, books were like magic carpets that could take me almost anywhere. To the plains of Troy, into the lives of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, to Napoleon’s retreat from Moscow, to the London in which Charles Dickens observed so much human misery, to…whenever and wherever. Meanwhile, as I recall when I first read about whatever, I immediately associate with that experience what my own situation was then. Dickens’ A Christmas Carol invested my own childhood Christmases with the spirit to which Tiny Tim refers. I cannot separate what I felt while playing football in high school and then college from the pride with which Achilles confronted Hector. You get the idea. Even today, each day, so much of what I have experienced is central to my life now. To what extent do I synthesize all this? I have no idea. I do acknowledge that the process of interconnection is irresistible and apparently irrevocable.

Mayeux: You have a gift for finding the most important pieces of a book’s/author’s message.  Are there techniques you have developed to do this?  Did it come from your academic training, and your teaching?

Morris: Formal education (especially graduate study at Yale in the field of comparative literature) certainly helped but, over time, I have learned how to recognize “clues” as to how to read most works of non-fiction, including business books. My first insight occurred quite by accident: I was struggling to pass a calculus course in college and, just for the hell of it, converted all of the chapter and sub-section titles into a series of study guide questions. Wow! Now I knew what to look for as I worked my way through the text. Now, when I read a business book, I follow this process:

• What does the title reveal about the book’s objective(s)?
• What does the subtitle reveal?
• What are the most important questions that are answered in each chapter?
• What are the answers and how convincingly are they supported by logic and/or evidence?
•  So what?

The most valuable business books answer an important question. Here are three examples. Jeffrey Pfeffer and Robert Sutton’s The Knowing-Knowing Gap:  “What is it and how to avoid or eliminate it?”; Jim Collins’ Good to Great:  “How can a company complete the ‘leap’ from good to great?”; and Jason Jennings’ Think Big Act Small: “What do all high-performing companies share in common?”

(click read more for the remainder of the interview).

Mayeux: I know you are especially fond of Franklin’s Autobiography.  When
did you first read it?  And why do you think it is such a great book?

Morris: I think I was in the 3rd or 4th grade when I was first introduced to Franklin. I in the school library, leafing through an illustrated history of the American Revolution and the Founding Fathers, and there was this nut case (Franklin) out in an electrical storm, running around while flying a kite. I laughed out loud and was immediately shushed by a stern librarian who had a smile that could freeze beer. Several years later, a friend urged me to read Franklin’s Autobiography. I read about 50 pages and stopped. Too much advice. Not enough action. Back to the other books I was reading about gladiators, pirates, and great warriors such as Geronimo. It was only during my junior year in high school did I begin to appreciate Franklin’s Autobiography. I was a very active member of Junior Achievement, met several prominent CEOs of Chicago-based companies such as Kraft Foods and United Airlines, all of whom raved about the book…how much it meant to them. So I read all of it and then re-read it.

Here are three reasons why I admire it so much. First, almost all of the advice that Franklin offers can be acted upon immediately; also, the advice is based on Franklin’s own real-world experience, especially on what he learned from frustration and failure; finally, Franklin takes into full account how vulnerable human beings are, hence his emphasis on moderation. I recently re-read Franklin’s Autobiography and was reminded of some advice (long since forgotten) that will, I am certain, help me to address some unexpected developments in my life.

Mayeux: You read a lot of business books.  You have written over 1900 reviews.  You may not think of it this way, but you are a true expert at time management.  Any time management tips for those of us who feel so overwhelmed?

Morris: Time is a finite resource: 60 minutes to the hour, 24 hours to the day, etc. So we cannot create more time but we can free up time and that is what I have learned to do with regard to the process of determining (a) whether or not to read a book and then (b) whether or not to review it. Here is the process:

Most of us are taught to read phonetically. In fact, the speed of light is far greater than the speed of sound. (The speed of sound is 767 mph whereas the speed of light is 670,616, 629 mph.) The eye is a muscle that, like all other muscles, requires frequent and disciplined exercise. For the past 15 years, I complete several times each day a series of exercises (each takes about five seconds) that strengthen my eyes. When I read almost anything (except legal documents and poetry), my eyes seem to “fly” through the text, top to bottom. Comprehension and retention seem to be determined by intelligence and prior knowledge. That is, you either “get it” or don’t. Final observation: In high school, college, and then graduate school, I was an impatient reader. I felt slowed down by “something.” I felt that I was reading in slow motion, running in waist-high water or on soft sand, etc. Then I learned about research in the joint fields of optics & neurology at UCLA, obtained some information, and modified some of the “eye strengthening” exercises and devised a few others.

