聖誕假hae行

今年連續四日聖誕假期，一半用左黎去郊外hae行。二十四日由港大行到去香港仔，途經龍虎山郊野公園、港島徑第二段同貝璐路，全程要四個幾鐘。冬天就冇乜蟲影，但都畀我喺廢堡度見到棵開得好靚嘅鴨腳木，吸引左好多蜂同蠅，行近啲仲可以聞到一大陣密糖味；之後上到山頂，仲見到隻白秋盾椿。

全程雖然好hae，但去到田灣落貝璐路有啲驚，因為條路窄，又開闊，望到下面啲樓有比較覺得好似好高咁。行完段路，先發現有塊牌寫住段路難行，要有經驗先至好行。本魚魚署出嘅樂行手記明明話係三個人仔，好易行噃。

二十六日就去左大埔滘行啡路。行左兩個幾鐘（唔計大埔公路行上黎同番出去），真係冇野好睇，不過就好舒服。行番出去搭車時，畀我見到隻好似蝙蝠咁大嘅蛾喺自然教育徑嘅牌上面。

退修

十二月二十日和二十一日公司去了馬鞍山突破中心青年村搞退修。本來應詃一年才一次的退修因為公司的留失率太高而成為一年兩次。我在公司年半，今次已是我第四次去退修。

人到中年，其實對甚麼也沒有甚麼要求；不過我十分討厭那些要你交心的活動，浪費時間之餘，又傷感情。之前三次退修都令我十分不快。今次退修可以說是較好的一次，起碼氣氛比較好。

近幾個月來了很多新同事，有些和外表十分年輕，行為又十分幼稚；又多了一位外國來的朋友；對於外國朋友我還能接受，因為自小讀教會學校，中四開始我很多老師是外國人，即使進了中大，情況也沒有改變，因為九七問題，新聞系幾乎所有中國人教授都去了外地，換來的都是美國來的教授。（我對現時那些中國人教授在談新聞自由十分反感，危急存亡之時，你們在甚麼地方？）

冬日紅葉

香港也有楓樹，例如楓香。不過香港的紅葉不麼好看，我家附近的路種了一排楓香，因為就在車路旁，葉子只會變殘，變瘀，就是不會變紅色。十二月十一日我又到柏架山上走一趟，在一個燒烤場上兩棵楓樹就如燒了起來，十分好看。

除了楓香外，野漆樹的葉也會變紅；當然還有大花紫薇。不過大花紫薇也多長在市區，同樣很難找到好看的紅葉；不過在九龍公園的大花紫薇，紅葉還是可以的。

夜色

很久沒拍過香港的夜景，除了是因為懶帶腳架外，還有就是鏡頭不夠闊。最近買了Tokina的AT-X 124 PRO DX，接上我的Canon 10D後，焦距為19.2mm-38.4mm，今晚跑到尖沙咀和中環拍了些燈飾。






這是我第一顆副廠鏡，我過去用開的是Canon EF 17-40 f/4L USM，接上10D後，焦距最闊只是27.2mm，並不夠用。初時以為Tokina沒有USM，對焦時會很吵，不過實際使用時，聲音不太，而且銳利度、色彩和對比均令我滿意。

Managing the Non-Profit Organization

現代管理學之父 Peter Drucker 在今年十一月十一日去世，享年九十五歲。我對管理學沒有特別興趣，不過，因Drucker去世的消息，很多書局自然把他的著作擺在顯眼位置，居然被我發現了一本名為Managing the Non-Profit Organization的書。

Peter Drucker果然是大師級人馬，書中對非牟利組織的管理問題有深入的分析。我也是在非牟利、非政府組織工作，現摘錄特別有共鳴的章節如下：

When effective non-profit leaders have the capacity to maintain their personality and individuality, even though they are totally dedicated, the task will go on after them. They also have a human existence outside the task. Otherwise they do things for personal aggrandizement, in the belief that this furthers the cause. They become self-centered and vain. And above all, they become jealous. (p20-21)

I would not want any person to give his or her life to an organization. One gives one’s very best efforts. (p.21)

Your first constituency in fund development is your own board. (p. 56)

…the old–type board, the board that simply was in sympathy with the institution, is no longer enough. You need a board that takes an active lead in raising money, whose members give both of themselves and by being fund-raisers fund developers. (p.56)

There are always so many more moral causes to be served than we have resources for that the non-profit institution has a duty-toward its donors, toward its customers, and toward, and toward its own staff-to allocate its scarce resource for results rather than to squander them on being righteous. (p.112)

Dissent…is essential for effective decision making. Feuding and bickering are not. In fact, they must not be tolerated. They destroy the spirit of an organization. (p.114)

Don’t tolerate discourtesy. (p.114)

One learns to be courteous –it is needed to enable different people who don’t like each other to work together. Good causes do not excuse bad manners. Bad manners rub people raw; they do leave permanent scar. (p.114)

A board that understands its real obligations and set goals for its own performance won’t meddle. (p. 158)

I rarely have seen a truly strong board in co-ops…Problems are likely to arise on these boards, such as the troublemakers who abuse the board to create a political platform for themselves or just to hear themselves talk.

我也有很多朋友做NGO，以前做記者時也聽過很多組織內鬥的故事。我一直也以為是華人喜歡內鬥，看了Drucker的書，才知能是組織的問題。