Warriors & Weasels Blog

A Weasel By Another Name

Unfortunately every culture has to endure the antics of the Weasel - even the southern Oregon Indian tribe, the Klamaths. According to the Dictionary of Klamath Language, the Klamath name for Weasel, or more specifically the Weasle, is Tchashkai. The Tchashkai's curious pranks and tricks are often alluded to by Native Americans, and in fact the Klamaths even named a minor deity after the Tchashkai, and there is a section on the Southside of Crater Lake named in honor of the Weasel God. Of course this small amount of nearly useless information probably leads to a couple big questions. First and foremost, why am I reading the Dictionary of Klamath Language? Well, it came recommended on Amazon when I bought Funny Sioux Sayings. Also, I am considering developing a Klamath version of the book, Warriors, Workers, Whiners, and Tshashkais. It would be the only new Klamath language book introduced in a hundred years, and I have a feeling the language is due for a renaissance. Anything to sell a few more books.

One might also wonder why a culture would name anything after a Weasel. I'm certainly not familiar enough with Klamath Indian culture to comment specifically on the Tshashkai, but in our world there is a Nixon library, and the Nobel Peace Prize is named after the man that invented dynamite.

The Beauty Of This Book

Many of the concepts in my book are self-evident—e.g., it is certainly better to be a Warrior or a Worker than a Whiner or a Weasel. But at a deeper level, I find that the beauty of the the four W’s is its simplicity. Success in business and in life is really not all that complicated; it is simply a process of coming to terms with yourself and taking a long-term and realistic approach toward your life and your career. Establish your goals and a plan of action, build a positive personal brand, and take responsibility for your own actions. Expand your positive attributes, and work to eliminate those that are holding you back. Work toward a desired outcome, and don’t expect it to happen by itself. And ideally, you must also understand and utilize the talents of those around you, and realize the warning signs of those who can bring dysfunction and failure into your life. Finally, put it all together so that it enhances everything you do. Your work and life should happily coexist, and getting up in the morning should be a pleasure and an adventure.

Warrior or Worker?

Whenever I tell people about this book, it ultimately leads to the question - "so what am I - a Warrior or a Worker?".  Of course, nobody every assumes they are a Whiner or a Weasel, (though I estimate that at least 10% of the time they should be looking at the less than desirable categories).    Luckily, I don't have to socialize with many Whiners or Weasels.  And since a lot of my friends tend to be successful entrepreneurs with strong Warrior tendencies, much of the time I can answer "well of course you are a Warrior".

But as I consistently point out in the book - it is not more honorable, or even necessarily more desirable to be a Warrior as opposed to a Worker. It just sounds more prestigious and perhaps a little sexier.  Plus, Warriors tend to live in bigger houses and drive better cars.  But don't let that sway you.  Certainly Warriors are the driving forces behind successful operations.  They never take no for an answer.  They persevere, they innovate, they win most of the time through sheer force of will and proper use of their Warrior tools.  And when they do it right they bask in the glory and accomplishment, as well they should.  But they are worthless without a team of dedicated and talented workers to deliver on their vision and promises.  And often the Worker gets the best end of the deal, as a Warrior's life is often filled with stress and dissatisfaction - since the status quo is often not good enough.   

And I guarantee you - if we really were a world primarily populated by Warriors it would be a pretty miserable place to live in.  Envision a relaxing softball game with the Navy Seals versus The Green Berets.  Worker's Rejoice.

Buy Warriors, Workers, Whiners, and Weasels at Amazon.

Book launch

Next Wednesday my new book, Warriors, Workers, Whiners, and Weasels is released.  And as you might expect, there is the normal book release scurrying going on.... editors making final edits, designers doing a little final design, publicists trying to publicize, friends and family asking "when does that book come out?".  But perhaps not surprisingly, few people are asking "what's the book about?"  As I hoped, the title is fairly self-evident.  Hopefully this will be a good thing.

Of course, perhaps I should not take this for granted.  I took a look today at some of the current NY Times Bestsellers, and most of the titles give little indication of what to expect.  I think Two Little Girls in Blue, Dirty Blondes, and Prior Bad Acts are mystery novels, but I also would not be surprised to see any of them performing as the musical acts on Saturday Night Live, or as obscure coded notations in Charley Sheen's Palm Pilot.  Speaking of coded notations, I couldn't help but notice the obvious current path to a bestseller is to somehow tie-in a religious mystery, Ala, The DaVinci Code.  Other big sellers on the charts include The Tenth Circle, The Secret Supper, The Last Templar,and Tomb of The Golden Bird.

Unfortunately, my book is not particularly mysterious, there are no codes, nor do I tackle any controversial religious issues.  Of course, if the book does not sell well I guess I could change the name to Warriors, Workers, Whiners, Weasels - A John the Baptist Mystery - but that would seem like a bit of a Weasel move.

No, I am going to stick with the straightforward title with a straightforward message.  We all know Warriors, Workers, Whiners, and Weasels.  We live around them, work with them, read about them, admire some of them, and have great disdain for others.  My book adds a bit of clarity and organization to the situation that will hopefully allow you to navigate the world a little better.  Use it to manage yourself more efficiently, maybe improve your job performance and get a promotion or raise. 

There are quite a few management hints based on my 25 years of managing and sometimes mismanaging people that you will find helpful if you are the boss.  If you are a Whiner or a Weasel, you might be surprised to find out how much we know about you. In any case - buy the book and I hope you enjoy. 

Oh, one more thing.  If you are so inclined, translate chapter three into Latin, read it backwards by candlelight, and it will reveal the location of Pontius Pilate's great, great, great, great grandson's deli in Clearwater, Florida. He makes a mean Reuben Sandwich.

Buy Warriors, Workers, Whiners, and Weasels at Amazon.