Chair don't recognize your ass!
And here goes with Season Three of The Wire, "the greatest TV show ever made", according to many. Right away, Episode One provides us with a "Stringer" Bell (Idris Elba) gem that deserves embedding in every MBA course syllabus: "Your territory ain't gonna mean shit, if your product is weak." But what makes this clip downright brilliant is its treatment of the traditional meeting protocol in which being "recognized by the chair" means being given permission to speak further.
And right there at the start of the clip, did you happen to notice the title of the book being read by our upwardly-mobile drug dealer? It was Robert's Rules of Order, which describes itself as America's favourite guide to "smooth, orderly, and fairly conducted meetings." Love Question 20 on the book site's FAQ. "How can we get rid of officers we don't like before their term is up?" Bet you back in 1876 when General Henry M. Robert was devising his rules of order he didn't envisage that the likes of Slim Charles or "Bodie" Broadus would be struggling with such issues. Bet you, too, they'd suggest some ways of dealing with troublesome officers that would not meet the requirements of "good decorum."
