This month Hidden Blog saw a record number of posts, and lands at #6 in the Google search list of "Joe McDonald blog."
Giuliani's book headlined a lot of items in September, including the importance of locking in on a vision for the future. The elements through 2027 are all on track so far, with much work left to do.
Three months remain in 2007. Habits can form in six weeks. Drawing out Mr. Positivity is both a priority and an exercise. Like all exercise, it takes discipline to succeed. Let's have at it!
Sunday, September 30, 2007
Irrational Happiness
I caught myself this morning trying to justify being happy. "Do I have this going for me... or that... what in life is really going my way so that I can be happy?" Dogs have a reputation for being naturally happy. If at heart we're all trying to achieve peace of mind, then trying to rationalize our way to happiness puts us behind dogs! "Happy because I'm alive" is a pretty good place to be.
Monday, September 24, 2007
That's Good for the Environment
A quote I read:
"I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me."
"I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me."
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Fuel, or Fool?
When money's tight, my personal view is that it's both easy and foolish to trim the education budget. A race car that wants to go faster looks to reduce weight or increase efficiency... it does not cut fuel!
Boss, Get Lost!
During the Cuban Missile Crisis, President Kennedy received some unconventional advice from his brother: leave the room. His aides had begun telling him what they thought he wanted to hear. Potentially, each member of the staff may become afraid to back a decision for or against a key issue. Sometimes human nature simply requires us to allow people to vent in private.
Taking Debate
Conflict-avoidant is a common style, indeed my instinctive style, of management. The sense is that life's too filled with conflict naturally to waste time creating it artificially. However, debate can be beneficial like manure -- useful when applied properly.
Giuliani found staff debates enormously helpful, and would create them specifically so that he could hear more views on just about everything. What are some keys to productive debate?
1. Ask someone to take the other side.
2. The participants must believe that the outcome is not predetermined. As the leader, don't take sides until people have had their say.
Recently I told you about the condo roofing debate. It was hard to hold my tongue, but it was essential. Further, it was tough to give second and third chances for people to express their questions and concerns. Twenty people had taken time out of their schedule for a very personal and expensive vote. All deserved to be heard in an unbiased way.
I'm gifted with mental agility in some ways (math and vocabulary are a couple), but one-on-one debate has not been a strength. In a way, group debate is a blessing as a result. In group debate, the focus is on a task rather than an individual, so personal reputation is not so much at stake. Further, the time it takes for 2-3 people to voice their ideas to each other is often enough for me to collect my own thoughts. It's one of the blessings of a complicated world -- group dynamics make up for individual shortcomings, and help everyone to feel a greater sense of purpose.
Giuliani found staff debates enormously helpful, and would create them specifically so that he could hear more views on just about everything. What are some keys to productive debate?
1. Ask someone to take the other side.
2. The participants must believe that the outcome is not predetermined. As the leader, don't take sides until people have had their say.
Recently I told you about the condo roofing debate. It was hard to hold my tongue, but it was essential. Further, it was tough to give second and third chances for people to express their questions and concerns. Twenty people had taken time out of their schedule for a very personal and expensive vote. All deserved to be heard in an unbiased way.
I'm gifted with mental agility in some ways (math and vocabulary are a couple), but one-on-one debate has not been a strength. In a way, group debate is a blessing as a result. In group debate, the focus is on a task rather than an individual, so personal reputation is not so much at stake. Further, the time it takes for 2-3 people to voice their ideas to each other is often enough for me to collect my own thoughts. It's one of the blessings of a complicated world -- group dynamics make up for individual shortcomings, and help everyone to feel a greater sense of purpose.
Nice Tat
I've told Dena that I am much more likely to die from prostrate cancer than I am to take a digital rectal exam to diagnose it. As Giuliani was in the early stages of his battle with the disease, his Chief of Staff Tony Carbonetti let him know his thoughts on that exam:
"There's a tattoo on my rear end that says, 'Exit Only.'"
"There's a tattoo on my rear end that says, 'Exit Only.'"
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Lou, Sir, You're a Winner
The more I read about Cubs' skipper Lou Piniella, the more I thought you'd like to too:
Lou Piniella keeps track of his sleep habits when he's not monitoring the National League Central standings, and he can attest that he's woken up at 4 a.m. this season more often than in any of his previous 19 years as a manager.
When infomercials don't cut it as an insomnia cure, Piniella has a surefire Plan B. He'll open his hotel room door, reach for the USA Today and do a crossword puzzle until he drifts back off to sleep.
"When I started managing, they'd have a bottle of vodka in the room," Piniella said, laughing. "Now I'll eat a piece of fruit and have a bottle of water."
During charter flights, Piniella will don his reading glasses, pull out the statistical data at his disposal and map out lineups for the next series before the plane lands. If Cubs outfielder Cliff Floyd is 14-for-35 career against Tom Glavine, or an opposing starter's release time enhances Alfonso Soriano's chances of stealing a base, Piniella feels obliged to put that in the vault.
"I've never been on a plane ride with him where he didn't work the whole time," Chicago general manager Jim Hendry said. "I don't think people give him enough credit for that."
An ESPN anchor took note when Piniella, looking quite displeased, lifted the ball from Ryan Dempster's hand after a rough outing Friday in St. Louis. But after the game, Piniella took pains to reiterate his faith in Dempster, telling reporters that his closer simply had a bad day at the office. With the season winding down and Milwaukee clinging to the Cubs like a conjoined twin, Piniella isn't about to start trifling with Dempster's confidence.
Piniella's challenge, as always, is finding a way to motivate his players and not overwhelm them with his hard-driving bent.
As the Cubs try to outlast Milwaukee in the quest for their first postseason appearance since 2003, their manager is ascending to higher ground. The Cubs' 7-6 win over Cincinnati on Monday was the 1,598th of Piniella's career. With two more, he'll pass Tommy Lasorda for 16th place on baseball's career list.
"I'm a realist, but at the same time, I'm a positive realist," Piniella said. "I come to the ballpark recharged every day to win a baseball game. That's what I enjoy."
When Hendry watches Piniella send a kid to Triple-A, he can tell how difficult it is for his manager to break the news. Last month, when Floyd's father died after a two-month battle with heart and kidney problems, few Cubs empathized more than Piniella, whose father, Louis, passed away in 2005.
"Lou always had this aura where people think he's hard on players all the time -- the 'rule with an iron fist' thing," Hendry said. "But I don't find that. He genuinely cares about them on and off the field, probably more than they would ever know."
Piniella is more inclined to delegate now than in his early years as a manager in New York and Cincinnati. He's content to think big picture and let pitching coach Larry Rothschild, bench coach Alan Trammell and the rest of his staff oversee their individual departments sans interference.
Piniella hates team meetings -- he's held two all season -- and rarely ventures into the clubhouse. One of his few rules decrees that card-playing must cease an hour before game time. Earlier this season in St. Louis, when a few Cubs lost track of time and pushed their luck with a game of pluck, Piniella dropped by and laid down the law, and that was that.
While Piniella is impulsive about personnel decisions, some principles remain constant. He's tough on catchers and can't stand pitchers who nibble. He can live with errors, 0-fers and gopher balls, but the offending player better give his all and be accountable. Excuse makers and players who hide in the trainer's room after games quickly exhaust their credibility with Piniella.
Cubs reliever Scott Eyre knows all about accountability. He posted a 12.86 ERA in April, and felt desperate to prove his worth to the new manager. When Piniella stopped pitching him in tight games, Eyre wished the Cubs would trade him and give him a fresh start somewhere else.
Finally, when Eyre couldn't retire the bat boy, Piniella and Rothschild summoned him for a chat. Their message: You're a better pitcher than this, and we need you to produce if we want to win.
In this case, a little support meant the world. Eyre has held NL hitters to a .188 batting average since the All-Star break, and he's back among the living.
"I didn't like Lou much the first two months," Eyre said. "It was because I pitched bad, and that's completely wrong. He never quit on me, and I'll never forget that."
Piniella enjoys playing rookies because of the energy they bring to the clubhouse and the field. The only catch: They better not be scared or fundamentally unsound.
Three young Cubs -- pitchers Rich Hill and Carlos Marmol and shortstop Ryan Theriot -- are now indispensable pieces for Piniella, and rookie catcher Geovany Soto has hit well enough lately to start taking at-bats from veteran Jason Kendall.
"Lou understands that you're not always going to get a bunt down, or you're going to miss a ball or a sign sometimes," Theriot said. "I hear it all the time, 'He used to be real fiery.' But he's only upset for a second, and it's nothing over the top."
Long, hard road
Piniella works with a personal trainer in the winter, but not during the baseball season, when the travel and long hours take their toll. The Cubs played four games in less than 48 hours against St. Louis last weekend, and Piniella, unshaven and fighting a head cold, looked about as fresh as an Iditarod contestant.
Managers: All-time wins
1. Connie Mack, 3,731
2. John McGraw, 2,763
3. Tony La Russa, 2,367
4. Bobby Cox, 2,248
5. Sparky Anderson, 2,194
6. Bucky Harris, 2,157
7. Joe McCarthy, 2,215
8. Joe Torre, 2,059
9. Walter Alson, 2,040
10. Leo Durocher, 2,008
11. Casey Stengel, 1,905
12. Gene Mauch, 1,902
13. Bill McKechnie, 1,896
14. Ralph Houk, 1,619
15. Fred Clarke, 1,602
16. Tommy Lasorda, 1,599
17. Lou Piniella, 1,598
The oppressive, nonstop fatalism in Chicago wears on a manager's nerves, too. How many Billy Goat Tavern, Leon Durham and Steve Bartman references should a man be forced to endure?
"We have some very nice people here," Piniella said of the Chicago media, "but they're skeptical. If things just don't go exactly right, it's 'woe and alas' real quick."
If Piniella fails in his quest, it won't be from lack of effort. Or sleeping on the job.
Lou Piniella keeps track of his sleep habits when he's not monitoring the National League Central standings, and he can attest that he's woken up at 4 a.m. this season more often than in any of his previous 19 years as a manager.
When infomercials don't cut it as an insomnia cure, Piniella has a surefire Plan B. He'll open his hotel room door, reach for the USA Today and do a crossword puzzle until he drifts back off to sleep.
"When I started managing, they'd have a bottle of vodka in the room," Piniella said, laughing. "Now I'll eat a piece of fruit and have a bottle of water."
During charter flights, Piniella will don his reading glasses, pull out the statistical data at his disposal and map out lineups for the next series before the plane lands. If Cubs outfielder Cliff Floyd is 14-for-35 career against Tom Glavine, or an opposing starter's release time enhances Alfonso Soriano's chances of stealing a base, Piniella feels obliged to put that in the vault.
"I've never been on a plane ride with him where he didn't work the whole time," Chicago general manager Jim Hendry said. "I don't think people give him enough credit for that."
An ESPN anchor took note when Piniella, looking quite displeased, lifted the ball from Ryan Dempster's hand after a rough outing Friday in St. Louis. But after the game, Piniella took pains to reiterate his faith in Dempster, telling reporters that his closer simply had a bad day at the office. With the season winding down and Milwaukee clinging to the Cubs like a conjoined twin, Piniella isn't about to start trifling with Dempster's confidence.
Piniella's challenge, as always, is finding a way to motivate his players and not overwhelm them with his hard-driving bent.
As the Cubs try to outlast Milwaukee in the quest for their first postseason appearance since 2003, their manager is ascending to higher ground. The Cubs' 7-6 win over Cincinnati on Monday was the 1,598th of Piniella's career. With two more, he'll pass Tommy Lasorda for 16th place on baseball's career list.
"I'm a realist, but at the same time, I'm a positive realist," Piniella said. "I come to the ballpark recharged every day to win a baseball game. That's what I enjoy."
When Hendry watches Piniella send a kid to Triple-A, he can tell how difficult it is for his manager to break the news. Last month, when Floyd's father died after a two-month battle with heart and kidney problems, few Cubs empathized more than Piniella, whose father, Louis, passed away in 2005.
"Lou always had this aura where people think he's hard on players all the time -- the 'rule with an iron fist' thing," Hendry said. "But I don't find that. He genuinely cares about them on and off the field, probably more than they would ever know."
Piniella is more inclined to delegate now than in his early years as a manager in New York and Cincinnati. He's content to think big picture and let pitching coach Larry Rothschild, bench coach Alan Trammell and the rest of his staff oversee their individual departments sans interference.
Piniella hates team meetings -- he's held two all season -- and rarely ventures into the clubhouse. One of his few rules decrees that card-playing must cease an hour before game time. Earlier this season in St. Louis, when a few Cubs lost track of time and pushed their luck with a game of pluck, Piniella dropped by and laid down the law, and that was that.
While Piniella is impulsive about personnel decisions, some principles remain constant. He's tough on catchers and can't stand pitchers who nibble. He can live with errors, 0-fers and gopher balls, but the offending player better give his all and be accountable. Excuse makers and players who hide in the trainer's room after games quickly exhaust their credibility with Piniella.
Cubs reliever Scott Eyre knows all about accountability. He posted a 12.86 ERA in April, and felt desperate to prove his worth to the new manager. When Piniella stopped pitching him in tight games, Eyre wished the Cubs would trade him and give him a fresh start somewhere else.
Finally, when Eyre couldn't retire the bat boy, Piniella and Rothschild summoned him for a chat. Their message: You're a better pitcher than this, and we need you to produce if we want to win.
In this case, a little support meant the world. Eyre has held NL hitters to a .188 batting average since the All-Star break, and he's back among the living.
"I didn't like Lou much the first two months," Eyre said. "It was because I pitched bad, and that's completely wrong. He never quit on me, and I'll never forget that."
Piniella enjoys playing rookies because of the energy they bring to the clubhouse and the field. The only catch: They better not be scared or fundamentally unsound.
Three young Cubs -- pitchers Rich Hill and Carlos Marmol and shortstop Ryan Theriot -- are now indispensable pieces for Piniella, and rookie catcher Geovany Soto has hit well enough lately to start taking at-bats from veteran Jason Kendall.
"Lou understands that you're not always going to get a bunt down, or you're going to miss a ball or a sign sometimes," Theriot said. "I hear it all the time, 'He used to be real fiery.' But he's only upset for a second, and it's nothing over the top."
Long, hard road
Piniella works with a personal trainer in the winter, but not during the baseball season, when the travel and long hours take their toll. The Cubs played four games in less than 48 hours against St. Louis last weekend, and Piniella, unshaven and fighting a head cold, looked about as fresh as an Iditarod contestant.
Managers: All-time wins
1. Connie Mack, 3,731
2. John McGraw, 2,763
3. Tony La Russa, 2,367
4. Bobby Cox, 2,248
5. Sparky Anderson, 2,194
6. Bucky Harris, 2,157
7. Joe McCarthy, 2,215
8. Joe Torre, 2,059
9. Walter Alson, 2,040
10. Leo Durocher, 2,008
11. Casey Stengel, 1,905
12. Gene Mauch, 1,902
13. Bill McKechnie, 1,896
14. Ralph Houk, 1,619
15. Fred Clarke, 1,602
16. Tommy Lasorda, 1,599
17. Lou Piniella, 1,598
The oppressive, nonstop fatalism in Chicago wears on a manager's nerves, too. How many Billy Goat Tavern, Leon Durham and Steve Bartman references should a man be forced to endure?
