Jim,

Once again, it’s obvious that you learned well, grasshopper!  I’ve witnessed the light down the wall technique being used on my walls and those of my subs more than once.

The GM of my first employer used to say, “It runs like it looks”.  His trouble was that he left it there; there was little expectation for us to do anything about the way it looked and little consequence of continued bad looks. His statement was just that; not an expectation.

The poorest manager I’ve ever known (worse even than our friend in Chicago!)—a school supt--- had the proper recipe for discipline:

Expectation---Promise---Decision---Consequence.

He had it figured but like most of what he was expected to do, he didn’t execute.

Have you ever had an emphasis in your writings about “Execution”?  Bob Lutz wrote a good book on it.  And, you know, no matter what the initiative, objective, budget, SOP, housekeeping, or whatever the final determinant of success is really limited to one’s ability to EXECUTE.

I hope you have a safe and happy Christmas Holiday and that 2013 will bring you far more grins than frowns.

Camden, NC

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