"To every thing there is a season," says Ecclesiastes, "and a time to every purpose under heaven. A time to be born, and a time to die . . . a time to kill, and a time to heal . . . a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance . . . "

What would that gloomy old soul have to say about the life of the modern manager? "A time to work, and, er, that's it."