Ten differences between Madrid and Berkeley

For my brief stay in Madrid, my guidebook is Top 10 Madrid, from DK Eyewitness Travel. It is excellent, a most useful hip-pocket compendium of maps, things to see, restaurants, foods, shops, neighborhoods, and history, structured as a series of top 10 lists.

The book has me thinking in 10’s. Here are my Top Ten Ways Madrid Differs from Berkeley:

1. Independent bookstores are thriving in Madrid.
2. Lots, perhaps most, people in Madrid smoke cigarettes.
3. People in Madrid read daily newspapers.
4. Businessmen in Madrid wear ties.
5. Service workers, even taxi drivers, are polite.
6. Spaniards are oblivious to the dangers of skin cancer.
7. People in Madrid eat late at night.
8. Security guards in front of luxury shops wear loaded guns.
9. In Spain, Christopher Columbus is still regarded as a hero.
10. Taxi drivers and waiters are pleased to receive a 5% tip.

Most of my corporate clients would be well served to put together booklets as comprehensive as a Top 10 Guide. It would reside primarily online.

Imagine having these top ten lists in one easily-accessed, profusely-illustrated corporate guidebook:

1. Top ten corporate milestones, capsule histories
2. Top ten buildings and rooms, accompanied by maps, floorplans, and access information
3. Top ten founders and corporate pioneers
4. Top ten customer engagements
5. Top ten sources of company information
6. Top ten corporate innovations over time
7. Top ten corporate benefits
8. Top ten restaurants near our offices
9. Top ten corporate benefits
10. Top ten expense and reimbursement policies