Thank Goodness It's Monday #311

FIFTY-SIX SIGNERS
– PLUS ONE? 

On the Fourth of July I like to think about what the Declaration of Independence means to us in these “modern” days. 

So, once again, I’m posing a TGIM – 

Independence Day Challenge for you: Make your declaration. 

As I have in every TGIM I put forth at this time of the year, I encourage you to take time between the hot dogs and fireworks and whatever to re-read (or read for the first time) the document those 56 signers pledged themselves to. I vote for reading aloud and sharing the duties with family and friends. 

TGIM ACTION IDEA: To do this you don’t have to be Nicolas Cage and steal the original National Treasure … or dig out your old American History textbook … or slog through Thomas Jefferson’s 18th Century handwriting, (though it’s not that difficult and there’s something extra inspiring in the original document).  

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Print out an easier-to-read printer-ready copy from the National Archives.

And as you read, consider:

Would you have signed this Declaration?

Some of you may be old enough to remember –

In 1975-6: The People’s Bicentennial Commission sent out pollsters who asked twenty-three hundred Federal employees to endorse a paragraph that read:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. …”

They came up with some rather startling results.

Maybe you guessed:

• Sixty-eight per cent of those approached not only did not hold these truths to be self-evident but in fact found them decidedly subversive and refused to sign.
• Forty-seven per cent of those polled did not recognize the passage as part of the Declaration of Independence — but of those who refused to sign, 83 per cent did recognize it.

More modern history: A decade or so ago, in a survey conducted in New Hampshire (one of the original 13 colonies, let me remind you), only six of every ten adults knew we celebrate the Fourth of July because it commemorates the signing of this document.

As the prolific thinker and writer Norman Cousins (1915 –1990) observed:

The American Founding Fathers – the writers and signers of this remarkable document – believed deeply …

… in the ability of a human being to learn enough in order to take part in self-government;

… in the capacity of people to make sense of their lives, if given reasonable conditions within society itself;

… in the responsive power of men when exposed to great ideas;

… in people, to stand under the due process of law;

…in man, to make basic decisions concerning his religion or his politics or anything else — again, given the conditions that made this possible.

There were 56 signers of the document we profess to treasure. On this day, when we celebrate the document they inscribed, it’s interesting to take a look at the composition of the group and note what we today have in common with them.

• They were of varied backgrounds, ages and experience.
• Some were already famous – Franklin, Adams; some were unheard of, recruited at the last minute as replacements for men who refused to support independence from England.
• Two of the signers were only 20 years old; sixteen were in their 30s; twenty in their 40s; eleven in their 50s; six in their 60s; and only one, Franklin, over 70.
• All but two were married. Each had an average of 6 children.
• Twenty-five were lawyers; twelve were merchants; four were doctors; one a preacher; and the old, famous one could call himself many things but favored “printer.”
• Half were college graduates; some were self-educated. 

There’s more – much more – to note about them, of course. (There’s a spectacular recap of “who was who” among the 56 and what became of them HERE. )

For our purposes: Allowing that it was the 18th Century and they were all white men, the “nutshell” summary above covers enough bases to lead us to this –

TGIM Takeaway: Could this, with the added advantage of 21st Century diversity stirred in, be the makeup of, say, your local Chamber of Commerce … or Networking group … or PTA … or alumni from your now-dispersed high school class, say 14 people from each of the four compass directions — immediately North, South, East and West?

Sure it could. This was America.

And it still is America at its best.

Listen, America: Please put away political claptrap and posturing today and take time to remember that the freedom we celebrate was hard won by people just like you and me -- and how easily it can be lost. In 1776 few of the 56 benefited from their bravery, but not one recanted his original declaration of independence.

Hats off to all the American people. And to celebrate this July 4 I’m joining the signers of the Declaration of Independence HERE.

Will you, too?

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373

tgimguy@gmail.com   

P.S. One more “patriotic” note. You can probably recite the Pledge of Allegiance. But did you know that, in 1918, Congress adopted The American’s Creed which its author, William Tyler Page, described as “a summing up, in one hundred words, of the basic principles of American political faith. It is not an expression of individual opinion upon the obligations and duties of American citizenship or with respect to its rights and privileges. It is a summary of the fundamental principles of American political faith as set forth in its greatest documents, its worthiest traditions and by its greatest leaders.”  