Believe it or not, this really is a “relatively brief explanation”!

Mayeux: Specifically, how do you read a business book?

Morris: As suggested earlier:

1. First, read the title and subtitle, then
2. Read the table of contents
3. Read the preface and/or introduction
4. Skim-read the first 2-3 chapters to become familiar with the format

On average, this process takes 10-15 minutes. Then I decide whether or not to read the entire book.

If my decision is affirmative, then as I begin to read each chapter, I skim-read in the sense that I proceed from one bold face heading to the next, then go back and read the chapter word-for-word. When I get to the last chapter, I read and then immediately re-read it. If there are appendices, I also read them. Along the way, I highlight key passages. On average, this process takes 45-60 minutes.

Note: I read fiction, poetry, and legal documents differently. The same is true of autobiographies, biographies, memoirs, and history books. The preceding comments refer entirely to how I read business books.

Mayeux: Which business book first grabbed your attention?  When did you read it – and why did it impress you?

Morris: I think the first business book I read was William H. Whyte’s The Organization Man (1956). It was highly recommended to me by the corporate executives who served as advisers to my Junior Achievement company. I was fascinated by the world Whyte reveals, based on his interviews of various CEOs. By then I had seen dozens of films that portrayed corporate America but this was the first book that suggested what was needed to achieve success in that world. Almost immediately after reading it, I consumed Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People (1936), Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich (1936), and Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking (1952). Then I began to develop a game plan based on the core principles advocated in these four books in combination with, yes, those advocated by Franklin in his Autobiography.

By the way, I re-read the Autobiography every year and the others at least every other year. Yes, some of the material is dated but the content remains remarkably relevant…and valuable.

Mayeux: You have written over 1800 reviews of business books.  You “reject” other books that you have read that do not meet your own high standards for a book before you review it.  In other words, you have read far more than the 1800 business books/1900 total books you have reviewed.  And most of your reviews are very positive, telling us the reasons why a book is valuable, worth our time.  Yet, most people are simply too busy to read many/most of these superb books.  In fact, surveys say that people hard at work, even those with the desire to stay current, seldom come close to reading even one book a month.  So – here is my question.  Let’s say that the average person reads just 12 books a year (I’m afraid that that is actually higher than the reality) – what advice would you give such a person in selecting that one book per month?  How can he/she choose the best book from the many available?

Morris: Obviously, the selection of titles will be determined almost entirely by a person’s specific needs, interests, goals, etc. Some read only for pleasure, others for self-improvement (e.g. re career), and still others for both. Among my dozens of close personal friends, there are some who only read books about sports; others who only read books about military history; others who only read popular novels; and others who only read business books.

Here’s my first suggestion: If planning to select and read only one book a month, narrow your focus. If sports, which? Which games, teams, coaches, and players? If military history, ancient and/or European and/or US? Which battles, leaders, wars, etc.? Re popular novels (as opposed to “classics” such as those written by Cervantes, Hugo, Balzac, Tolstoy, Faulkner, and Bellow), which author(s)? Romance, espionage, murder mysteries, etc.? As for business books, specific subjects such as leadership, management, marketing, sales, innovation, performance measurement, etc. and/or business history?

My second suggestion is to check out Amazon’s ranking of the most popular titles in a specific category, then read the reviews that Amazon provides with each title.

Mayeux: Some business books are written in a narrative style.  Some are business parables.  Some are “this is my wisdom and opinion.”  And some are research and data driven.  (Though some data is questionable, some clearly not quite fairly presented, and some even made up). Each serves different purposes.  Do you have a preference among these different approaches?

