"Get close, part 2" Note: Emails are organized in the order received, with first received at the top. Jim, Whew! When I attended Auburn, like MOST (good) Auburn students, I was a member of GDI. Remember that TLA? The three letter acronym stood for G** D**m Independent! [name removed]? Montana State? Are there even trees up there? That's near Ted Turner's property... must be downwind. On LinkedIn I see he works in defense. He really best be careful with his FaceBook. I had a Q-clearance when I worked at Oak Ridge, TN as a co-op student. That was in 1970 and the FBI knew everything about me before it was done with me. Today it is much easier. The g-men will have no trouble looking into his stuff. How did he get on your e-mail list? He's the 1st engineer I've hear of that cried ACLU. Most engineers are Republicans... On his resume he states: "I have completed a semester of Junior Design in which I worked on the design and complete analysis of a cantilever movable boat seating system." I'M IMPRESSED! I noticed that he has "0" connections, maybe you and I should connect with him... He has some "Certifications and Approvals". I have to confess that I have no "approvals"; don't even know what one is. Products are approved, maybe he is a (Democrat) android. I found his FaceBook photo, is that an adult beverage in his hand? He seems overdressed and the girl, well... Did he just pick her up in a bar? His hand has a bar stamp on it. Are there more photos elsewhere? Did he have her in the photo to silence other rumors? He must have seen Elliot Gould in the original MASH movie - i.e. "nice hair" - NOT! I would not hire him just because of the hair... I would not hire any man who covered his ears. His LinkedIn resume says he graduated in 2009 but his FaceBook says 2008... he did take 5 years. I found his "paper roots", he's from Oregon, and he got a scholarship. They paid him off to leave Oregon, probably too liberal even for Oregon, and they hoped Montana would straighten him out: "Good works also extend from machinery to personnel. In this case, summer hires, interns, and scholarship winners. We hired fourteen college students this past summer and hope we were able to put a little money in their pockets for the school year. In addition, four interns from the Oregon Institute of Technology and Klamath Community College came on board. Three were students majoring in mechanical engineering and one in management/accounting. They've done a great job and have been a real help to the company. Joining this group of students was [name removed], a mechanical engineering major at Montana State University. [name removed] won the $5,000 Robert E. Dougherty Educational Foundation Scholarship from the Composite Panel Association. [name removed]'s father, [name removed], is the maintenance superintendent for our hardboard division. -- Suzie Galloway, Todd Wilson, Todd Laitinen Collins Products Klamath Falls, Oregon" I joined FaceBook anonymously. I used a fake name and added an internet photo of a very recognizable infamous talk show personality. I hope Don does not mind... I had to use an email to activate and should have created a new bellsouth one but did use my regular one. My idiot brother joined and allowed FaceBook to search his contact list for emails that matched other members and found me out (or is that "outed me"?). Anyway, as you can see I have too much free time on my hands.... Larry Wells Atlanta, Georgia USA --- I hesitated in publishing Larry's letter above. I decided to do so only after I thought it might serve to show you what information tracks one can leave on the Internet if not too careful. I did remove the party's name--you will have to go back to last week's letters if you want to see to whom he is referring. Jim *** Unfortunately, the 'Don't Get Close' culture seems pervasive in our industry among its managers, from floor-level and up. The movement to and adoption of so-called 'high performance work systems' was likely one suspected root cause of this 'don't get close' culture change. Passing the decision down to the lowest possible level, for some, was a company sponsored approval to abdication of responsibility. Many of these well-intentioned programs were only partially implemented, e.g., the responsibility was passed down, but without adequate transfer (culture change) of the goals and objectives expected. A personal experience as an example. Asked to visit a paper mill because they were losing bearings too often on their paper machines and wanted an opinion about their lube system, I was initially called by the maintenance manager. When I arrived I was handed off to the maintenance engineer, who informed me that they had just implemented a HPWS and he would be passing me off to the lubrication technician team leader, a position we use to refer to as the 'head oiler' in days past. I wasn't allowed to see the operating floor of the machine room, seems there was too much 'proprietary' process for me to see and apparently, pilfer, so we quickly descended into the basement. Walking between the two machines I noticed some tall gold-colored cylinders behind one machine and remarked, "Oh, I see you use xxx filters?" (an oil filtration system manufacturer). My host replied, 'Yeah, we use to, but now we bypass them." "Really? Why is that?" I questioned. "They plug up too fast and I'm always changing out filter elements. Nasty job." Obviously this newly empowered decision maker solved one of his personal issues. Just too bad it wasn't in concert with the mill's objectives. Nice seeing you in St. Louis. Hope the shoulder has repaired. John Yolton Eureka, California USA --- Shoulder is getting better, but I've been ordered to stop whining about it. Jim *** Hi, Jim: Sylvester the Cat starred in The Sloan Foundation-underwritten By Word of Mouse ('54), Heir-Conditioned ('55) and Yankee Dood It ('56). Cheers Peter Williamson Hudson, Quebec Canada ### Have a comment? Send your email to jthompson@taii.com. Unless you tell us otherwise, we will assume we can use your name if we publish your letter.