Here it is: 

I believe in the United States of America, as a government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic; a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect union, one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice, and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes. 

I therefore believe it is my duty to my country to love it, to support its Constitution, to obey its laws, to respect its flag, and to defend it against all enemies.

This is the only surviving fragment of the broadside of the Declaration of Independence printed by John Dunlap and sent on July 6, 1776, to George Washington by John Hancock, President of the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. General Washington had this Declaration read to his assembled troops on July 9 in New York, where they awaited the combined British fleet and army. Later that night, American troops destroyed a bronze-lead statue of Great Britain's King George III that stood at the foot of Broadway on the Bowling Green. The statue was later molded into bullets for the American Army.

Discovering our National Treasure

What’s REALLY written

on the back

of the Declaration of Independence?

The original engrossed parchment
Declaration of Independence
as it appears
in the National Archive

There IS a message there.

Really.

No fooling.

Sure, the movie National Treasure suggests that certain of the Founding Fathers concealed information very clandestine and powerful on the back of the Declaration of Independence.

But I regret to inform you that (to the best of my knowledge), there’s nothing quite so dramatic as presented in the plotline of the popular National Treasure movie hidden there.

Still, it is true that –

An important message IS written in a mysterious way on its back.

See for yourself...

The seldom-seen REVERSE of
the original engossed parchment
Declaration of Independence

The writing you see at the top of this image of the back of the Declaration of Independence reads:

"Original Declaration of Independence
dated 4th July 1776"

-- and, in fact, it actually appears on the bottom of the document, upside down.

While no one knows for certain who wrote it, it is known that early in its life the large parchment document (it measures 29¾ inches by 24½ inches) was rolled up for storage.

So, it is likely that the notation was added –

Simply as a label. After the signing ceremony on August 2, 1776, the Declaration was most likely filed in Philadelphia in the office of Charles Thomson, who served as the Secretary of the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1789. The document probably accompanied the Continental Congress as the body traveled during the uncertain months and years of the Revolution.

“But, but …” you say -- “I see MORE writing!”

Yes, you do. In the view above, below the “label” you can discern some very cryptic “writing.”

Sorry, treasure hunters. The writing that appears at the bottom in this view is actually ink from the top of the front side that has seeped through the parchment to the back of the document.

Cool anyway, don’t you think?

CATALYST COLLECTION ACTION IDEA: I’m planning to use this fascinating factoid as a conversational gambit in the days ahead. (If you’ve invited me to your long holiday weekend picnic, you’ve been forewarned.) It’s a great starting point for conversations about what we know … what we think we know … the power of life-long learning … how to operate in an info-loaded, digitally linked world …

And more. Of course what’s equally important to explore are the ideas and ideals represented by the words written on the front of this National Treasure.

But I’m going to save our discussion of some of that for “Thank Goodness It’s Monday” on July 4.

Meet you here then.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square
Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com   

P.S. Still crave some National Treasure symbolism? It wasn’t until December 15, 1952, that our nation’s great documents were formally enshrined in the National Archives in Washington DC. Then, President Harry S Truman, the featured speaker said:

“The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights are now assembled in one place for display and safekeeping. . . . We are engaged here today in a symbolic act. We are enshrining these documents for future ages. . . . This magnificent hall has been constructed to exhibit them, and the vault beneath, that we have built to protect them, is as safe from destruction as anything that the wit of modern man can devise. All this is an honorable effort, based upon reverence for the great past, and our generation can take just pride in it.”

Of course Truman was a York and Scottish Rite Mason …

Thank Goodness It's Monday #310

GOOD BOSS/BAD BOSS

WHICH ARE YOU?

Dilbert is tormented by his pointy-haired boss.

Dagwood and his boss, Mr. Dithers, are often the bane of each other’s work lives.

Perpetual Private Beetle Bailey and his immediate boss – “Sarge” – and the commander of their imaginary Camp Swampy, General Halftrack, are a case study in conflict across the ranks.

(Think I’m a fan of newspaper cartoon strips?)

But it’s no longer like this in “the real world” …

Is it?

Well … Mention bosses and it seems that, even in this age of empowered workers and enlightened management, most people have at least one story to tell about “the boss from hell.”

