Meet Dr. Doug

Did you do any workshops on sub-prime loans?

no, sorry...my expertise is on the psychology of performance.

i am not a financial advisor, mortgage banker or asset manager. just a guy with a degree in psychology who makes his living helping people in all occupations go from good to great.

thanks,

doug

Will the U.S. Treasury throw their full weight and faith behind Fannie and Freddie, they are holding American Realestate after all ?

Will the U.S. Government sell off it's investment in the banks they took the huge postions in for the bail out money ?

I hold Barclays stock both here and from the British market. Barclays is the marjor stock holder in thousands of corporation, banks, and almost every industry around the world. What will Barclays look like in 5 years ?

Will the Mexican Cement Corporation be able to hold out till the stimulis packages passes Congress ?

hold on a minute...let me get my crystal ball. yes, i am being funny.

dadw5boys, thanks for the email....i am a dadw2girlsand1boy,

while your questions are good ones, and i can sense your feelings of uncertaintly from the scope of your question - i am not an economist or financial advisor so i cant offer the kind of answers you are looking for.

what i can do is help you (and others on this list) with how to compartmentalize your fears, anxieties, uncertainties about the future so you can stay FOCUSED and PRODUCTIVE during these times.

and more importantly, what i can tell you is that NO ONE knows the answer to what will happen in the future - especially when it comes to the economy and policies. Sure, smart (and not-so-smart) people try to predict the future, but i have learned from my clients that success in the face of uncertainty when dealing with the markets and economy is NOT about predecting the future....instead it is about things like:

* keeping a clear head when others panic

* making objective decisions rather than emotional ones

* thinking in terms of probabilities and making decisions where the odds of success are more in your favor

* getting comfortable with being uncomfortable

* having goals, objectives and plans to execute them

* focusing on the process (do the right things step by step) rather than the outcome (what the end result is)

hopefully that clarifies a bit for all of us about what i do, what i dont do....and more importantly what insights i can share with you all about how my wall street clients think and profit in both good and bad times ...and no they are not the ponzi scheme guys, greed mongers or ego-manics we read about in the papers these days.

as you all will see, my content is not about how to make investments or what to invest in....

my posts are about how to THINK better, smarter and improve your performance in any occupation or aspect of life.

enjoy your 5 boys...my 2nd daughter is due in a week...so i hear i my wife and i are about to go from man-to-man to a zone defense.

Doug

Welcome gald to have you

Yeah a little worried guess it shows. I have a little girl too. So 6 kids here and they all want college.

Great answers

and college they wil get.

i am not the expert in everything but i do know and have seen many times that if a person is persistant enough and wants to obtain goal bad enough, then they can make it happen...and be enriched for the lessons they gather along the way.

wow, 6..that is fantastic. you are blessed with a large family - model the right behavior and show them their wings.

doug

...oh and by the way, it is very ok to be a LOT worried...we all are.

just dont allow yourself to act, behave or make decisions based on that worry.

doug

Welcome to CR4, Dr. Doug, it's good to have you on board.

You said:

* keeping a clear head when others panic

Here's another:

* if you can keep your head while all around are losing theirs, perhaps you just don't understand the situation.

thank you very much.

doug

The Eight Secrets to Thinking Like the Wall Street Elite So You Can Win In Life

Sorry I won't steal or commit fraud to get bailout money.

You have joined a unique crowd.

The guys here will judge you by your performance not your marketing. All that out of the way.

Welcome aboard! We have many good minds and a few great ones (just don't let them know) So enjoy.

The humor is as eclectic as the skill sets here.

Of course you have done your homework so I'm being rhetorical.

Brad

hey Brad,

thanks for the welcome note...

tough crowd - but i like direct and to the point communication. i am not here to waste your time, the time of others on this blog or my time for that matter. if prove to add value to the list, great...then keep me. if i dont, then i will thank the list for this opportunity and part ways. rise and fall on one's merrits - that is something i am comfortable with at all times.

i pride myself on telling my clients what they need to hear rather than what they want to hear so i am comfortable with getting the same in return so long as the dialogues are professional, on topic and with purpose

being judged on value add and performance is the way it should be - and i believe if more people in our society felt that way, then there would be less reactivity and feeling sorry for one's situation and more people taking control of their lives and being productive.

again, thanks for the welcome note...much appreciated.

