On political confusion

Two years ago today I wrote this about the surprising and somewhat unsettling outcome of the American president election. Still valid to some degree, don’t you think?:

A simple unfiltered reaction
of fear and of dissatisfaction
Has led your election
In a surprising direction
Especially in the conservative fraction

The administration of your state
That you say once made you great
Had become outdated
And that generated
Frustration, scorn and hate

Not longer so pragmatic
And far too bureaucratic
Unable with its pleads
To address the common needs
And perceived as aristocratic

In came a real estater
An infamous bigot and a hater
Convincingly loud
He promised the crowd
To make your country greater

When you’ve had it up to here
And you’re all filled up with fear
An opportunist might
Speak directly to your fright
Though I dare say it’s a lousy idea

While his opponent was known
And professional to the bone
His harshness and hostility
Generated mobility
And left her overthrown

You elected the bullying brute
To change your political route
And although it’s a shame
We might have done the same
If our top was that far from our root

If bureaucracy leads to stagnation
And democracy is the salvation
Then how come you’d elect
A man lacking respect
For every international relation?

With medieval values on gender
A regular migrant offender
Environment goals:
”To get U.S. Back on coals”
A typical ”self made” big spender

We’re already seeing the impact
And people are starting to react
Our sole consolation:
An angry, regretful nation
Is not just an alternative fact

Business acumen?

A Limerick description of the difference between basic understanding of the terms of business finance and actual business acumen:

There was a young Scott from the Highlands
Who wanted to learn business finance
Though it was risky
He started distilling whisky
And formed a distiller’s alliance

And things went better than predicted
Although most of his assets were liquid
But because of his fairness
And quality awareness
His tastings made him addicted

His revenues were decreasing
And his assets were rapidly ceasing
But using his connections
He changed his directions
And put his distillery up for leasing

As chairmain of the distiller’s alliance
He could decide without member defiance
That a common brand
Would come well in hand
So they ended up leasing his appliance

And though one might call him a mess
I reluctantly have to confess
That his lack of understanding
Of accounting and commanding
Was counterbalanced with business prowess

The bottom line

Some of you know that one of my roles in my ”real job” is as product manager for a business simulation around basic business finance. To sum up the learnings in a fun-filled way I wrote this doggerel a few years back:

If sales is vanity, profit is sanity and cash is a fact
Then you’d better stop talking, get up and act

Cause selling what you produce is of no great use
If you’re selling champagne at the price of juice

And even if you’re raising your prices, which is great
That really won’t help if the payment is too late

So know what to sell and to what price
And package it well so that it looks nice

If you need to give discounts to make it a bargain
Then do be aware you are gambling with your margin

And finally to not make the loss greater
Cash in is worth so much more now than later!

Young and alone

Melodi: Molly Malone

In Dublin’s fair city
When I was young and gritty
I walked through these streets, I was young and alone
I came empty handed,
Knew not where I had landed
Empty gut and no muscles, but so alive oh

Alive, alive oh,
Alive, alive oh
Empty gut and no muscles, but so alive oh

Back then I was bolder
I’d come to grow older
Found a flat and a job, settled down here to stay
I dealt with the weather
And my English got better
Empty gut and no muscles, but so alive oh

Alive, alive oh,
Alive, alive oh
Empty gut and no muscles, but so alive oh

Now in retrospective
My year was effective
I grew up, learnt to deal with life just as it is
I’m back reminiscing
Can see things I’m now missing
Being young with no muscles, but so alive oh

Alive, alive oh,
Alive, alive oh
Being young with no muscles, but so alive oh

My life now is nicer
I’m older and wiser
Have a wife and two boys and my gut it has grown
As my boys grow older
And become a bit bolder
I hope they’ll go somewhere to feel so alive oh

Alive, alive oh,
Alive, alive oh
I hope they’ll go somewhere to feel so alive oh

The digital paradox

Testade vingarna på engelska häromdagen…

While new and groundbreaking technique
Gives you a more global work week
With coffee’s and tea’s
With friends overseas
Giving you a global sneak peek

It poses some questions for me
In the long run I’m curious to see
If communication
Through this automation
Might lose nuances of esprit?

Millenniums of utilization
Of our full configuration
With gestures and pose
Face, voice, hands and toes
we’ve reached a detailed calibration

Which to some extent includes presence
To get to the absolute essence
Where communication
Becomes co-creation
Of our intellectual quintessence

So, looking at the current hype
Of tools such as Tinder and Skype
Can we verify
That we clarify
What we mean before we “left swipe”?

Or do these new channels of reach
leave us with less channels of speech
where only through wording
we will be left herding
Our human bond, risking to breach?

Or am I just old and boring
Is there really no use ignoring
Extended foundation
For communication
Should I stop nagging, start exploring?