business i heart work The departing division general manager met a last time with his young successor and gave him three envelopes. "My predecessor did this for me, and I'll pass the tradition along to you," he said. "At the first sign of trouble, open the first envelope. Any further difficulties, open the second envelope. Then, if problems continue, open the third envelope. Good luck." The new manager returned to his office and tossed the envelopes into a drawer. Six months later, costs soared and earnings plummeted. Shaken, the young man opened the first envelope, which said, "Blame it all on me." The next day, he held a press conference and did just that. The crisis passed. Six months later, sales dropped precipitously. The beleagured manager opened the second envelope. It said, "Reorganize." He held another press conference, announcing that the division would be restructured. The crisis passed. A year later, everything went wrong at once and the manager was blamed for all of it. The harried executive closed his office door, sank into his chair, and opened the third envelope. "Prepare three envelopes..." it said. 010413 ... birdmad as usual 010413 ... backtracktyl That which accelerates time and causes you to lose sight of your humanity. Time doesn't fly when you're having fun. Just when you're lost in banks and government offices, digging through the murky Quebec grant systems for funding you can't have anyway. The weeks (maybe months. I can't tell anymore) have become but one moment. Anything not under the umbrella has nearly washed away. I've missed most of my connections and dismissed the rest as insignificant. I feel like a jerk. I wonder how much I've lost, and how much I might be able to repair. Has winter made me cold, or am I just turning into a proper businessman? 140215 what's it to you? who go blather from