Monday, December 15, 2003

I was also thinking tonight about Iraqi nationalists hoping for a government body that shares the country equibably - which is a term I would like to see used more often in business. Maybe there isn't an equal share in profits, but an equitable share. That's something that I'm still curious to see in my business model - I could, obviously, make more profit doing this on my own and purely subcontracting, rather than partnering, but that immediately limits the long term potential profit gained when everyone involved in an enterprise has an equitable share in the rewards. I think that means getting better people involved in projects, folks who are going to be oriented towards problem solving more than a focus on self interest maximization, all of which creates better products and better services than creating the greatest short term profit... which I believe, over the long haul, for the most people, will create the most benefit for the company and all involved. It probably means that I won't be buying that Tuscan villa anytime soon, but I will have lived a good and prosperous life in ways that make vast wealth accumulation pale in comparison. Mainly by the non-corrupting of my soul. 2:43:31 AM

With all the talk on Saddam's capture, I can't help but think of the fact that any indigineous resistance will ultimately succeed, over time, if it reaches a critical mass by merit of population growth. They will continue to reproduce and add resistors over time, faster than the colonizing nation can send additional troops. The only proven success, over the long, long haul - considering the fact that most recent empires grew and crumbled within one hundred to one hundred fifty years - are the Romans, who built their empire by impregnating cultures with ideas and genes both, backed up by military might. The testament to those ideas and genes (especially given the catholic church's staunch opposition to birth control) is the survival of the Roman Catholic church, the canonical survival of the Roman empire. I wonder how Coca Cola will fare against that institution, over time? There were some choice tidbits from various news stories - the 8 people killed and 80 people wounded in celebratory gunfire in Kukrit, a Kurdish town. An Iraqi saying Saddam deserved at least the death penalty? I guess there could be worse punishments, but I don't have, nor do I care to, the imagination to think of worse punishments. Torture before, certainly, but even there there is some hope for redemption. Maybe getting sent to Corsica. 2:36:41 AM