Inventing New Tomorrows

I'm currently involved in strategic planning with a volunteer group I’m associated with. Most of us are of retirement age. All of us are invested in the success of the organization and have spent years supporting it with personal ideas, efforts and intellectual gifts.

Having spent 30 years or more in professional strategic planning consulting, it is interesting to sit on the other side of the dais. I’m a participant planner, not the head coach or facilitator. That job belongs to others. I observe the process and act within it as well.

The fit is OK but uncomfortable at times. I feel manipulated at times by the process. Did I do that with my clients?  Did they feel the same way? I can only hope they didn’t, but that is not likely accurate!

Luckily our group has others within it that have much group facilitation experience and planning expertise. We are rescued from dangerous abysses and circular logic. We are brought back to the path and wind up at the finish line whole. Whew! I wondered if we would ever get there!

But we did. Now; without ego involvements that almost destroyed the process several times. That’s the nature of working with retired executive types. They have decades of successful business and organizational achievement under their belts. And they are not the least bit bashful to share it. Some are curt and cutting. The air is poisoned occasionally by such offerings. But we move on anyway.

Outside the planning chamber we continue our operations as normal using the old protocols that will be soon challenged with new ones. Interesting to experience the juxtaposition of the old and new with colleagues unaware of the sort of thing we will be working with shortly. So we are drawing near a playing field on which the new and old will tussle some as transitions are worked out.

Some of us have been experimenting with the new for a while without letting others know. We are getting good results from the new ways. Not scientifically registered or analyzed but early indications are the new is promising. Outcomes in coaching and mentoring are slow to materialize; all we can go on is amicable relations with clients and their comfort with working through their entrepreneurial struggles. If they are good with it and a new business or a strengthened existing business results, we can mark that up as an outcome of the new process.

Doing something one way for years does not make it the best. It is only the most comfortable, until the new takes its place in the comfort fitting department. Then it will become ‘the way we always did it.’

I can only hope we get there sooner rather than later. There remains much to do and stretching our resources as far as we can with the growing client base we are attracting. That alone is a measure of our success I think. It is not a certainty but it is a hopeful sign.

Breaking free from the old to give the new a chance is always risky but refreshing as well. Perhaps even exciting? Yes. And that is an allure to try new things.

The future calls.

August 5, 2016

Frick and Frack

Fiddle Dee and Fiddle Dum. The old children's stories and fantasies. Opposites. The Jack Sprat could eat no fat and his Wife could eat no Lean. The thick and thin of things. You know what I mean. Opposites throughout our daily lives. They are not models of what the other could be, or warning, either. Opposites don’t warn us; they instruct us.

If you want a business person to administer your affairs and make decisions to add to your wealth, you look for a person with a set of skills and experience who can do that. You also observe his record of achievement. You are attempting to make a judgment on who can help you. Of course you will steer clear of people you think might harm your portfolio and assets. You weigh the options and get as much information as you can and then you make your decision.

I repeat, but then you make the decision. Doing nothing is a decision. Hiring one person over another is a decision. Firing someone who has not served you well is a decision. Decisions. Options to choose. Action to take in implementing the choice.

Very much like voting for one candidate over another. You gather the information you think applies, you compare the candidates, then you make a choice. You vote for one or the other. Or maybe you vote for a third person knowing that he or she cannot possibly win, but you felt you couldn’t in good conscience vote for either of the other two.

Of course there is the option of not voting at all. That would be a decision. It means, however, you are not involved in the decision over which candidate will win.

But I think there is another issue here, a fourth option, so to speak.

If your think both candidates are not worthy of your vote, I think you need to assess why you came to that conclusion. After all, there are two primary political parties in America. If you don’t like the candidate of your usual party, you need to ask how this came to be. Were you involved in the party beforehand? Did you know the ‘poor’ candidate was likely to be the party’s successful candidate at the end of the primary season? If you didn’t, why didn’t you understand this?

Now if you greatly distrust the opposing party, you will have some difficulty voting for their candidate. I get this. But this means you should have understood your own party even better. After all, if the opposing party’s candidate is abhorrent to you, you need to truly understand why such an awful candidate has appeared in your own party.

