Posted on 01/31/2009 11:38:31 AM PST by Publius
Ewan would be good...
Not sure if you got my late reply to the first thread, so if you haven’t already, please put me on the list. (finally got caught up.)
Dagny and Hank do get to feelings later on. Personal life feelings are different than letting feelings make business decisions.
I watched my dad ever since I can remember and still today in his business. He had 45 employees (up until a few weeks ago) and dealt with customers daily. He never raised his voice no matter what the stiuation with a customer or employee. I don’t know how he did it sometimes. He would want to but he didn’t want to say or do something rash or unwise. He also took tons of notes on every call or wrote notes in the rolodex about specific people. One time some men called a conference call with my dad on something and tried to give a different date or some such. My dad said “hold on, I’ll check my call notes.” The guy said “Ah $hit, don’t do that. I know what it will say.” LOL!
The only time he was ever soft with an employee and gave them somthing against his better judgement was when they mentioned God, needing a chance, etc. He almost always had to eventually get rid of them.
This is my 1st time reading the book and I am working through it at record speed. I reread the chapter discussion each week and am finding such insight in reading these posts.
Well it looks as if I’ve, once again, arrived late to the party and all the good incites are already made so Ill just follow along quietly.
I work for a manufacturer and call on the manufacturing industry. We hear about all the jobs lost in the auto industry and supporting industries. John McCain actually told the truth during the campaign and said that most of these jobs will not be coming back. What he did not elaborate on was this is due to technology and automation. There is just not a need in this day and age for the amount of workers that performed tasks on the plant floor. To get ahead today is to upgrade those skill, blend with tech savvy and integrate those posts. Most do not want to hear or take advantage of the opportunity.
Also, this links to the discussion of the decrease of union membership. Why the fervent push from the Union leaders to get rid of the secret ballot?
“This is my 1st time reading the book and I am working through it at record speed. I reread the chapter discussion each week and am finding such insight in reading these posts.”
I’m also a first-timer. I haven’t picked it up in a few days, but I’m through the first twelve chapters. Quite fortuitous for us that someone selected this book as the Book Club’s first, eh?
An interesting aside! (Do you work for Colonial Williamsburg?!! I once asked one of their "People of the Past" who was impersonating George Wythe and looked like him too, to describe his typical day. Mr. Wythe began his answer by trying to understand my question and we settled on that I was asking him to describe his regular day.)
So I looked in the OED and it does appear that lunch as a synonym for luncheon was not current during Franklin's time. But it's first use was recorded in 1829 and many 19th century usage examples are given.
ML/NJ
I feel like I live in an alternate universe these days. This is a great book. I almost feel like laughing out loud at these useless characters.
I’m glad to hear they express some feelings later on. I was thinking more of Hank’s dealing with his family than business - I got frustrated when he let them walk all over him. I mean, he was not denying he was having feelings or annoyance and sadness, but was not expressing them either. Dagny, on the other hand, seemed to be suppressing feelings as they arose.
I get the difference between having feelings rule one’s decisions vs. logic. I think I said that in my last post - responding to someone saying the heros in AS were more like robots while the antagonists ran on feelings only. I think we can have both in our heros, as long as they stick with logic for making decisions.
BTW, where are you in WV? This sounds nuts, but we want to retire there (having never visited, at least not yet). I am so sick of Mexifornia and desperately need to live in the mountains. WV being heavily forested and land being reasonable and rural - she sounds just perfect. The pictures I’ve seen are incredible. We are planning trips during various seasons in the next few years to get a feel for different areas.
I don't recall if Rand shows it yet in the book, but she will peel back the "back room deals," that seeming force people like Kutcher into making such pronouncements. It's all about "getting the goods on someone," and when you do, you can get them to make "public service announcements," with the emphasis on the public good. It's how the game is played, and Hollywood isn't immune. In today's celebrity culture, they're more important than the business leaders, so they're the ones spouting the propaganda.
The same during the Seventies. You had Rohatyn and Palevsky pushing for full socialist industrial planning, but no push from the people. Fortunately, Reagan ended all discussion of the topic in 1980.
Good catch. I refer to it as "doing your time on the sweatshop cross." Everybody does it.
My late father once said, "Never fall in love with an investment. It will screw you every time." I have learned the wisdom of those words the hard way.
The only time he was ever soft with an employee and gave them somthing against his better judgement was when they mentioned God, needing a chance, etc.
In a few chapters we will meet the legend of Michael "Midas" Mulligan, a Chicago banker. Midas looked at your character first. If you ever mentioned the word "need" in a loan interview, he would throw you out of his office.
I liked Midas’ story. Fortunately for my Dad, the ones he gave the chances to were starting at the bottom and had to work their way up. It was the second part of that they had trouble with...
That is precisely the purpose your silver eagles will serve. They’re very pretty, but their job is to keep you alive when the fertilizer hits the ventilator.
Please explain what this video is and where did you see it?
I highly reccomend any and all Freepers to read Atlas Shrugged. Don’t let the size of it stop you.
I first read it over 30 years ago, and this past Dec 1-Dec 12, I read it for the 7th time.
Amazing how accurate the author was- and the book was published in 1957. I don’t know for sure, but I think it took her a number of years to write it.
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