My dear friend walked home along the river’s edge. …
Charly walked among saw-toothed crocodiles
(their father is the king of pride and perdition;
they go to, fro, up and down until judgment day)
because the road took her six more miles to get home.
…
We buried my friend today – what was left of her
because I wouldn’t, couldn’t wait fifteen minutes
and take her home by my car, every Friday night.
…
Had places to go and things to do, Friday night!
…
… I wept bitter tears for my friend, Sunday morning.
…
Charly knew better than to walk the river’s edge
irregardless of her young-un’s want for dinner …
I told her, what they need’s a little respect
because their mother is working a twelve hour shift
and me, I made my own food since I’s twelve years old.
…
And I’s none the worse after all was done and told.
…
…
My dear friend used to make the most wonderful pie.
…
Charly walked among saw-toothed crocodiles
(out of their nostrils and mouth – smoke and sparks of fire;
their hearts, stone and eyes like the eyelids of morning)
to bring me a heavenly pie on my birthdays. …
None made a better rhubarb pie than Charly made.
…
That’s what I’s thinking, driving by Charly’s place;
social service was herding up her kids with a hurry.
…
Couldn’t stop. Fifteen minutes late for church dinner.
…
…
Weren’t no better friend and a mother than Charly.
Are you comfortable faking it? Friendship, love, and life – for instance?
by Stan Faryna
I’m going to do this like Jack does it. I am also inspired (in a manner of speaking) by a Florida Film maker that recently got accolades from the blogging community. More about that another time.
Stream of consciousness: I started with a title. It came to me as I watched my twitter stream. It’s loaded with love, gratitude, and inspiration.
…
I have selected this music to heighten your reading pleasure: The Blue Danube.
The Economics of Friendship. And other social media DOHs. by Stan Faryna
…
Play the soundcloud player to hear the podcast. Or download it here. The podcast sounds awesome with earphones or played on hi-fi speakers. Try it and tell me what you think.
Mobile users: you should be able to hear the podcast here.
…
Economics
Like it or not – there is an economics to friendship. I know! I know it may seem to you that I have just said a heartless, stupid and terrible thing! Bill Dorman is going to have some fun with this. Read the rest of this entry »
Without much ado, I’d like to introduce you to Adrian Klein. He’s a twenty something that writes a blog about how to become a rock star. He’s a member of my Triberr tribe, Rockstars and Chatlanians. I just wrote about this awesome tribe here.
Adrian Klein is a musician, singer, and independent producer. He’s worked with Linkin Park, 50 Cent and other well known rockstars. One of his dreams is to work with Lisa Marie Presley. Adrian is just getting started as a blogger, but he has 7,000 people following him on Facebook and millions of song downloads for songs that have his name in the credits.
Below are some of Adrian’s blog posts that I enjoyed. I know that you will enjoy them too. Read the rest of this entry »
Where are the leaders of Arab nations? Who is dressed in the armor of Islamic righteousness? Who stands against their Muslim brothers who do evil? I don’t see them anywhere, do you?
Below, a little background music: Eminem, The Real Slim Shady
……………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………….
Muslim unity has a LOUD hollow ring to it and it’s being heard – and discussed – around the world. Many centuries ago, Westerners learned that shared religious views are no substitute for cooperation backing up a firm will and commitment to effect positive change. Even when the different prayers of peoples are formulated with the same words, intentions and aspirations, religion is separate from statesmanship. If the two-faced Pan-Arab commentary and confusion continue, American and European empathy for the Pan-Arab cry for freedom, democracy and justice may wane, even disappear. Read the rest of this entry »
Harvard Business Review and the Customer Community.
This morning, I was excited when I discovered that Harvard Business Review had launched an online customer community: HBR Answer Exchange. The URL is http://answers.hbr.org/
The HBR Answer Exchange is described as follows: “The HBR Answer Exchange is a resource for business professionals in search of advice–or with advice to share. Ask a question, read answers selected by HBR editors, or share your experiences.”
I immediately signed up and logged in. And with great expectations! The concept is brilliant and I would like to imagine that the HBR Answer Exchange is going to be a highly active network. If it is managed well and the proper resources are put to it.
It will also need intelligent members willing to contribute, exchange ideas, share insights and interact with other (hopefully) intelligent members. This is, of course, stating the obvious.
Building a Customer Community: Wrong and Right Ways
Lists and bullet points are convenient. They can be useful tools to summarize so-called key points and help the reader to remember and organize information. The list in the HBR Editor’s comment to the HBR Editor’s question about Mentoring, for example, suggests interesting tools.