"We have some very nice people here," Piniella said of the Chicago media, "but they're skeptical. If things just don't go exactly right, it's 'woe and alas' real quick."
If Piniella fails in his quest, it won't be from lack of effort. Or sleeping on the job.
Lou Piniella on Competitive Leaders
"I have to guard against my competitive nature when I manage a team," Piniella said. "I can't be more competitive than the team. I have to find their level and hover slightly above it. If not, you're always going to be upset."
Three Ideas for Low-Budget Motivation
Giuliani suggests a few things to keep employees motivated:
1. Create a sense of adventure. "Let's go where we haven't gone before." Restrictive rules have their place -- for a while. But humans need variety.
2. Give new responsibility. In his case, young lawyers who ordinarily don't get much opportunity to argue in court, were given pro bono (charity) cases to gain experience while doing community service.
3. Remember that good people act from a combination of altruism (wanting to feel that their talents are doing good for society) and self-interest (the exhilaration of doing something important). Find ways to recognize people's successes in each of those areas. Giuliani held regular press conferences and used part of them to laud those who had done well.
1. Create a sense of adventure. "Let's go where we haven't gone before." Restrictive rules have their place -- for a while. But humans need variety.
2. Give new responsibility. In his case, young lawyers who ordinarily don't get much opportunity to argue in court, were given pro bono (charity) cases to gain experience while doing community service.
3. Remember that good people act from a combination of altruism (wanting to feel that their talents are doing good for society) and self-interest (the exhilaration of doing something important). Find ways to recognize people's successes in each of those areas. Giuliani held regular press conferences and used part of them to laud those who had done well.
Turnover, Yes!
Stability is key to success.
I've come to some dissatisfaction with the philosophy of rotating leaders arbitrarily for development. In the coming decades, U.S. demographics will create near historic waves of upward opportunity as retirees depart en masse. With so many holes to plug, today's eagerness to move people around may be replaced by a pining for the ability to keep some semblance of continuity.
Getting down to business here, Giuliani comments on one benefit of turnover. If performance is tracked over time, then replacements can find motivation in competing for the good of the organization against their predecessors' accomplishments. New York police commissioner Bernie Kerik made it a personal mission to keep the number of New York homicides below 629 -- the 1998 total of former commissioner Howard Safir, and the second-lowest since the 1960's.
In my corner of the world, this highlights the value of tracking things that have been untracked before. Tracking is time-consuming and unpopular. But if done properly, it's worth it.
I've come to some dissatisfaction with the philosophy of rotating leaders arbitrarily for development. In the coming decades, U.S. demographics will create near historic waves of upward opportunity as retirees depart en masse. With so many holes to plug, today's eagerness to move people around may be replaced by a pining for the ability to keep some semblance of continuity.
Getting down to business here, Giuliani comments on one benefit of turnover. If performance is tracked over time, then replacements can find motivation in competing for the good of the organization against their predecessors' accomplishments. New York police commissioner Bernie Kerik made it a personal mission to keep the number of New York homicides below 629 -- the 1998 total of former commissioner Howard Safir, and the second-lowest since the 1960's.
In my corner of the world, this highlights the value of tracking things that have been untracked before. Tracking is time-consuming and unpopular. But if done properly, it's worth it.
The Third Degree
Paul Curran was Rudy Giuliani's one-time boss. He'd say "A kid who did well going to law school at night is worth three Harvard degrees." His point was that while a pedigree is nice, the full measure of a person's worth comes from factors deeper than paper. A person who overcomes adversity is a tremendous asset to an organization.
It Takes Two to Tandem
Giuliani comments on the unique chemistry and success of the New York Yankees' leadership:
George Steinbrenner, owner: The taskmaster.
Joe Torre, manager: The nurturer.
Together the two won 4 World Series in six years, and came within a couple outs of a fifth. Similarly,
Giuliani, U.S. Attorney: The person who holds people accountable.
Denny Young, assistant counsel: The big brother.
For years I've thought that the subordinate who manages without holding people accountable for their actions creates an inferior product. Maybe there's something to this complementary tandem approach. I plan to discuss it at work soon and see if there's a positive force to be unleashed here.
George Steinbrenner, owner: The taskmaster.
Joe Torre, manager: The nurturer.
Together the two won 4 World Series in six years, and came within a couple outs of a fifth. Similarly,
Giuliani, U.S. Attorney: The person who holds people accountable.
Denny Young, assistant counsel: The big brother.
For years I've thought that the subordinate who manages without holding people accountable for their actions creates an inferior product. Maybe there's something to this complementary tandem approach. I plan to discuss it at work soon and see if there's a positive force to be unleashed here.
Jordan, Ruth, and Us
What I have in common with Michael Jordan and Babe Ruth? Great failure, that's what. We all do. Jordan failing to qualify for high school varsity. Ruth growing up in an orphanage.
Giuliani lost his first race for mayor. "The greatest pitchers lose games, and lose badly. There are important skills to be learned from picking yourself up after something goes wrong, to keep moving ahead without letting it throw you off course." He also had to pull out of a U.S. Senate race due to prostate cancer.
We're tired, or ill, or down. It's an occasional reality of life. We take a breather, then get back up.
Giuliani lost his first race for mayor. "The greatest pitchers lose games, and lose badly. There are important skills to be learned from picking yourself up after something goes wrong, to keep moving ahead without letting it throw you off course." He also had to pull out of a U.S. Senate race due to prostate cancer.
We're tired, or ill, or down. It's an occasional reality of life. We take a breather, then get back up.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Practice Makes... Even Better Practice!
From Tice:
Scientists have discovered that the better you get at doing something difficult, the less brainpower it takes. In other words, "use it or lose it" applies to the brain as well as muscles.
That means that when I read tax law, at times with great suffering, there's a certain momentum that builds the longer I do it.
So, from McDonald:
1. Never give up! It will get better. And don't get intimidated by people around you who are "smarter." It's easy to confuse experience for intelligence. When you gain the experience of others by sticking with it, you'll gain greatly upon or even surpass those who are "smarter" for now.
2. Don't let your brain atrophy on the weekend. Do a crossword puzzle, play an instrument, or do something else involving brain work and fun. Those Monday morning tasks will be easier still.
Scientists have discovered that the better you get at doing something difficult, the less brainpower it takes. In other words, "use it or lose it" applies to the brain as well as muscles.
That means that when I read tax law, at times with great suffering, there's a certain momentum that builds the longer I do it.
So, from McDonald:
1. Never give up! It will get better. And don't get intimidated by people around you who are "smarter." It's easy to confuse experience for intelligence. When you gain the experience of others by sticking with it, you'll gain greatly upon or even surpass those who are "smarter" for now.
2. Don't let your brain atrophy on the weekend. Do a crossword puzzle, play an instrument, or do something else involving brain work and fun. Those Monday morning tasks will be easier still.
Recipe for Problem-Solving
Paraphrased from Lou Tice of the Winner's Circle Network, based on 40 years of study of organizations unleashing their potential:
1. Find an inspiring goal, a common vision of a clearly-defined end result, shared by everyone, talked about often and affirmed daily. Make it realistic, so that people can reach it, perhaps with a little creativity.
2. Develop a system for tracking performance and giving feedback. "What gets measured, gets done."
3. Reward desired performance, including innovation and risk-taking in meaningful ways to empower people to deal with problems directly at every level.
That's affirming to hear. My recent plans at work have been:
1. Rough out a set of specific goals, each with a person responsible and a due date.
2. Meet with small groups of employees, ones with experience, who can refine the initial goals and add new ones.
3. Hand the goals to my direct reports, charging them to work with their folks to further refine them.
4. Feedback? Still working on that one. I've talked up Giuliani's "morning meeting" from earlier post, and others sound interested in some type of peer review process.
5. The reward system is usually done on the fly since each employee is unique in the things that motivate them, since monetary budget is limited and the degree of success is best known at the end. Celebratory lunches for the team, individual thank-you notes praising specific contributions, or a little time off all succeed in varying degrees.
1. Find an inspiring goal, a common vision of a clearly-defined end result, shared by everyone, talked about often and affirmed daily. Make it realistic, so that people can reach it, perhaps with a little creativity.
2. Develop a system for tracking performance and giving feedback. "What gets measured, gets done."
3. Reward desired performance, including innovation and risk-taking in meaningful ways to empower people to deal with problems directly at every level.
That's affirming to hear. My recent plans at work have been:
1. Rough out a set of specific goals, each with a person responsible and a due date.
2. Meet with small groups of employees, ones with experience, who can refine the initial goals and add new ones.
3. Hand the goals to my direct reports, charging them to work with their folks to further refine them.
4. Feedback? Still working on that one. I've talked up Giuliani's "morning meeting" from earlier post, and others sound interested in some type of peer review process.
5. The reward system is usually done on the fly since each employee is unique in the things that motivate them, since monetary budget is limited and the degree of success is best known at the end. Celebratory lunches for the team, individual thank-you notes praising specific contributions, or a little time off all succeed in varying degrees.
Zicam to the Rescue!
So Dena overcomes a week-long hacking phlegm-cough, and a day later I wake up with a sore throat and symptoms of a typical 7-day cold. Past routines have involved Sudafed, Nyquil, Halls cough drops... for 7 days. This time, I tried something new: Zicam tablets. Take one every three hours at the first onset of symptoms. Take on a full stomach, then don't drink or eat for 15 minutes. For two days, I was wiped out by the end of each work day, light-headed, the whole bit. On the third day I was cured! Zicam also comes in a spray and a nasal gel. Next time, I'm popping pills, baby!
Mom's Retirement
On Friday, at age 66 years and 60 days, Mom retired as a receptionist at Surya Electronics in Glendale Heights. She'd been there 10 years, after a colorful career spanning several employers (some crazed) and taking a break to raise the kids.
Dena and I drove up to celebrate by feasting at TGI Friday's, watching the season finale of Monk and munching on Starbuck's lemon cake.
Earlier in the day, Jack sent me a note pointing out how close Mom's retirement age was to Dad's age at death (66 years, 59 days). So the odds are 50/50 that for us life will end or begin, at that age!
Both of my grandfathers died before age 70, so retirement at 55 actually sounds pretty good...
Dena and I drove up to celebrate by feasting at TGI Friday's, watching the season finale of Monk and munching on Starbuck's lemon cake.
Earlier in the day, Jack sent me a note pointing out how close Mom's retirement age was to Dad's age at death (66 years, 59 days). So the odds are 50/50 that for us life will end or begin, at that age!
Both of my grandfathers died before age 70, so retirement at 55 actually sounds pretty good...
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
I Cannot Not Tell a Lie
Per Giuliani:
"Whenever there's doubt about whether to make public a damaging fact, err on the side of the disclosure."
"Whenever a convoluted explanation is offered in favor of not disclosing, overrule the advice and disclose."
Of course, the New York Daily News broke the story of his extramarital affair.
"Whenever there's doubt about whether to make public a damaging fact, err on the side of the disclosure."
"Whenever a convoluted explanation is offered in favor of not disclosing, overrule the advice and disclose."
Of course, the New York Daily News broke the story of his extramarital affair.
Capstat
Eventually, Giuliani's Compstat program for law enforcement spread to agencies throughout New York City. Four parameters were given to leaders to work with:
1. Data had to be collected regularly and reliably -- preferably on a daily basis, but at least once a week -- at a set time.
2. 20 to 40 performance indicators that got at the core mission of the agency had to be established.
3. A regular meeting must be convened -- with a minimum frequency of once a week -- including a floor plan that demonstrated exactly which agency leaders were required to be present at each meeting.
4. 10 or more representative performance indicators that the agency wanted on its web site must be submitted.
I think that the beauty here is somewhat in the process, but more so in that the leaders were empowered to develop their own system. Giuliani seems to have a sensitivity to micromanagement. Often times, buy-in = bottom-up.
1. Data had to be collected regularly and reliably -- preferably on a daily basis, but at least once a week -- at a set time.
2. 20 to 40 performance indicators that got at the core mission of the agency had to be established.
3. A regular meeting must be convened -- with a minimum frequency of once a week -- including a floor plan that demonstrated exactly which agency leaders were required to be present at each meeting.
4. 10 or more representative performance indicators that the agency wanted on its web site must be submitted.
I think that the beauty here is somewhat in the process, but more so in that the leaders were empowered to develop their own system. Giuliani seems to have a sensitivity to micromanagement. Often times, buy-in = bottom-up.
Compstat
The essence of Giuliani's success as mayor of New York were the Compstat meetings. First, a look at the results:
Murders and robberies dropped over 15% during Compstat's first year.
In 1995, 419 police officers fired shots. By 2001, that number dropped to 175.
The number of slashings and stabbings in Rikers Island prison was 139 in July 1995. In September 2001, there was one.
The principles here may not be as applicable to small organizations as large ones, but they provide food for thought:
1. Crime statistics were collected and analyzed every single day. Meaningful ones. Arrest counts and reaction times to emergency calls aren't the goal of a police force: Public safety and reducing crime are.
2. A weekly summary of stats displays trends such as week-to-date, month-to-date, year-to-date.
3. The key: Once every 4-8 weeks, the command of a borough stands before the brass and defends their performance. Questions are posed by the brass: "Why are car thefts down 20 percent citywide, but up 10 percent in your area?" This meeting won Harvard's Innovations in Government Award.
4. Every time a performance indicator was added, there'd be a similar pattern of improvement. For example, graffiti arrests rose from 475 in 1995 to 1,485 in 2001. One agency had no less than 592 indicators.
The system was resisted by many who didn't want their performance to be measured (human nature). That is, until the results started to emerge. What gets measured, gets done.
Murders and robberies dropped over 15% during Compstat's first year.
In 1995, 419 police officers fired shots. By 2001, that number dropped to 175.
The number of slashings and stabbings in Rikers Island prison was 139 in July 1995. In September 2001, there was one.
The principles here may not be as applicable to small organizations as large ones, but they provide food for thought:
1. Crime statistics were collected and analyzed every single day. Meaningful ones. Arrest counts and reaction times to emergency calls aren't the goal of a police force: Public safety and reducing crime are.
2. A weekly summary of stats displays trends such as week-to-date, month-to-date, year-to-date.
3. The key: Once every 4-8 weeks, the command of a borough stands before the brass and defends their performance. Questions are posed by the brass: "Why are car thefts down 20 percent citywide, but up 10 percent in your area?" This meeting won Harvard's Innovations in Government Award.
4. Every time a performance indicator was added, there'd be a similar pattern of improvement. For example, graffiti arrests rose from 475 in 1995 to 1,485 in 2001. One agency had no less than 592 indicators.