Morris: The author’s approach is of much less interest to me than the nature of the content and the author’s presentation of it. The business narrative offers a case in point. Some authors are effective raconteurs, most aren’t. Patrick Lencioni has written several, each about 220 pages in length including the story and then his presentation of lessons to be learned from it. Eliyahu Goldratt has written several novels (e.g. The Goal), each on average about 400 pages in length, whose model is the thriller. Then you have Stephen Denning’s Squirrel, Inc., a business fable about 200 pages in length. Lencioni, Goldratt, and Denning are masters of the genre, to be sure, but they also carefully determine the length and sequence of presentation of material that are most appropriate to their purposes. That is my key point: Select the most appropriate genre and then understand how best to work within its parameters. Ultimately, as with wine, the container is far less important than the quality of what it contains.

Mayeux: You have read a lot of business books.  Many more are on the way.  But can you think of a few that need to be written – areas that are not yet covered adequately?  In other words, what would you recommend to authors out there to tackle next?

Morris: That’s an excellent question, much more easily asked than answered. On the one hand, I agree with the prophet Ecclesiastes that there is nothing new under the sun; however, I also think that there are some unexplored or (shall we say) under-explored areas. Here are two, each suggested by a specific question:

How can I maximize my effectiveness as a collaborator? It is not sufficient to be willing to collaborate with others. It is also imperative to be perceived as someone with whom others wish to collaborate. Many people give little (if any) thought to how and why effective collaboration (as opposed to cooperation) is so important. It literally means, to co-labor…to share work with another or others. Most teams fail because members may be willing but prove unable to do that. I’d like to see some follow-up research that builds on what Warren Bennis and Patricia Ward Biederman share In Organizing Genius: The Secrets of Creative Collaboration and, more recently, what Morten Hansen discusses in Collaboration: How Leaders Avoid the Traps, Create Unity, and Reap Big Results.

How to identify the right “dots” and then connect them? One of my favorite childhood activities was connecting the dots in the puzzles that appeared in the daily newspapers to which my family subscribed; later, I began to purchase volumes of these exercises. Many years later, while working with several different cross-functional and barrier removal teams associated with process improvement initiatives, I realized how important it is to identify the right “dots” (i.e. symptoms) and then follow them to the root causes of problems. In business, it is imperative to recognize what are almost always early-warning signs but that’s not enough. It is also imperative to connect them to each other and to their source. There are specific reasons why some organizations have a high rate of attrition of valued employees. There are specific reasons why organizations lose customers or market share or customer share. There are specific reasons why there is avoidable waste of hours as well as dollars. First, recognize the dots; then connect them; and then trace them to the source.

Mayeux: You have read business books over a course of a number of years.  Are there any books that strike you as books that got it wrong?  What mistakes did they make?  How did they get it wrong?

Morris: There are so many. Here’s one, Ken Blanchard and Don Shula’s The Little Book of Coaching: Motivating People to Be Winners. I was so disappointed that I violated one of my rules as a reviewer (“If you can’t say something nice….”) and gave it a Two Star review. I began to read this book with great expectations because I hold both Blanchard and Shula in such high regard. Perhaps my expectations were unrealistic but I had hoped for some penetrating insights; instead, I found recycled material from previous publications. Shula is among the greatest football coaches ever but has also achieved great success in an equally competitive environment, the restaurant business, so I had hoped for some of his observations about that. None. Blanchard is among the most innovative thinkers about business and presumably sees all manner of subtle but significant correlations between a great CEO and a great coach. None. From a marketing standpoint, the book’s concept is clever. In terms of execution, borrowing a situation from football, it is a fumble on the authors’ own goal line.

Mayeux: Here’s a follow-up question. What about books that got it just right?  What did they get right?

