"The dangers of modern esprit de corps"

Hey Jim,

You seem to have a poor opinion of Rick Wagoner. He is smarter than the two of us combined! He got $24 million salary last year. Did you?.

Seriously, I think you are bang on about the problem of high execs not understanding the industry. Only about 20% of the VPs and presidents that I have met in the paper industry and banks have impressed me. The rest seem to me to have got to the top by being corporate politicians. I have met all too many accountants and MBA's who claim that you do not need to understand an industry's operations and technology to manage it.

The top management I have met in European and S American paper companies have impressed me much more than Canadian and US.

Neil McCubbin
Foster, Province of Quebec, Canada

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Jim,

You are very much on target in your article. I have many times had to convince an OEM that their solution to an equipment flaw was not adequate and that they needed to do better. The may have the brightest people that know the most about their product, but that does not mean that they cannot learn and improve.

I just had this discussion with my financial advisor in which I informed him that the questions I asked, he should have asked 3 months ago. He discovered that some funds indeed are not handling the market volatility as well as others. He is very smart and in the past has done well, but if he cannot use these abilities in the changing markets, he will also see a layoff.

On your college comments, perhaps if more professors were required to prove themselves in industry before teaching, better rounded students would be produced.

Mike Higgins
Higgins Consulting
St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

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Jim,

Just loved your article...

Confirms the old saying that there are (too) many people educated well beyond their intelligence.

John Yolton
SKF
Eureka, California, USA

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Hey, Jim

The correct answer is 1070 km.

900 km / (100 + 200) km/hr = 3 hours x 357.15 km/hr = 1071.45

However, the answer should be rounded to no more than 3 significant figures, since the data presented has no more than 3. Example: 900 km, not 900.0

Back in the day, we used slide rules, and we were always aware of this. Today, we use calculators and computer programs, which deliver 7 significant figure answers based on inputs which are often guesses.

Cheers!

Peter Angevine
Charlotte North Carolina, USA

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If two trains are traveling toward each other at 100 km/hr and 200 km/hr, respectively, then they will cover the 900 km gap in 3 hours. The mosquito has three hours to live! Thus, the mutant mosquito will fly at 357.15 km/hr for three hours, which would be 3 hr x 357.15 km/hr = 1071.45 km.

Steven J. Moore
Wausau Paper Corp.
Rhinelander, Wisconsin, USA

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Hi Jim,

Do you have accessible previous editions of Nip Impressions? Some of the comments refer to editions I don't think I've seen. I am curious what they are commenting about.

Could you make previous editions available?

Thanks.

Lance Huebscher
UPM Blandin Mill
Blandin, Minnesota, USA

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Lance:

If you go to the website, www.nipimpressions.com, you will see, in a small bar near the top, the word "Search." If you click on that, you can find articles from recent times.

Jim

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Jim,

Good article about "Esprit de corps", although I would argue that esprit de corps for those of us who worked/or are working "in the trenches" around paper machines is usually a good thing, to help keep morale up during tough times such as startups, etc.

The thought strikes me that for a long time paper management was mainly concerned with tons per day. If your production was good, everything else would fall into place. Then we moved to focus on ROI, continuous improvement, and doing more with less. The hope was that MBA's would be able to help us to optimize profitability with their financial wizardry, manipulating the numbers. Like you, I too have been astounded at some of the decisions reached by the management experts with no knowledge of paper (or other) operations.

Your super mosquito will travel 3 X 357.15 = 1071.45 miles in the three hours it will take the trains to meet, unless there is a trick I've missed.
Best regards,

Bill LaVallee
San Jose, California, USA

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Hi Jim

It is always a pleasure to read your column.

The way you look at things and the way people and organisations act is refreshing and makes me think about, and look at the way, I'm working in the organisation. I don't think that everybody likes your words, but it is good that someone dares to put his finger on spots, which are bad for a person, a company, or even for the whole industry.

About the riddle?

The mutant mosquito is travelling 1071.45 km before the poor animal is coming to its, I hope painless, end.

Gert van Beek
Coldenhove Papier
Eerbeek Holland

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Hi Jim,

As to your recent article, perhaps another phrase for it could be "super gung-ho-ist".

In these days of cutbacks and downsizing, it is still be possible to get a little help if one has curl and dimensional stability questions. At least, some help in defining how to approach them. I've put together a one page thing called "TWELVE STEPS TO CURL" which is essentially a listing of the many ways curl can be caused (produced) and some short notes on how one might tackle it. Anyone wishing a copy can send an email to techman@papercurl.com. Alternately, by logging on to the Cellulose Community ( http://www.cellulosecommunity.org), then going to "GROUPS", then to "PHYSICAL PROPERTIES", there can be found a discussion called "TWELVE STEPS TO CURL". If, after reading the article, more input is desired, I can provide a little "pro bono" on a curl problem.

All the best,

Chuck Green
Webster, New York, USA

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Chuck, you are great!

Jim

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