Friday Donuts

Dear members and constituents, Have you ever wondered whether the time of year one is born has any bearing on one's personality? Now, don't get me wrong here, I find horoscopes to be vague and open to being fulfilled by a broad variety of events. It does seem to me, however, that in parts of the world where there are four marked seasons, the experiences of a baby born in winter are likely to be very different than those of a baby born in the summer. One is bundled up in the beginning and transitions to milder climate by the time they are 6 months old. The other starts out with more outdoors experiences and then is confined to an interior world when winter comes. It seems quite plausible that the experiences of this first year of life happening in such a different order and at different formative stages would have some effect on that adult's preferences. That, of course, makes me wonder if there is any pattern to our membership's birthdays. Could there be a statisticall

Dear members and constituents, Ever get the feeling we are really into changing our organizational structure here at Level 3? It seems to me we should just come out and admit it. Organizational change is one of the things we are well versed at... you might go as far as calling it a core competency. While I'm in no position to comment on the logic, merit or perceived benefits this latest structural change will bring (although I understand there are many), it does occur to me we could learn a lesson or two from the humble donut. Allow me to explain. First of all, have you noticed how org charts are full or rectangles? Why not circles? I believe this subtle change, displaying names and titles in the confines of a friendly donut shape (no sharp corners to frighten the psyche) would help reduce friction and resistance to change. Second, we keep using the pendulum analogy, implying we have changed our mind about one change or another we've made in the past, to explain top management&

Dear Members and Constituents, When you get down to it, clubs tend to get snobbish over time. Wine connoisseurs and cigar aficionados abound. Tennis and golf club memberships are rather pricey and I'd rather avoid a conversation with any Ferrari collectors out there. A donut club is different. I mean, really, how do you do a five minute dissertation about the attributes of a specific donut and manage to keep a straight face? I can just picture it now: "Yes, this is a 5:00 a.m. Ray's classic. The texture is slightly chewy with a hint of rosebuds and touch of raw sugar cane. You can tell the oven was…" Doesn't really fly, does it? So, in the spirit of not taking ourselves too seriously, I thought I'd do a knock-knock joke for you today. You high-brow members out there, try to avoid rolling your eyes too far back. Knock, knock Who's there Donut Donut who? Donut ask so many questions, grab a cup of Joe and come get your dose of morning sweetness. Donuts are he

Dear Members and Constituents, Happy New Year! This year, I figured I'd cut to the chase and make new year's resolutions for 2009. Time goes by so fast, I expect 2008 will also be a blur, so why not get ahead of the curve? So, without further delay, here are my new year's resolutions for the new, new year… Maintain the perfect physique I worked so hard in '08 to attain Bring all the donut clubs that have sprouted up around campus (inspired by our success) together as a loose federation of like-minded citizens. Draft a constitution ensuring life, liberty and the pursuit of donuts as inalienable rights. Tackle the problem of world peace. After such great success in 2008 with solving world hunger (using donuts as the medium, of course) I figure, what the heck, go big! The secret weapon (irony intended) are donuts, of course. Find a new vice to preside over… Nah, this vice suits me just fine :-) Back to the here and now, Kim Carroll has set the bar high for donuts in 2008.