February 23

People are always asking me "What, exactly, are the tools that you need for your job as a planning director?"*

They are: reports in binders (very important in other fields as well - see January 20 and February 11), a calculator, pens and pencils, a cell phone, memos, pages with numbers on them (I find 1,236,874 to be an extremely useful number to use), and a valuable reference book called A Dictionary of Bull****. This fine volume even includes matrices so you can build fabulous phrases like "We can force the patent onto the bottom line so we can focus on the product launch." or new job titles like Corporate Directives Director.

Lubbock, Texas

* Actually, no one has ever asked. But I know you are all wondering.