Avoid Endless Deliberation. . .

Anyone who has ever worked in the corporate sector, academia, or government at any level, will be familiar with the endless deliberation, dithering, and useless chatter of committee-based decision making. It seems we just loo-oove our committees. That must be because they prevent easy finger-pointing and accepting of responsibility if and when there is a snafu.

The longer I live, the more people, of all ages, I meet who seem to be incapable of making a decision. It might be as simple as deciding which shoes to put on in the morning, which local restaurant to visit for an evening meal, whether or not to ask that new gal out for a drink after work on Friday evening, or something more serious like whether or not to take that promotion and transfer recently offered to you by your company.

Regardless of the precise situation, there is invariably a great deal of hand wringing, apron twisting, and endless talk without a decision being reached. Arrggh!!! This phenomenon is not a recent development although it seems worse now than ever before. But we have certainly seen the problem reflected in popular entertainment like movies and TV for the last 20+ years at least. Watch almost any rerun of Seinfeld or Friends, for example, and you'll quickly see what I mean.

As average guys concerned with kicking up our everyday style several notches, let's work to change this annoying trend. Let's do our utmost to make conclusive decisions in all areas of our lives. Efficiently, in fairly short order, and without round after round of endless and self-indulgent deliberation. I am hardly suggesting careless disregard for others and rash action. What I do advocate, though, is for people to quickly take stock of a situation and its related possible choices, make a decision, and then stick to it. Grow up, act like a man, and own your decisions, guys. Accept the consequences, if there are any, and move forward to the best of your skills and abilities. Let's not live our own lives like Ally McBeal and forever row our figurative boat in circles without progressing in the river of life for Heaven's sake.

As for yours truly, I'm off to examine the contents of the upstairs hall closet and decide which of three odd jackets should go to the tailor's next for minor alterations. But wait! Maybe not. Oh, I don't know. What if I make the wrong decision? Someone, anyone, tell me what I ought to do. Let's meet up at Central Perk, grab a couple of lattes, and talk it to death. Yeah. That's it. Oh, thank you. I feel so much better now.

-- Heinz-Ulrich

J. Press Goodness. . .

F resh out of the UPS box, three examples of J. Press goodness on a Friday morning. These shirts are replacements for three recently worn-through, more than 20-year old OCBDs from Land's End (two) and L.L. Bean (one). They were purchased shortly after I took my first teaching position at a now defunct local college outside of Minneapolis, immediately following graduate school, as the fall semester kicked off in September 2003. While some professional gear hung in my closet already, a few additional items were needed at that point to round out the weekly rotation. Said shirts all finally fell prey to small rips showing up in the now very thin, but incredibly comfortable, fabric within six weeks of each other this winter and early spring. So, time for a few replacements. The old friends will find new life as summertime lawncare shirts. Of the three new items above, my favorite shirt is on the right, but one cannot go wrong with a light blue OCBD either, so we're in good

Time for the Ol' Switcheroo?

W ell, here we are approaching mid-April. And it might just be about time to swap the cool and cold weather attire for warmer weather gear this coming weekend. Mid-70s Fahrenheit yesterday, and low 70s today. Cooler after that later in the week, but I can probably stow the heavier wool items and cords in the cedar closet and safely bring out the warm weather suits, odd jackets, and pants until the fall. Still time of one last hurrah today however. Cooler enough this morning for a tan pair of cords paired with that recently arrived J. Press jacket. The latter is light enough, although it is wool, that I might just keep it handy since we can certainly have chilly days in May and June. While classes end on the April 19th this year, I'll still be on campus occasionally into June, so it's not exactly time for khaki shorts, Madras, seersucker and short-sleeved polo shirts just yet. There's also conference coming up in New Orleans at the start of June, so still some oppor

Job Talk #3. . .

C andidate #3 is, for my money, the person for the job. Considerable experience, broad perspective, well-connected throughout the college and university due to an array of collaborative pursuits of one kind or another, coherent and detailed vision laid out for the next three years and beyond. Yes. I am not on the committee that makes the recommendation to the dean, who will make the final decision and send the letter, but, were it up to yours truly, this is the guy. And he wore an actual suit (mid-gray), dress shoes, white shirt, and necktie as an added plus. 20 years or so my junior, but someone gets it. -- Heinz-Ulrich

AnonymousDecember 12, 2013 at 6:38 PM
Heinz,

This reminds me of a couple of quotes. I believe Mark Twain said "In my mind I have imagined thousands of terrible things, only a few of which have come true.' A definition of origin unknown to me: Camel: a horse designed by committee.

You have a great website. Keep up the good posts.

Dr.CSP

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