Morris: Again, there are so many. In games such as tennis and golf, those who participate are urged to “play within themselves.” That is, play within their limitations and (to the extent possible) leverage strengths. The same can be said of business books that “get it right.” They have sharply defined objectives, they make assertions based on verifiable and sufficient evidence, and they maintain focus from beginning to end on achieving whatever their objectives may be. Often a book’s subtitle suggests its objective(s). For example, the aforementioned Organizing Genius that examines “the secrets of creative collaboration.” That is precisely what Bennis and Biederman reveal. Here are other books whose authors, in my opinion, also got it right. Note the subtitle of each.

Three by Jim Collins:

Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, co-authored with Jerry Porras
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t
How The Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In

First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently
Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman

Think Big, Act Small: How America’s Best Performing Companies Keep the Start-up Spirit Alive
Jason Jennings

Freedom, Inc.: Free Your Employees and Let Them Lead Your Business to Higher Productivity, Profits, and Growth
Brian M. Carney and Isaac Getz

Mayeux: I’ll ask you one that you asked me.  What non-business books would you recommend to business book readers, and why?

Morris: Here are the non-business books I re-read at least once a year:

The Iliad and The Odyssey, Homer. I am struck by their epic scale in combination with a razor-sharp focus on larger-than-life characters who, nonetheless, demonstrate quite human qualities (especially flaws) with which I can identify.

Oedipus Tyrannus and Antigone, Sophocles. These are two of the works in the “Oedipus Trilogy” that I admire for different reasons. Although I already know the fate that awaits Oedipus, I am always fascinated by the process by which it occurs, recognizing the irony of the fact that the harder he tries to flee his fate, the faster he ensures that it occurs. In Antigone, we have a central character who violates the law to do what she is convinced is morally right. Her uncle, Creon (Oedipus’ brother-in-law), is now king of Thebes. We admire Antigone for “speaking to power”; we also understand why he must enforce the law.

Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, and Othello, William Shakespeare. Just about every dimension of leadership and management is examined in these four “mature” tragedies as well as the author’s brilliant analysis of the challenges and threats that all leaders encounter. I agree with the great historian, Paul Johnson, that Shakespeare “was a virtuoso in words and sounds; and in his plays, though anxious always to follow a story line which is plausible and (when appropriate) historically accurate, he is equally, perhaps more keen to create opportunities for his virtuosity.” Although written more than 400 years ago, these great works are (at least for me) more relevant and compelling than any other works of fiction written during my own lifetime. I am also nourished by their author’s aforementioned “virtuosity in words and sounds.” Each time I re-read them, I take a different approach to the four. The last time, I focused on lessons to be learned about problem-solving. Next time, I think I will focus on the nature and extent of what each of the four tragic figures learns about himself before dying. However many times these plays are read, however much they are analyzed, it is impossible to “housebreak” them.

Autobiography, Benjamin Franklin: For me, the single greatest benefit of reading this work (unfinished, written for his son William, and published after Franklin’s death) is that it “grounds” me in basic values that are too easily neglected or ignored, notably prudence and self-denial. To me, Franklin is the America’s first Yuppie. He overcame so much throughout his childhood and youth to become, eventually, the wealthiest man in the new nation.  It is fascinating to consider what the current state of the economy would be if the government of the United States and all of its individual citizens followed the values that Franklin affirms.

Mayeux: You have written book reviews for quite a few years, but you are new to blogging (as am I).  Are you enjoying blogging?  What are you learning from blogging?

Morris: To me, blogging is simply another means of connecting with people and then nourishing that relationship. I enjoy the process of composing what I post because it calls upon all of my reading, reasoning, and writing skills; however, the ultimate pleasure for me results from the interaction with others. As for what I have learned from blogging thus far, that is difficult to say. There are two possibilities. First, I think I have learned to write more concise book reviews for various Web sites, notably those of Amazon and Borders in the US, UK, and Canada. Also, I think I have learned to inject a bit more of myself into what I write. Until I began to post blogs, I tended to defer almost entirely to the author’s work and to those who read my review of it.  

Mayeux: Given the rapid emergence of electronic reading devices, is the bound volume an endangered species?