Doug

Sounds like you will fit right in

And You're Welcome

Brad

The Eight Secrets to Thinking Like the Wall Street Elite So You Can Win In Life.

Does that include those elite Wall street people who are now out of work?

Don't think negative I belive is what that means. Keep a stiff upper lip. lol

good question, Nigh....

not it does not and let's just say the timing for the subtitle of my book is unfortunate as i seem to be spending lots of time having to clarify these days.

the bigger take-away for me from your comment is that i need to re-visit the title so it does not distract the reader from the content.

i think "street smarts" is good...it is the subtitle that needs to change.

thank you for your comment - it was value add to me so i can rethink it. better that i found out now rather than once the book went to press.

open to suggestions on an alterative subtitle - do you have any thoughts?

doug

Hi Doc

You might find this article of particular significance concerning the title to your book. It deals with an illusion that most were under at the time......all except those few that are mentioned here. It's basically about how illusions create a belief system and how simple a matter it is to lose sight of reality (regardless the cut of ones' suit).

I was lucky. I was in the company of people who saw it coming 3 years back. Below is a story of one mans attempt to discredit the biggest players on Wall St. years before the crash.

http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/national-news/portfolio/2008/11/11/The-End-of-Wall-Streets-Boom/

thank you very much...re: the title, i like "street smarts" the subtitle is something we are going to be chaning though for sure as it misrepresents the purpose of the book.

thanks for the link and the article.

doug

"Street Smarts" works.

Amazing how Wall St. impinged itself on the worlds' psyche.

Looking forward to the banter. I've never been much of a blogger till discovering this lot.

Hope you enjoy yourself here!

...and now, where your wit is so appreciated, D.i.t.p., [and believe me, it is! ] you (thankfully) find it difficult to desist! (What'm I saying???! The opportunity for anywit to wit amongst such sharp wits as these just ends up being addictive! Witness the number of wits participating in any of the many banters we throw into every one of our lengthier professional discussions...).

Thanks, by the way, for the article. A great read and opportunity to note the perspective of another set of players in that collapse. I'm forwarding it.

'Dr. Doug', I can see that this is going to be one looooooooong blogset.

Is there some way it can be broken down into different threads? Maybe create a separate category for it and use that to tackle the various questions that might arise as individual matters worthy of individual discussions? (e.g. We have a category for "education". What might be a useful and accurate label for your category? "Situation Processing"? "Coach's Corner"? "Situation Coaching"? I'm anxious to ask you situational and developmental questions important to me from time to time, and so I'm really glad you're on board as a resource.)

Also, how might we avoid having you be our Ann Landers/Dear Abby, and use the opportunity to also genuinely engage the ideas of others in the processing of any given sub-topic in your category?

Mark

I'm ready. I've relieved the lobby of its couch and glued it to the desk.

hi Mark,

it is wit great pleasure that i get to wit with you wits.

good questions....i am ok with working in whatever format makes the most sense for you all. i suppose structurally, your questions should addressed by the editors and/or people who maintain the blog. i will pass along to my contact at CR4 and see what he says.

thanks again for reading.

doug

Mark,

Thanks for your comment about the length of this discussion. It's a long one indeed. But as an editor and administrator for the Engineering Management blog, I see this as a good thing. The range of topics that CR4ers would like to hear about is on display, and those who arrive "late to the party" can get a sense of all that's gone on so far.

Some questions are indeed worthy of individual discussions. In fact, they're probably worthy of their own blog entries. But for now at least, it's important to let CR4ers get a sense of who Dr. Doug is - and for him to prove himself to us. To his great credit, he's done just that. By running our gauntlet head on, I think that even some skeptics have now welcomed him into our proverbial "tribe".

With regard to the situational and developmental questions that are important to you from time to time, I encourage you to use CR4's private-messaging system to contact Dr. Doug directly. He can't be Ann Landers or Dear Abby for us all (as you note), but he might like to develop a particular question (with answer) into its own blog entry.

This blog entry (Meet Dr. Doug) won't be his only contribution to CR4 either. Another blog entry is already set to run next Monday (02/09). I won't spoil the surprise by giving it away, but I think you'll enjoy it, too.