But if all bosses were really as insensitive and clueless as the stories go, you have to think that business today would more resemble the less-than-funny parts of those funny pages.

In truth: Most bosses are in between; a complex mixture of good and bad.

Even the worst of bosses is sometimes just a good person in a wrong situation. But people generally tend to see things as cut and dried … black and white … and respond accordingly.

TGIM Challenge:  When you’re in “boss” mode – and we all are any number of times in the day, even if we’re not at the head of the board room table or behind a big desk in the executive suite – how do you think others rate you? Do they see you as a Good Boss or a Bad Boss?

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Check the following qualities that real employees in scientific workplace studies say make for a good boss. Use them to manage yourself, as well as the others you’re responsible for guiding, and get the results you want without inciting mutiny on your ship or shift.

Good bosses … 

… Tell people exactly what’s expected of them. People have enough to worry about without having to second-guess or read minds. So, for example, in flourishing workplaces, employees with good bosses have very clear and well-defined job duties. When changes are to be made, these bosses let everyone know ahead of time. 

… Can spot problems immediately and resolve them quickly.  Good bosses take responsibility for the things that can and do go wrong, act on these problems at once, and swiftly institute measures necessary to prevent similar situations from occurring. 

… Praise others for work well done. Credit goes where it belongs (and should never be taken by the boss alone). 

… Help others advance professionally. Good bosses encourage their people to stretch their talents, acquire new ones, and take on new and more challenging responsibilities. 

… Create a proper balance of independence and supervision. Good bosses are neither baby sitters nor dictators. On the other hand, good bosses know when to step in and offer guidance, or even assume outright control of the situation. 

… Know or have actually done the work their charges are doing. They aren’t just “political appointees” – they are people who have advanced through merit and achievement. Through their knowledge of the work people are doing, good bosses gain the respect of the people they oversee. 

… Can set reachable, yet challenging, goals -- for individuals as well as for groups. Good bosses can challenge and guide their charges as an integrated unit, as well as distinct and discrete players on the team. 

… Criticize effectively without making it a personal issue. Good bosses know that criticism, first and foremost, should be done in private. They focus on projects, rather than on people, giving input constructively to create better individual and collective outcomes from the participants – not to punish them. 

… Organize and plan projects to achieve desired results. Good bosses don’t expect end results to appear magically. They know when to break work into more manageable parts and establish priorities and set tasks in doable order. 

… Treat all their people fairly. Good bosses don’t play favorites and offer challenging assignments to all who are willing and able to accomplish them. 

… Value what others have to say. Good bosses validate what people think and feel by listening attentively to proposed ideas and acting on what they have heard. 

… Acknowledge their own shortcomings and admit mistakes. Good bosses are aware of their own imperfections and own up when they have fouled up. And they work just as hard at improving themselves as they do with the people they’re responsible for. 

… Are decisive and do not delay action on important decisions. Good bosses seek input on and mull over important issues, but -- when the time has come to make a decision -- they do not hesitate or waver, even in the face of dissent or doubt on the part of the people they boss. 

TGIM Takeaway: Becoming and being a good boss is a never-ending job. No matter how long or how well you’ve been doing it, a new challenge to your abilities awaits and there’s something new to be learned all around in mastering the situation – together. 

A thought in closing: The ever-quotable Ralph Waldo Emerson observed, “Without ambition one starts nothing. Without work one finishes nothing. The prize will not be sent to you. You have to win it. The man who knows how will always have a job. The man who also knows why will always be his boss.” 

I hope this TGIM added to your storehouse of “how” as well as “why.” 

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373

tgimguy@gmail.com    

P.S.  “We must develop knowledge optimization initiatives to leverage our key learnings.” Dilbert creator Scott Adams puts this kind of “wisdom” into the comments of his Pointy-Haired Boss character. Be Good Boss – not a Pointy-Haired one -- and leverage this learning.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #309

HOW TO WALK AWAY WITH MORE ‘GOLD’

FROM EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN

When I first began my pursuit of “higher” – post-High School – education (in the 1960s’ for all who crave full disclosure), I set off for college to be a “Business Major.”

