artificial trees

So I'm putting up one of TEN, uh huh, ten Christmas Trees tonight. My wife likes Christmas. A lot. We'll have people over this weekend to eat Christmas Friendship Cannelloni. You can vote for my recipe on chefs.com to win $10,000 in the Treasured Recipes contest. Really. Go to the site and register and vote for my Christmas Friendship Cannelloni. The top five vote winners get to go to San Francisco for a cook-off and the winner gets $10,000! Of course, the 85 plus friends we cook it for every Christmas will tell you that it rocks.

Anyway. Artificial trees.

The Cluetrain Manifesto thesis # 15 says:

In just a few more years, the current homogenized "voice" of business—the sound of mission statements and brochures—will seem as contrived and artificial as the language of the 18th century French court.

I got micro-managed today at work. Again. By my command and control temp boss. I just don't understand that. I mean, do people just need some sort of control fix? Is it due to repression? Is it victims of the corporate silos trying to break out? It seems to be a trickle down phenomenon. It seems to be a repetitive event. I just left a place because of my command and control problems (read: Ex-Friend, Creative Director, Illustrious Potentate, Corporate Zombie). Serves me right for having his back for 3 years. I just don't understand how people can pretend to be trustworthy and then hobble the organized, thoughtful people that get the job done and want to grow and be creative. Seems that the mission statement didn't mention anything about mature, responsible, going places employees being able to do their own work without a Kindergarten Cop on patrol. Their loss. I'm talking now. I'm thinking that when this company of mine gets going, I'll hire people to work from home and give them more than what I promise them. You know, we'll talk every day. We'll collaborate. I'm tired of the lip service. I'm tired of being that lip service voice for companies that don't get it. WE ARE REAL. We are tired of working for artificial companies and artificial people giving artificial voices to their "culture." Get a purpose. Take a stance. Let go of the drama.

Government needs to get a clue, too. Local government, State government, Federal government.
You cannot exert power over those you do not have relationships with. That's tyranny. Take a stance. BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE, OF THE PEOPLE. Represent.

And Cluetrain Manifesto thesis # 25 says:

Companies [read: and governments] need to come down from their Ivory Towers and talk to the people with whom they hope to create relationships.

But they wouldn't talk to me while I was working for them. Just the same old rhetoric, same old command and control, no freedom, no expression of creativity, no fixing what's broken, no listening. Well, they'll talk to me when their precious market share drops because I start talking to people. Then they'll want to talk to me. And I'll be laughing (read: Not interested).

Tom Johnson — Graphic Designer — TJ Studio