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I've been trying to read Guy Kawasaki's "Enchantment" which is kind of about marketing, and how if you enchant someone with your product/attitude it creates a reciprocal loyalty which is beneficial to the consumer and enriching for you. But I can't shake the feeling he thinks I'm an idiot, and I gave him fifty pages and he told me to smile more. So I'm over Guy Kawasaki.

I think maybe I need to move away, a little, from -- I don't even know what to call this genre, the closest I can get is "Corporate Self-Help" -- into more academic studies like Made To Stick was. (This is not a call for reccs. No, seriously, my reading list is long enough, don't recc any books to me.) Also I'm creeped out by how often these books like Enchantment and The 360 Degree Leader are linked into Christian ministries or written by preachers. I try not to be prejudiced against Christianity because I know there are good, thoughtful, compassionate people of every religion out there, but I was raised in four different churches of three separate denominations and I have some serious issues with what I encountered. I don't want to re-encounter it under the guise of business advice, thanks.

Though it's not like I don't need some corporate self-help today, in all honesty; of the ~~three~~ FIVE (two more "incidents" occurred while I was writing this) people I've had extended conversations with, I've managed to be drastically misunderstood by all of them. Mind you, two of them are idiots, but I can't really say the misunderstanding was their fault. Plus I was an idiot to Coworker Crush, though that's really just par for the course.

Early this morning, due to an incident not involving work, I declared this day Awkward Friday. I think I may have cursed myself.

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No reccs, but much agreement regarding the Christian ministries business helpers.
I think it's partially because the Amway folks are so into the right wing and Christianity in general. They take their MLM schemes right into the sanctuary with them!

It's not just business self help, it's a huge sub-genre inside self help. Many of them are working on some variation on the 12-step programs as well. Even more disturbing from an outsider's perspective is how many of them are from the prosperity gospel end of the Evangelical ministries.

I am a little creeped out by the whole "Prosperity Gospel" thing myself, if only because it can serve as a justification for some really terrible behavior. I am from a very conservative area, so I have actually had people tell me that we shouldn't do anything to alleviate poverty because it is God's will. Other organization make Christianity a condition of receiving assistance--you can not stay at their shelter or eat in their soup kitchens unless you also join their church.

Granted, I am not a Christian myself, but I was under the impression that Jesus had a different opinion.

I'm not Christian either but this seems to me to be the absolute definition of Doing it Wrong.

Other organization make Christianity a condition of receiving assistance--you can not stay at their shelter or eat in their soup kitchens unless you also join their church.

Ew. They should lose their 501(c)(3) status for that, IMO, but I guess that First Amendment law doesn't work that way.

The shelters/pantries aren't incorporated as separate 501(c)(3) organizations, they are "integrated auxiliaries" of the church. That gives them an automatic free pass. Churches and auxiliaries are treated as tax-free without needing to file a Form 1023, don't need to file tax returns, and are not required to make any financial information public. The only real restriction is that they are not supposed to make political endorsements, but that is rarely enforced.

The IRS has a very readable guide to tax law for religious organizations, if you are curious: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1828.pdf

I actually went and read those very regulations after I commented. :) (Law student and certified nerd here.)

I'm bookmarking this to save to read later. (I like legal things? I'm okay with my nerdiness.)

While that is all correct, there are generally local regulations (state/city,) on running shelters/soup kitchen that can get people who do that sort of thing in a great deal of trouble. It tends to only happen when someone in power doesn't like the organization for some other unrelated reason though.

Prosperity Gospel is totally missing the point of Christianity and nearly all of Jesus's teachings. It's amazing how willfully blind those preachers and adherents are.

One of my professors once referred to it as "mutant puritanism", as I recall. On the basis that over time, the protestant work ethic got warped into the belief that a person's prosperity reflects their moral character.

It was a lively lecture.

This, so much. :/ I'm not a Christian anymore (it's...complicated), but even when I was, I wasn't into the idea that God meant for some people to be filthy rich while others starved. Thankfully, the church in which I grew up wasn't into the idea either. Their pantry has always supplied anyone who needs food, whether or not they join the church. I may not follow their religion, but I appreciate the fact that everything they do is guided by love, not by hate.

I am a (probably heretical to many people's eyes) Christian, and your impression is absolutely one hundred percent correct.

Yargh. One becomes increasingly convinced that Nietzsche was right; there was only ever one true Christian and he died on the cross.

I think being an idiot to one's crushes is an inseparable part of crushing on someone. Speaking from dire experience here... The upside to Awkward Fridays or even Awkward Week of Awkwardness is that most following days seem pretty good after that. :o)

On the positive side, the crushee generally recognizes the symptoms and thinks that it is cute.

But not always. I've been the crushee and found it awkward to deal with, and I've been the crusher and didn't get the feeling that it was particularly well-received by the crushee. Well, I guess the universe is quit with me now at least. *g*

There was a whole thing recently in...Forbes, I think it was...about the intersection of Christian ministries and corporate self-help, and all these corporate bigwigs going to one particular "tent revival for businesses" that just creeped me right the hell out.

Might have something to do with the remit to 'spread the good news' ... non-evangelical businessmen might be more inclined to sit on their excellent business strategy so they alone can profit from it.

Urgh, the intersection of business and religion gives me the willies.