Politics is not private. It is public. It is the result of masses of people opting their philosophies and values. These things form amalgamations that have meaning and portent for the future. They are not mysteries. They are transparent and open to view through the entire process. Along the way some people may think things are not fair, but that’s a poor sport’s take on it. The truth is the system belongs to the people and the voters. If the results don’t fit your expectations or beliefs I suspect you failed your own party at some point.

Case in point: Trump is the republican nominee. Like it or not, he’s the choice of the party. If this is considered a mistake by you, then you have some homework to do and hopefully learn how to not let this happen ever again. Perhaps this will help the party pay closer attention to its members, and help them understand the educational process needed to keep people involved in the system and helping it work smoothly.

Obviously the republican party ran into some heavy problems this time around. But a study of the party’s history would inform students that this result was decades in the making. Allowing religions to get involved in party politics was a major goof back in the 1980’s. Allowing those same religious leaders to manipulate policy, candidate selections and agenda items is a continuation of the same goof.

Politics and religion don’t mix. Neither do government and religion. Witness the Middle East. Is that what you want for America? Whether you are Muslim, Christian or Jew, if your nation’s government heeds only your religious majority, then it becomes a Christian nation, a Muslim nation or a Jewish nation. None of those nations are successful or without serious violence.

America didn’t used to have political violence either. Now it does mainly because a bunch of people and one political party insists we are a Christian nation when we are not. We are a people of predominantly Christian faith or heritage upbringing. The truth is, however, that our nation has a huge portion of its population that is un-churched and non practicing of any religion. Another large segment of the population is of eastern or oriental faith systems. Many more keep faith with Islam or Judaism. Still tens of millions more favor one Christian sect over another. It is a chaotic milieu of spiritual thinking, espousing and practices.

This is not the stuff of peace and calm in government circles. Best to leave all of that behind. Keep it separate. The court system has attempted to do just that. The constitution favors no religion. The Founding Fathers themselves were more Deists than Christians. In fact their discussions were heavily weighted in avoiding the chasms and schisms of faith communities entirely. Just read Thomas Jefferson’s writings for that. Benjamin Franklin as well. And George Washington, the Adams families, and so on.

The Democrats give respect to religions and faith issues. They do not take sides, however.

Abortion and Gay issues have been made into wedge political issues by religionists. That’s why these issues are so hotly debated. One opponent feels their religious freedom is abridged if rights for abortion or gay people are granted. Nonsense. This is not a decision on religion. It is a decision on civil rights guaranteed by the constitution. The government makes these decisions, not churches or faith leaders. Simple. Keep it so.

The matter of conservative, liberal or middle of the road political philosophy is fair game for all of us to discuss. Please do not make monsters out of your opponents, however. It makes a fool of you and doesn’t help the discourse one little bit.

The current presidential election pits one know-nothing and inexperienced person in government affairs against someone who has studied law, history, governance and political philosophy. She has worked her entire career in several levels of government. She has made her life’s career service to others. She has not benefited from any of this work. Her enemies made her famous and a successful author of books and speaking engagements. That has made her wealthy compared with the rest of us. Same for her husband. An unintended effect I know but that’s what created the Clinton wealth.

They continue to raise funds for their foundation so charitable work benefiting all of society both domestic and foreign are beneficiaries of their work. Thank God for that work!

The other candidate has lined his own pockets at the expense of others his entire life. His kids are doing the same. And he got a starter gift from his wealthy father to begin his own career. Along his career path he has amassed some wealth that does not benefit others very much. Plus he has soaked investors and vendors alike for years with failures and bankruptcies several times. What he pays in taxes is still an open question. My bet is he pays very little, soaking the rest of us with games played with the tax code.

The same cannot be said of the Clintons.

So, if you don’t like the Clintons, say so. But if you feel they have broken the laws, then you owe it to all of us to point out the facts and case law where this is apt. Truth be told there is a long record of people attempting to find fault with the Clintons. They have not found anything yet. But that hasn’t stopped their tongues wagging.

Wanting it so doesn’t make it so.

Just ask Trump!