I appreciate HBR’s attempt to get the conversation and interaction going. It’s not easy to build a customer community where participation requires a higher level of contribution, consideration and insight than say Twitter or Facebook (F/B).
Myself, I believe quotations substituting for personal insight and interaction often present as commonplace, sterile, or impotent cliché – and nowhere is this more true than Twitter and F/B. Worse, cliche tends to make for good humor.
The HBR Editors might use quotes from HBR books in the questions they pose. Such quotations could provide guidance and a starting point from which community members might embark upon a well considered comment.
A more interesting approach to community building would be to get HBR’s writers to weigh in here. And, perhaps, let it be known that significant contribution here can lead to becoming a contributing writer to HBR.
As one who was mentored and as one who has endeavored to mentor others, I have to say that the tools mentioned by HBR’s editors cannot substitute for the necessity of a true human relationship – a relationship that involves all sorts of wonderful fuzzies and, above all, perhaps the greatest of natural virtues… friendship.
C.S. Lewis illuminates the subject in his book, The Four Loves. (You can get the hardback from Amazon.com.)
Writes one top 500 Amazon reviewer (NotATameLion) of this book:
“C.S. Lewis’ The Four Loves was not a book that I expected to reshape my thinking. I first picked it up while following the reading guide at the end of Lindskoog’s Mere Christian. I thought it would be a fun read during valentine’s season. One often is most vulnerable to the trap when one is not alert…
And so, once more, C.S. Lewis has changed my thought on a broad portion of life…”
And so, I am skeptical that mentoring can be institutionalized as an organizational strategy to be applied across the large organization- irregardless of vision and resources. Mentoring depends completely upon the character, mind, and heart of actual persons. Mentoring can, however, be celebrated, encouraged and rewarded. Tools can and should be made available. But tools can only make such relationships more or less effective.
Perhaps, I am mistaken. Maybe Dale Carnegie will come back from the dead to write the uber book about Mentoring.
Until that happy day, I believe that coaching is more suited to organizational strategy. Coaching does not demand the vulnerability and personal investment which would be inappropriate to require of the employee- leader or otherwise.
Furthermore, large organizations are unprepared to make appropriate compensation for such private and personal risk. Nor would they be ready to insure their mentors against such risks and potential claims.
Harvard Business Review
I wish HBR every success in their endeavor to extend the value they already bring to their online community through their website, blog and tweets. The HBR Answer Exchange is an exciting aspiration. And I hope it shall flourish with wisdom and insight.
Mr. Faryna is the founder and co-founder of several technology, design and communication companies in the United States and Europe including Faryna & Associates, Inc., Halo Interactive, and others.
Stan Faryna served as a Global Voices author and translator. Global Voices is a non-profit global citizens’ media project founded at Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, a research think-tank focused on the Internet’s impact on society.
Mr. Faryna also served as editor-in-chief of Black and Right (Praeger Press, 1996), a landmark collection of socio-political essays by important American thinkers including U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Copyright
Copyright 1996 to 2009 by Stan Faryna.
Here’s my fair use policy for my content:
If you want to share my content with your own audience, you may quote a brief excerpt, if and only if, you provide proper attribution (Source: The unofficial blog of Stan Faryna) with a direct link to the source. Generally speaking, as long as you are not acting as an agent or on behalf of a corporation or institution, I am not interested in any payment for the quotation or use of a complete article. Nevertheless, you may not republish or translate the entire article without my written permission. Send your request for permission by inmail through Linkedin. Or DM me at Twitter.
Posted by Stan Faryna 
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Arab leadership: Will the real slim shady please stand up!
March 21, 2011Where are the Arab leaders?
Where are the leaders of Arab nations? Who is dressed in the armor of Islamic righteousness? Who stands against their Muslim brothers who do evil? I don’t see them anywhere, do you?
Below, a little background music: Eminem, The Real Slim Shady
……………………………………………………….
……………………………………………………….
Muslim unity has a LOUD hollow ring to it and it’s being heard – and discussed – around the world. Many centuries ago, Westerners learned that shared religious views are no substitute for cooperation backing up a firm will and commitment to effect positive change. Even when the different prayers of peoples are formulated with the same words, intentions and aspirations, religion is separate from statesmanship. If the two-faced Pan-Arab commentary and confusion continue, American and European empathy for the Pan-Arab cry for freedom, democracy and justice may wane, even disappear. Read the rest of this entry »