Morris: No, I don’t think so. Many of those who suggest otherwise seem to think that there is a zero sum game underway that will only produce one “winner.” That’s absurd. The movies (especially talkies) were supposed to replace live theatre and radio…but didn’t. Television (especially color television) was supposed to replace movies and radio…but didn’t. There will also be bound volumes, although their number and value will be determined by the marketplace…as will the number and value of electronic reading devices.

Mayeux: How important is it to be aware of which business books are most popular?

Morris: Most of what is referred to as “pop culture” reminds me of a perfume that has a pleasing aroma. It smells good but don’t drink it. Few business bestsellers a year or two ago continue to sell. (The Collins and Gladwell books are among the rare exceptions.) I see no harm in checking out the lists compiled by Amazon and The New York Times but would never make a purchase decision based on that information. Most bestselling books (including business books) as well as the most popular films and so-called “celebrities” resemble sparklers: They are briefly dazzling and then disappear like Pet Rocks and Cabbage Patch Dolls. My interest is in what I characterize as “Bunsen burners”: books such as Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, Eric Drexler’s The Engines of Creation, and Gerald Edelman’s Bright Air, Brilliant Fire. Hundreds of other books and thousands of articles have been written to explore the insights provided in books such as these three.

Mayeux: What will be your next major project?

Morris: I want to establish my own Web site that can serve as an online “home” for all my reviews, interviews, Q&As, commentaries, etc. I also want it to serve as a connected, interactive learning center for anyone interested in sharing information as well as their thoughts and feelings about issues that include but are by no means limited to the business world. Many (too many) Web sites resemble a museum. I want my Web site to resemble a laboratory much like Thomas Edison’s in Menlo Park, New Jersey. Lots of people involved in lots of different activities. Asking questions. Seeking answers. Collaborating. Conducting research. Forming sub groups. There will be a huge inventory of audio and visual material available. Links to hundreds of other Web sites. Free downloads. A store at which books, CDs, DVDs, and other items can be purchased. A gallery that displays all many of illustrations and demonstrations, including business cartoons that appeared in The New Yorker. Lots of free stuff, also. Walt Whitman once said of himself in Song of Myself, “I am large/I contain multitudes.” That pretty well describes the Web site I envision.

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You are invited to check out these Web sites:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/memberreviews/A26JGAM6GZMM4V/ref=cm_cr_auth/102-0547273-8345729?ie=UTF8

http://ffbsccn.wordpress.com/category/bobs-blog-entries/

http://www.examiner.com/x-14678-Dallas-Business-Commentary-Examiner

Love is unselfish

1 Corinthians 13: The Love Chapter

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me NOTHING.

Before we continue studying 1 Corinthians let us remind ourselves what love is:

God is love.

Thus for the remainder of the reading why do you not try substituting the name of God for the word love.

4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails.

To some it up, love is unselfish.

“For God so loved the world that He GAVE…”

Love is about giving.  It is not puffed up.  It does not envy.  It is not about seeking it’s own.

John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

Love lays down His life.

“So do I have to die?”

“Yet not I but Christ lives through me. I DIE DAILY.”

“Anyone who wants to come to Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.”

If you want to be successful in love, then die.
Die to yourself, die to your desires, die to your own will.  Lay down your life.
Love is unselfish.

Last thought: Love is unconditional.

Romans 8:38-39
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God loves you whether you like it or not!
It is impossible for God not to love you because HE IS LOVE.
You can never do anything to make God love you less.
You can not do anything to make God love you more.
It is not possible for God to love you more because He is love.

Why would God cover our multitude of sins?

God loves you.

It is not that He has love or that He did love.

He IS love.

1 John:4 has the word love in it 21 times.

John was called the disciple whom Jesus loved. Well, he called himself that but regardless… John, through the holy spirit, was inspired to write on love. In fact, John was the one who recorded the last supper and in John 16 John recorded Jesus saying, “a new commandment I give you: Love one another.”

7)Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son (doesn’t that sound familiar… John 3:16) into the world so that we might live through Him. 10In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (full payment) for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected (matured) in us. 13By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. 15Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16We have come to know (referring to our mind) and have believed (referring to our heart) the love which God has for us God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. 18There is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19We love, because He first loved us. 20If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.