I don’t friend you anymore.”

This is what my best friend Alden and I would say to each other when we’d fight. We were in Grade 3 then. Naturally, we wouldn’t talk to each other afterwards. And when it was time for us to make up, we’d start off by asking: “Do you still friend me>” Oh, the things kids say.

My brother is married to his lovely wife whom he fights with seven times a day—and kiss and make up with seven times a day as well.

He has a son who reminds him of the energizer bunny—he just goes on and on …

Because of this little family of his, he had to deal with money, count money, save money, and spend money. He’s also a businessman, and he sells herbal juice, engine oil, apartments, and –would you believe?—squid balls.

A guy named Pareto who lived a couple of centuries ago said that in a group, only about 20% are producers. The rest are regular guys who do only the minimum that they are expected to so. These are the people who do not excel, who do not reach beyond their self-expectations, who are easily dispensed with.

We see this at play in our office. There is so much work to be done, so much to be accomplished, yet we know there is only a handful of people we can tap and trust. Sad, but at least this helps us maximize those who are more than useful and to delegate less important roles to those who are less willing to put in their share.

The loom in front of the weaver doesn’t look good. Unsightly extra threads hang from the sides. There is nothing beautiful about it because you look at the wrong side of the loom. Only after the work is completed, when the weaver takes the work of the loom and cuts off the extra threads and puts the finishing touches on it, do you see the true beauty.