Not that I knew precisely what that was. But three previous generations of my family had been involved in “retailing” since my paternal great-grandfather came to the USA from Germany and established his shoemaker shop in Newark, NJ. On the maternal side, my England-born grandfather was “in shipping” and my grandmother was a milliner (hat maker) to “fine ladies.”

So it seemed as if I had a genetic predisposition in the “Business Major” direction.

Even as a small child during school vacations I travelled with my grandfather on his business rounds and clocked time following my father around his retailing management responsibilities.

“Isn’t he cute,” the sales ladies would twitter (old-style twitter). “Do you want to be just like your Grandpa/Daddy?”

Well, maybe.

So it was off to chase that “business” education.

Wrong! – sort of. After semesters of Accounting 100 & 101, Economics 100 and 101, and an Introduction to Marketing, I was perplexed. Double-declining balances, LIFO/FIFO, “macro and “micro” views of supply and demand, guns-and-butter arguments baffled me.

Where was the real world stuff I had seen? So I switched schools and tried a subset of business study, Merchandising.

Ah ... That was an improvement. More clear. Real world. Practical. And it was while on that path I was encouraged to write.

At first it was retail advertising copy (at Bamberger’s, for all you New Jersey-ites.Perhaps you remember my great creative-genius headline for automobile tires: “Save a Big 10%!” -- which my copy chief challenged by inquiring “And what’s a  ‘little’ 10%?”)

Enough reminiscing -- almost. I worked my way through a lot more formal education, often at night school. As I moved up the corporate ladder I was sponsored in a MBA for Executives program that was completely rock-and-roll fun when all the “students” worked together and shared insights. And sometimes it was a bit “what are they thinking?” when “Dr. Stuffy Prof” lectured guys (and women) who were sure they knew better.

And, in the workplace, I was very fortunate to encounter and be mentored by smart, caring people.

So, getting to the point, here’s my –

TGIM TAKEAWAY: In the aggregate, it was all good and valuable.  But of all the “things” I learned, I learned about learning and how to do it better. And I became a staunch advocate of life-long learning.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Continuous self improvement is an imperative. You can’t stop chasing new input, new ideas.

And in the 21^st Century, that’s easier than ever.

• In a mouse click you can have pretty much the knowledge of the world at your disposal … at your convenience … in a variety of forms … even some people talking to you and demonstrating their concepts.
• More formal continuing education is available at generally affordable cost through a variety of public and private channels.
• You can “convene” with industry groups at annual best-practices gatherings.
• You can meet routinely and share ideas with chambers and councils or fraternal organizations of likeable and likeminded community leaders.
• In a half-day or day you can avail yourself of the knowhow of proven-in-action experts at nearby venues and network with perhaps hundreds of likeminded wisdom-seekers with similar interests and backgrounds.

There’s only one catch. You’ve got to know how to get the maximum benefit from those encounters.

So here are some quickie guidelines I’ve uncovered over my years in the process of life-long learning.  

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Keep them in mind and you can walk away with more “gold” every time. 

#1: Lower your sensitivity meter. Or better yet, turn it off. Remember you’re where you are to get information, not be offended by a remark or a word. 

#2: Self evaluate it. Don’t know it all.” When you hear a fact that will make you better, don’t tell yourself, “I know that.” Rather ask yourself, “How good am I at that?” Self evaluation is the only way to get better. 

#3: Search for idea germs. Stop/Look/Listen for what you DON’T know – not what you do. Try to walk away with at least one thing you can use tomorrow. 

#4: Listen with the intent to understand. Don’t cut off the thought too soon. Stick with it. Listen all the way out. Don’t dwell on how much smarter you are than the person you’re listening to. Just listen with the intent to learn and get even smarter and better.  

Best way to do this: Take notes. If you’re not able to so on the spot, write down something that will tickle your memory as soon as you’re able. 

#5: DO NOT do it like they do it. DO it like you can do it. Adapt the presenter’s concepts and words to your personality and style. 

#6: All new wisdom won’t work all the time. Pick out what will and focus on that. 

#7: Take the general information and adapt it. Think, “How will this work in my environment?” Try to fine tune the principle to fit your specific product or situation. 

#8: Remember your objective: Make yourself better. Find the “Aha!” moments and convert them to your world. Leave with something more than the information you came in with. 

Aha? Are you leaving this TGIM with more info than you came in with?  

Then I’ve done my job -- for now. 