The system was resisted by many who didn't want their performance to be measured (human nature). That is, until the results started to emerge. What gets measured, gets done.
Model What You Want, and Hire Wisely
Per Giuliani:
"Nothing builds confidence in a leader more than a willingness to take responsibility for what happens during his watch."
"Nothing builds a stronger case for holding employees to a high standard than a boss who holds himself to even higher ones."
These were good lines to read in his chapter "Everyone's Accountable, All of the Time." Of course I started mentally launching into ways to hold other people accountable.
In particular, the leadership team where I work holds itself accountable to the hiring of new employees. It takes tremendously long to remove a worker once hired, and twice the energy to overcome the attitude of a poor worker. Because of that, we shamelessly interview candidates for even the lowest level entry job with teams of multiple interviewers. No interview process is perfect, but since 15 or more years of potential productivity hangs in the balance, no effort is too small!
"Nothing builds confidence in a leader more than a willingness to take responsibility for what happens during his watch."
"Nothing builds a stronger case for holding employees to a high standard than a boss who holds himself to even higher ones."
These were good lines to read in his chapter "Everyone's Accountable, All of the Time." Of course I started mentally launching into ways to hold other people accountable.
In particular, the leadership team where I work holds itself accountable to the hiring of new employees. It takes tremendously long to remove a worker once hired, and twice the energy to overcome the attitude of a poor worker. Because of that, we shamelessly interview candidates for even the lowest level entry job with teams of multiple interviewers. No interview process is perfect, but since 15 or more years of potential productivity hangs in the balance, no effort is too small!
Monday, September 17, 2007
Michael Vick: "I Also Ate Kittens"
From The Onion:
RICHMOND, VA—In yet another installment in his series of recent confessional and contrite televised press conferences, suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick apologized to his fans, teammates, and the National Football League on Wednesday for devouring the living flesh of four-to-eight-week-old kittens. "I did not by any means eat kittens for every meal, but I cannot deny I ate them," said Vick, saying he felt that although this was not necessarily the best time, he should just come clean. "Kittens just taste really good, as their meat is lean, yet tender and surprisingly juicy. Oh, and eating them is wrong—I know that now, and I am sorry." Vick added that he and unnamed companions would work up such an appetite from a long day of fighting, forcibly breeding, and slaughtering dogs that they could barely contain themselves and would often snap off their furry little heads and suck out the insides before they even left the parking lot, a practice of which he is now "very ashamed."
RICHMOND, VA—In yet another installment in his series of recent confessional and contrite televised press conferences, suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick apologized to his fans, teammates, and the National Football League on Wednesday for devouring the living flesh of four-to-eight-week-old kittens. "I did not by any means eat kittens for every meal, but I cannot deny I ate them," said Vick, saying he felt that although this was not necessarily the best time, he should just come clean. "Kittens just taste really good, as their meat is lean, yet tender and surprisingly juicy. Oh, and eating them is wrong—I know that now, and I am sorry." Vick added that he and unnamed companions would work up such an appetite from a long day of fighting, forcibly breeding, and slaughtering dogs that they could barely contain themselves and would often snap off their furry little heads and suck out the insides before they even left the parking lot, a practice of which he is now "very ashamed."
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Talent + Knowledge + Skill = Strength
Upon further review, the "strengths" discussed in earlier posts are actually more like talents... naturally recurring patterns of thought or behavior. To determine strengths:
1. Identifies the most dominant talents -- the ones which absorb us so completely that we lose track of time. I can think of a couple personally. Competition is one (as I sit here and play Madden football at 1:00 a.m.). The other might be analysis -- I've scrutinized fantasy baseball stats, arranged data on spreadsheets, and developed procedures for hours upon hours. And creative writing is up there, too. So is teaching.
2. Gain knowledge through immersion. Read, observe, ask questions, practice. Learn the facts, learn what works and what doesn't.
3. Put structure around the knowledge (skills). That's an easy one for me -- structure puts me in my comfort zone. It's why Hidden Blog chronicles learnings from a variety of sources in one central place.
1. Identifies the most dominant talents -- the ones which absorb us so completely that we lose track of time. I can think of a couple personally. Competition is one (as I sit here and play Madden football at 1:00 a.m.). The other might be analysis -- I've scrutinized fantasy baseball stats, arranged data on spreadsheets, and developed procedures for hours upon hours. And creative writing is up there, too. So is teaching.
2. Gain knowledge through immersion. Read, observe, ask questions, practice. Learn the facts, learn what works and what doesn't.
3. Put structure around the knowledge (skills). That's an easy one for me -- structure puts me in my comfort zone. It's why Hidden Blog chronicles learnings from a variety of sources in one central place.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Past Out
Miami Hurricanes' college football coach Randy Shannon was recently selected to help resurrect a program rich in tradition, and recently poor in character (witness multiple fist fights that have erupted on the Hurricanes' sidelines in recent years).
The man has seen three siblings die from drug use, and his father was shot to death while trying to protect a friend.
"I've got two choices," he says. "I can sit back and say everything's against me, I'm going in the tank. Or I can accept the hand that's been dealt me and move forward. I never think about 'why?' or 'why me?'. I never second-guess it. I forget about what happened three seconds ago. People ask me what I did last night. I can't remember. They think I'm joking. Every second you think about the past is a second when you can't think about the future, about controlling what you can control. That gives other people an opportunity to control your life. You control your life. You have to control the world. You can never let it control you."
While controlling the world might be an exaggeration, controlling the focus of his mind has clearly been a successful habit for him. The past can be a nagging -- or even abusive -- companion if we bring out the worst of it. The present is too rich, and the future too abundant with potential, to waste by dragging tired old memories along for the ride. It's time to declare independence from our failures!
The man has seen three siblings die from drug use, and his father was shot to death while trying to protect a friend.
"I've got two choices," he says. "I can sit back and say everything's against me, I'm going in the tank. Or I can accept the hand that's been dealt me and move forward. I never think about 'why?' or 'why me?'. I never second-guess it. I forget about what happened three seconds ago. People ask me what I did last night. I can't remember. They think I'm joking. Every second you think about the past is a second when you can't think about the future, about controlling what you can control. That gives other people an opportunity to control your life. You control your life. You have to control the world. You can never let it control you."
While controlling the world might be an exaggeration, controlling the focus of his mind has clearly been a successful habit for him. The past can be a nagging -- or even abusive -- companion if we bring out the worst of it. The present is too rich, and the future too abundant with potential, to waste by dragging tired old memories along for the ride. It's time to declare independence from our failures!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Do Little, Achieve Much
Jason Woolever led me to Andy Stanley's sermon on "competent leadership." Here are a handful of key principles:
1. Only do the things that only you can do. It's in line with Discover Your Strengths: A baseball pitcher who obsesses about becoming a great hitter, likely suffers disproportionately as a pitcher. Is it a myth that an organization needs well-rounded individuals? Is it a truth that the true goal is a well-rounded organization?
2. The less you do, the more you accomplish. Only do the things that only you can do. The world's plentifully supplied with people who can (and want to) do the things that you can't. Find them and empower them! Why distract yourself from maximizing the gifts that you have? Why try to change yourself from a round peg into a square one?
3. Leaders attract like kind. If you burden yourself with well-roundedness and drag yourself down in the process, then you'll attract people who are similarly burdened.
Andy didn't say this, but I suspect that there's a difference between weakness and vice. It's good to admit that debate is my weakness and I need help. It's bad to admit that I'm inflexible and to impose upon others to deal with it. We win when we apply our strengths, delegate our weaknesses, and curtail our vices.
1. Only do the things that only you can do. It's in line with Discover Your Strengths: A baseball pitcher who obsesses about becoming a great hitter, likely suffers disproportionately as a pitcher. Is it a myth that an organization needs well-rounded individuals? Is it a truth that the true goal is a well-rounded organization?
2. The less you do, the more you accomplish. Only do the things that only you can do. The world's plentifully supplied with people who can (and want to) do the things that you can't. Find them and empower them! Why distract yourself from maximizing the gifts that you have? Why try to change yourself from a round peg into a square one?
3. Leaders attract like kind. If you burden yourself with well-roundedness and drag yourself down in the process, then you'll attract people who are similarly burdened.
Andy didn't say this, but I suspect that there's a difference between weakness and vice. It's good to admit that debate is my weakness and I need help. It's bad to admit that I'm inflexible and to impose upon others to deal with it. We win when we apply our strengths, delegate our weaknesses, and curtail our vices.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Why Change Roads When You Can Change Lanes?
From the book Now Discover Your Strengths:
The medical student made a disturbing discovery: She didn't like being around sick people. Time to change careers, right? Wrong. She took stock of herself. She liked helping people, and she thrived on tangible results. Now she's a dermatologist.
The director of health and human services had a budget bigger than that of 20 states. She's not gifted in thinking strategically, detailed analysis, or planning. She does enjoy injecting drama and passion in her employees, and in getting results. How does she overcome her weaknesses? (1) She identifies achievable goals where action can be taken today. (2) She seeks opportunities to paint the big picture for her thousands of employees. (3) She outsources strategic planning!
Not all of us can outsource. But we can usually find a way to make more use of our strengths so that, if nothing else, we lift our mood. It'd be a shame for a car driver to take a long, lonely exit ramp because their lane's blocked, without considering the wide open lane just next to them. Life's too short for unnecessary detours!
The medical student made a disturbing discovery: She didn't like being around sick people. Time to change careers, right? Wrong. She took stock of herself. She liked helping people, and she thrived on tangible results. Now she's a dermatologist.
The director of health and human services had a budget bigger than that of 20 states. She's not gifted in thinking strategically, detailed analysis, or planning. She does enjoy injecting drama and passion in her employees, and in getting results. How does she overcome her weaknesses? (1) She identifies achievable goals where action can be taken today. (2) She seeks opportunities to paint the big picture for her thousands of employees. (3) She outsources strategic planning!
Not all of us can outsource. But we can usually find a way to make more use of our strengths so that, if nothing else, we lift our mood. It'd be a shame for a car driver to take a long, lonely exit ramp because their lane's blocked, without considering the wide open lane just next to them. Life's too short for unnecessary detours!
Let's Build a Roof!
After a lot of conversation, research and debate, we got a vote of 25-0 in favor of assessing $2,600 per unit in order to build a new roof on the complex in 2008. 22 yes votes were needed out of 32 units.
I'm no great negotiator, but a few things stood out as lessons in influence:
1. During last month's meeting, one owner claimed that he needed to see more financial information before he could vote yes. Like many, finding the funds was an issue for him. At that meeting we'd proposed a particular roofing company and the majority of owners were much in favor of them. A couple of days later the dissenting owner came to me with a new contractor. Since we'd had the bidding open for months and I'd worked hard to research and get comfortable with them, I had the option to refuse at this point, but agreed enthusiastically instead. The new contractor met with us for an hour and put forward a competitive bid. At the meeting, I altered the proposal to suggest that if we came in under budget, then the difference would be refunded to unit owners. When his firm "no" vote became a "reserved yes" vote, I felt that it was in no small part due to the fact that his input was heard and acted upon.
2. Another dissenting owner was confusing when I tried to reason with him. He said that in order for him to vote yes, we'd need to have a plan B, and we'd need to have a "substantial majority." To help understand, I asked him what type of wording would lead him to a yes vote, and he couldn't answer. As part of the half-hour conversation, he mentioned that we might not want to include the name of the roofer in the proposal, in case a better one came along and we didn't want to have to muster another extensive voting process. During the meeting, I credited him with the good idea, and modified the wording accordingly.
3. I just finished writing 25 thank-you notes.
I've seen it before where people reverse surprisingly well when listened to, responded to, and thanked. It's simple on paper, harder in reality, and worth every minute!
I'm no great negotiator, but a few things stood out as lessons in influence:
1. During last month's meeting, one owner claimed that he needed to see more financial information before he could vote yes. Like many, finding the funds was an issue for him. At that meeting we'd proposed a particular roofing company and the majority of owners were much in favor of them. A couple of days later the dissenting owner came to me with a new contractor. Since we'd had the bidding open for months and I'd worked hard to research and get comfortable with them, I had the option to refuse at this point, but agreed enthusiastically instead. The new contractor met with us for an hour and put forward a competitive bid. At the meeting, I altered the proposal to suggest that if we came in under budget, then the difference would be refunded to unit owners. When his firm "no" vote became a "reserved yes" vote, I felt that it was in no small part due to the fact that his input was heard and acted upon.
2. Another dissenting owner was confusing when I tried to reason with him. He said that in order for him to vote yes, we'd need to have a plan B, and we'd need to have a "substantial majority." To help understand, I asked him what type of wording would lead him to a yes vote, and he couldn't answer. As part of the half-hour conversation, he mentioned that we might not want to include the name of the roofer in the proposal, in case a better one came along and we didn't want to have to muster another extensive voting process. During the meeting, I credited him with the good idea, and modified the wording accordingly.
3. I just finished writing 25 thank-you notes.
I've seen it before where people reverse surprisingly well when listened to, responded to, and thanked. It's simple on paper, harder in reality, and worth every minute!
The Best Defense is No Offense
It's likely that sometime in the next week, I'll be offended by someone's actions.
Joel Osteen pointed out the connection between the word "offense" and an ancient word for "bait."
When someone says or does something that tips my blood pressure up a beat, what I ought to recognize that life's just baiting me into a bad mood. Sometimes I wonder if offense stems from the assumption that a person is bad at heart. For example, if someone I care about like my brother cuts me off in traffic, I give him the benefit of the doubt. He probably didn't realize he was doing it, or he was probably just having a bad moment. But if a stranger does the same thing...
We can protect our good humor by watching out for bait, floating everywhere around us, and refusing to bite.
Joel Osteen pointed out the connection between the word "offense" and an ancient word for "bait."
When someone says or does something that tips my blood pressure up a beat, what I ought to recognize that life's just baiting me into a bad mood. Sometimes I wonder if offense stems from the assumption that a person is bad at heart. For example, if someone I care about like my brother cuts me off in traffic, I give him the benefit of the doubt. He probably didn't realize he was doing it, or he was probably just having a bad moment. But if a stranger does the same thing...
We can protect our good humor by watching out for bait, floating everywhere around us, and refusing to bite.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Giuliani on September 11
Looking up from ground zero shortly after the World Trade Center was hit, Giuliani saw people jumping from windows. They were making the conscious decision that it was better to die that way, than to face the 2,000 degree heat of the blazing jet fuel. Those who believe in hell, take note.
In surviving that day, he notes that "there was no time to actually experience an emotion. There were moments of anger, fear, and sorrow, but with so much to do it was impossible to dwell on those feelings."
There seems some similarity with Ben Franklin, who mused that it's better to be focused on our usefulness than our rights.
Giuliani was pressed by the media to estimate a death toll. He decided right away not to play guessing games with lost lives. He spoke the truth: "When we get the final number, it will be more than we can bear."
Regardless of pressure or temptation, may we likewise focus on the task at hand, and remain honest to the end.
