Polite Savages (tm)

Manners Vigilante

     John Clifford is a manners vigilante who takes matters into his own hands.  Like many of you he is fed up with rude behavior on trains especially loud cellphone conversations among others.  He has allegedly punched a woman in the head and yelled at many other passengers, male and female.  He sounds very civilized.  He's a retired cop and a lawyer so you think he would know better.

     This affair reminds me of an episode of a show called Futurama.  The premise of the show was that a regular joe from the 80's accidentally became cryogenically frozen and thawed out one thousand years later.  Needless to say many things are different.  X-mas is now a scary holiday presided over by a robotic Santa Claus that reigns terror upon Earth every December 25th.  Robot Santa really punishes the bad.  Instead of just leaving a lump of coal in your stocking, he hurls a boulder of it at your house.  A complete perversion of the holiday's meaning.

     John Clifford is like our Robot Santa Claus.  So the next time that you are on the LIRR, mind your manners or the New York area's very own manners vigilante might get you.  If he does, please file a police report and follow through with the prosecutors.  Let's make sure that he learns some manners. 

Conference Room Etiquette

     I gave a presentation today that I thought was brilliant and informative.  Towards the end of the presentation, a woman opened the door to the conference room and asked if would mind if she set up her laptop for her presentation since she had reserved that room for the next hour.  We still had ten minutes left on the clock.  My boss politely rebuffed her, telling her that we would be finished in a few minutes and that we were listening to a presentation.  This person, who is apparently very thick, kept pressing the issue.  She finally departed leaving her laptop as a marker and her interruption as a thorn in the conclusion of my talk.

     Meeting space today is shared.  In most corporate settings, conference room reservations are necessary.  They can be made in a primitive sign up sheet posted outside the door or through a networked calendar application.  Regardless, you have to respect the schedule.  If you need extra time to prepare or wind-up then plan ahead and reserve the extra time.   

     Planning results in a successful meeting.

1.  Invite the right people.  Do not invite people who do not have a stake in the meeting.

2.  Find appropriate accommodation.  Large enough room to accommodate invitees.

3.  Distribute an agenda.  Inform people of the meeting's purpose and goals.

4.  Designate and identify a meeting moderator or leader.  Keep the meeting on track.

Just Say No to Crocs

    Crocs are OK for kids but adults should never wear them.  Something about them seem desperate.  While they may be orthotic and conform to one's feet, they really are for children.  Crocs are for a specific segment.  It's like those people that walk around wearing chef's clogs on the street because they're really comfortable.  Lots of shoes are comfortable but certain shoes need to stay in their place.