[Live-chat] THURSDAY: The Pulse of Pepper Pike, 12:00-12:30 PM

Today's Pulse will beat to the drum of the topic in this article in The Economist, "Money and Power: Beware the Lure of the Businessman-Politician."

The live-chat info/formalities are below the chat frame.

NB: There is a possibility that I will not be finished by 12noon today with an appointment that will be starting mid-morning.  The Pulse will start beating as soon as that commitment is complete and I will send a reminder email at that time for folks who might like to jump in.  Thanks so much but, as they used to say on Saturday Night Live's Coffee Talk with Linda Richman, "Discuss amongst yawselves!"  From the article:
How likely are these bosses-turned-politicians to keep their promises? There are a few successes. Michael Bloomberg has been such a hit as mayor that normally irascible New Yorkers have elected him to a third term. Businesspeople do have more experience of squeezing efficiency gains from the internet than professional politicians and they have less of a vested interest in expanding the supply of government.
But there is little evidence to support the common belief that businesspeople possess management skills that can easily be imported into the public sector. On the contrary, government and business are built on very different principles. For all the fashionable talk about empowering employees, bosses are ultimately the masters of their own domains. There are no civil-service style regulations to protect employees from the wrath of an angry CEO: when he or she says jump, you jump. Company bosses can usually escape from the pressure of public opinion and the glare of publicity that defines political life. Even those who are drafted into politics rather than forced to stand for election, find they are in a far more confusing world than the one they are familiar with.




The chat will last for 30 minutes.  You can participate live or read the transcript at your convenience. I have noticed a nice uptick in the readership of the live-chat - thank you!

A live-chat allows people to participate at whatever level they're comfortable - including not being able to attend but rather reading it back whenever it's convenient for them. If you have any questions or technical problems with the live-chat, let me know. Many businesses and other entities use Cover It Live now - including the Washington Post and the journalism organization, the Poynter Institute. I've used it for several years now and you can see examples on my other personal blog, Writes Like She Talks. Here's one of my favorites, blogged from the NPR studios on the night of the 2008 presidential election.

This live-chat is a public forum on the Internet, as is this blog. Some residents may not want to comment because of this public aspect, so I wanted to be clear upfront.

This forum is my own idea and I am solely responsible for its existence, which is to say, no one told me to do it and no one told me I can't do it - no one would tell me that though, I'm sure.

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