The 2007 Edition of “Pocket World in Figures” (published by The Economist magazine) has just arrived. This little tome always fascinates me. You may see more of this in the future here. For openers, the United States still produces 381 copies of newspapers for every 1,000 in population. By contrast, Internet sites in the US (which includes all .com, .org and .net sites, exaggerating the total) have reached 246,745,030 or roughly 822 for every 1,000 in population.

One sees a lot of discussion concerning RFID, a new air traffic control system and GPS in everything. If the railroads could use some of these technologies transparently to let their customers fully understand the location of their shipments 24/7, this most fuel efficient method of transporting goods could see a renaissance of the highest order. The pulp and paper industry’s competitiveness could benefit greatly from such an improvement. I suspect reluctance on the railroads’ part stems from their concern of potential embarrassment to being exposed to how long shipments linger in switchyards or the cost of exposing the data showing when a shipment was jostled beyond promised standards.

If you believe in “command and control” management—the kind used by the military to manage under the severest conditions—sending your subordinates to their possible deaths, you may want to read “The 1862 Army Officer’s Pocket Companion” published by Stackpole Books (www.stackpolebooks.com). This brief manual (301 small pages) can easily cross-pollinate to your modern management problems.