And voting for no one is you walking away from your democratic responsibilities. Shame!

August 4, 2016

Battling Cable

Let’s see now, our AT&T cable bill was $95 per month including taxes. This included our wi-fi computer internet service coupled with our wi-fi cable service. This was a special package rate that was up on July 17. Shortly thereafter we were notified that our service contract cost would be billed at $157 plus taxes, or $170 or so per month. We knew we couldn’t afford that so took action.

My plan was to cut the cable cord entirely. I would retain internet service as is, then buy an electronic TV antenna for hi definition signals of local stations. They say those things work well and that would keep us in network and news contact. We have a Netflix video streamer and pay $9.99 per month for that. It gives us access to unlimited streaming of a jillion shows or so (seems like it!). Many shows are series of things we really like such as HGTV programs, DIY and FYI shows. And a lot more – Chasing Classic Cars, cooking shows, and tons more.

So my thought was to go to basic cable, or none at all with the help of the electronic antenna with HD signals. Then the streamer. Then use the computer with a hook up to the TV screen for current shows unavailable except by cable. Many people tell me this is a workable solution and costs a tiny fraction of what we are now paying.

So, yesterday we called AT&T and went to town. Ended up again in the customer retention center (clever name, don’t you think?) and they did their best to retain us. In fact they did mainly because Rocky was staring me down hard to keep cable! If he isn’t on the computer he’s on the TV. So he needs cable he says.

So we cut our services and got another rate package and what was better and used to cost us $95 a month is now going to cost us $117 per month plus taxes. That should add another $10 or $12 per month.  $127 to $129. Still outrageous in my book.

This morning I received an email confirmation of my order. It will cost me $160 per month plus taxes. If I get a bill of that amount I’m not sure what I’ll do. I think their email was a mistake, so I printed it out and will confront them with the facts later if needed.

So, I did battle with the cable company and lost. And then I lost again. Is there no shame at AT&T? Or at any of the other cable companies as well? Here’s the deal: nearly all TV programming today is aimed at the lowest common denominator. I don’t live at that level of life, so I am offended by 80% of the programming and usually don’t watch it. I prefer doing something on the computer or reading an actual book with pages (what a concept!) or take a nap. I do a lot of volunteer work so I am not trapped at home with the boob tube. But there is only so much volunteer work I should do without losing control of my life as a whole. Rocky, on the other hand, doesn’t do that. All he has is a hobby and TV. Grontch!!

So HELP! What are the rest of you doing to control the cable monster?

I think we should have special cable rates for seniors. We can’t buy food, meds and cable. There are not enough dollars for that. It means we must be discerning consumers. I think cable should be cut to zero while we find another connection via the internet. I don’t care if the selection is few, just as long as the programs have value and intellectual content. I know I’m asking a lot, but hey, is this the greatest nation on earth or not?  By TV standards it is NOT! But that’s just my opinion.

Anyway, please share your secrets to controlling cable costs. I’m getting desperate here. My next move will be to keep internet service and cut cable to the public stations without DVR and HD. May have to do that yet.

Thanks for listening. Even more thanks if you actually share a workable idea!

August 3, 2016

Waiting / Getting Results

We’ve been going through a medical drama lately. It all began with Rocky getting a bad case of laryngitis. That was 11 weeks ago. Two and half months of difficult communications. Sometimes Rocky didn’t put in his hearing aids so in addition to gravelly speech similar to a bad mafia movie (Guido, you know?) he could not hear what I was saying so we were miscommunicating a lot.

Finally, we though it odd that laryngitis would last so long so we visited his GP who immediately said an ENT specialist was called for (Ear, Nose, Throat). An appointment was made and we welcomed yet another doctor into our lives.

Soon he was examining the throat, noted copious post nasal drip due to seasonal allergies, but then noted a swollen left chord and an inert right chord. So he requested two CT scans – one for neck soft tissue, and another for the upper chest to track the route of a nerve controlling his paralyzed vocal chord. The only rub was health insurance approvals and two CT scans were not approved; one first, then the second would follow if needed. The second scan was needed but more delays ensued.