In surviving that day, he notes that "there was no time to actually experience an emotion. There were moments of anger, fear, and sorrow, but with so much to do it was impossible to dwell on those feelings."
There seems some similarity with Ben Franklin, who mused that it's better to be focused on our usefulness than our rights.
Giuliani was pressed by the media to estimate a death toll. He decided right away not to play guessing games with lost lives. He spoke the truth: "When we get the final number, it will be more than we can bear."
Regardless of pressure or temptation, may we likewise focus on the task at hand, and remain honest to the end.
The Inspiring Story of September 11
NEW YORK - On Sept. 11, Jacob Sundberg of San Antonio has pledged to make eye contact and smile at everyone he meets. Kaitlin Ulrich will bring goody baskets to the police and fire departments in and around Philadelphia. And 100 volunteers from New York – 9/11 firefighters and family members among them – are going to Groesbeck, Texas, to rebuild a house destroyed by a tornado last December.
This is a minute sampling of the hundreds of thousands of people who have pledged to memorialize those killed on 9/11 by doing something good for others.
The heroic acts of all those killed trying to save others that September morning has spawned a growing grass-roots movement. The goal is to ensure that future generations remember not just the horror of the attacks, but also the extraordinary outpouring of humanity during the days, weeks, and months that followed.
"It was the worst possible day imaginable, and in some ways, a remarkable day, too, in the way in which people responded," says David Paine, cofounder of myGoodDeed.org. "We need to rekindle the way we came together in the spirit of 9/11: It would be almost as much a tragedy to lose that lesson."
Sept. 11 has inspired dozens of philanthropic efforts – from groups dedicated to building memorials to foundations designed to improve education in the Middle East. But myGoodDeed has a more universal goal: to turn 9/11 into a day dedicated to doing good – from small, simple things like Lisa Scheive's pledge to help stranded turtles cross the road in Pompano Beach, Fla., to lifesaving efforts, such as John Feal's decision in New York to donate one of his kidneys to help a seriously ill 9/11 worker.
The idea has been endorsed by members of Congress, and at myGoodDeed's urging, President Bush for the first time this year included a call for volunteering in his annual 9/11 proclamation.
After major disasters, Americans have historically tapped a deep reserve of compassion and reached out to others. But in the months and years that follow, those compassionate and civic urges tend to recede. Studies at Harvard's Saguaro Seminar on Civic Engagement in America found that in as few as five months after 9/11, most Americans had gone back to their daily lives and were not more engaged as they said they'd hoped to be. Part of the goal of turning 9/11 into a national day of service is to remind Americans of the inherent joy of giving and to hopefully spur volunteering and charitable acts throughout the year.
"I don't know of any research that's been done on one day of service, but studies have shown that people who do volunteering in high school are more likely to volunteer throughout their lives," says Thomas Sander, executive director of the Saguaro Seminar.
The idea of turning 9/11 into a day of service, charity, and good deeds came from the family and friends of one man: Glenn Winuk, a volunteer fireman and lawyer who worked a block and a half from the World Trade Center. After he helped evacuate his Broadway law offices, he grabbed a medic's bag and ran toward the smoke pouring from the South Tower. That's where his remains were found after the towers fell. Mr. Paine and Glenn's brother Jay had been friends for years. They decided that turning 9/11 into a day of service was best way to memorialize Glenn.
"It completely reflects the way my brother lived his life, and it also specifically reflects how he died," says Mr. Winuk, myGoodDeed.org cofounder. "He laid his life on the line for other people that day."
In 2002, Paine and Winuk sent e-mails to friends and family and suggested they do a good deed, such as donate a day's pay on 9/11. Then the idea evolved, and they founded myGoodDeed.org. In 2004, 100,000 visited their website and pledged to do a good deed on 9/11. This year, those pledging number more than 250,000.
"A lot of people don't know what to do on 9/11," says Paine. "This hits people in their heart and their soul. It connects with something that's fundamental."
This is a minute sampling of the hundreds of thousands of people who have pledged to memorialize those killed on 9/11 by doing something good for others.
The heroic acts of all those killed trying to save others that September morning has spawned a growing grass-roots movement. The goal is to ensure that future generations remember not just the horror of the attacks, but also the extraordinary outpouring of humanity during the days, weeks, and months that followed.
"It was the worst possible day imaginable, and in some ways, a remarkable day, too, in the way in which people responded," says David Paine, cofounder of myGoodDeed.org. "We need to rekindle the way we came together in the spirit of 9/11: It would be almost as much a tragedy to lose that lesson."
Sept. 11 has inspired dozens of philanthropic efforts – from groups dedicated to building memorials to foundations designed to improve education in the Middle East. But myGoodDeed has a more universal goal: to turn 9/11 into a day dedicated to doing good – from small, simple things like Lisa Scheive's pledge to help stranded turtles cross the road in Pompano Beach, Fla., to lifesaving efforts, such as John Feal's decision in New York to donate one of his kidneys to help a seriously ill 9/11 worker.
The idea has been endorsed by members of Congress, and at myGoodDeed's urging, President Bush for the first time this year included a call for volunteering in his annual 9/11 proclamation.
After major disasters, Americans have historically tapped a deep reserve of compassion and reached out to others. But in the months and years that follow, those compassionate and civic urges tend to recede. Studies at Harvard's Saguaro Seminar on Civic Engagement in America found that in as few as five months after 9/11, most Americans had gone back to their daily lives and were not more engaged as they said they'd hoped to be. Part of the goal of turning 9/11 into a national day of service is to remind Americans of the inherent joy of giving and to hopefully spur volunteering and charitable acts throughout the year.
"I don't know of any research that's been done on one day of service, but studies have shown that people who do volunteering in high school are more likely to volunteer throughout their lives," says Thomas Sander, executive director of the Saguaro Seminar.
The idea of turning 9/11 into a day of service, charity, and good deeds came from the family and friends of one man: Glenn Winuk, a volunteer fireman and lawyer who worked a block and a half from the World Trade Center. After he helped evacuate his Broadway law offices, he grabbed a medic's bag and ran toward the smoke pouring from the South Tower. That's where his remains were found after the towers fell. Mr. Paine and Glenn's brother Jay had been friends for years. They decided that turning 9/11 into a day of service was best way to memorialize Glenn.
"It completely reflects the way my brother lived his life, and it also specifically reflects how he died," says Mr. Winuk, myGoodDeed.org cofounder. "He laid his life on the line for other people that day."
In 2002, Paine and Winuk sent e-mails to friends and family and suggested they do a good deed, such as donate a day's pay on 9/11. Then the idea evolved, and they founded myGoodDeed.org. In 2004, 100,000 visited their website and pledged to do a good deed on 9/11. This year, those pledging number more than 250,000.
"A lot of people don't know what to do on 9/11," says Paine. "This hits people in their heart and their soul. It connects with something that's fundamental."
Sunday, September 9, 2007
I Guess Now Would Be As Good A Time as Any To Triumph Over Adversity
The Onion
July 7, 2004
By Ryan Halverson
They say that in every man's life there comes a time of reckoning when, faced with impossible odds, he must reach deep inside his soul and find the strength to rise to the occasion. I've never really gathered my strength and I haven't really risen to many occasions. I guess I couldn't say I've ever triumphed over adversity before. But I guess now might be as good a time as any.
It's just that, frankly, I'm kinda tired.
Then again, I really don't have much choice. Chaos and crisis surround me. Trouble is bearing down. It's a relentless assault that I'll only be able to beat back with pure conviction. I'm the only one on God's green earth who can do what needs to be done. I guess I have to ascend to soaring heights, don't I?
Aw, Christ, I don't want to save the day, though. It's going to be such a hassle. But maybe triumphing over adversity is something you just bite the bullet and do. With the enemy at the gate and wolves howling in the distance, this would be the moment to figure that out. Get out there and, you know, man the balustrades or whatever. Ugh, I hate that. On one hand, I'm facing the destruction of everything I hold dear if I don't act. On the other hand, um... oh, whatever whatever.
So, technically, I guess, if I were to triumph now, it'd be an inspirational tale of true-life heroism in the face of near-certain defeat—the kind of story that makes people want to stand up and cheer. But really, I mean, come on, so what? Is it really worth the toil? Who knows? I sure don't. I've never triumphed over anything in my life. Maybe that's why my situation is so dire in the first place. Then again, maybe not. Maybe it would have happened just the same even if I had been defiantly taking stands all along. Hell, what do I know? I'm no triumphing-over-adversity expert.
I really can't keep putting it off, though. If I do, the adversity might grow that much worse. Then I'll have to shine out like a beacon of hope in total darkness. That'd really suck. I sure hope the whole "discovering the inner strength I never knew I had" part comes soon.
Well, I guess I can sorta picture me, brow furrowed, conveying a brand-new sense of purpose and determination, leaping into action, facing down the obstacles, and rising from this couch to boldly go forth into the fray. I don't suppose I could take these Cheetos with, huh? No, I guess not.
You want the truth? I'm just not up for a moment of unprecedented human achievement right now. Maybe after I finish watching the rest of this Seinfeld episode, I'll be in the mood to discover my previously untapped wells of courage and power. But maybe I'll take a nap first. If I go to bed right now, I could get a good night's rest, then get up early to conquer my demons in the morning. Yeah, makes sense—I should start in the morning. I know I'm faced with countless challenges right now, but if I get a solid night's sleep, I'll have a fresh start to gloriously triumph over adversity tomorrow.
July 7, 2004
By Ryan Halverson
They say that in every man's life there comes a time of reckoning when, faced with impossible odds, he must reach deep inside his soul and find the strength to rise to the occasion. I've never really gathered my strength and I haven't really risen to many occasions. I guess I couldn't say I've ever triumphed over adversity before. But I guess now might be as good a time as any.
It's just that, frankly, I'm kinda tired.
Then again, I really don't have much choice. Chaos and crisis surround me. Trouble is bearing down. It's a relentless assault that I'll only be able to beat back with pure conviction. I'm the only one on God's green earth who can do what needs to be done. I guess I have to ascend to soaring heights, don't I?
Aw, Christ, I don't want to save the day, though. It's going to be such a hassle. But maybe triumphing over adversity is something you just bite the bullet and do. With the enemy at the gate and wolves howling in the distance, this would be the moment to figure that out. Get out there and, you know, man the balustrades or whatever. Ugh, I hate that. On one hand, I'm facing the destruction of everything I hold dear if I don't act. On the other hand, um... oh, whatever whatever.
So, technically, I guess, if I were to triumph now, it'd be an inspirational tale of true-life heroism in the face of near-certain defeat—the kind of story that makes people want to stand up and cheer. But really, I mean, come on, so what? Is it really worth the toil? Who knows? I sure don't. I've never triumphed over anything in my life. Maybe that's why my situation is so dire in the first place. Then again, maybe not. Maybe it would have happened just the same even if I had been defiantly taking stands all along. Hell, what do I know? I'm no triumphing-over-adversity expert.
I really can't keep putting it off, though. If I do, the adversity might grow that much worse. Then I'll have to shine out like a beacon of hope in total darkness. That'd really suck. I sure hope the whole "discovering the inner strength I never knew I had" part comes soon.
Well, I guess I can sorta picture me, brow furrowed, conveying a brand-new sense of purpose and determination, leaping into action, facing down the obstacles, and rising from this couch to boldly go forth into the fray. I don't suppose I could take these Cheetos with, huh? No, I guess not.
You want the truth? I'm just not up for a moment of unprecedented human achievement right now. Maybe after I finish watching the rest of this Seinfeld episode, I'll be in the mood to discover my previously untapped wells of courage and power. But maybe I'll take a nap first. If I go to bed right now, I could get a good night's rest, then get up early to conquer my demons in the morning. Yeah, makes sense—I should start in the morning. I know I'm faced with countless challenges right now, but if I get a solid night's sleep, I'll have a fresh start to gloriously triumph over adversity tomorrow.
First Things First
Leadership, Chapter 2
The Morning Meeting
Giuliani's begun every single morning since 1981 with a meeting of his top staff. The importance of this meeting, he insists, cannot be overstated. The idea is to get as much work as possible out of the way in the first hour of the day. The frequency of the meetings allows constant follow-through. This is to the point of Parkinson's Law about "work expanding to fill the time available" -- plans evolve slowly if access only occurs once a week.
Here's how it worked. Top staff -- between 15 and 20 people -- convened around a table at 8:00.
1. Typically, the meetings begin with a few minutes of joking around. The socializing and simple daily contact prevents resentment from festering when conflict inevitably happens.
2. For 45 to 90 minutes we go around the table, with each person sharing any pertinent news regarding their responsibilities.
3. Participants are not to display mastery of the details of their areas of responsibility, but are to share and receive information that would be useful to the entire group. So each attendee is welcome to speak, but is not required to do so. There are no points for talking to hear one's own voice. Along the way problems are expected, mentioning them is encouraged, covering them up is intolerable.
4. At the end of the meeting, Giuliani says "okay, that's it," and the meeting adjourns.
Saying Thanks
Giuliani thinks it vital to go out of his way as many times as possible to thank the people who have done so much for New York City -- the prisons, fire houses, hospitals, police stations, and other institutions. One formal way he did so was a traditional New Year's Day "cookie run" where he delivered treats to those working that evening. One of the best parts of any leadership role is getting the chance to let people know how much their work means to you.
Starting Small with Success
Giuliani always looks for a clear, decisive victory as early as possible. Two examples:
1. Banishing infamous squeegee operators -- panhandlers who would walk up to a car, wipe the windshield, and then ask for payment with varying degrees of urgency/menace. While the estimate was a couple thousand of these people, there turned out to be only about 180 once action was taken.
2. Reducing hotel surtax from 6 to 5 percent (revenues actually rose).
3. Providing 4,000 file cabinets to Children's Services case workers, increasing organization such that children's lives wouldn't be jeopardized by the misfiling of a crucial document due to files being strewn about the floor.
Sweat the Small Stuff
A person who does this is open to micromanaging. But understanding how something works is not only a leader's responsibility. It also makes him or her better able to let people do their jobs.
I think that last sentence reveals another valuable lesson when making tough decisions: Focus on the greater good, over personal good. When Giuliani had to cancel a Manhattan street fair in the aftermath of 9/11, he gave this reasoning: (1) It lessens demand on police, who have better things to do right now, (2) it'll increase traffic in stores, which provide permanent jobs, (3) it reduces traffic while trying to get big clean-up vehicles in and out. The greater good of the store owners and victims of tragedy were emphasized.
Summary
Not every operation needs a morning meeting, but the emphasis on accountability is a remarkable lesson. I've recently heard the phrase "what gets measured, gets done" and it has application here. If progress is recorded daily, then it's more likely to emerge monthly. It also gives the leader the opportunity to understand the operation at a deeper level, and so to give thanks. We'll come up with small victories each year, because I'm confident that the list of possibilities is ample. We'll come up with metrics -- meaningful, non-cumbersome ones. I'll ask probing questions. And I'll make sure to thank people often!