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373

tgimguy@gmail.com    

P.S.  Want to put these gold-getting concepts to the test? Register HERE for the upcoming 1 Day Marketing MBA Conference & Expo taking place this Thursday, June 23 in Long Branch New Jersey. I’ll be there, taking plenty of notes. ACT TODAY! Space is limited and the event will be bursting with learning and networking opportunities. I look forward to seeing you there. 

P.P.S. Bonus “Aha!” In the quest to become more learned, focus on yourself when all is said and done. As my friend and master trainer and inspirerer of people Jeffrey Gitomer says, “Resign your position as general manager of the universe.” Don’t worry about everyone else. Concentrate on becoming the best you can be for yourself and the people you care about.

" ...and yes I said yes I will Yes."

Re:Joyce – It’s Bloomsday

Bloomsday is a commemoration observed annually on June 16th to celebrate the life of Irish writer James Joyce and relive the events in his novel Ulysses.

What’s the big deal? In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Ulysses first on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

This seminal work chronicles the passage of Leopold Bloom through Dublin during an ordinary day, 16 June 1904.

James Joyce

This year the celebration is extra special because the 16^th falls on a Thursday as it does in the novel. Joyce chose the date because his first outing with his wife-to-be, Nora Barnacle happened on that day.

Bet you haven’t read Ulysses. I confess haven’t – at least not all the way through.

It’s not an easy read. Divided into eighteen episodes Ulysses' stream-of-consciousness technique, careful structuring, and experimental prose—full of puns, parodies, and allusions, as well as its rich characterizations and broad humor, made the book a highly regarded novel in the Modernist pantheon.

If you’d like to attempt it now, you can connect to variant digital versions by way of Amazon or whatever or try the freebie at The Gutenberg Project.

Or, if you’d like to have it read to you, many live events are being produced around the world. For folks in my neighborhood a good introduction might be the marathon reading at Manhattan's Symphony Space event which features over 100 actors and all 18 of the novel’s episodes. Public Radio station WNYC 93.9 FM will begin to stream it live on at 8 P.M. More information can be found HERE.

For fun, and for an un-Irish ear almost as difficult as reading the books itself, there’s a rare recording a James Joyce himself reading a chunk HERE.

Caution: Ulysses contains language and concepts that may not be suitable for younger listeners.

It also contains approximately 265,000 words and by some counts uses a lexicon of 30,030 words (including proper names, plurals and various verb tenses).

James Joyce
by Brian Whelan

So it occurred to me: If the book’s main character, Leopold Bloom, lived in our digital age, would he have a Twitter account and would he have “tweeted” the story – at 140 characters per tweet – as it was experienced?

If so, the opening tweet would have been …

“Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed. A yellow dressing gown, ungirdled, was …”

Oops! That’s 133 characters with no spaces. Adding the next word – “sustained” – puts us over the limit at 142. So maybe tweeting Ulysses it’s not such a great idea.

Or maybe it is. In digging around for this post I discovered that a guy named Steve Cole had the “Twitter” thought as well and –

Took action.

Ulysses meets Twitter 2011. Cole asked social networkers to tweet James Joyce’s epic novel in excerpts of 140 characters at a time over a 24-hour period. Cole launched a blog and Twitter account to announce the experiment in January.

Twitter users can wake up and fall asleep to these excerpts by following @11ysses.

Since I gave you the opening 140+/- characters I suppose I should close with a right-sized 51-character (before that the story-supporting "concept" gets a bit too provocative for this blog) closing segment from Molly Bloom’s soliloquy that marks the end of Bloom’s day and Joyce’s book.

Here ‘tis:

“… yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes.”

Saying  “Yes” to re-Joycing this Bloomsday.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373

tgimguy@gmail.com   

Thank Goodness It's Monday #308

INTERESTED IN $150,000 PER YEAR

AND A RED FERRARI?

Now that I have your attention: Allow me to share the source of this offer.

Since it’s June graduation time, I’m reminded of –

The classic story: At the end of a job interview, a human resources representative asks a recent ivy-league MBA graduate, “What starting salary are you looking for?”

Despite the prevailing market conditions the grad confidently replies, “In the neighborhood of $150,000 a year, depending on the benefits package.”