Moose

i read that the market is going to crash very badly next monday the 9th.

cant find my crystal ball right now...

but seriously, focusing on factors outside of our control is a waste of time and energy. you all know that. now you need to stop it.

mabye it does crash, maybe it doesnt crash. no one knows. and, truthfully, at the end of the day, what is the difference as the reality of our lives today and right now is all that matters.

be mindful of what you read and more importantly avoid solidifying a prediction to be the "truth"

when unexpected things begin to develop, all one can do is prepare themselves to navigate the uncertainty.

engineering (while i am far from the expert in it) seems to be a very mathematical, predictive process. if i am wrong, someone please educate me about this.

this means that some of my topics, your questions and my responses will require that you move outside of your traditional comfort zones.

which, by the way, is why many of you are experiencing tremendous volatility in your emotions when you think about the markets or its impact on your life.

simply put, it is because you are engineers and are hardwired or trained to deal with if/then scenarios.

the world economy (and life for that matter) are more unpredictable.

sometimes you just have to have "faith" that no matter how things play out, you will be able to handle the outcome and be the better for it...think of it like you have a plan to develop something, then once you get to work on it, an additional variable enters the picture, which you need to account for.

choice a) give up the entire project

choice b) calculate the associated risks involved and make the adjustment based on where you think the best outcome will lie

as i type this, i am realizing that helping many of you to get more comfortable with being uncomfortable could very well be a focus of our dialogues.

as i learn more about your world, the greater value i will be able to add...

keep the comments coming.

doug

Hello DrDoug and Welcome.

You Wrote:"engineering (while i am far from the expert in it) seems to be a very mathematical, predictive process. if i am wrong, someone please educate me about this."

I think there is a big misunderstanding regarding engineers as people. It's been my personal impression that engineers are less "mathematical" and "logic driven" and are more like artists whose mediums are machines. In real engineering, equations, math, etc. just get you in the door, but you require a certain insight, a "feel" for the thing you're working on to be a great engineer. At least if you want to fix or improve something in the real world where the idealized equations break down.

Unfortunately, this is an idea lost on many modern companies, who tend to see engineers the way you described them rather than as the Michelangelo, Picasso, or Rembrandt, or Warhol that they really are. No one would hire Michelangelo to paint his house, then halfway through fire him and hire a novice to finish it for half his salary and expect the same quality. Yet for the past 30 years, in many businesses around this nation, that is precisely what has been occurring. All because of this misconception of what it is to be an engineer.

I'm afraid you walked in here with some serious preconceived notions of what an engineer is, without seemingly stopping to wonder if perhaps those notions are in fact misconceptions.

Luckily, my preconceived notions of psychologists leads me to believe that if anyone can recognize and adjust their prejudices, it's someone with your background. Who knows, maybe the misconceptions you discard as a result of your interactions here will prove beneficial in your other endeavors.

See you around CR4.

I really thank you very much for educating me on this. knowing more about your world and point of view increase my ability to add value in my posts to the group. so thank you, roger...

I am quite able to relate the "artistic" mind more than the mathematic mind because i actually went to a liberal arts undergraduate program and majored in studio art (painting) - yes, my parents where thrilled with that one...

fortunately found a way to earn a living despite my well rounded, highly cultured educational development.

now that I understand engineers are essentially artists with a different medium, i just may realize we have more in common than I expected.

your post is much appreciated.

doug

Hi Dr Doug,

Can we not call it "educating you", it makes me feel pretentious. We're just talking. Also, that was my take on Engineers, I understand you're gonna have a different take, I just mentioned it so that you go easy on the cliches which really are sort of offensive in a way. We all know that if you are interacting with a different race, or gender, that incorporating stereotypes to "connect" usually is a bad idea. I think the same applies here.

Wow I can be blunt and opinionated, I'm sorry and I hope I haven't offended you in any way.

I do appreciate having you here and judging by the other comments here, you're already a hit. I'm impressed by your art background by the way. I've never been able to draw or paint well and I've always appreciated that talent in others. I'm also glad your taking the time to respond to all of us.

Good luck with your blog, I think it will spark some great discussions.

