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Jason, I am in the middle of answering your application about the Blog Building Intensive. I did not finsihs it today and have to leave. I will finish tomorrow, and hope the page keeps everything I have typed in so far.

Michael Webb

Mwebb@salesperformance.com

(708) 337-6090

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Jason, I finished my application. Your questions were asked in an interesting way, and I enjoyed the process of working out the answers.

I also had some afterthoughts. From what I understand, Roots of Progress is focused on attracting people writing about technologies and industries (such as mining, space flight, AI, etc., and energy, something like what Alex Epstein has been doing).

So, it occurred to me that what I am trying to accomplish might not seem to fit exactly. So, here is why I think my premise does fit with your idea of progress:

At the level of an individual company’s management, the idea of "progress" is the same as “improvement.” And "improvement" is what management OpEx philosophies such as Lean, Six Sigma, and Continuous Improvement (Shingo.org) are aiming to accomplish. Doing it requires identifying reality, cause and effect relationships, and potential changes that might create improvement.

All I am doing is turning that self-aware, scientific mindset on the assumptions underlying the management system itself.

Management is a kind of "technology" or method which if made more effective, definitely impacts the progress of companies (their staying power and ability to grow), which definitely contributes to economic progress, and so forth. Ayn Rand's ideas are immediately and powerfully relevant to company leaders.

I am very proficient with the precision of thinking required to apply "engineering-style" problem solving to sales and marketing problems. Edwards Deming is famous for saying "a bad system will beat a good employee every time." Sales revenue is the oxygen of the corporation, so understanding that system objectively is crucial. And engineering precision applied to commercial issues is exactly what is needed to improve an organization's market value and sustainability. Frankly, the manufacturing engineering-orientation of OpEx and Lean practitioners is a key reason CEOs and senior execs to not take them seriously in sales.

On the other hand, a proper positioning of what objectivity means in management, can equally address commercial, technical, financial, and any other kinds of management challenges. When reality-oriented philosophical ideas can be applied across all the functions in the corporation, it becomes easier to identify and respect the progress of individuals in their learning and achievements. And this can unleash powerful motivations and productivity improvements.

Anyway, that is the idea I keep coming back to, trying to work out better and better ways to communicate it. I look forward to hearing from you.

Michael

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