The interviewer says, “Well, what would you say to a package of six weeks’ vacation, 20 paid holidays, full medical and dental, a retirement fund with the company matching 50% of salary, stock options, plus a new company car leased every 2 years — 

-- say, a red Ferrari?"

The MBA grad sits straight up and exclaims, “Wow! Are you kidding?”

And the interviewer replies, “Yeah -- but you started it.”

Sure, it’s a joke. But don’t you know someone who won’t quite get it?

Graduating from high school, college, grad school or med school doesn’t entitle anyone to $150,000 a year, a new Ferrari and a paid vacation or any of that; just as simply being in the workforce for any length of time doesn’t.

TGIM Takeaway: If you want to earn more you must provide more.

And lest you think this is just a cautionary tale for workforce newbies with an overblown sense of entitlement, let’s ask this mind-focusing question:

Q: What are you worth -- per hour -- in the marketplace?

If you stopped, divided your annualized compensation figure plus value of the benefits by the hours “on the job” in order to calculate the “hourly” dollar value, you probably had one of three reactions:

Ouch!

Cool…

or

I Quit!

So now you’ve got that number. The next challenge is to ponder --

• Are your daily actions and behaviors of less value than that hourly rate?
• Or are they of greater value?

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Provide more value and be valued more.

• The marketplace doesn’t know the word entitlement. It doesn’t exist.
• The marketplace doesn’t care what you need. It’s the marketplaces perception of value that counts.     

What the marketplace pays is the marketplace’s perception of the value of the product and/or service you (or I) provide.

So now, despite having forced you into this “hourly” rate calculation, I want to ask you to –

Forget about it. At least most of the time.

Yes, your time has value and knowing its value in some small-enough-to-manage chunk (an hourly rate, for example) helps you allocate your time most effectively.

Quickie case in point: If you’re a commissioned sales person with the potential to earn $250,000 annually — but you’re doing activities that a person getting paid $7.00 an hour could do for you — you need to re-evaluate your activities. At your hourly rate you don’t get to put “potential” in your pocket.

Get it? Good. So the corollary to that, if you’re operating in the six-figure-plus compensation world, would be to adapt this –

TGIM Compensation Mindset: Value the value you create. Consider what you do each day or hour as being compensated for results; those “results” being the value or revenue you create or generate by your unique participation in the process.

That mindset should focus your concentration. It should serve to remind you to align all your work-a-day “money time” activities with providing value and driving revenue through marketing, sales and service.

What value do you provide? Well, being only a segment of the market, I can’t tell you, can I? But I can challenge you to think creatively about how you can increase your value to your employer, your customers and to the marketplace.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Raise your own bar by consistently bringing high value to the marketplace and you’ll surely increase your hourly rate …your net worth … and your self-worth.

Looking forward to “Cool” paydays (and red Ferraris if you want them) – for everyone.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373

tgimguy@gmail.com   

James McNeill Whistler
Nocturne in Black and Gold

P.S.  About recognizing value: “I have seen, and heard, much of Cockney impudence before now; but never expected to hear a coxcomb ask two hundred guineas for flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face.” In 1877 the English art critic John Ruskin said that about American painter James McNeill Whistler’s Nocturne in Black and Gold.

Whistler took great offensive and sued Ruskin. At trial Ruskin’s counsel challenged: “The labour of two days … is that for which you ask two hundred guineas?”

Whistler replied: “No. I ask it for the knowledge of a lifetime.”

Whistler won his suit, although it left him nearly penniless.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #307

KNOW THE PAST, FIND THE FUTURE:

READ BETWEEN THE LIONS

The world-renowned pair of marble lions that stand proudly before the Majestic Beaux-Arts building of the New York Public Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street in Manhattan have captured the imagination and affection of New Yorkers – and the world – since the library was dedicated on May 23, 1911.

And, as we begin celebrating this Centennial Anniversary of the Library, I wonder if the lions still have meaning for us in this age of online info and digital downloads.

First, some background: Sculpted by Edward Clark Potter from pink Tennessee marble, they are trademarked by the library and featured on major occasions.

• The lions have witnessed countless parades and pageants.
• They've been photographed by countless tourists, caricatured in cartoons, and one even served as the hiding place for the Cowardly Lion in the motion picture The Wiz.
• And, quite logically, they’ve been made into bookends.