Roger

thanks roger.

no offense taken -

re: my art background my talent is on the creative side of things like color, positioning, structure. After reading the Fountain Head, I actually came very close to entering a career as a architect. Long story for another time as to why I chose not to.

doug

hey moose,

thanks for refreshing people's focus about where i can add value and where i cannot.

re: topics related to risk taking, managing teams in crises, goal setting, motivation and leadership development....that is my sweetspot as you correctly pointed out.

let's get the ball rolling with goal setting since it is universal.

all goals need to have the following five parts:

1) Controllable - entirely in YOUR control

2) Held Accountable - hold yourself or let someone else hold you accountable

3) Achievable - not too easy, not too hard but one that pushes you to out-perform

4) Measurable - need to be able to quantify your progress as you work towards that goal

5) Positive - needs to be worded using positive language so avoid things like "my goal it to make fewer mistakes than i did last time" and instead say things like "my goal is to improve my process so i can be more efficient."

that being said, i invite anyone to jump in and offer up some goals so i can help you structure them properly so you can set yourself up for success.

thanks

Doug

Glad to meet another with a crystal ball. I often use mine here.

Welcome to the group. A couple questions:

1. Do you have any advice for a small US company (15 employees) in this market in terms of setting goals? Do you think that there should be a "ride out the storm" mentality or should the company have more of a "damn the torpedos" mindset? The company I work for is a niche chemical engineering consulting firm and we have already cut back on the hiring forecast for the year in anticipation of a work slow down. While we haven't seen a drop in business yet, we have begun to be more aggressive towards winning new work in anticipation of the market drying up.
2. Do you think the new administration has the leadership skills to bring the US out of its current economic funk?
3. Do you think that firms that are failing should be left to die or should they be given a boost? In your experience, do companies that get a boost recover and learn from that mistake or do they drive right back into the ditch?
4. Do you think that the US population is beginning to realize that they are (this is a gross generalization) living outside their means? By that I mean it seems we have a champagne taste for a beer salary and rather than work and adapt towards the champagne salary, we seem to expect that it will just show up.

Dr. Doug, Thanks for your thorough, candid and thoughtful reply! I have found it's not easy for many (including me) to shine the spotlight on themselves and harder still to write about it for understanding by others. I'd say your skills in that department are also relevant to the success you have enjoyed and the fulfillment you find in your work.

And, while I won't belabor it now (as I hope we'll have a longstanding relationship with you through CR4), there are themes to what you have done that are clearly relevant (in my humble opinion) to the engineering community. Your interest in 'the athlete' is very interesting and it seems you have challenged some societal beliefs not to the detriment of athletes but of benefit to non-athletes. Neat stuff!

Count me in as an avid reader and I'd like to think we can open a number of discussions of relevance to engineers, their assumptions, their challenges/opportunities, their dreams and more.

MillMatt

PS: As a baseball pitcher (though not at the college level), I can tell you just how important that rapport with a catcher is; the combination is aptly termed a 'battery'. And, I recall a youth coach referring to the catcher as 'the holler guy' because he is the only player on the field facing everyone else and who has a view of the entire field of play. Being a gutsy backstop is important but being the on-field coordinator requires tact, diplomacy, psychology and other leadership skills not often appreciated by the casual observer.

now that was spoken by a pitcher who appreciated the guy blocking his 0-2 curve balls in the dirt....

i always was perplexed by those who described the catching gear as the "tools of ignorance" --- to me, catching was the ultimate thinking mans part of the game.

in any event....thank you for the note. i have been told that my next post is being placed on CR4 on feb 9th - i am confident it will generate some interseting discussions. which i look forward to.

doug

Thank you both for the open discussion. I feel we, the community, are well served by you both.

Having been here (CR4) a couple of years now I have come to appreciate my involvement with this community in ways that I never would have imagined. This is but another example of the positive power of this tool (CR4) when in the hands of positive minds.

Again, gratitude for your open discussion. I am looking forward to at least a few more years.

cr3

PS: do you and Chris Leonard go to the same barber?

very welcome...and yes we do.

doug

G'day Dr.Doug

Welcome to this great crowd. CR4 has been a great place for all of us to keep learning, teaching (they hate home work solving here), solving some times simple looking problems and giving real time solutions to fellow engineers.

It is good to see some one come out with guns blazing and showing all of us were you are from, were you want to go, how you can help and that you except and expect the help from this, some times hilarious mob. A pity Moose could not arrange for a 50 foot staircase for you to come down. You see, humor is a good medicine if taken in the right dose.

