Lean In

A smart critique of this new Sheryl Sandburg book "Lean In" everyone is talking about.  The premise, apparently, is woman need to be more confident in the workplace and "lean in" more -- whatever that means.  (I will not be reading the book)

Quality is the goal, not quantity. Leaders need to create a culture in which talented people are judged not by the quantity of their work, but by the quality of their contributions. This can't be hollow blather. Someone who works 20 hours a week and who delivers exceptional results on a pro rata basis should be eligible for promotions and viewed as a top performer. American corporations need to get rid of the notion that wanting to work less makes someone a "B player."

Of course, I'd take the critique a bit further -- it doesn't just apply to women at all - but rather our entire work culture which rewards dumbass people like this guy.

After the Palestinians, the whiners I'm the most sick of hearing from are the "feminists" who complain about how difficult it is for woman to succeed at a high level in the United States corporate culture and how to find the perfect "work/life" balance.  Let's be perfectly clear who we are talking about - a class of people - highly educated American females in the dawn of the 21st century - who are amongst the most advantaged group in the entire history of mankind -- and we think tackling the question of how these woman's lives can be marginally improved is a topic worthy of books, articles, and constant seminar discussions and blogs and so on and so forth.

For my generation, where I grew up, guys and girls got equal opportunity.  I know because I was there.  It strikes me as a strange, unhealthy phenomenon, where this group of highly advantaged and highly capable people perceive themselves as disadvantaged and "need to work twice as hard" to prove themselves.  They should be thinking about what they can use their advantage and skills sets for - and how to contribute to the world positively and make it a better, more functional place - as opposed to how to improve the opportunities for an already highly privileged group.  What kind of backwards world do they see?  Would they trade their lives for any human beings from around the world or across history at any time?  No way.  It utterly fails the envy test.  This is just interest group propaganda.