Chart of the Day: Strategy vs. Execution


Via someone on Twitter whose name I can’t quite dig up from my memory banks, today’s chart of the day follows the declining appreciation of dreary execution relative to showy strategery over the past half century. This happens to be a pet issue of mine, and it also seems apropos in light of the Obamacare website fiasco. Always remember: amateurs talk strategy; professionals talk logistics.

POSTSCRIPT: This chart is, of course, meaningless since both words have multiple meanings. That’s OK. Don’t go all OCD on me. Just savor the alleged cultural evolution and add some humorous and/or bitter observations about it in comments.

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A full one-third of our annual fundraising comes in this month alone. That’s risky, because a strong December means our newsroom is on the beat and reporting at full strength—but a weak one means budget cuts and hard choices ahead.

The December 31 deadline is closing in fast. To reach our $400,000 goal, we need readers who’ve never given before to join the ranks of MoJo donors. And we need our steadfast supporters to give again—any amount today.

Managing an independent, nonprofit newsroom is staggeringly hard. There’s no cushion in our budget—no backup revenue, no corporate safety net. We can’t afford to fall short, and we can’t rely on corporations or deep-pocketed interests to fund the fierce, investigative journalism Mother Jones exists to do.

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