how much do you delegate?
$Zero
how many tasks and challenges do you regularly dream up and organize
for other people to do?
is the act of delegating one of your strengths or weaknesses?
would you prefer to be the one receiving the work or giving it out?
are you highly imaginative?
or are you just lazy?
what is your most effective role: doer or designer?
or both...
-$Zero...
Carrie Prejean, Larry King, and Inappropriateness!
(was: Lou Dobbs, CNN, Sarah Palin, and Oprah!)
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.writing/msg/943d35940b67da97
john.ku...@sympatico.ca
I'll leave this up to you. It's your department.
$Zero
> how much do you delegate?
lots.
> how many tasks and challenges do you regularly dream up
> and organize for other people to do?
anywhere from dozens to hundreds per day.
sometimes per hour.
> is the act of delegating one of your strengths or weaknesses?
major strength.
though, the people to whom i've delegated would probably disagree,
because i tend to drive them uttrerly crazy w/ my latest tweaks of
major improvements.
> would you prefer to be the one receiving the work or giving it out?
depends.
my fertile mind makes me so prolific that i could not possibly
accomplish anything near my potential by doing anything other than
delegating. also, i tend to invent WHILE i'm inventing, so again,
delegating out the work is the only feasible mode for me to operate
under.
but i do on occasionally enjoy the zen quality of concentrating on
doing a finite work.
just for the therapy of it.
> are you highly imaginative?
off the charts.
> or are you just lazy?
not the least bit.
> what is your most effective role: doer or designer?
designer.
> or both...
ok, both.
i was just trying to be humble.
-$Zero...
i'm a moron...
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.writing/msg/9501d3e011eba29b
Piet de Arcilla
I generally do my own work.
> how many tasks and challenges do you regularly dream up and organize
> for other people to do?
I ask for help when I need it, but that's not really the same as
delegating.
> is the act of delegating one of your strengths or weaknesses?
Nobody's told me I should do more of it.
> would you prefer to be the one receiving the work or giving it out?
I like it when people ask me to help with something and it's easy for
me to do so. I also like it when I can avoid work by asking someone
else for help.
> are you highly imaginative?
No.
> or are you just lazy?
Yes.
> what is your most effective role: doer or designer?
Maybe.
> or both...
No.
$Zero
> On Nov 12, 9:35 am, "$Zero" <zeroi...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > how much do you delegate?
>
> I generally do my own work.
why? isn't there any part of your work that you could effectively
delegate?
in such a way that would free you up to provide better results at what
you do?
> > how many tasks and challenges do you regularly dream up
> > and organize for other people to do?
>
> I ask for help when I need it, but that's not really the same as
> delegating.
is that because you absorb the help that you get in the form of
learning so that you can do it yourself next time when needed?
> > is the act of delegating one of your strengths or weaknesses?
>
> Nobody's told me I should do more of it.
what about yourself?
anyway, your answer reminded me about a drive i went on a couple years
ago with a former investor of mine who had cowardly bailed on a
project several years ago -- mostly because he wanted to control what
i did back then, even though he did not understand the bigger picture
of how to design and implement the project himself.
yet, on that recent ride, he encouraged me to delegate more. which was
absolutely hilarious considering our history.
see, besides being one of the three main investors of that venture, he
took the position of our CFO (he had an MBA and all that), and he was
also supposed to implement my daily creative genius CEO instructions
by managing the increasingly large staff we were taking on.
each day i would develop the business more and more, making it much
more efficient and much more effective, and i would advise him about
what he needed to educate the employees about.
anyway, the speed of the cash flow progression was a slight bit slower
than originally anticipated and he got antsy and unfortunately decided
to jump ship. he was under imaginary financial pressures and said that
he needed to leave the operation and go back to his secure job.
i convinced him to start his own business instead and invited him to
use some of the office space and resources and staff, so he wouldn't
have to move himself and his family 300 miles away from all of their
friends and family.
also, that way, he would still be around to educate the employees
about all of the improved procedures and whatnot that i was
developing.
so, stupid moi, i explained to him how smart and qualified he was, and
how he could make much more money by creating his own business rather
than relocate for his former employer, on a fixed salary.
and so, instead of selling his house and dragging his kids out of
school to move far away, he took my advice and accepted my generous
invitation to start a brand new business at my facility, rent-free!
with all the office system perks!
unfortunately, he ended up concentrating ONLY on his new venture --
totally shirking all of his responsibilities of educating my staff
(instead distracting them w/ some of _his_ fricken' business duties),
so that critical employee management task of his was added to my
already ridiculously full schedule.
this went on for about a month or so.