The Morning Meeting
Giuliani's begun every single morning since 1981 with a meeting of his top staff. The importance of this meeting, he insists, cannot be overstated. The idea is to get as much work as possible out of the way in the first hour of the day. The frequency of the meetings allows constant follow-through. This is to the point of Parkinson's Law about "work expanding to fill the time available" -- plans evolve slowly if access only occurs once a week.
Here's how it worked. Top staff -- between 15 and 20 people -- convened around a table at 8:00.
1. Typically, the meetings begin with a few minutes of joking around. The socializing and simple daily contact prevents resentment from festering when conflict inevitably happens.
2. For 45 to 90 minutes we go around the table, with each person sharing any pertinent news regarding their responsibilities.
3. Participants are not to display mastery of the details of their areas of responsibility, but are to share and receive information that would be useful to the entire group. So each attendee is welcome to speak, but is not required to do so. There are no points for talking to hear one's own voice. Along the way problems are expected, mentioning them is encouraged, covering them up is intolerable.
4. At the end of the meeting, Giuliani says "okay, that's it," and the meeting adjourns.
Saying Thanks
Giuliani thinks it vital to go out of his way as many times as possible to thank the people who have done so much for New York City -- the prisons, fire houses, hospitals, police stations, and other institutions. One formal way he did so was a traditional New Year's Day "cookie run" where he delivered treats to those working that evening. One of the best parts of any leadership role is getting the chance to let people know how much their work means to you.
Starting Small with Success
Giuliani always looks for a clear, decisive victory as early as possible. Two examples:
1. Banishing infamous squeegee operators -- panhandlers who would walk up to a car, wipe the windshield, and then ask for payment with varying degrees of urgency/menace. While the estimate was a couple thousand of these people, there turned out to be only about 180 once action was taken.
2. Reducing hotel surtax from 6 to 5 percent (revenues actually rose).
3. Providing 4,000 file cabinets to Children's Services case workers, increasing organization such that children's lives wouldn't be jeopardized by the misfiling of a crucial document due to files being strewn about the floor.
Sweat the Small Stuff
A person who does this is open to micromanaging. But understanding how something works is not only a leader's responsibility. It also makes him or her better able to let people do their jobs.
I think that last sentence reveals another valuable lesson when making tough decisions: Focus on the greater good, over personal good. When Giuliani had to cancel a Manhattan street fair in the aftermath of 9/11, he gave this reasoning: (1) It lessens demand on police, who have better things to do right now, (2) it'll increase traffic in stores, which provide permanent jobs, (3) it reduces traffic while trying to get big clean-up vehicles in and out. The greater good of the store owners and victims of tragedy were emphasized.
Summary
Not every operation needs a morning meeting, but the emphasis on accountability is a remarkable lesson. I've recently heard the phrase "what gets measured, gets done" and it has application here. If progress is recorded daily, then it's more likely to emerge monthly. It also gives the leader the opportunity to understand the operation at a deeper level, and so to give thanks. We'll come up with small victories each year, because I'm confident that the list of possibilities is ample. We'll come up with metrics -- meaningful, non-cumbersome ones. I'll ask probing questions. And I'll make sure to thank people often!
Broken Windows
Giuliani's noted record of crime reduction is thanks in part to James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling's "Broken Windows" theory. By paying attention to "minor" infractions like aggressive panhandling, graffiti, and turnstile-jumping, then major felonies are reduced in the long run. By repairing broken windows, there's less inclination for a person to break the next one. In short, it's important to sweat the small stuff.
Case in point: On June 4, 1996 a man grabbed a piano teacher from behind and smashed her head into the ground repeatedly. The next night, he tackled a jogger, held her head by the ears and smashed it into the ground. A week later he beat to death a 65-year old woman as she arrived to open her dry cleaning shop.
How many more lives were damaged by this monster? None. The reason is that a few months earlier he'd been fingerprinted for a so-called small crime of jumping a turnstile. By "sweating the small stuff," justice was served.
I've heard the phrase "clean the corners" used to apply this principle in business and elsewhere. We set an exacting standard of excellence not for our own good, but for the greater good.
Case in point: On June 4, 1996 a man grabbed a piano teacher from behind and smashed her head into the ground repeatedly. The next night, he tackled a jogger, held her head by the ears and smashed it into the ground. A week later he beat to death a 65-year old woman as she arrived to open her dry cleaning shop.
How many more lives were damaged by this monster? None. The reason is that a few months earlier he'd been fingerprinted for a so-called small crime of jumping a turnstile. By "sweating the small stuff," justice was served.
I've heard the phrase "clean the corners" used to apply this principle in business and elsewhere. We set an exacting standard of excellence not for our own good, but for the greater good.
Tell a Vision
Giuliani says that "A leader must have a vision of where he wants to be next year, in five years, ten years, and beyond."
When he became mayor of New York City in 1994, the number of murders reduced from 1,946 to 1,561 -- nearly 20 percent. In his last year, that number was 642 -- a 67 percent decrease in eight years.
Visions take time, input and revision to form, they take discipline to follow, and they evolve over time. And they're worth it. As they say, if you've no goals then you've nothing to shoot for.
So today I followed Rudy's advice by adding a new Vision section to Hidden Blog. I'm very proud of it, as it's one of the best ever created with 10 minutes of thought. The seed's been planted, and the end of Country Joe's reign has been officially set. Off we go...
When he became mayor of New York City in 1994, the number of murders reduced from 1,946 to 1,561 -- nearly 20 percent. In his last year, that number was 642 -- a 67 percent decrease in eight years.
Visions take time, input and revision to form, they take discipline to follow, and they evolve over time. And they're worth it. As they say, if you've no goals then you've nothing to shoot for.
So today I followed Rudy's advice by adding a new Vision section to Hidden Blog. I'm very proud of it, as it's one of the best ever created with 10 minutes of thought. The seed's been planted, and the end of Country Joe's reign has been officially set. Off we go...
On Core
Giuliani's equation for great leadership action: Vision + Process, is anchored by core beliefs. To a great extent these beliefs are embedded in our character naturally. But Giuliani says that core beliefs of a leader must also emerge from reflection, study, prayer, and consultation with many people. Said again, public opinion is part of forming core beliefs, as it must be in any democracy. But public opinion must not dominate it.
Of late I'm intrigued by the YMCA classic youth basketball program. The reality of competition, and the benefits of practicing it in a mentoring environment, are things that I believe in strongly. YMCA states its core values as Honesty, Respect, Caring and Responsibility. The basketball program helps raise young children. The YMCA's mission is to put Christian principles into practice. In this affluent, heavily Christian, education-oriented city there are few ways to be more in tune with local public opinion than to invest in these!
Of late I'm intrigued by the YMCA classic youth basketball program. The reality of competition, and the benefits of practicing it in a mentoring environment, are things that I believe in strongly. YMCA states its core values as Honesty, Respect, Caring and Responsibility. The basketball program helps raise young children. The YMCA's mission is to put Christian principles into practice. In this affluent, heavily Christian, education-oriented city there are few ways to be more in tune with local public opinion than to invest in these!
An Equation of Great Leadership
I've admired Good to Great author Jim Collins' equation for the personality of great leaders: Humility + Persistence. Giuliani also notes that people need to see someone who is stronger than they are, but human too.
Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani discusses what I'd call an equation for the actions of great leaders: Vision + Process.
Put another way, a dream remains just that, until we come up with a means to make it happen. Consider Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. The vision of Americans being judged by the content of their character, and not the color of their skin, was a fine idea. But only after he pursued it with a process, in this case non-violent protest, did it begin to become a fine reality.
From personal experience, pursuit of a dream is tiring and expires unless it's connected to our deeply rooted core beliefs. Many beautiful visions lose their color once they mix with the sweat required to make it real. Continuing that unpleasant analogy just a bit longer, I think it's righteous to build homes for the poor. I feel the same way about playing basketball for exercise. But during only one of those activities do I barely notice the sweat on my brow after several hours. You've read in recent posts that Competition is my primary driver. Our true beliefs guide our actions.
Giuliani points out that Abe Lincoln understood this too, and anyone who's read the former president's speeches would see the same. Lincoln used to say that the test of one's Americanism was not one's family tree, but how much one believes in America. Lincoln believed in the Constitution. Giuliani lists his core beliefs as the power of optimism, accountability, and standing up to bullies. Once we understand what we believe, and if we can devise a process, then we can bring our own visions to life.
Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani discusses what I'd call an equation for the actions of great leaders: Vision + Process.
Put another way, a dream remains just that, until we come up with a means to make it happen. Consider Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. The vision of Americans being judged by the content of their character, and not the color of their skin, was a fine idea. But only after he pursued it with a process, in this case non-violent protest, did it begin to become a fine reality.
From personal experience, pursuit of a dream is tiring and expires unless it's connected to our deeply rooted core beliefs. Many beautiful visions lose their color once they mix with the sweat required to make it real. Continuing that unpleasant analogy just a bit longer, I think it's righteous to build homes for the poor. I feel the same way about playing basketball for exercise. But during only one of those activities do I barely notice the sweat on my brow after several hours. You've read in recent posts that Competition is my primary driver. Our true beliefs guide our actions.
Giuliani points out that Abe Lincoln understood this too, and anyone who's read the former president's speeches would see the same. Lincoln used to say that the test of one's Americanism was not one's family tree, but how much one believes in America. Lincoln believed in the Constitution. Giuliani lists his core beliefs as the power of optimism, accountability, and standing up to bullies. Once we understand what we believe, and if we can devise a process, then we can bring our own visions to life.
A Rudy Awakening
Dena and I made a trip out to Borders this weekend and I picked up a copy of Leadership, by presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani. Since it's generally a good idea for a president to have leadership skills, I decided to give it a read. I like it! You'll see a series of insights on Hidden Blog from the man who'd made a big improvement in New York City even before the 9/11 attacks.
"...in the United States of America, we solve our problems from strength, not weakness. We solve problems from optimism, not pessimism."
Those of you who've read about my Positivity ranking (Strengths: #2: Positivity) know that this is the right way to get my attention! Let's see what else he has to say.
"...in the United States of America, we solve our problems from strength, not weakness. We solve problems from optimism, not pessimism."
Those of you who've read about my Positivity ranking (Strengths: #2: Positivity) know that this is the right way to get my attention! Let's see what else he has to say.
Legion of Strength
I love the Superfriends theme song. Specifically, the Challenge of the Superfriends series pitted a band of superheroes against an equally sinister Legion of Doom consisting of 13 villains. By setting aside a handful of scientific truths every show (for example that a human body could travel the 92,955,820.5 miles from the earth to the sun in 5 minutes without turning to jello), each episode contained action, suspense, and the all-important happy ending.
http://members.aol.com/SprFriends/video.htm
When my friend Jason Woolever sent a note about his strengths (see his comment regarding strength #5), it came to light that he and I cover 9 of the 34 listed in the book Now, Discover Your Strengths.
http://www.amazon.com/Discover-Your-Strengths-Marcus-Buckingham/dp/0743201140
Somewhere out there, a band of you contain strengths in your top 5 that we don't. Join us, and together we will form a Legion of Strength. If we could find that 1970's Superfriends announcer, he'd say that we're
"...dedicated so a single objective: helping people to discover and apply their strengths."
Join us!
http://members.aol.com/SprFriends/video.htm
When my friend Jason Woolever sent a note about his strengths (see his comment regarding strength #5), it came to light that he and I cover 9 of the 34 listed in the book Now, Discover Your Strengths.
http://www.amazon.com/Discover-Your-Strengths-Marcus-Buckingham/dp/0743201140
Somewhere out there, a band of you contain strengths in your top 5 that we don't. Join us, and together we will form a Legion of Strength. If we could find that 1970's Superfriends announcer, he'd say that we're
"...dedicated so a single objective: helping people to discover and apply their strengths."
Join us!
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Strengths: #1: Competition
Competition is rooted in comparison. When you look at the world, you are instinctively aware of other people's performance. Their performance is the ultimate yardstick. No matter how hard you tried, no matter how worthy your intentions, if you reached your goal but did not outperform your peers, the achievement feels hollow. Like all competitors, you need other people. You need to compare. If you can compare, you can compete, and if you can compete, you can win. And when you win, there is no feeling quite like it. You like measurement because it facilitates comparisons. You like other competitors because they invigorate you. You like contests because they must produce a winner. You particularly like contests where you know you have the inside track to be the winner. Although you are gracious to your fellow competitors and even stoic in defeat, you don't compete for the fun of competing. You compete to win. Over time you will come to avoid contests where winning seems unlikely.
This is right on the mark. My happiness is boosted by victory -- convincing victory. It's why I play four sports in the summer, invest hours in winning fantasy sports leagues, and have won over 200 straight Madden football games. It's why I'm exploring a calling to basketball coaching as a way to maximize my strengths. And on the flip side, it's why I avoid competitive situations in marriage. In many places competition is destructive, and a relationship is the place for teamwork... win-win and not win-lose. Competition is a fact of life, and I strongly believe in the lessons of succeeding and failing with grace that come from it. The key is to channel it into the right corners. Country Joe, do you hear me?
This is right on the mark. My happiness is boosted by victory -- convincing victory. It's why I play four sports in the summer, invest hours in winning fantasy sports leagues, and have won over 200 straight Madden football games. It's why I'm exploring a calling to basketball coaching as a way to maximize my strengths. And on the flip side, it's why I avoid competitive situations in marriage. In many places competition is destructive, and a relationship is the place for teamwork... win-win and not win-lose. Competition is a fact of life, and I strongly believe in the lessons of succeeding and failing with grace that come from it. The key is to channel it into the right corners. Country Joe, do you hear me?
Strengths: #2: Positivity
You are generous with praise, quick to smile, and always on the lookout for the positive in the situation. Some call you lighthearted. Others just wish that their glass were as full as yours seems to be. But either way, people want to be around you. Their world looks better around you because your enthusiasm is contagious. Lacking your energy and optimism, some find their world drab with repetition or, worse, heavy with pressure. You seem to find a way to lighten their spirit. You inject drama into every project. You celebrate every achievement. You find ways to make everything more exciting and more vital. Some cynics may reject your energy, but you are rarely dragged down. Your Positivity won't allow it. Somehow you can't quite escape your conviction that it is good to be alive, that work can be fun, and that no matter what the setbacks, one must never lose one's sense of humor.
Although this is my #2, it's the one that I value the most. It makes a tiny corner of the world better. It lights a lamp in others that can fan out to everyone that they meet. It's a selfless quality by its nature. It makes a person physically healthier. And at this point, it's an ideal that I'd very much like to achieve and have a long way to go. Analytical and Contextual persons can be too anchored in the small failures of the past. My mind is like a bowl -- dirty water sloshes around inside of it until it's displaced by clean water. The faucet drips the dirty stuff, so it's up to me to find fresh gallons to pour in regularly. Someday I'll even succeed in fixing the faucet!