Seems the ENT doctor felt Rocky should have an antibiotic to combat a minor infection causing one of the vocal chords to swell. Rocky was allergic to the meds so we returned for another prescription. That too was not accommodated by Rocky’s body and he began immediately to throw up and have a diarrhea. So on a Thursday morning at 2:20 we went to the emergency room. They diagnosed thrush caused by the two antibiotics that didn’t work. More meds for that condition and more discomfort. By Sunday Rocky was unable to swallow water or breathe easily. So off to the ER again, this time at 4 am.

This time the doctors felt the CT scans were needed immediately and had them done. ENT specialist was notified and he ordered an ultrasound imaging with a needle biopsy. More insurance company delays but finally the ultrasound was approved. The results indicated an internal nodule measuring 2.5 cm by 2.3 cm by 2.2 cm. For the novice the node is roughly 1 inch cubed. That is large enough to require a biopsy.

Back to the insurance company for approval. Got it. We are in the examining room with a doctor and two techs. I’ll let you know the results when we know. This is Thursday and we should know something by Monday afternoon.

From our meeting with the GP until today, 7 weeks have transpired. A long time to think about the unknown results that could mean a cancerous tumor requiring removal of the tumor if not a large portion of the thyroid gland. The waiting has been excruciating for Rocky. He doesn’t do well with medical issues anyway, so this was a major drama!

It goes back to a basic concern of cancer. Rocky’s brother died about 5 years ago from bile duct liver cancer, a fairly rare cancer but virulent. Joe was gone six months after diagnosis work was begun. That was a shock that Rocky is still dealing with.

So here we are waiting through yet another weekend for test results. At least this time we know that whether this time we know that whether benign or not, the tumor will be removed and mostly likely half the thyroid as well. If malignant we are told such tumors rarely spread beyond the one gland. Removing it removes all doubt about future cancer development from this instance. Removed and benign the pressure on the vocal chord nerve will be eliminated and the voice should return to normal.

So there you have it. Monday we should know where we stand. I’ll keep you posted.

And so Monday we waited for the results and received word that the tests were complete but the lab reports were not sent completely to the doctor. More delay. We were told to call Tuesday morning for the latest information. That is this morning as I write this blog. We will hopefully get the results before noon today and then I can post an update tomorrow and let you know the results.

Finally. Going on 12 or 13 weeks. Nice to know our medical community is considered the best in the world. But are we the best served community in the world?

August 2, 2016

Home Prices

I’ve said it before and I will say it yet again – We are seeking the new normal, not the return of the old normal. The old is gone forever; look for the new and make it happen as best we can and build upon it for the long term future.

Why am I saying this? Because I just read that housing prices have risen yet again and are nearly at an historic high.

And I say this is not true. Home prices depend solely on location. If the supply is low relative to demand prices will respond with a rise as well. New York metro area is an example. So too Washington DC. In fact, DC’s pricing rarely goes down because federal government as an industry is a growth industry, especially at its headquarters region. This is not true away from headquarters. A lot of chiefs and not enough Indians in DC; we all know this. But head bangers are what make the federal government go around so they move to DC, buy homes, create jobs, and that requires more homes. Prices thus rise.

Chicago is another story. Lots of changes going on in Chicago. Some areas are booming with an influx of new residents; if space is already tight with neighborhoods built out, then remodeling or tear-down-replace are the only options. Both are costly and prices rise. There are plenty of neighborhoods throughout Chicago and all of the suburbs where prices are still doing down or are so low they can’t go lower. The old normal is long gone and the new normal hasn’t visited these areas yet.

And the same is true all over the country following the exact same principles laid out above. Period.

Now re-read the reports on rising home prices. They are bunk. They are a scam designed to line the pockets of mortgage lenders and real estate people who are gaming gullible populations. Too bad; you would think these same people would understand exactly how we got into a nation and international mess because of the greed of mortgage lenders and mortgage bankers, and investment banks and real estate professionals. They were there when it happened. They were there trying to game the system for all the money they could.

