Archive for December 23rd, 2007
Winnie-the-Pooh on Management
This is a wonderful little book by Roger E. Allen. Hardly a gritty, must-read for this MBA student-to-be, but certainly a delightful selection for her Christmas Break reading stack! 
It is the story of a management consultant introducing the beloved Pooh and friends to basic management principles and how to more effectively communicate among themselves. This book is a favorite of mine as I spotted on a clearance table back in the day when I was enjoying the A. A. Milne classic stories with my young boys. I elected motherhood and sabbatical from full-time employment in the early 90’s. And, although I was delighted to be stay-home mom, visions of my business career did occasionally dance in my head. (In the event, I actually had a free moment for such trivial matters in the midst of mothering three children! 
)
“All right. Now, the reason that management is a Very Important Subject is that if we didn’t have management, most important things wouldn’t get done, or if they did, they wouldn’t get done very well.” p. 3
This is a principle I endorse. The past six months has been brimming with activity and, yes, opportunities to dismiss said principle. However, by setting goals and realigning myself each day (or as often as possible …) I have been able to enjoy a time in my life when I am content. I can rest and enjoy my family, my hobbies, napping 
, baking and just being; seeing my proverbial To-Do punctuated with periods instead of exclamation marks, question marks or the dreaded ellipsis. 
Accountability doesn’t come easy for me. I am a creative-type who enjoys day-dreaming, playing hide-and-seek in the moment, gazing at clouds … (well, you get the idea! ). However, once I employ boundaries and celebrate the moments (and getting there 
) my vision becomes clearer and, eventually my reality!
