Uptown

In case you missed this, here it is:

"Study: Not Being An Asshole Boss May Boost Employee Morale

July 30, 2008 | Issue 44•31

WAUKEGAN, IL—In what is being called a breakthrough discovery in worker-administrator relations, a study released Monday in the Journal Of Occupational Science found that not being a total asshole supervisor may be linked to improved worker spirit. "In nearly every trial, we found staff morale runs considerably higher when bosses don't read workers' e-mail over their shoulders, complain about their superior salaries, or act in any way like giant, self- centered assholes," said Erica Gorochow, one of the study's researchers. "Similarly, we found that typical dick manager phrases like 'I don't disagree' can weaken worker disposition by as much as 63 percent." Although the study's findings have already sent shock waves through the business community, Gorochow warned that some of the results may have been compromised, as the bitch lead researcher was breathing down her neck the whole time."

Just found this quote by Dana Carvey:

"I'm thirty years old, but I read at the thirty-four-year-old level."

From Jeffrey Eugenides' "Great Experiment", published in the March 31 edition of the New Yorker:

"How had it happened in one generation? His parents' bedroom had never looked like this. Kendall's father had a dresser full of folded laundry, a closet full of tailored suits, and, every night, a neat, clean bed to climb into. Nowadays, if Kendall wanted to live as his own father had lived, he was going to have to hire a cleaning lady and a seamstress and a social secretary. He was going to have to hire a wife. Wouldn't that be great? Stephanie could use one, too. Everybody needed a wife, and no one had one anymore."

I'm going to leave this one without a comment.

As a timely follow-up to casual Fridays, several companies across the US have decided to launch "Zero E-Mail Fridays", encouraging employees to use phone or face-to-face communication instead of e-mail on those days. According to a story published on usatoday.com, the ubiquitous use of e-mail has slowly replaced traditional conversations at the water-cooler, sometimes leading to people working in the same office but not knowing each other.

Then there's e-mail overload, of course. You know the feeling: It seems like all we do is try to keep the never-ending flow of messages in the inbox at bay. There's help! The article shares a few tricks from Marsha Egan, an executive coach, which I'm copying below. I am determined to follow her advice by the letter. Starting now. Actually, let me check my e-mail one more time. Oh look, a long-lost friend sent a message! With pictures from her new baby girl! Focus, MC.

"Egan says even the busiest e-mailers can, with care, keep control of their in-boxes. Her tips:

•Don't use e-mail to avoid unpleasant tasks. "I couldn't believe people who had never talked to each other but worked in the same office," says Scott Dockter, CEO of PBD. Dockter started e-mail-free Fridays about a year-and-a-half ago. Since then, the number of messages his 400 employees send has dropped by about 75%.

•Don't constantly check for new messages. It can take four minutes to refocus on work after checking an e-mail, Egan says. Jay Ellison, chief operating officer of U.S. Cellular, estimates that his 7,000 employees spend about 1½ hours a day on their in-boxes. E-mail-free Fridays give them more time to solve customers' problems, he says.

•Respond to important messages first - even if they're difficult. Less-pressing issues can wait until a free moment, Egan says."

Last week, the New York Times announced that it would make its editorials and op-eds available on the Web for free. In a message to subscribers of the (now defunct) service TimesSelect, they explain their shift from access-restrained to freely available content:

"Since we launched TimesSelect, the Web has evolved into an increasingly open environment. Readers find more news in a greater number of places and interact with it in more meaningful ways. This decision enhances the free flow of New York Times reporting and analysis around the world. It will enable everyone, everywhere to read our news and opinion - as well as to share it, link to it and comment on it."

So instead of logging into TimesSelect, copying an article and then pasting it into a Blog, from now I will commit one less copyright infringement and link directly to articles on the Times website.

This comes only a few months after Prince (one of my favorite rock stars) distributed free copies of his new CD Planet Earth with a British tabloid newspaper. Much like Prince, the Times is discovering that traditional business models don't hold in this era of information ubiquity and accessibility. Hopefully many other movers and shakers will follow their lead.