Leader of Wikipedia Has His "Acts" Together

In an article entitled "The Knowledge Maestro", (Fortune, September 17) Jimmy "Jimbo" Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, is asked about how he best works with others. One of his most striking comments to me was,

If you have the right people, and you're organizing things sensibly, there shouldn't be a lot of telling people what to do.

That's a great affirmation of the need to have the right "performers" in your circus and for creating a lineup that keeps everyone focused on the right tasks-including you.

Summer-The Intermission

In today's WSJ (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118912967608820227.html?mod=todays_us_nonsub_weekendjournal), there was a follow up article to one in June where they asked people how they planned to spend their Summer Vacation. The article chronicled how well they had done in meeting their goals.

The article mirrored the way many people look at taking a break or an "intermission." Some do things to plan for the "next half" of their performance, they mentally or physically rest or they reflect on how their circus is going. When the intermission is over, they are more focused and better prepared for what's in their lineup.

Others just keep the acts going, and often wonder why their performance rarely improves.