It has been a very informative journey in CR4 for me so far and with people of your experience and back ground, CR4 will become an even greater treasure trove of people/ideas from all walks of life and nationalities and in a huge of range of disciplines.

I Hope I can contribute to your, our success!

All the best from Down Under, Ky.

thank you for the note, ky.

i am enjoying the dialogues and interactions.

doug

Seems I have been running at hish speed thru a maze most of my life.

Four of us are working on a Business Plan. Working with the different contractors is getting to be a pain.

They are dragging their feet; often warning us we are crazy in this economy to be diving in. They have done excellent work in the past, we have seen their work.

Got any suggestion on how we can spur them along ?

I know the economy is hitting them hard here with electirc bills doubling even tripled. I don't want to suggest they are dragging the work out just yet but.

The state has Community Devolpment money for us and is pressing us forward so they can get people back to work. We still have at least 1 to 2 months of paper work with the government and banks once we get the layout and design.

We would not take the Government money if they did not have so many complex laws on the books. That is where most of the Community Devolpment money will go to lawyers to get the paper work right.

i am trying to understand your question...

you are basically saying you are working on a business plan for something with four other people. and in addition to that there are different contractors involved and you want to know how to engage them more into the process...

or are you saying the three other people you are doing the plan with are not engaging in the process sufficiently with you?

please clarify so i get the picture straight.

thanks

Doug

Hi Doug,

Just wanted to say welcome. I've read (and enjoyed) this blog since it first went live. I'd thought you may get a rough ride from the no-crap bunch here, but you've done a real good job of answering everyone (to wit, to woo them, you've done a good job - I've just gone owlish ).

I look forward to reading more. For now, just one question ; There are two adages that seem to have more than a grain of truth to them - 'Successful people plan their work, and work their plan', and 'Life's what happens while you're making plans'. I see no contradiction, just that the somewhat cliched sayings emphasize a need for adaptability/flexibility. What think ye ?

Ah…finally a post which get's us back to the point of what this blog is about.

But first, make sure you all buy my, must have, fix it guarantee solution to happily ever after dvd and accompanying book of magic to making tons of easy money all for the very low price of…..

Ooops. I forgot I dont have that product or do that for a living.

So I guess i will have to go back to just pushing fingers to the keys and slumming it with you all and get my "payment" in a different and much more rewarding way – by sharing thoughts and impacting lives.….which is exactly what I want to be doing…so thank you.

Life's too short, time too valuable – so let's move on.

Kris….i agree with you that these clichés are accurate and, in my opinion, very generalizable (not sure that is a word, but you get the point) because they stand the test of time, transcend generations and resonate with all people, in a variety of cultures and walks of life.

The adaptability and flexibility component is subtle but an essential ingredient.

I would go one step further and suggest that it is not enough to be flexible/adaptable but to be willing and open to be that way 'on the fly' as things are moving and changing. I view plans as an initial constructs of a vision. Once put into action they are left to be influenced by thousands of known and unknown variables in the environment (people, weather, things, etc). Then if you choose to stick blindly to a plan, it most often leads you on a path towards failure. Instead, willingness to see the changes as they happen and adapt/adjust to the environment is a quality called "risk management" – something my financial clients do well when they are successful and do poorly when they are not. We could talk about how the banks screwed that up – but that is a different talk for a different time.

The element of listening to and trusting one's "gut" or intuition, instinct or whatever you want to call it is an important factor to consider. Some people are comfortable with this, others not. Some people like hard facts, others are willing to try new things without knowing exactly where it will leave them.

I find going from good to great requires knowing which YOU prefer and finding a balance of both elements…but if you asked me which one is the initial catalyst for higher levels of achievement…I would tell you it is the intuition first, followed by calculated and structured execution, then back to intuition to keep the machine oiled and on target.

Failure in businesses and ideas oftentimes is the result of human ego or stubbornness in the form of the leader not wanting to "share" or "collaborate" with others – especially in areas he or she is deficient. Going back to my previous about why I think Barack has an excellent chance to establish himself as a remarkable leader is because he seems open to reaching outside of himself to find solutions and ideas to things he is not the expert on.

In short….he is aware that he does not have the answer to everything and has the courage to allow other smart people come in and challenge him.

