Something for the Weekend!

Photo of the Day
13.10.07
Our Garden

Advice for the day:
If you have an ear ache, do what it says on the aspirin bottle:
Take two, and KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN.

I have had a very early start today.
The phone rang at 5am. It was my early morning alarm call from my MIL.

It was a good job she phoned otherwise I would have slept in and my SIL would have missed her train to Manchester Airport where she is flying to Canada today.

I am not a morning person and was quite tired when I went downstairs to make a cup of tea.

It was dark on the Moor road but I picked up MIL, then SIL and nephew 1.
We drove to the mainline train station and SIL & nephew went to wait for the train.

MIL & I drove back.
I dropped MIL off at her house and made my way home.

I cooked Jon his breakfast and he is now at the workshop.

I had an hour in bed and am just waiting for the delivery van from the Builder's Merchants with some more supplies for the shed.

Guttering is the next stage.

A quiet day me thinks, hopefully in the garden, but keeping warm.
I have apples and plums to pick, and do things with! (Mind Boggles!)

Meal tonight - Tuna Steaks.

Bike Adventure? We are watching the Skies!

A Weekend Parable

A Japanese company and an American company decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race.

On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile. The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend appropriate action.
Their conclusion was the Japanese had 8 people rowing and 1 person steering, while the American team had 8 people steering and 1 person rowing.
Feeling a deeper study was in order, American management hired a consulting company and paid them a large amount of money for a second opinion. They advised, of course, that too many people were steering the boat, while not enough people were rowing.
Not sure of how to utilize that information, but wanting to prevent another loss to the Japanese, the rowing team’s management structure was totally reorganized to 4 steering supervisors, 3 area steering superintendents and 1 assistant superintendent steering manager.

They also implemented a new performance system that would give the 1 person rowing the boat greater incentive to work harder. It was called the “Rowing Team Quality First Program”, with meetings, dinners and free pens for the rower. There was discussion of getting new paddles, canoes and other equipment, extra vacation days for practices and bonuses.

The next year the Japanese won by two miles.

Humiliated, the American management laid off the rower for poor performance, halted development of a new canoe, sold the paddles, and canceled all capital investments for new equipment. The money saved was distributed to the Senior Executives as bonuses and the next year’s racing team was outsourced to India.

The End.