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Michael Hardner

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Michael Hardner last won the day on November 8

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About Michael Hardner

  • Birthday 11/20/1936

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  1. You haven't given a fair summary of what the CBC article says about it. From the CBC: ""When someone says from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free, I question, 'Where do you see the Jews going?'" said Yair Szlak, president and CEO of Montreal-based Federation CJA. "That is hate speech, right, because it is into the sea that they seek to send the Jews."" The rest of your post is glib and self-righteous. This is a pretty serious issue and, frankly, your sing-song girly tone is disgusting. But that's why I have you on ignore. The main reason I came on here is because of the topic. My impression when first reading that slogan was that it meant "no more Israel". And as such, of course I feel it's reasonable for the slogan to be interpreted that way. So if people are using that slogan, they're using it offensively and nothing more. The way to take down conflict is to build common ground and remove divisiveness word by word. Some people love playing up conflict because they don't have to live with it, or maybe because they don't think a better world is possible. I don't know.
  2. 1. The public changes very quickly based on things like changing media, economy though. 2. 3. 4. Ok, well we are just talking past each other. It's easy for me to imagine a change and there will be one IMO.
  3. 1. Such things are part of management culture, yes. 2. Self-defining what success means is a bad sign. 3. No, but 'success' has a meaning in the real world and it sounds like that isn't happening. 4. The point is his inability to understand the culture of organizations like ... the civil service, small business, banks, education... academia... these things are not understandable by his type.
  4. 1. I don't think 'management culture' blames people. It's just a mindset that has to be removed. 2. Sure. I would maybe look at the rules then. But this is interesting to me. 3. What are some examples ? I apologize in advance because I usually am strongly opinionated and unforgiving on the topic of operations and project management in Canada especially. 4. Strongly disagree with that. It may be de facto true but it doesn't capture the elusive nature of excellent, the spirit of it IMO. I have seen it in all walks of life, and I think public delivery could do better than, say, banks. 5. I'm trying to resolve this statement with your statement that following the rules IS excellence ? Maybe you're trying to say that the current environment deems following the rules as excellent ? Say, versus value delivered, cost, and speed/convenience to the public user ? 6. And none of them have any experience on how to transform massive organizations. I read Bob Rae's book and he was so flummoxed with the actions of his Deputy Ministers that he thought they were conspiring to work against him. I doubt that.
  5. 1. The oursourcers LOVE bureaucracy. Because it's easy for them. Please produce this diversity report ok outsourcer ? No problem... there's no chance of failure in just pushing paper around vs. providing a service to an actual citizen who might complain. 2. People need to learn that demanding all of these things doesn't improve their service experience and costs $$$. 3. I also worked in the PS for a short time and concur. Most people want things to work well... it's the management culture that is irredeemable unfortunately. 4. There is no way to prescribe excellence. If it happens, then you have found a four-leaf clover. Protect it, nurture it, try to make another one.
  6. 1. 2. The answer is evolutionary but revolutionary: explain to the public that moving forward things will be a lot faster but there will be more failure than you're used to. Then use partners to build an entirely new model alongside the current bureaucracy. At a certain point, the new model will start to exceed and will surge in popularity. Then move people from the old model to the new one. I also worked for the federal government and was appalled at the degree to which they do things to avoid getting in trouble. The cure, though, is worse than the disease. Would you spend an entire day waiting in line for Tylenol to fix a small headache or just deal with it? The Government chooses the former path.
  7. There was a period when it looked like the "End of History" to use the title of a famous essay. The approach of strong defense coupled with open markets and an equitable society worked like gangbusters for awhile then slowly was eroded. Trump's anti China policies are being built on by Biden. The new approach may be to pull back, fix NATO problems such as Turkey's rogue tendencies... Encourage reform in the Americas and North South trade there rather than China. And encourage consumer economies by investing in education, higher end jobs, higher wages...
  8. I learned something very important from a big company that didn't follow this: There are three group;s to serve: 1. The client 2. The team 3. The bosses. Your job as manager is to balance that and keep them happy. Easy right ? Small companies, the boss only has 2 to manage and the boss knows who is performing and who isn't. A good boss also learns that you can pay less if you treat people like human beings.
  9. This is very astute. To me. The problem is management. Canadian dinosaur industries have evolved a management culture that is akin to how the royal family works and nothing better. The best management I have experienced works in medium-sized companies and medium sized startups that are no longer funded by investors. The worst thing about it is that no one has any experience of good management so they just think this is how things are run. Complete lack of imagination on our part
  10. Hmmm 🤔 Wonder if he's right? Pretty convincing, but I'd like to see the cross examination..
  11. 1. That just doesn't compute. They are trying to get revenue any way they can and obviously the shareholders love 13 Billion Dollars. 2. They want profit. 3. For sure but everybody wants to load the dice... even a little.
  12. 1. 'Equivalent' is subjective. Capitalism DEMANDED a $13B subsidy in St. Thomas Ontario to create a factory there. Was that equivalent exchange ? What's the equivalent exchange for a life-saving drug ? It's infinite, bounded only by how much they can get. 2. That was Thatcher's take. Truth is, Socialism and Capitalism both allow for public and private ownership. The principle of capitalism is that private ownership is better and the principle of socialism is that not always. 3. Sometimes I'm a little predatory, Red-A-Tory... Red Tory...
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