That is a leader without Ego…and one who plans his plan, then works his plan, then ADUSTS his plan based on kind of impact the plan has on the environment.

Good post…thank you,

doug

Hi, Dr. Doug!

What can you share about the uses of 'FaceBook' and similar blog sites on the internet in terms of building a following or a business?

I have a kind of distaste for the thing, but I'm planning my next Mayoralty campaign (towards Nov. 2010) to have a solid internet component and don't want to miss any good bets. I am currently developing my 'political views' website and am planning a regular internet TV cast on civic issues to run within the next couple of months.

Have you noticed whether venues like FaceBook are able to enhance a product recognition campaign in a manner that fits in with running for public office?

...Or, as far as engineering development is concerned, any kind of product promotion?

Mark

(and before the rest of you characters start to slam me for this, I do not regard myself as a politician! ...Yet .)

i can only speak from my experiences re: facebook.

i vascilated on it and then off it then on again...i finally decided to use it for business only purposes. so far, i have found it to be a beneficial way to distribute relevant information quickly to people who may (or may not) be interested.

the good part is it seems that people dont feel like they are being spammed by each other. the bad part is that it is a representation of you and you cannot control what someone says about you....there are also some security issues i heard on cnn last week with hackers taking over people's identities.

good and bad all included seems to be irrelevant as i think it is quickly becoming an informational necessity for masses of people - so you may be obligated to use it for your marketing, campaigning, etc.

but hey, what do i know....that has just been my experience with it.

doug

A good networking site that I use is Linked In where you have a lot more power over what is displayed on your site (you display recommendations about yourself from others). Are there others out there on LinkedIn? It seems more professional than Facebook, but I don't have a Facebook profile so I can't really speak to that.

i have linked in as well....it really is much more "business" focused and the audience not nearly as big - whereas facebook seems to be more people, personal lives focused and widespread...

i have noticed a trend starting where facebook is being used more for business as well.

we did several spots recently on CNBC where experts on job searching and marketing were talking about the importance and neccesity of using facebook to market yourself professionally.

Hey betomachine,

Since you're on LinkedIn, I hope you'll join the CR4 Group there.

Best,

Moose

Thanks! I didn't even think to check if CR4 existed on linkedin. I've sent in my request to join.

have you tried linkedin or Plaxo? Those are more business specific.

Myspace and facebook are to broad IMO

Hey Mark,

If you're on Facebook, I hope you'll join the CR4 group there.

Moose

You fit the profile of Frank Zappa's father. CR4 is a terrific place to hang out. It was normal for worn out sports figures to go into selling insurance. In the past I have suggested that CR4 have a Poly Sci section. There has been resistance for that. Dealing with fear may be something you can concretely here on this forum contribute about. Mostly I am a knocked around poet warrior. My scholarship to Farr Associates Executive Leadership Workshop was helpful, and fun. It is obvious that Moose works his ass off. To me Facebook is sort of creepy. So far I think LinkedIn promising. My Grandfather was an engineer who became an episcopal priest. It apparently depressed him that inputs did not equal outputs as far as people were concerned. The fact of the matter is that globalspec facilitates CR4. GlobalSpec is pretty simple really. You work for a company, you need the best stuff. Globalspec is the place to list that stuff. Tools are important. You need tools for your factory, you can find them on Global Spec. Some of us on CR4 have become friends. My local friend who is smart and all just goes to Global Spec to buy things and doesn't give CR4 a hoot. He told me that he would have found Global Spec 6 months later, but was glad I told him about it, so he found it earlier. My point is that I am grateful to Global Spec for the creation of this forum. I have said to Moose that I get from it all I ever wanted from Short Wave Radio, but never got. Unless it is an emergency all they talk about on SW is what sort of radio they have. Suggest an experiment for you: Throw the I Ching and read the Reading for the Day. Does seem your profile is not particularly scientific, and similar to mine.

P.S. Moose & Chris Leonard are smart guys. I am up for another speech on April Fools, the National Holiday of Transcendia.

Damnit Transc. how many times have we asked ya - break up the paragraphs. It makes my brain hurt. It would'nt matter 'cept I like to read what you say.

