The Little Words Mean the Most

France Spring 2011: Day 1

What 7 AM looks like from our bedroom. It's Easter Sunday: @ work in our dining room, listening to the churchgoers. Easter, the bakeries go absolutely nuts, creating exquisite surprises. Like this chocolate bee, at our favorite place in Pézenas. Later we hobble through our first walk in the vineyards.

France Spring 2011: The flight

Happiness is Air France. A delightful crew and uneventful flight. Lots of empty seats. Watched a documentary on the wildlife of Australia. Amazing number of things there can kill you. Realized the difference between us and other animals: we have police and industrial agriculture. So the kill or be killed thing is tamed. Easy transfer in Paris to our 7:40 AM 1-hour hop to Montpellier. Into the sodden south of France. Punishing rain. Both of us on antibiotics, thanks to sinus infections. Dragged our tushies around the supermarche, gathering enough food for the next few days. That's Simone standing in the pink pants, charging her French phone at Charles de Gaulle.

5 Canadian airports

Off on a scoot to Calgary, to work with the Art Gallery of, on planning a case for donor support. L-r: the day begins early at Logan, as a ferocious storm departs North America ... ... ... for some reason, the Montreal airport promotes three-somes iconographically; the seasonal leaf motif of Air Canada Jazz; I love the livery on Air Canada, the mint turquoise; we board at sunset from Edmonton, for the last leg [Boston to Montreal, Montreal to Winnipeg's utter dump of an airport [had to say, because the other 4 I visited were all SO good], Winnipeg to Edmonton [my favorite, because it had the best bookstore], Edmonton to Calgary] ... ... ... the oasis at the end of a sunrise-to-sunset day in the air: the AMAZINGLY delightful Hotel Le Germain, where the slogan is "It's in the details." Like what sort of details, architechy pal Greggie will insist? Guess what room # I was in; consider the hardware hanging the frosted glass door that closed off the WC; envy the decor in the bedroom; read the message about water conservation; be tempted by the display above the well-stocked mini-bar; note the dramatic asymmetrical sink -- all delights to the eye and mind (sigh; perfect; highly recommended). ... ... ... Next morning: time for work, as the sign says; the President/CEO's office looks out on a street that sees 50K pedestrians on a summer day. ... ... ... And headed home on the red eye, from Calgary (love an airport with a playful sense; check out the mural; check out the drink I had at Chili's: that's a mini-beer stuck head down into a frozen margarita) to Toronto, where a cascading water feature refreshes the very weary traveler's eye.... See what I'm saying? All the best stuff on this journey was art, from airplane livery to water sculpture. Good art and good design probably make the rich twice as rich -- and the world twice as authentically happy -- as they/it would otherwise be, for all sorts of reasons. And, U No What? Mine is probably a deeply conservative estimate.

343 times more valuable?

Frontline news from the weekly paycheck wars: CEOs at America's largest companies now earn on average 343 times more than the typical worker in the same firm.

From an emotional point of view, this finding must comfort C-level execs. Are you a better person? Well, you could say: 343 times better!!! ...

Yet are C-level execs actually worth this hugely distorted "return on your time, education, and expertise"? Maybe? (Doubt it.) No way? (Not that bad.) Who cares? (Yup....)

Few care if a CEO in America makes an elephantine and enviable amount, as long as plenty of average-earning jobs are created at the same time. Tax-payers are forgiving, as long as things are reasonably fair: 343 times the average salary seems hmmm Idunno UNunreasonable to most.

So, C-levels, defend yourselves: gated communities, private jets, house lawyers, art. Yes, art. Buying art is a hedge against immortality.

What I learned in Omaha

Lincoln, NE (the capitol) has the millionaires. Omaha, NE (home of Warren Buffett) has the billionaires. Nebraska: a great place to fundraise. L-r: all Delta, Detroit x 2, Omaha is a beef hotspot including the restaurant where I spoke to the AFP chapter. At the airport, the announcer asked all passengers to form two rows to welcome 5 soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

A cry for help

"Mommy's in the kitchen mixing cocktails!"

Hold that tiger

I have witnessed the best. And the best is impressive. Princeton University leads the nation (meaning it leads the world) in annual alumni giving. Which is considered a measure of "customer satisfaction." In the 2009 US News & World Report, in this category, Princeton was 1st among peer research institutions. Rival Harvard was a distant second. In 2009, 61% of Princeton alums gave annually vs. 41% of Harvard alums.

Why? It's no accident. Princeton has built a model fundraising operation. It's a solid WOW! You have to see it to understand. Which I did. And returned with pictures! You are there, as Pat Coen, Senior Associate Director, Editorial Strategy, in the office of Development Communications, drives me past....

The reassuring mock-Gothic architecture. The small town of Princeton. The oldest building. The hallowed gate. The almost-obligatory Frank Gehry signature building. And the development offices, where rah-rah is on the walls and in abundance. Even the chairs are upholstered in Princeton orange. Princeton is not a brand. This is a tribe. This is a sacred identity.

Google-stalk

To try to track down via Google.

Consulting in a nutshell

Willing to die for