and his negligence of management duties really pissed off the other
two investors, whom he had brought aboard.
then, one day, after yet another two-day marathon of sleepless
concentration on development AND employee management, i walked into
the office one morning, and before i could finish drinking my morning
beverage, he had the gall to start blaming _me_ for my business not
getting up to speed faster, so we had a fight.
he then immediately moved his operation out of my facility, leaving w/
a big chip on his shoulder, unjustifiably angry, stranding moi
penniless, but he eventually became a millionaire.
anyway, a couple years ago we were out on a drive, and after having
been exposed to my latest poorly-funded project, he was telling me
that he was certain that i was going to be a multi-millionaire very
soon, and then suggested lovingly that i should delegate more.
yikes.
what short memories some people have.
so, ironically, he then subsequently rented _me_ some office space in
one of his buildings so that i could develop my business.
and to help pay the rent and raise money for my project, i was also
doing some problem-solving for some of his problems as an independent
contractor.
he liked how effective and thorough i was. and totally flexible. no
problem too complex, nor too demanding. he just sketched out the broad
strokes of totally different projects to resolve. and i did.
he kept piling them on. one after another. whatever whim came upon him
to diversify his business.
he was giving me so many things to do that i was seriously falling
behind working on my own project.
then, one day, i phoned him up to set up a 30 minute meeting about how
he could make a ton more money w/ an existing division of his
corporation which was not yet fully developed, and he blew his stack.
"I don't have any time for any meetings!"
"Huh?"
"And you are not to work on any other business here than mine!"
yikes.
what short bizarre memories some people have.
> > would you prefer to be the one receiving the work or giving it out?
>
> I like it when people ask me to help with something and it's easy for
> me to do so. I also like it when I can avoid work by asking someone
> else for help.
so you don't enjoy a challenge?
> > are you highly imaginative?
>
> No.
side effect of the meds?
> > or are you just lazy?
>
> Yes.
did you put that on your resume?
> > what is your most effective role: doer or designer?
>
> Maybe.
designing is what you do?
> > or both...
>
> No.
puzzling.
-$Zero...
"I would delegate the task, and then criticize the results."
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.writing/msg/f91bd37fd90e5dec
Piet de Arcilla
> > I like it when people ask me to help with something and it's easy for
> > me to do so. I also like it when I can avoid work by asking someone
> > else for help.
>
> so you don't enjoy a challenge?
I like solving challenges via unexpected shortcuts. I aspire to
constructive laziness. I feel proud of myself when having a friendly
chat brings to light something which obviates an onerous task.
>
> > > are you highly imaginative?
>
> > No.
>
> side effect of the meds?
Not really. Some people call psych meds a "chemical straitjacket", but
I don't believe I was that creative before taking them. I had a lot of
half-baked ideas that I never developed anything worthwhile off of.
Now I find it easier to focus on goals within my reach.
It would be interesting to start a business, but I think that some of
the most important resources for success are capital, management, and
marketing. I don't have them, or know how to find them, or have
significant talent (or interest and drive) of my own.
$Zero
> On Nov 13, 7:55 am, "$Zero" <zeroi...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > > I like it when people ask me to help with something and it's easy for
> > > me to do so. I also like it when I can avoid work by asking someone
> > > else for help.
>
> > so you don't enjoy a challenge?
>
> I like solving challenges via unexpected shortcuts. I aspire to
> constructive laziness. I feel proud of myself when having a friendly
> chat brings to light something which obviates an onerous task.
who the hell doesn't?
> > > > are you highly imaginative?
>
> > > No.
>
> > side effect of the meds?
>
> Not really. Some people call psych meds a "chemical straitjacket", but
> I don't believe I was that creative before taking them.
well, being creative isn't the be-all and end-all of existence, though
it is pretty fun.
and attainable by anyone who seeks it, i would imagine.
> I had a lot of
> half-baked ideas that I never developed anything worthwhile off of.
like what?
> Now I find it easier to focus on goals within my reach.
almost any goal is within one's reach once its properly scoped out.
> It would be interesting to start a business, but I think that some of
> the most important resources for success are capital,
capital is most definitely a plus, but not mandatory.
i've started successful businesses with far less than nothing.
> management,
obviously.
management is the easiest to learn.
> and marketing.
the most important of all the prerequisites, after substance, of
course.
> I don't have them, or know how to find them, or have
> significant talent (or interest and drive) of my own.
i've got all of that, and much more.
and yet...
go figure.
-$Zero...
ask her what?
how to say "creative moron" in Latin?
or how to be a delusional petty fuckhead?
i'm not the least bit interested in either of those.
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.writing/msg/b538f03f21a58db0