My interest in economics came relatively late in my academic career. Until then, I had not realised how integral to philosophy (my first love) economics was—in fact, how integral to most things it is. My only economics course up until then was taught by a tall, rather rotund man who shall remain nameless (anyone else who took his course will recognise who I refer to, and I do not want to be sued for telling the truth to the media). He was memorable for lecturing while visibly inebriated, which gave those of us who could see beyond the surface some valuable lessons in management. One of these was strategy in backup management. Always have a back-up plan. Do not wait for a disaster to happen. At work, as in life, always have a “take in front before in front takes you” plan.
In this case, the four strongest men in each economics class sat in the front row beneath the stage on which he stood to catch him in case he tipped over. This was not gender discrimination, or rather it was a lesson in positive gender discrimination. A lesson that it is wise to choose people with the right qualifications for the tasks to come. None of the women in the class had the strength to catch a 300-pounder if he fell. So the women got the task of recruiting the appropriate men for each shift. Shift management was a skill along with multi-tasking (listening, taking notes, watching for the possible necessity of back-up and trying to understand the applicability of what he was saying to real life. Not to judge by the alcoholic slur and most valuable of all, that it was that slur, that possibility of disaster that ensured every student came glued to what he was saying, every word of it. Just in case. We also learned not to judge someone’s value by their visible weakness (think of Prof Stephen Hawking, who was totally disabled, whose contribution to astrophysics has been unmatched) or, come to think of it, to be judged by their one visible strength.
“Just in case,” also known as “taking in front before in front takes you" covers the whole concept of insurance in all its many complex applications in life. Just remember that for every business strategy, have a back-up strategy in case of failure.
We also learned care in choosing people with compatible skills and compatible personalities to work in teams was another invaluable management skill – don’t put people with clashing schedules on the same team, whether online or face-to-face. And learn to listen or to read every instruction at least twice. Don’t assume the instructor is articulate or you will not be answering the question he thinks he has made, but the one he actually has made. In the case of this professor whose books on economics are highly regarded, his apparent sobriety led us to misunderstand some very real precepts such as: “Do not believe that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police built the Rocky Mountains," which actually meant, “Do not act on unrealistic statements, precepts, claims or projected project accomplishments by politicians or people in author