"Reagan outlined his 'sick bear' theory as early as May 1982 in a commencement address at his alma mater, Eureka College: 'The Soviet empire is faltering because rigid centralized control has destroyed incentives for innovation, efficiency and individual achievement. But in the midst of social and economic problems, the Soviet dictatorship has forged the largest armed force in the world. It has done so by preempting the human needs of its people and, in the end, this course will undermine the foundations of the Soviet system.'" - Dinesh D'Souza
"Rigid centralized control" in government is called "micromanagement" in the workplace and maybe "smothering" in the home. This week I realized that I was drifting toward micromanaging when a long-standing case at work involved several questions being escalated to me over the head of the supervisor. I decided not to feed the sick bear. "This is what I'd do personally, but it's more important to me that the supervisor do what she feel is best. So please work it out together, and don't feel obligated to let me know how it turns out." There's just no point in setting someone up for "I told you so." Enough things are beyond our control in life without our leaders absorbing even more of it.
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