April 4, 2007
My theory is that the free world defeated Communism because their secretaries were less efficient than our secretaries. Their munchkins were hampered by Communism. Ours weren't.
A leader is no better than his ability to execute his grand vision. Grand visions are executed by munchkins.
Take the case of C. Fred Bergsten. I spotted an error on the web site of the most influential journal on earth, Foreign Affairs. It's published by the Council on Foreign Relations. It said of him:
His latest of 14 articles in Foreign Affairs over 36 years is "Foreign Economic Policy for the Next President" (March to April 2004).
This is incorrect. He has written another one: #15 (Dec. 2005).
So, I sent the incorrect citation and the page's link to his site. I also sent the link to article #15. I pointed out the discrepancy. I figured a secretary would see this error, warn her boss, and he would update the sentence and contact the webmaster at Foreign Affairs. That was not to be. I got a reply back from his munchkin. She asked: Excuse me, who are you?
I sent back this reply: Why does it matter?
Well, it matters a great deal in Munchkin land. A honcho's error isn't an error if the discoverer isn't somebody. In short: "If you're a nobody, the error stands."
She sent her inquiry to me on March 12, the same day I replied. I have checked back repeatedly. The error is still on-line. You can see if it's still there today:
You may ask: "But isn't the munchkin's job to warn the boss about problems?" Of course not. Her job is to warn the boss of a problem if someone important warns her. Otherwise, her boss is entitled to be spared the discomfort of a visible public mistake. The mistake, of course, remains on-line. But her boss remains happy.
The problem is, Google will find my page here. And one of these days, someone will mention to him: "Say, Fred. I see the munchkins still run your show."
He'll answer "What do you mean?"
A word to wise munchkins: A nobody may run a website. Google finds everything. So, it's always best to warn the boss.
Honchos think they run the world. So, they don't train their munchkins. They're just too busy. They have important things to do.
Now think of the President of the United States. He makes such big decisions.
Who warns him of looming problems? Who executes his plans?
Sleep tight.
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