Zeno for Managers

Remember Zeno's Paradox? The one where Achilles can never catch the Tortoise which has been given a head start because every time Achilles covers half the distance between himself and the Tortoise, the Tortoise has moved just a little bit further and so-on? This is of course flawed in reality because the sum of all the successively smaller parts is 1 and not infinity. Well I have a modern example. If you have to record your time doing something and also have to include a record of the time you take recording the time, then do you not end up never actually finishing filling in your record because of the meta-recording and meta-meta recording? I can't be bothered to work out the maths to find out where the flaw is but I just want to draw attention to the analogy. So much of management is swamped by things which, if not exactly like this Zeno for managers paradox, are just as ludicrous and un-productive. At least Achilles and the Tortoise got to the pub afterwards. I am a liar. Sorry! Wrong paradox.

To be Random or not to be Random. Is that a question? That is isn't it? Soundtrack is the lovely floaty 18 minutes bit of the first disk of Music in 12 parts and its beautiful and instant transition to part 2. How random is that? Commander Walker is on Holiday.

As I did two random bits last week, I am going to leave it for this week. Still the Soundtrack is the same.

I was completing a couple of pages in my current scrapbook this week but when I turned over to the next set of pages, I discovered an artwork I had completed some years before and well out of the sequence. I used to fill in two or three double page spreads each week until about 5 years ago when I almost stopped altogether. It is only now I have started doing the pages more regularly. Anyway, this artwork is loads of Oil Pastel in various blurred aquare shapes, read and blue mostly but inside the frame, there is a cut-out which must be a technology advert because it shows a sketch of a worldwide network, very back-of-an-envelope. I seem to have called this Chromatography. Maybe a scan will materialise in the next week or so if I get time. I only have four spreads to finish this book and so I am thinking occaisionally about a theme for the next book. This one is called "NOTHING A Special Report" after a specal edition of New Scientist. An Oblique Strategy for the next one would be helpful and that strategy is - wait for it - The most easily forgotten thing is the most important. This makes me think I should theme the next book using my first ever memory. This was running around a great grass field by the sea though I seem to remember that it was a cliff edge rather than a beach. Strangely this has just reminded me of a dream I had last night about dropping my wallet on a beach and being under fire as I tried to get it back. This probably comes from this article which I read yesterday and of course the Robert Capa photos. So the theme is Invasion - I don't know what form but Invasion is the theme. Positive or Negative - Oh and A Midsummer Night's Dream - the world's first one episode sitcom. We Love You. That's why we're here.