Although this is my #2, it's the one that I value the most. It makes a tiny corner of the world better. It lights a lamp in others that can fan out to everyone that they meet. It's a selfless quality by its nature. It makes a person physically healthier. And at this point, it's an ideal that I'd very much like to achieve and have a long way to go. Analytical and Contextual persons can be too anchored in the small failures of the past. My mind is like a bowl -- dirty water sloshes around inside of it until it's displaced by clean water. The faucet drips the dirty stuff, so it's up to me to find fresh gallons to pour in regularly. Someday I'll even succeed in fixing the faucet!
Strengths: #3: Maximizer
Excellence, not average, is your measure. Taking something from below average to slightly above average takes a great deal of effort and in your opinion is not very rewarding. Transforming something strong into something superb takes just as much effort but is much more thrilling. Strengths, whether yours or someone else's fascinate you. Like a diver after pearls, you search them out, watching for the telltale signs of a strength. A glimpse of untutored excellence, rapid learning, a skill mastered without recourse to steps -- all these are clues that a strength may be in play. And having found a strength, you feel compelled to nurture it, refine it, and stretch it toward excellence. You polish the pearl until it shines. This natural sorting of strengths means that others see you as discriminating. You choose to spend time with people who appreciate your particular strengths. Likewise, you are attracted to others who seem to have found and cultivated their own strengths. You tend to avoid those who want to fix you and make you well rounded. You don't want to spend your life bemoaning what you lack. Rather, you want to capitalize on the gifts with which you are blessed. It's more fun. It's more productive. And, counterintuitively, it is more demanding.
If you look at my house, you might disagree with "polish the pearl until it shines"! I am definitely attracted to achievers, though, and to those who want to improve. I see these people as having the right attitude, the one aspect of ourselves that we can control. Discrimination is a biting term, the softer view of it is this: We become better people when we surround ourselves with good people. Do you sense that the authors of the book are Maximizers?
If you look at my house, you might disagree with "polish the pearl until it shines"! I am definitely attracted to achievers, though, and to those who want to improve. I see these people as having the right attitude, the one aspect of ourselves that we can control. Discrimination is a biting term, the softer view of it is this: We become better people when we surround ourselves with good people. Do you sense that the authors of the book are Maximizers?
Strengths: #4: Context
You look back. You look back because that is where the answers lie. You look back to understand the present. From your vantage point the present is unstable, a confusing clamor of competing voices. It is only by casting your mind back to an earlier time, a time when the plans were being drawn up, that the present regains its stability. The earlier time was a simpler time. It was a time of blueprints. As you look back, you begin to see these blueprints emerge. You realize what the initial intentions were. These blueprints or intentions have since become so embellished that they are almost unrecognizable, but now this Context theme reveals them again. This understanding brings you confidence. No longer disoriented, you make better decisions because you sense the underlying structure. You become a better partner because you understand how your colleagues came to be who they are. And counter-intuitively you become wiser about the future because you saw its seeds being sown in the past. Faced with new people and new situations, it will take you a little time to orient yourself, but you must give yourself this time. You must discipline yourself to ask the questions and allow the blueprints to emerge because no matter what the situation, if you haven't seen the blueprints, you will have less confidence in your decisions.
This seems to fit well with Analytical. "Learn from your mistakes" is a prudent lesson, as is "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." On the other hand, the chase for newness is much more exciting, and in fact is necessary in order for progress. Context people will be at odds with risk-takers, and as long as each respects the upside of the other, then the team's better for it.
This seems to fit well with Analytical. "Learn from your mistakes" is a prudent lesson, as is "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." On the other hand, the chase for newness is much more exciting, and in fact is necessary in order for progress. Context people will be at odds with risk-takers, and as long as each respects the upside of the other, then the team's better for it.
Strengths: #5: Analytical
The book "Now, Discover Your Strengths" by Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton has been popular over the last couple of years. Grounded in over 2 million interviews done by the Gallup organization over the last 30 years, the price tag of $30 includes a multiple-choice survey that determines your top 5 strengths from among 34 "themes." The book also discusses the general theory of focusing on strengths rather than weaknesses (about 40 pages of this), followed by detailed descriptions of the 34 themes to help flush out your own nature. It also discusses how that theory applies to some famous people such as Warren Buffett.
Theories are mostly as good as the paper they're written on -- only we can truly know ourselves -- but it's interesting to get an outside perspective.
Without further delay, here is my number 5 theme/strength:
Analytical
Your Analytical theme challenges other people: "Prove it. Show me why what you are claiming is true." In the face of this kind of questioning some will find that their brilliant theories wither and die. For you, this is precisely the point. You do not necessarily want to destroy other people's ideas, but you do insist that their theories be sound. You see yourself as objective and dispassionate. You like data because they are value free. They have no agenda. Armed with these data, you search for patterns and connections. You want to understand how certain patterns affect one another. How do they combine? What is their outcome? Does this outcome fit with the theory being offered or the situation being confronted? These are your questions. You peel the layers back until, gradually, the root cause or causes are revealed. Others see you as logical and rigorous. Over time they will come to you in order to expose someone's "wishful thinking" or "clumsy thinking" to your refining mind. It is hoped that your analysis is never delivered too harshly. Otherwise, others may avoid you when that "wishful thinking" is their own.
This is probably appropriate as my #5. Data has its place in the world, but in my experience it isn't the complete solution to anything. Rigorous analysis can keep us from making tragic mistakes, but it can also annoy. Used wisely, it adds confidence and satisfaction. Used "harshly," or in such a way that makes one's intelligence seem more important than the common good, it's counterproductive.
Theories are mostly as good as the paper they're written on -- only we can truly know ourselves -- but it's interesting to get an outside perspective.
Without further delay, here is my number 5 theme/strength:
Analytical
Your Analytical theme challenges other people: "Prove it. Show me why what you are claiming is true." In the face of this kind of questioning some will find that their brilliant theories wither and die. For you, this is precisely the point. You do not necessarily want to destroy other people's ideas, but you do insist that their theories be sound. You see yourself as objective and dispassionate. You like data because they are value free. They have no agenda. Armed with these data, you search for patterns and connections. You want to understand how certain patterns affect one another. How do they combine? What is their outcome? Does this outcome fit with the theory being offered or the situation being confronted? These are your questions. You peel the layers back until, gradually, the root cause or causes are revealed. Others see you as logical and rigorous. Over time they will come to you in order to expose someone's "wishful thinking" or "clumsy thinking" to your refining mind. It is hoped that your analysis is never delivered too harshly. Otherwise, others may avoid you when that "wishful thinking" is their own.
This is probably appropriate as my #5. Data has its place in the world, but in my experience it isn't the complete solution to anything. Rigorous analysis can keep us from making tragic mistakes, but it can also annoy. Used wisely, it adds confidence and satisfaction. Used "harshly," or in such a way that makes one's intelligence seem more important than the common good, it's counterproductive.
Friday, September 7, 2007
Glory Road
Texas Western won the NCAA basketball championship in 1966, the first team to start five black players in the title game. If you want to know how well that went over, understand no one even bothered to bring out a ladder for the players to climb and cut the nets.
Nevil Shed had to hoist Willie Worsley up on his shoulders to do the honors.
And the traditional trip to appear on the "Ed Sullivan Show?" Yeah, that never happened either. Instead they got hate mail and death threats by the bucketful.
The Miners received a heroes welcome back in El Paso, Texas. They were the stuff of legend in some black communities. And in terms of changing the face of college athletics, they broke down racial barriers, particularly in the South, where teams and leagues were still all-white.
But for the most part, Texas Western's championship went off with little fan fare nationally and soon enough faded in memory. By the late 1970s, players would meet people and have to explain the entire thing.
"Some people knew but nothing like they would today," Shed said.
Which is what made their gathering Thursday for the ultimate of basketball honors, all that more incredible.
The men of Texas Western, the team that was once despised, then nearly forgotten (and certainly long underappreciated), will be enshrined Friday in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Forty-one years after they made history, history now has a place to always remember them.
WAITING GAME
The Hall of Fame is always about waiting. There is five year minimum after a playing career ends, and even then only the most select talents make it on the first ballot. Even great players have to sit and wonder if a new crop of voters will deem them worthy. Coaches meanwhile, continue to pad their resumes in an effort to gain entry, a lifetime's worth of work.
But maybe no one has waited like this team. In a basketball sense, they haven't done a single thing since March 19, 1966, when they upset Kentucky 72-66 to win the title.
And as profound as their historic and social impact was – "(they) literally got thousands and thousands of black kids scholarships to college," said Nolan Richardson, the former Arkansas coach – that was mostly accomplished by the mid-1970s.
Since then, nothing changed; except, of course, America.
What was once met with disdain, if not outright hostility, is now almost universally celebrated. What was once seen as an aberration is now understood.
Back then the coach, Don Haskins, was blackballed by the establishment for starting five blacks – imagine someone winning a NCAA title at age 36 and not receiving a single major conference job offer? Today he is hailed as a courageous icon.
Back then the players were hit with rumors and untrue news accounts about how they weren't real students or had criminal backgrounds. Today they are fathers and grandfathers, college graduates, each one having enjoyed an honest and successful life.
Back then the media attacked, most famously Sports Illustrated which claimed Haskins exploited the black players (it even ran an illustration of him stuffing a black kid into his shirt). Now the team is the toast of the country, treated to glowing accounts in newspapers, magazines and televisions specials.
Back then the NCAA immediately dispatched an investigator down to El Paso (he found no broken rules). In 2006, the same organization honored the team at halftime of its national championship game, exactly four decades after no one bothered with the ladder.
"Life moves on," said Shed. "Things change."
GETTING THEIR DUE
Even at the turn of this century, the story was painfully undertold. In 1998, I was working as a writer and editor for Basketball Times magazine when I first heard the story in detail. It was such a fascinating tale that I couldn't believe I hadn't heard it countless times before.
Intrigued, I went to El Paso and wrote about it and the Miners coach, Don Haskins. A few years later the two of us wrote the book "Glory Road," part of a wave of attention and recognition that grew so big it has stunned everyone on the team.
There was the Disney movie of the same name, two Wheaties boxes and an actual naming of a "Glory Road" in El Paso. The players have been hit up for media interviews ranging from local papers to national television.
President Bush hosted the team and their families at the White House for a screening of the film. The NCAA did its part. The team went to Europe to visit U.S. troops. Players, especially Shed, began making speeches around the country.
"It's strange, especially after all those years of not getting any notice or press for doing what we did," said Jerry Armstrong, a player who went on to become a championship high school coach in Missouri. "The momentum just grew and grew."
Even so, no one ever dared dream of the Hall of Fame. Haskins, who won 719 career games at Texas Western/UTEP had been enshrined in 1997. That seemed like it.
Then one night last year, Steve Tredennick, who played for Texas Western from 1962-65 and had become a representative for the 1966 team, was scanning the Hall's website. He noticed some entire teams had been enshrined, most recently the Harlem Globetrotters.
"I thought, 'well, what the heck?'" Tredennick said.
Tredennick is a bulldog of a Texas attorney, a man adept at making things happen. He immediately wrote an email to Hall president John Doleva, asking about the nomination process. Doleva wrote back the next day. Less than a year later the team was in, technically a first ballot choice after all.
"The players have deserved this for decades, I'm just thrilled," said Haskins, who won't attend the event in part beacuse of health and in part because he wants the focus to be on his players. "I've always gotten too much credit. I'm more excited about this than when I got in."
The question almost everyone asks is how did this team fly mostly under the national radar for nearly 40 years?
First, the immediate negative media attention was crushing. This was not treated as a great moment for America. The team dealt with articles that ranged from thinly veiled rips to out and out attacks, lies that stuck. "We were pariahs," Haskins said, who even at 77 wishes he could get his hands around the neck of a Sports Illustrated editor and "drag him through the weeds a little bit."
Then there was the sheer remoteness of El Paso, the West Texas town seven hours from any major media market. Even as the story stayed alive there, it only received sporadic national attention.
Finally there was America's appreciation for what had happened. That a team of blacks, whites and a Hispanic, led by a ferociously stubborn coach and playing for a diverse, progressive school, turned the sports world upside down with one single game.
"History is made when you don't know it's being made," Armstrong said.
FOND REMEMBRANCE
For their part, the players, now all in their 60s, are anything but bitter at the delay. They are embracing it, proud they are all going in together and making the most of the time that has passed.
"What's truly amazing is my kids and grandkids are around to appreciate everything the team did," said Armstrong, who like everyone else brought his entire extended family.
So they've gathered one more time, this time in Springfield. Old men full of youthful wonder, still a bit stunned they are joining the legends of the game. And, of course, they've brought along some bottles of old Scotch because after all these years no one is going to blame them for acting like college kids.
"It's like old times," Shed said. "The personalities haven't changed. But instead of talking about girls we say, 'Those knees look terrible.' Or, 'I take this medication. What pills do you take?'"
The only disappointment is the one missing player, Bobby Joe Hill, the team's star guard who passed away in 2002. It all came too late for him. His wife Tina (their romance was featured in the movie) and other family members, however, will be there, as proud as ever.
And so too will be a big, framed picture of him. His teammates have taken the picture of Bobby Joe everywhere during these past few years. It attended the Hollywood premiere. It traveled to Europe. It met President Bush. It got propped up at a mob-scene book signing in El Paso. It was held on center court of the RCA Dome, cheered by 60,000 fans.
"Our team is not a team without Bobby Joe's spirit," Shed said. "The closest I can get to having him with us is by carrying his picture."
And so Friday, he'll carry it, carry it right into the Hall of Fame, the most glorious and eternal of all the stops on this winding glory road.
Shed even promised to hoist it up high, just like he did with another teammate 41 years ago, back when not everyone was celebrating what these kids from Texas Western had just done.
Nevil Shed had to hoist Willie Worsley up on his shoulders to do the honors.
And the traditional trip to appear on the "Ed Sullivan Show?" Yeah, that never happened either. Instead they got hate mail and death threats by the bucketful.
The Miners received a heroes welcome back in El Paso, Texas. They were the stuff of legend in some black communities. And in terms of changing the face of college athletics, they broke down racial barriers, particularly in the South, where teams and leagues were still all-white.
But for the most part, Texas Western's championship went off with little fan fare nationally and soon enough faded in memory. By the late 1970s, players would meet people and have to explain the entire thing.
"Some people knew but nothing like they would today," Shed said.
Which is what made their gathering Thursday for the ultimate of basketball honors, all that more incredible.
The men of Texas Western, the team that was once despised, then nearly forgotten (and certainly long underappreciated), will be enshrined Friday in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Forty-one years after they made history, history now has a place to always remember them.
WAITING GAME
The Hall of Fame is always about waiting. There is five year minimum after a playing career ends, and even then only the most select talents make it on the first ballot. Even great players have to sit and wonder if a new crop of voters will deem them worthy. Coaches meanwhile, continue to pad their resumes in an effort to gain entry, a lifetime's worth of work.