Mercury's in Retrograde for another two weeks -- enjoy the Awkward and mis-communication in the meantime. :)

Mercury is always in retrograde. It goes forward for about five minutes, then spins back all LOL FLAIL FOR ME MORTALS FLAIL AHAHAHAHAHAHAA.

.. I may be having an Awkward Week myself. Month. Year. Decade. Century. Lifetime. Whatever.

....is that a pancake on your stormtrooper's head?

Yes it is!

Actually it's a food-shaped eraser I picked up at the Chinese restaurant, but it looks like (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sagrei/4881656356/in/set-72157611790885684) a pancake. Which is good enough for me. :D

Edited 2011-04-09 13:56 (UTC)

Thank you, Sam, I have the 'Friday' song running through my head. (The one that went *viral* on youtube a few weeks ago). It wouldn't be so bad, except that my friend made an association so every time we hear the song, we lost The Game.

...sorry. :P

Aaaaahhh The Game *shakes fist*

I lost?

>.> Hadn't thought about that in years, damnit!

LOL, sorry about Friday!

I'm missing something about "The Game", huh.

Oh, dear. Well, since you kind of asked, these are the rules of The Game:

1. Congratulations, you are playing The Game.
2. The only way to lose The Game is to think about the game.
3. When you lose, you need to announce it.
3a. There is a 'grace period' where you have time to forget about The Game again.

Rule 3a is 'unofficial', but everyone I've met plays with some grace period. It's usually unspecified how long it is, though.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Game_%28mind_game%29

Aha! Interesting. I love how humanity likes to torment itself. :D

If you want business advice, read Scott Adams from Dilbert. Hell, this guy cured a major medical problem by -rhyming-.

It is literally true that Adams is so cool his rhymes cure disese.

I am sad to share this with you.
http://tinysprout.tumblr.com/post/3713649989/scott-adams-dilbert-deleted-post

Yeah, I was there for the whole shebang, I read his blog. I don't get the controversy.

I like Scott Adams, but I have to say, if you don't see the bullshit in what he's saying there, you may not be reading critically. I'm a dude and even I know how utterly stupid whining about "men's rights" is.

And it seems to be Adams agrees exactly with you.

That is, Adams agrees with your last sentence.

Yeah, but he agrees with it for really skeevy reasons. I mean, as men, we have had ALL THE RIGHTS FOR CENTURIES. So saying that Men's Rights is pointless because women will just keep whining (for real, "women aren't children but we should react to them like children"?) is not really the way to go.

I also have a lot of issues with most of his statements up to and including the idea that women would get paid more if they just cowboyed up and negotiated harder. Because traditionally what happens then is they get labeled a ball-busting bitch and the job is made untenable for them anyway. I mean, I don't want to deconstruct his post, I'm sure people have done that, but most of his reasons for "women will just keep whining" are incredibly ignorant.

Um, he equated women with children and the mentally handicapped.
I'm not the most eloquent of people, but here is the letter I wrote to him explaining some of my problems with the post (y'know, if you are interested. Otherwise, skip the rest of this comment):
Mr. Adams, I'm sure you aren't the one reading these, but I wanted to let you know how disappointed I was by your recent blog post about men's rights. I have been reading your strip every day since I was perhaps 12 (I'm in my late twenties now) and have always admired you.
I have just unsubscribed from your daily strip emails and will no longer be buying your books. I am unable to support someone who feels that women are deserving of dismissal and even hatred. Women are equal to men in ability, worth, and humanity. We deserve to be treated as such. We do not need or ask for the superficial sort of consideration (doors being opened for us, being served first) that you grudgingly provide. Feminism is simply the belief that women and men should be judged on their own merits as individuals.
Regarding your assertion that women receive favored treatment, consider this: In order to be successful in any field that is not 'traditionally' female, we women must prevail against deeply entrenched, often subconscious, attitudes and assumptions about what women are like, what we are capable of, and why we are not suited to [insert characteristics of whatever job we are doing here]. These assumptions are not only coming from men, but also from women, and often even from ourselves. We must fight a lifetime of conditioning to do things that you claim are keys to better pay and higher positions, such as negotiating for raises, competing for recognition/accolades/promotions, and allotting more time for work than for family. In regards to this last point, how well do you think that these sacrificing men would manage working long hours if they did not have someone working fewer hours able to get home and watch the children, make them dinner, and get them to school? Now think of how a woman is looked at when she puts her job before her family. Men are lauded for working hard outside the home. Women are accused of being bad mothers or wives.
Your post was full of arrogance and anger towards women and it made me very uncomfortable. Posts like this, written by people like you, promote hatred of women and encourage such misogynists to act on these hatreds. You are promoting aggression and violence towards women, whether it was intentional or not. You should reread your post and think about what it is really saying.
I hope that this email has given you a new perspective on this subject, and I do hope you will consider what I have said.
Thank you for your time,
[sadams119]

Um, he equated women with children and the mentally handicapped.

Except he did not. He said so in the post in question. But since Sam seems wary about this topic, you can shoot me an email via yahoo and 'joshburbank' if you choose.

I find it mildly entertaining (as a committed, devout Christian, myself) that the one thing from your post that everyone has an opinion on is the bit that talks about religion.

::shows up WAYYYY late to comment::

but I WANT to rec books to you! (they're fiction, if it helps! with con tricks and magic! holly black's curse workers series, it's a fast read.)

also, corporate self help books make me cry. I can't believe you read them voluntarily.

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