And, although decorating these kings of the asphalt jungle has stopped because it was too damaging –

• Traditionally, for the winter holidays, each lion had been adorned with a holly wreath that weighed 60 pounds.
• During one Yankee/Mets Subway Series the north side lion wore an extra-extra-large Yankee baseball cap; the south side counterpart wore a Mets cap.  

To celebrate the 100^th Anniversary they were rendered half-size in Legos (60,000 of them, all “standard gray.”)

The “names” of the original NYPL Library Lions have changed over the decades.

First the Library Lions were called Leo Astor and Leo Lenox after The New York Public Library founders John Jacob Astor (the USA’s first multi-millionaire) and James Lenox.

Later they were known as Lord Astor and Lady Lenox, also Leo and Leonora, (although both sport manly manes).

During the economic depression of the 1930's, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia gave them names that represented the qualities he felt folks would need in those tumultuous times.

Those names stuck and those are the names the Library Lions are known by today:

Patience and Fortitude

Patience guards the south side of the library steps, to the left as you face them.

Fortitude sits unwaveringly to the north.

“Sweet story,” you may be thinking. “But isn’t a bricks-and-mortar building filled with ink-on-paper physical documents an anachronism in the digital age?”

“Isn’t Google scanning the contents of great libraries like this? Won’t a digitized, open-source equivalent soon take its place?”

Yes, but … No doubt the business of books is in turmoil. Book publishing is rapidly evolving. Books have many new forms. Book sellers are a new and different breed. Library hours and services are threatened in municipalities across the country. And the great New York Public Library system the lions represent is not exempt.

But during the Great Depression, many ordinary people, out of work, used this library -- and community libraries philanthropists like Astor, Lenox and Andrew Carnegie encouraged across the nation -- to improve their lot in life.

As they still do. We read and watch various news reports about increased use of libraries during this current economic downturn. It doesn’t come as a surprise to some at The New York Public Library that attendance and circulation are up. Users are seeking information in that special space to help them through tough times and are also using the Library’s collections and programs as ways to escape from it all.

Look at it this way: While the library the lions protect is packed with millions of volumes, many unique and costly, it’s not necessarily the books themselves that have the greatest value.

A sense of place still has its place. I’d like to suggest that access – in a public space, with likeminded seekers -- to the ideas recorded for posterity and residing there, is what makes libraries most valuable.

TGIM Takeaway:  For many, these days are as “tumultuous” as the LaGuardia era. While I hope the extreme hardships of the so-called Great Depression are not the case with any TGIM readers, Patience and Fortitude will continue to Support and Inspire individuals, families, businesses, institutions, political parties, and even nations through the eventful days ahead.

This library – all public libraries – are –

The People’s Palace. A place to Know The Past, Find The Future which, not so coincidentally, is the title of a special publication produced to celebrate the NYPL centennial.

The book (details HERE) harnesses the thoughts of an eclectic assortment of contemporary icons as they ponder an even more eclectic assortment of objects.

From among the Library’s vast collections, these writers, artists, philosophers, scientists, musicians, athletes, architects, choreographers, and journalists—not to mention some of the curators who have preserved these riches—selected an item and describe what it means to them. The result, in words and photographs, is a glimpse of what a great library can be.

Know The Past, Find The Future is available -- at no charge -- at all 90 NYPL locations — WHILE SUPPLIES LAST.

The book is also available -- at no charge -- in an eReader version for download.

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Strive to emulate the qualities for which the Library Lions are named. In the long run, Patience and Fortitude yield Success.

Reading (and writing) “between the lions.”

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373

tgimguy@gmail.com   

P.S.  On opening day in 1911, the first book requested from the main stacks was Delia Bacon's Philosophy of the Plays of Shakespeare Unfolded. The book, much to the staff's chagrin, was not in the catalog and a staff member donated the book two days later. Fifty years later it was discovered that the interchange had been a setup; the staff member had hoped to generate publicity for the book.

The first book to actually be delivered from the main stacks -- which, even then, contained more than one million books -- a speedy seven minutes after the call slip was deposited, was Nravstvennye idealy nashego vremeni (Moral ideas of our time: Friedrich Nietzsche and Leo Tolstoy) by Nikolai I. Grot.