Would you carry the same briefcase as your boss?

[marc237]

Originally Posted by Alexander Kabbaz,April 22 2005,08:32

All bosses are different. You, and only you, will be affected by your decision ... and only you are in a position to know the probable reaction of your boss to a sartorial equalling or bettering. Here's what I would do. I'd say, "Hey, boss person. I really liked that briefcase you bought. Would you find it insulting or complimentary if I bought the same one?"

Agree, absolutely.
Second that notion. I am delighted that I work in public interest/civil rights law, this would just not be an issue. However, to the extent that there are comparable questions, they are almost always going to be work-site specific and communication is the best option.

 

[Alexander Kabbaz]

Morality never leads down the path of communism.

To understand what Alex is getting at a look at the British Distributists like Belloc or Chesterston might be in order, and also the German economist Wilhelm Ropke. Decidely not collectivist, but based in a moral social order. Try Wendell Berry's What Are People For? for that matter.

I hereby officially pass the baton to Alan C., with thanks and awe.

 

[johnapril]

And as for you, JohnApril, be sure to follow the industry code. If you ever tumble down from that pedestal, be sure to not bleed on the fabric.

What is an artist's blood but time?
Are you bleeding, participating in such discussions?

BTW, for a briefcase, I'll take a Lancaster.

 

[Horace]

Quote:

(AlanC @ April 22 2005,08:01)

Originally Posted by bch,April 22 2005,08:40

Morality, I fear, inevitably leads us down the path of communism.
Morality never leads down the path of communism. To understand what Alex is getting at a look at the British Distributists like Belloc or Chesterston might be in order, and also the German economist Wilhelm Ropke. Decidely not collectivist, but based in a moral social order. Try Wendell Berry's What Are People For? for that matter.
Sorry. Â Too heady for me. Â I only know what I learned in economics school and law school. Â And 15 years in the real world of self-employment and all that goes with that. I think Alex and I agree that we really don't disagree that much, if at all. Â If so, it's only by a shade, I think. Sorry about hijacking the thread. Â Got a little carried away.
Ah, good old Wendell -- I haven't read that one -- nor much of his work -- but old AlanC recommendation is timely. With thanks. H.

 

[johnapril]

be sure to follow the industry code. If you ever tumble down from that pedestal, be sure to not bleed on the fabric.

To make myself as plain as I can, I should give my standards for technological innovation in my own work. They are as follows:

1. The new tool should be cheaper than the one it replaces.
2. It should be at least as small in scale as the one it replaces.
3. It should do work that is clearly and demonstrably better than the one it replaces.
4. It should use less energy than the one it replaces.
5. If possible, it should use some form of solar energy, such as that of the body.
6. It should be repairable by a person of ordinary intelligence, provided that he or she has the necessary tools.
7. It should be purchasable and repairable as near to home as possible.
8. It should come from a small, privately owned shop or store that will take it back for maintenance and repair.
9. It should not replace or disrupt anything good that already exists, and this includes family and community relationships.

-Wendell Berry

 

[johnapril]

From What Are People For? by Wendell Berry

Good work finds the way between pride and despair.

It graces with health. It heals with grace.

It preserves the given so that it remains a gift

By it, we lose loneliness:

we clasp the hands of those who go before us, and the hands of those who come after us;

we enter the little circle of each other's arms,

and the larger circle of lovers whose hands are joined in a dance,

and the larger circle of all creatures, passing in and out of life, who move also in a dance, to a music so subtle and vast that no ear hears it except in fragments.

 

[johnapril]

From: A Timbered Choir"”The Sabbath Poems 1979-1997
by Wendell Berry

1991-I

The year begins with war.
Our bombs fall day and night,
Hour after hour, by death
Abroad appeasing wrath,
Folly, and greed at home.
Upon our giddy tower
We'd oversway the world.
Our hate comes down to kill
Those whom we do not see,
For we have given up
Our sight to those in power
And to machines, and now
Are blind to all the world.
This is a nation where
No lovely thing can last.
We trample, gouge, and blast;
The people leave the land;
The land flows to the sea.
Fine men and women die,
The fine old houses fall,
The fine old trees come down:
Highway and shopping mall
Still guarantee the right
And liberty to be
A peaceful murderer,
A murderous worshipper,
A slender glutton, Forgiving
No enemy, forgiven
By none, we live the death
Of liberty, become
What we have feared to be.

 

[johnapril]

Quote:

Morality never leads down the path of communism. To understand what Alex is getting at a look at the British Distributists like Belloc or Chesterston might be in order, and also the German economist Wilhelm Ropke. Decidely not collectivist, but based in a moral social order. Try Wendell Berry's What Are People For? for that matter.
I hereby officially pass the baton to Alan C., with thanks and awe.
Now I get, you guys.

 

[johnapril]

Oh, I love this guy. Thanks AlanC.

The Mad Farmer Liberation Front
By Berry, Wendell

Love the quick profit, the annual raise...

Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.


So, friends, every day do something
that won't compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.


Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.


Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.
Listen to carrion -- put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?


Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn't go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.

 

[AlanC]

Oh, I love this guy. Â Thanks AlanC.

Uh oh. I've created a monster.

 

[johnapril]

Quote:

(johnapril @ April 22 2005,12:34) Oh, I love this guy. Â Thanks AlanC.
Uh oh. I've created a monster. Â Â

AC--do we need a poetry forum?

 

[Mr Checks]

Quote (bch @ April 22 2005,11:44)

Originally Posted by Alexander Kabbaz,April 22 2005,08:32

Quote  All bosses are different. You, and only you, will be affected by your decision ... and only you are in a position to know the probable reaction of your boss to a sartorial equalling or bettering. Here's what I would do. I'd say, "Hey, boss person. I really liked that briefcase you bought. Would you find it insulting or complimentary if I bought the same one?" Agree, absolutely.
Any boss that I've ever had (including some bad ones) would: 1. appreciate the compliment and 2. wonder if they were paying me too much. I'd tread carefully here unless you've broached the shared clothing interest before. On the upside, there's a small chance that a really great boss would get one for you as a bonus (had that happen once with regard to a great restaurant that I commented to the boss about; he paid for a dinner for the wife and I a while later)

 

[Brian SD]

Came into this thread late, but if I were you I would just find another briefcase. IMO, matching accessories with anyone is extremely tacky. It's like an office-adapted version of the "Best Friends Forever" necklaces.