One of the lesser-known treasures of Washington DC is the Folger Shakespeare Library, home to scholarly research, to intriguing exhibits about the Elizabethans, and to the Folger Theater, which presents at least three plays each year (this season’s were Henry VIII, The Comedy of Errors, and Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano).

And every April the Folger throws a birthday party for that glover’s son from Stratford (none of that elitist Oxfordian piffle, thanks). This year’s party is next Sunday, which was as much excuse as I needed to post this now instead of April 23rd.

Will never manages to show up (I’ve watched for him), though there’s a red-headed woman people insist on called Elizabeth I who does take part, making pronouncements and cutting a ceremonial cake.

(You can number monarchs as you see fit, but Henry VIII’s younger daughter was never queen of Scots, so to me that “Elizabeth I” means a certain wild and crazy grandmother with a lot of corgis.)

So here’s…

William Shakespeare on:

Career choice

To business that we love, we rise betime, and go to it with delight.
(Antony and Cleopatra)

Consulting

When I was at home, I was in a better place, but travelers must be content.
(As You Like It)

Email (or, perhaps, spam)

When sorrows come, they come not as single spies, but in battalions.
(Hamlet)

Needs analysis

Modest doubt is call’d the beacon of the wise.
(Troilus and Cressida)

The systems approach

If you can look into the seeds of time and say which grain will grow and which will not, speak then to me.
(Macbeth)

Professionalism

Have more than thou showest; speak less than thou knowest.
(King Lear)

The cult of leadership

Fortune brings in some boats that are not steered.
(Cymbeline)

The cult of thought-leadership

Reputation is an idle and most false imposition; oft got without merit, and lost without deserving.
(Othello)

Fads and bandwagons

The fashion wears out more apparel than the man.
(Much Ado About Nothing)

Conference keynotes (or, perhaps, blogging)

Brevity is the soul of wit.
(Hamlet)