But maybe no one has waited like this team. In a basketball sense, they haven't done a single thing since March 19, 1966, when they upset Kentucky 72-66 to win the title.
And as profound as their historic and social impact was – "(they) literally got thousands and thousands of black kids scholarships to college," said Nolan Richardson, the former Arkansas coach – that was mostly accomplished by the mid-1970s.
Since then, nothing changed; except, of course, America.
What was once met with disdain, if not outright hostility, is now almost universally celebrated. What was once seen as an aberration is now understood.
Back then the coach, Don Haskins, was blackballed by the establishment for starting five blacks – imagine someone winning a NCAA title at age 36 and not receiving a single major conference job offer? Today he is hailed as a courageous icon.
Back then the players were hit with rumors and untrue news accounts about how they weren't real students or had criminal backgrounds. Today they are fathers and grandfathers, college graduates, each one having enjoyed an honest and successful life.
Back then the media attacked, most famously Sports Illustrated which claimed Haskins exploited the black players (it even ran an illustration of him stuffing a black kid into his shirt). Now the team is the toast of the country, treated to glowing accounts in newspapers, magazines and televisions specials.
Back then the NCAA immediately dispatched an investigator down to El Paso (he found no broken rules). In 2006, the same organization honored the team at halftime of its national championship game, exactly four decades after no one bothered with the ladder.
"Life moves on," said Shed. "Things change."
GETTING THEIR DUE
Even at the turn of this century, the story was painfully undertold. In 1998, I was working as a writer and editor for Basketball Times magazine when I first heard the story in detail. It was such a fascinating tale that I couldn't believe I hadn't heard it countless times before.
Intrigued, I went to El Paso and wrote about it and the Miners coach, Don Haskins. A few years later the two of us wrote the book "Glory Road," part of a wave of attention and recognition that grew so big it has stunned everyone on the team.
There was the Disney movie of the same name, two Wheaties boxes and an actual naming of a "Glory Road" in El Paso. The players have been hit up for media interviews ranging from local papers to national television.
President Bush hosted the team and their families at the White House for a screening of the film. The NCAA did its part. The team went to Europe to visit U.S. troops. Players, especially Shed, began making speeches around the country.
"It's strange, especially after all those years of not getting any notice or press for doing what we did," said Jerry Armstrong, a player who went on to become a championship high school coach in Missouri. "The momentum just grew and grew."
Even so, no one ever dared dream of the Hall of Fame. Haskins, who won 719 career games at Texas Western/UTEP had been enshrined in 1997. That seemed like it.
Then one night last year, Steve Tredennick, who played for Texas Western from 1962-65 and had become a representative for the 1966 team, was scanning the Hall's website. He noticed some entire teams had been enshrined, most recently the Harlem Globetrotters.
"I thought, 'well, what the heck?'" Tredennick said.
Tredennick is a bulldog of a Texas attorney, a man adept at making things happen. He immediately wrote an email to Hall president John Doleva, asking about the nomination process. Doleva wrote back the next day. Less than a year later the team was in, technically a first ballot choice after all.
"The players have deserved this for decades, I'm just thrilled," said Haskins, who won't attend the event in part beacuse of health and in part because he wants the focus to be on his players. "I've always gotten too much credit. I'm more excited about this than when I got in."
The question almost everyone asks is how did this team fly mostly under the national radar for nearly 40 years?
First, the immediate negative media attention was crushing. This was not treated as a great moment for America. The team dealt with articles that ranged from thinly veiled rips to out and out attacks, lies that stuck. "We were pariahs," Haskins said, who even at 77 wishes he could get his hands around the neck of a Sports Illustrated editor and "drag him through the weeds a little bit."
Then there was the sheer remoteness of El Paso, the West Texas town seven hours from any major media market. Even as the story stayed alive there, it only received sporadic national attention.
Finally there was America's appreciation for what had happened. That a team of blacks, whites and a Hispanic, led by a ferociously stubborn coach and playing for a diverse, progressive school, turned the sports world upside down with one single game.
"History is made when you don't know it's being made," Armstrong said.
FOND REMEMBRANCE
For their part, the players, now all in their 60s, are anything but bitter at the delay. They are embracing it, proud they are all going in together and making the most of the time that has passed.
"What's truly amazing is my kids and grandkids are around to appreciate everything the team did," said Armstrong, who like everyone else brought his entire extended family.
So they've gathered one more time, this time in Springfield. Old men full of youthful wonder, still a bit stunned they are joining the legends of the game. And, of course, they've brought along some bottles of old Scotch because after all these years no one is going to blame them for acting like college kids.
"It's like old times," Shed said. "The personalities haven't changed. But instead of talking about girls we say, 'Those knees look terrible.' Or, 'I take this medication. What pills do you take?'"
The only disappointment is the one missing player, Bobby Joe Hill, the team's star guard who passed away in 2002. It all came too late for him. His wife Tina (their romance was featured in the movie) and other family members, however, will be there, as proud as ever.
And so too will be a big, framed picture of him. His teammates have taken the picture of Bobby Joe everywhere during these past few years. It attended the Hollywood premiere. It traveled to Europe. It met President Bush. It got propped up at a mob-scene book signing in El Paso. It was held on center court of the RCA Dome, cheered by 60,000 fans.
"Our team is not a team without Bobby Joe's spirit," Shed said. "The closest I can get to having him with us is by carrying his picture."
And so Friday, he'll carry it, carry it right into the Hall of Fame, the most glorious and eternal of all the stops on this winding glory road.
Shed even promised to hoist it up high, just like he did with another teammate 41 years ago, back when not everyone was celebrating what these kids from Texas Western had just done.
Monday, September 3, 2007
Join the Circus!
The orientation to Leadership McLean County's 2008 class is September 13, and the program's chair reserved 100 tickets to see the Great China Circus performing at U.S. Cellular Coliseum.
Being the competitor that I am, the idea of going to a circus held all the appeal of dish washing. In fact as a child I recall two occasions where I was so antsy to leave that Mom had no choice but to drag me out -- my 1st grade teacher's wedding, and Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus. At the time she said that she was never taking me to the circus again, which was the best gift I could've gotten. Surely the clown guild was pleased to have open seats reserved for true admirers.
But now I find increasing satisfaction in telling stories rather than counting victories (Note: Country Joe, top that story!). Sometimes I hear people talking about how quickly life is passing by... the work week, the summer, the year. These people can probably remember more easily the events of their school years, when time was separated into clean blocks with new groups of friends, new teachers, new buildings. Is time really accelerating, or have we simply greased our lives with sameness?
Variety's said to be the "spice of life." Maybe it's more than that. Maybe it's also the brake of life, allowing us to cruise through at a leisurely pace and relish the scenery.
Being the competitor that I am, the idea of going to a circus held all the appeal of dish washing. In fact as a child I recall two occasions where I was so antsy to leave that Mom had no choice but to drag me out -- my 1st grade teacher's wedding, and Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey Circus. At the time she said that she was never taking me to the circus again, which was the best gift I could've gotten. Surely the clown guild was pleased to have open seats reserved for true admirers.
But now I find increasing satisfaction in telling stories rather than counting victories (Note: Country Joe, top that story!). Sometimes I hear people talking about how quickly life is passing by... the work week, the summer, the year. These people can probably remember more easily the events of their school years, when time was separated into clean blocks with new groups of friends, new teachers, new buildings. Is time really accelerating, or have we simply greased our lives with sameness?
Variety's said to be the "spice of life." Maybe it's more than that. Maybe it's also the brake of life, allowing us to cruise through at a leisurely pace and relish the scenery.
Minor 49er, or Philosopher?
The San Francisco 49ers' new coach has a career 11-21 record in the NFL. His team is picked to finish third in a four-team race. The last quote in Sports Illustrated's season preview article is:
"That is what is exciting for me -- that while we're not there yet, we're getting there."
It's an off-the-cuff remark that could just as easily be the motto of a billion people. It's a restatement of humans' basic desire to grow. The maxim that hope springs eternal applies not only to sports, but to:
- the unemployed worker dreaming of a steady paycheck
- the disciple striving for eternity
- the executive chasing that next promotion
- the homeowner mowing the expansive lawn
- the teacher who just made a small breakthrough with a student
- the widower whose heartache's begun to heal
- the retiree searching for meaning
- the amputee who takes the first step with artificial limbs
The moment that we catch ourselves frowning is a fresh opportunity to check our goals and move toward better days ahead.
"That is what is exciting for me -- that while we're not there yet, we're getting there."
It's an off-the-cuff remark that could just as easily be the motto of a billion people. It's a restatement of humans' basic desire to grow. The maxim that hope springs eternal applies not only to sports, but to:
- the unemployed worker dreaming of a steady paycheck
- the disciple striving for eternity
- the executive chasing that next promotion
- the homeowner mowing the expansive lawn
- the teacher who just made a small breakthrough with a student
- the widower whose heartache's begun to heal
- the retiree searching for meaning
- the amputee who takes the first step with artificial limbs
The moment that we catch ourselves frowning is a fresh opportunity to check our goals and move toward better days ahead.
When Man Discovered Sunburn
I'll be the first cave man to get a really bad sunburn didn't get a wink of sleep that night. I mean, what the hell IS this??
Don't Read This Until Your Break, America!
Congratulations. Now get back to work!
---------------------------------------
GENEVA - American workers stay longer in the office, at the factory or on the farm than their counterparts in Europe and most other rich nations, and they produce more per person over the year.
They also get more done per hour than everyone but the Norwegians, according to a U.N. report released Monday, which said the United States "leads the world in labor productivity."
The average U.S. worker produces $63,885 of wealth per year, more than their counterparts in all other countries, the International Labor Organization said in its report. Ireland comes in second at $55,986, followed by Luxembourg at $55,641, Belgium at $55,235 and France at $54,609.
The productivity figure is found by dividing the country's gross domestic product by the number of people employed. The U.N. report is based on 2006 figures for many countries, or the most recent available.
Only part of the U.S. productivity growth, which has outpaced that of many other developed economies, can be explained by the longer hours Americans are putting in, the ILO said.
The U.S., according to the report, also beats all 27 nations in the European Union, Japan and Switzerland in the amount of wealth created per hour of work — a second key measure of productivity.
Norway, which is not an EU member, generates the most output per working hour, $37.99, a figure inflated by the country's billions of dollars in oil exports and high prices for goods at home. The U.S. is second at $35.63, about a half dollar ahead of third-place France.
Seven years ago, French workers produced over a dollar more on average than their American counterparts. The country led the U.S. in hourly productivity from 1994 to 2003.
The U.S. employee put in an average 1,804 hours of work in 2006, the report said. That compared with 1,407.1 hours for the Norwegian worker and 1,564.4 for the French.
It pales, however, in comparison with the annual hours worked per person in Asia, where seven economies — South Korea, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and Thailand — surpassed 2,200 average hours per worker. But those countries had lower productivity rates.
America's increased productivity "has to do with the ICT (information and communication technologies) revolution, with the way the U.S. organizes companies, with the high level of competition in the country, with the extension of trade and investment abroad," said Jose Manuel Salazar, the ILO's head of employment.
The ILO report warned that the widening of the gap between leaders such as the U.S. and poorer nations has been even more dramatic.
Laborers from regions such as southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have the potential to create more wealth but are being held back by a lack of investment in training, equipment and technology, the agency said.
In sub-Saharan Africa, workers are only about one-twelfth as productive as those in developed countries, the report said.
"The huge gap in productivity and wealth is cause for great concern," ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said, adding that it was important to raise productivity levels of the lowest-paid workers in the world's poorest countries.
China and other East Asian countries are catching up quickest with Western countries. Productivity in the region has doubled in the past decade and is accelerating faster than anywhere else, the report said.
But they still have a long way to go: Workers in East Asia are still only about one-fifth as productive as laborers in industrialized countries.
The vast differences among China's sectors tell part of the story. Whereas a Chinese industrial worker produces $12,642 worth of output — almost eight times more than in 1980 — a laborer in the farm and fisheries sector contributes a paltry $910 to gross domestic product.
The difference is much less pronounced in the United States, where a manufacturing employee produced an unprecedented $104,606 of value in 2005. An American farm laborer, meanwhile, created $52,585 worth of output, down 10 percent from seven years ago, when U.S. agricultural productivity peaked.
---------------------------------------
GENEVA - American workers stay longer in the office, at the factory or on the farm than their counterparts in Europe and most other rich nations, and they produce more per person over the year.
They also get more done per hour than everyone but the Norwegians, according to a U.N. report released Monday, which said the United States "leads the world in labor productivity."
The average U.S. worker produces $63,885 of wealth per year, more than their counterparts in all other countries, the International Labor Organization said in its report. Ireland comes in second at $55,986, followed by Luxembourg at $55,641, Belgium at $55,235 and France at $54,609.
The productivity figure is found by dividing the country's gross domestic product by the number of people employed. The U.N. report is based on 2006 figures for many countries, or the most recent available.
Only part of the U.S. productivity growth, which has outpaced that of many other developed economies, can be explained by the longer hours Americans are putting in, the ILO said.
The U.S., according to the report, also beats all 27 nations in the European Union, Japan and Switzerland in the amount of wealth created per hour of work — a second key measure of productivity.
Norway, which is not an EU member, generates the most output per working hour, $37.99, a figure inflated by the country's billions of dollars in oil exports and high prices for goods at home. The U.S. is second at $35.63, about a half dollar ahead of third-place France.
Seven years ago, French workers produced over a dollar more on average than their American counterparts. The country led the U.S. in hourly productivity from 1994 to 2003.
The U.S. employee put in an average 1,804 hours of work in 2006, the report said. That compared with 1,407.1 hours for the Norwegian worker and 1,564.4 for the French.
It pales, however, in comparison with the annual hours worked per person in Asia, where seven economies — South Korea, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia and Thailand — surpassed 2,200 average hours per worker. But those countries had lower productivity rates.
America's increased productivity "has to do with the ICT (information and communication technologies) revolution, with the way the U.S. organizes companies, with the high level of competition in the country, with the extension of trade and investment abroad," said Jose Manuel Salazar, the ILO's head of employment.
The ILO report warned that the widening of the gap between leaders such as the U.S. and poorer nations has been even more dramatic.
Laborers from regions such as southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have the potential to create more wealth but are being held back by a lack of investment in training, equipment and technology, the agency said.
In sub-Saharan Africa, workers are only about one-twelfth as productive as those in developed countries, the report said.
"The huge gap in productivity and wealth is cause for great concern," ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said, adding that it was important to raise productivity levels of the lowest-paid workers in the world's poorest countries.
China and other East Asian countries are catching up quickest with Western countries. Productivity in the region has doubled in the past decade and is accelerating faster than anywhere else, the report said.
But they still have a long way to go: Workers in East Asia are still only about one-fifth as productive as laborers in industrialized countries.
The vast differences among China's sectors tell part of the story. Whereas a Chinese industrial worker produces $12,642 worth of output — almost eight times more than in 1980 — a laborer in the farm and fisheries sector contributes a paltry $910 to gross domestic product.
