A Hard Thanksgiving

Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice.

In everything give thanks.

As I mentioned here, my youngest sister was diagnosed with cancer about a year ago. She passed away in September. Her absence colored our family reunion Thanksgiving in many ways, not the least because we have different perspectives on death. Praise be to God that He has given us the victory in Christ ... a victory that my sister claimed for her own before she left this life.

It isn't supposed to be this way ... pain and death are both universal (since the fall) and also "unnatural". And yet, God enables us to praise and thank him even in the midst of pain.

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Shameless Plug

Once again I have been away from the blog for a long time, but I have written a few things that are "on topic". Here is a link to an article on project management that "gets to the heart of the matter". It is an abbreviated version of a 12-page original that addresses the importance of communication in successful project management.

Folly Revealed

I have not posted much here lately, but I had to comment on this historical insight from The Wittenberg Door. As a teaser:

"[He] recommend[s] setting this to memory for use next time you encounter someone denying the law of non-contradiction—or for use next time you want to recite flowery, Islamic prose."

Studying History

It has been said that those who fail to study history are doomed to repeat it. It has also been said that the "problem" with a classical, liberal arts education is that it doesn't prepare students for modern careers. I give you this quote (lifted from here):

“We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up in teams we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing. And a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress whilst producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralization.”

The author? Gaius Petronius in 66 AD. You decide

No News is Bad News

I've been too busy to post recently, but I ran across this article on Leadership Under Fire that I had to comment on. I've also added the blog, From Where I Sit, to my Frequent Flyer list. Mike Hyatt (CEO of Thomas Nelson) shares wisdom from the trenches and the corner office well worth pondering.

The specific point that caught my attention was his quote from General Moore that "When there's nothing wrong, there's nothing wrong ... except there's nothing wrong!". His point is that there is always something wrong, and if you don't know what it is, you had better find out. Quickly. This leads to my philosophy about status reporting:

Good news is no news (it's what we all expect of each other).

Bad news is good news (it gives us a chance to address a problem while it is still "new").

No news is bad news (when nobody is worried, everyone should worry).