It's like Keruoak's rough draft of On the Road

_{(Kerouac wrote the book, at his kitchen table on West 20th Street, over a period of just 20 days on a single roll of telegraph paper. In the process he reinvented "automatic writing,"[from http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/kerouac.htm]).}

TO ALL: The bio I have linked here to Kerouak is very much in line with the subject matter we are currently discussing - just doing my part to bring a bit of culture to the group )

1.It makes my brain hurt too. 2.When I write on the screen I get, I do put in line and paragraph breaks, but they don't take to the post. 3.Asked about it awhile back. 4.Then I tried just writing short, but then some things required the words I wrote. 5.I'll check again with somebody to see why I seem to be a run on sentence sort of guy, when actually I respect the craft of writing.

No worries friend.

[p]Toodleee Tooot du tooooooot![/p]

[p]The ol' Trans has just hit his Gurudiancy. All hail. Congrats! And remember always to be a shining inspiration for those little guys on the way up! [/p]

[p]Mark[/p]

With the stronger platforms, the line & paragraph breaks are built in.

They don't need adding. When I write from my 96-year-old mom's Windows 95 computer platform, I need to put them in. Not so on my 2000 professional. I just hit the 'enter' bar and go to a new paragraph.

FYI - Dr. Doug's second blog entry is now live on CR4. Hope you'll all check it out and continue the discussion there.

This is different. Looked at the next post concerning getting in the Zone, or what the Zone is about. I was caused to remember the times I was in The Zone. I was running three projectors and creating a light show in a Disco to the music. When fashion photographers shoot girls in new fashions they do use music. We know that rowers on rowing ships were helped to keep going by rhythms, and chants are long known to advance a feeling of spiritual connectedness or community. Still on a typical job site, in a woodshop or a machine shop, this sort of sound seems inappropriate. The mix of introverts and extroverts in a Submarine that runs well has long been a study I would like to conduct.

Hi, Transcendian!

Any minute now, you're going to achieve guruhood. Welcome to the stratosphere of CR4 with a genuine "conguruatulations"!

Remember as a guru to always guide the little people wisely,

and conduct yourself with utmost dignity

as you have already seen evidenced by

the other gurued individuals in here.

And be guided by the guru's plea to the heavens: "May the gods have mercy on CR4's soul for creating the class".

Vis-a-vis piping music into the workplace, are you aware of the 'Hawthorne Effect'?

Mark

Congrats on becoming a Guru Transcendian. Also, congrats on summarizing DrDoug's philosophy with the name "Transcendian". See you around the CR4.

FYI - If you missed Dr. Doug's appearance on CNBC yesterday, just click link this link to see his spot.

I watched the TV Clip. I've read the thread. I've also read The Fountain Head. Clip seemed to be about investing. My study does indicate that most people do things for emotional reasons, more than logical reasons. What is it you want? Howard Roark himself was emotionally driven. He wanted Dominique Francon. She was the prize. She was with the man who wanted Fame, and the man who wanted Power, and then came back to the man who simply wanted to do his work. It is a parable. My happiest times were when I was doing my work. We have fate, and destiny to struggle with. Fate happens to you. Destiny is something you accept. To invest in a company used to be based on the value of the products the company made that you believed where worthy of your investment. Used to be you wanted to support a company. They acknowledged that by sending you dividends. It was really more about ideas and beliefs and values, than money. You can invest all day in crematoriums and casket companies, and be insured of a growing need for that product. My study of human motivations did end up accepting Money Ideology Compromise and Ego. Or Sex Security and Status. Spontaneous Affection is the Destiny Component. Del the Cat for instance likes Bows and Arrows. His life is full because no matter what, he has made and will make bows and arrows. It is his work. It is his destiny. There is a science to life. As Faulkner said, "The truth is not necessarily the facts."

P.S. Could the webmaster put a click place that made paragraph and lines post as I wrote?

FYI - Dr. Doug's latest blog entry, Using Your EGO to Achieve Excellence, is now live on CR4.

FYI - Dr. Doug will be on CNBC's Squawk on the Street today (Wednesday, 03/04) at 10:00 AM.

Topic: The Shaken Faith of America in this Economy

· How do we embrace a new reality?

· What does this do to the future of investing in America?

· Will people's perceived worth still be valued in cash?

FYI - Dr. Doug's latest blog entry, Your Most Valuable Resource - YOU!, is now on CR4.