The difference is much less pronounced in the United States, where a manufacturing employee produced an unprecedented $104,606 of value in 2005. An American farm laborer, meanwhile, created $52,585 worth of output, down 10 percent from seven years ago, when U.S. agricultural productivity peaked.
Sunday, September 2, 2007
A Slow Nukes Day
However small it might be, the world becomes a safer place when countries agree to eliminate all nuclear arms!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070902/pl_nm/korea_north_usa_dc_12
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070902/pl_nm/korea_north_usa_dc_12
Making a Monster Out of a Mole Hill
The author has a point. It's so easy to be distracted by the unimportant things!
http://www.theonion.com/content/opinion/this_monster_problem_is
http://www.theonion.com/content/opinion/this_monster_problem_is
A Historic Moment: Spud-Nik
This is great! The 20-year anniversary of an event I'd never heard of.
----------------------
On Aug. 31, 1987, Dave Bresnahan was the Michelangelo of potato sculpting. He sacrificed five fine tubers to the spud gods – death via peel – before settling on the correct shape. He drew red lines on the winner to simulate seams, only to see them erased by the potato's weeping. He wielded that peeler like a true artiste.
Because in order to pull off the greatest prank in baseball history, Bresnahan needed to shape a potato like a baseball.
"I went to Williamsport (Pa.) this past weekend to celebrate the anniversary," Bresnahan says today from his Arizona home, 20 years after he ended his career as a catcher for the Double-A Williamsport Bills by feigning to pick off an opponent at third base by chucking a potato into left field, then using the real baseball to tag the runner when he scurried home – a hidden-ball trick to end all hidden-ball tricks.
"They gave away bobbleheads. I'm holding a potato. There's one on eBay right now. A couple sold for over a hundred bucks this week. For kicks and giggles, I looked up what was selling for, and I'm crushing him.
"I really don't understand."
There really isn't much to understand. Baseball is a stately game, sometimes too serious for its own good. There are no end-zone dances, no tongue-wagging after dunks, no cha-cha lines following goals. Should Tommy Lasorda falling on his ample keister really constitute the apotheosis of baseball humor?
No, sir. To allow an idea so unique, so brilliant and so hilarious to fade into history's annals, then, would be disrespectful not only to the game but to the man who hatched the plan and executed it to perfection.
The tater plot started in the bullpen, sanctuary for baseball's bored. Relief pitchers pass the time by scoping out women or making up silly games involving sunflower seeds. As the .149-hitting backup, Bresnahan spent plenty of time in the 'pen, and he broached the idea that had cooked in his mind for years. John Stuart Mill would have been proud of the marketplace of ideas that commenced. A roll of tape would be too light, a rosin bag too fluffy.
"And then it came to me: a potato," Bresnahan says. "Mainly because it sounds funny."
Word filtered around the Bills' clubhouse about Bresnahan's plan, and with the team more than 20 games out of first place, it gave players something to anticipate. The schedule gave Bresnahan a perfect chance. He knew he would play at least one game against the Reading Phillies in an Aug. 31 doubleheader, and the Phillie Phanatic was showing up that day too, ensuring a big crowd.
A few games before potato day, Bresnahan caught a game against the Phillies. He tried to pick a runner off third base, the first piece of bait in his elaborate hornswoggle.
"There was a lot of premeditation in this," Bresnahan says. "I'm kind of anal that way. When I plan something out, I want to make sure the details are covered. In order for this to really work, I needed a guy on third with two outs. When I did it, all the guys on the field would hustle back into the dugout. That way if the umpire ruled against us, we'd have to run back out on the field. And then it's more dramatic."
Earlier that week, Bresnahan called major-league umpire Tim Tschida, a friend of a teammate, and asked how he would rule the potato play. Tschida said he would return the runner to third base, end of story. If it was good enough for Tschida, Bresnahan figured, it worked for him.
In the fifth inning, the time came. Two outs. Runner Rick Lundblade on third. Bresnahan told home-plate umpire Scott Potter the webbing of his glove had broken. Potter allowed him into the dugout, where a glove with the peeled potato waited. Teammates giggled. Bresnahan told them to shut up.
The potato remained in Bresnahan's glove until he called the pitch, an outside slider that had little chance of being put into play. During the windup, Bresnahan transferred the potato to his bare hand.
"It wasn't that bad a throw," Bresnahan says. "It was supposed to be bad. But it was smaller. It was moist. I was nervous. I came up firing. As I threw it, I said, 'Oh, no.' It was headed right toward his helmet. It just missed."
Third baseman Rob Swain, flummoxed by the good throw, tried to sell it by doing his best olé. The potato hit the ground and exploded into three pieces. Lundblade never saw it. He had started running home.
"I tagged him and showed him the ball, then rolled it to the mound and ran toward the dugout," Bresnahan says. "All my teammates buried their faces in their gloves and were laughing. They couldn't move. I told them to get off the field."
Behind the plate, Potter was confused. The third-base umpire ran into the outfield and retrieved the biggest chunk. "It's a (expletive) potato," he yelled to Potter.
"What are you doing?" Potter asked Bresnahan.
"It's just a joke," he replied.
Potter awarded Lundblade home and the scorekeeper charged Bresnahan with an error. Bresnahan wasn't ejected, but Williamsport manager Orlando Gomez yanked him from the game immediately and fined him $50. That night, celebrating over post-game beers, Bresnahan's teammates started a fund to pay the fine.
When Bresnahan showed up at the stadium the following day, Gomez called him in his office. Jeff Scott, farm director of Williamsport's parent team, the Cleveland Indians, was on the phone. Bresnahan knew Scott from their days in the Seattle organization. Scott laughed, told Bresnahan he was an idiot and said he needed to release him.
And thus ended Dave Bresnahan's baseball career. Though he did make one more trip that season to the ballpark. Later that day, Bresnahan returned from the grocery store with huge sacks of potatoes. He placed 50 of them on Gomez's desk.
"I'm always fearful that people think I'm a goofball," Bresnahan says. "I am a prankster. I've got a good sense of humor. But I love baseball.
"I'm a historian. I'm an old-fashioned guy. I've been a season-ticket holder for the Diamondbacks. I coach my kids. Everything I do counters what I'm known for, which is the damn potato."
Paul Harvey called because of the damn potato. So did Harry Caray and countless other baseball emissaries. Bresnahan remains revered in Japan, where, for the 10-year anniversary of the potato caper, a TV station flew him out. They asked him to wear his Bills uniform – "a 10-pound sausage," he says, "into a five-pound casing" – placed him on a throne and carried him through a smoke machine.
Every day someone reminds Bresnahan of the potato, whether at his job as a project manager for a company refurbishing an old Texas sugar plant or through a letter thanking him for bringing levity to a staid game. The potato itself is the prized possession of the Baseball Reliquary, the museum of oddities that displays it in a jar filled with denatured alcohol.
In January, Bresnahan spent a week at the Diamondbacks' fantasy camp. His fellow campers weren't interested in the vagaries of minor-league life or what it was like to play for Mike Hargrove in A ball. They wanted to know about the potato.
And when he told them about it, they laughed like hell.
----------------------
On Aug. 31, 1987, Dave Bresnahan was the Michelangelo of potato sculpting. He sacrificed five fine tubers to the spud gods – death via peel – before settling on the correct shape. He drew red lines on the winner to simulate seams, only to see them erased by the potato's weeping. He wielded that peeler like a true artiste.
Because in order to pull off the greatest prank in baseball history, Bresnahan needed to shape a potato like a baseball.
"I went to Williamsport (Pa.) this past weekend to celebrate the anniversary," Bresnahan says today from his Arizona home, 20 years after he ended his career as a catcher for the Double-A Williamsport Bills by feigning to pick off an opponent at third base by chucking a potato into left field, then using the real baseball to tag the runner when he scurried home – a hidden-ball trick to end all hidden-ball tricks.
"They gave away bobbleheads. I'm holding a potato. There's one on eBay right now. A couple sold for over a hundred bucks this week. For kicks and giggles, I looked up what was selling for, and I'm crushing him.
"I really don't understand."
There really isn't much to understand. Baseball is a stately game, sometimes too serious for its own good. There are no end-zone dances, no tongue-wagging after dunks, no cha-cha lines following goals. Should Tommy Lasorda falling on his ample keister really constitute the apotheosis of baseball humor?
No, sir. To allow an idea so unique, so brilliant and so hilarious to fade into history's annals, then, would be disrespectful not only to the game but to the man who hatched the plan and executed it to perfection.
The tater plot started in the bullpen, sanctuary for baseball's bored. Relief pitchers pass the time by scoping out women or making up silly games involving sunflower seeds. As the .149-hitting backup, Bresnahan spent plenty of time in the 'pen, and he broached the idea that had cooked in his mind for years. John Stuart Mill would have been proud of the marketplace of ideas that commenced. A roll of tape would be too light, a rosin bag too fluffy.
"And then it came to me: a potato," Bresnahan says. "Mainly because it sounds funny."
Word filtered around the Bills' clubhouse about Bresnahan's plan, and with the team more than 20 games out of first place, it gave players something to anticipate. The schedule gave Bresnahan a perfect chance. He knew he would play at least one game against the Reading Phillies in an Aug. 31 doubleheader, and the Phillie Phanatic was showing up that day too, ensuring a big crowd.
A few games before potato day, Bresnahan caught a game against the Phillies. He tried to pick a runner off third base, the first piece of bait in his elaborate hornswoggle.
"There was a lot of premeditation in this," Bresnahan says. "I'm kind of anal that way. When I plan something out, I want to make sure the details are covered. In order for this to really work, I needed a guy on third with two outs. When I did it, all the guys on the field would hustle back into the dugout. That way if the umpire ruled against us, we'd have to run back out on the field. And then it's more dramatic."
Earlier that week, Bresnahan called major-league umpire Tim Tschida, a friend of a teammate, and asked how he would rule the potato play. Tschida said he would return the runner to third base, end of story. If it was good enough for Tschida, Bresnahan figured, it worked for him.
In the fifth inning, the time came. Two outs. Runner Rick Lundblade on third. Bresnahan told home-plate umpire Scott Potter the webbing of his glove had broken. Potter allowed him into the dugout, where a glove with the peeled potato waited. Teammates giggled. Bresnahan told them to shut up.
The potato remained in Bresnahan's glove until he called the pitch, an outside slider that had little chance of being put into play. During the windup, Bresnahan transferred the potato to his bare hand.
"It wasn't that bad a throw," Bresnahan says. "It was supposed to be bad. But it was smaller. It was moist. I was nervous. I came up firing. As I threw it, I said, 'Oh, no.' It was headed right toward his helmet. It just missed."
Third baseman Rob Swain, flummoxed by the good throw, tried to sell it by doing his best olé. The potato hit the ground and exploded into three pieces. Lundblade never saw it. He had started running home.
"I tagged him and showed him the ball, then rolled it to the mound and ran toward the dugout," Bresnahan says. "All my teammates buried their faces in their gloves and were laughing. They couldn't move. I told them to get off the field."
Behind the plate, Potter was confused. The third-base umpire ran into the outfield and retrieved the biggest chunk. "It's a (expletive) potato," he yelled to Potter.
"What are you doing?" Potter asked Bresnahan.
"It's just a joke," he replied.
Potter awarded Lundblade home and the scorekeeper charged Bresnahan with an error. Bresnahan wasn't ejected, but Williamsport manager Orlando Gomez yanked him from the game immediately and fined him $50. That night, celebrating over post-game beers, Bresnahan's teammates started a fund to pay the fine.
When Bresnahan showed up at the stadium the following day, Gomez called him in his office. Jeff Scott, farm director of Williamsport's parent team, the Cleveland Indians, was on the phone. Bresnahan knew Scott from their days in the Seattle organization. Scott laughed, told Bresnahan he was an idiot and said he needed to release him.
And thus ended Dave Bresnahan's baseball career. Though he did make one more trip that season to the ballpark. Later that day, Bresnahan returned from the grocery store with huge sacks of potatoes. He placed 50 of them on Gomez's desk.
"I'm always fearful that people think I'm a goofball," Bresnahan says. "I am a prankster. I've got a good sense of humor. But I love baseball.
"I'm a historian. I'm an old-fashioned guy. I've been a season-ticket holder for the Diamondbacks. I coach my kids. Everything I do counters what I'm known for, which is the damn potato."
Paul Harvey called because of the damn potato. So did Harry Caray and countless other baseball emissaries. Bresnahan remains revered in Japan, where, for the 10-year anniversary of the potato caper, a TV station flew him out. They asked him to wear his Bills uniform – "a 10-pound sausage," he says, "into a five-pound casing" – placed him on a throne and carried him through a smoke machine.
Every day someone reminds Bresnahan of the potato, whether at his job as a project manager for a company refurbishing an old Texas sugar plant or through a letter thanking him for bringing levity to a staid game. The potato itself is the prized possession of the Baseball Reliquary, the museum of oddities that displays it in a jar filled with denatured alcohol.
In January, Bresnahan spent a week at the Diamondbacks' fantasy camp. His fellow campers weren't interested in the vagaries of minor-league life or what it was like to play for Mike Hargrove in A ball. They wanted to know about the potato.
And when he told them about it, they laughed like hell.
Saturday, September 1, 2007
The Best Post on the Internet
This thought ran through my head today:
"Good leadership, exhausted, gives way to slogans."
I often see advertising for companies with slogans so fantastic that the logical center of my brain starts to throb.
"Serving the best apple pie on the planet!" How did you manage to get hold of everyone? It's hard enough trying to get people to reply to voice mails, let alone making the plane trip from the peskier areas like Sudan.
"The leader in automotive services!" Does leader mean that you service the most cars, make the most money, have the highest customer satisfaction (if so, see "pie" above)? Does automotive services include scraping bug goo off the windshield (if so, I'm on my way).
Captains of industry, please help me out here. Give me something that's easy to trust. Maybe "Try our home made apple pie!" or "Servicing more cars than anyone in the county!" You guys are the ones making the big bucks. Invite me in for a focus group. After all, if I can build the best blog in the universe, I can certainly help build your market share.
"Good leadership, exhausted, gives way to slogans."
I often see advertising for companies with slogans so fantastic that the logical center of my brain starts to throb.
"Serving the best apple pie on the planet!" How did you manage to get hold of everyone? It's hard enough trying to get people to reply to voice mails, let alone making the plane trip from the peskier areas like Sudan.
"The leader in automotive services!" Does leader mean that you service the most cars, make the most money, have the highest customer satisfaction (if so, see "pie" above)? Does automotive services include scraping bug goo off the windshield (if so, I'm on my way).
Captains of industry, please help me out here. Give me something that's easy to trust. Maybe "Try our home made apple pie!" or "Servicing more cars than anyone in the county!" You guys are the ones making the big bucks. Invite me in for a focus group. After all, if I can build the best blog in the universe, I can certainly help build your market share.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)