The result was the second largest economic crash in the history of the USA. Only the great depression was larger. And for a time there it looked like we were in for a repeat of that. Only huge flexibility, suspension of legal penalties and a lot of compromise allowed the federal authorities to bail out the sick industries who caused this mess. We are past that now. But you would think we are entering a new bubble.

So they wish. Shame on them.

Condos and townhouses are still depressed. My old townhouse once was valued at nearly $280k; it was valued at $132k at the time of my bankruptcy. And the bank lost the capital they helped build out of nothing; so they reaped what they sowed. I paid all of my other bills and reaffirmed my auto loan. So no one else lost money from my BK.

I did not game the system. They gamed me.

I’m not happy about this but I am over it. I am happier with less and living a much better life than I was before. We don’t travel and we worry about bills and auto care and medical issues, but otherwise we are fine. 

Too bad the bulk of our population doesn’t understand this and learn to live with it. They would be so much happier. There would be much less drug and alcohol addiction, too.

Isn’t it time we called out the greedy people among us and asked them for an adjustment?

Meanwhile, let the rest of us read the tea leaves accurately and get down to what is really important. And that starts with other people, not the self. It takes valuing the simple and the everyday components of life, too.

Not a bad lesson to learn. It makes everything else so much more pleasant. And rewarding!

August 1, 2016

Making Sense of the Nonsensical

I’ve been waiting to use that title for a long time!  I’ve come close several times, but now seems like just the right time for it.

For example, we have mass shootings in America. However, violent crime is not running rampant in our country. No; it just seems like it with all the publicity focused on truly horrible, violent acts that are very out of the ordinary.  A shooting at a Gay nightclub is out of the ordinary; and it looked like it was a political statement against gay people; most likely it wasn't; rather the shooter was a misanthrope who was internally conflicted over his own gay feelings and tendencies. He is dead. We will never know for certain what motivated him to do what he did. At the end he sought publicity only and lent his name to Islamic extremism; most people do not feel that was his motive only a tangential urge to increase his notoriety when all was lost anyway.

Monday morning’s shooting at a teen nightclub is another example of hideous violence in a mass environment; we do not know the motivation yet; but teens? Why them? Why then? Why there? So many questions. So nonsensical an event.

And the killing of an entire family in Florida or in Utah, or in Oklahoma, or…you fill in the state’s name. These sort of things go on in the privacy of a community or family. Relationships sour and unformed minds of people stunted in their psychological development choose to do weird things that end in violence and not understandable to the rest of us.

How do we make any sense out of all of this?

And that’s just the violent stuff. How did our nation become so twisted that people who do not know history, do not follow facts, but do follow frustration and emotions, support somebody like Donald Trump for President? The man does not have the temperament to be the chief executive of a company, or a nation, let alone America. He can be the chief executive of a corporation that he owns outright. Who’s to argue against him and win that argument?

But in a political environment where others share his power in constitutionally formatted structures, he will not get along very well. Compromise is the key ingredient of all governance. All governance, even dictatorial ones. There are limits formal and informal that must be accommodated. But in a democracy those limits are law and ordered structures. The President does not have all power. There are checks and balances, and that is precisely why we have a trilateral form of government – Executive – Legislative – Judiciary. Even within each of these three there are checks and balances written into the structure and protocols. They are legal and sacrosanct.

Mr. Trump can bellow all he wants. He will not get his way in the halls of Congress or courts. Same for Hillary. She will have to earn her way with each issue within the cultures of each government social structure. And she is uniquely experienced to do just this kind of work. Whether you like it or not, Hillary is that person who can weather the storms of partisan politics. She has the experience to do so.

And that’s precisely why what a lot of people want to happen don’t get what they want. They are not the King of America. No one is. This is not a dictatorship. It is a democracy.

It is messy and at times not logical. But together we make decisions to live by. Best we learn how to better get along with each other and search for what we agree on and move forward from that vantage point.

Now, enough nonsense about parties and their missteps. Let’s focus on what matters most to America and work on that with great focus. If one party or another and its candidates don’t support your values or desired outcomes, then you know who to vote for. For the rest of us we have work to do. And you’d best leave us to it. Your survival and happiness rests on what we can accomplish.

Amen!

July 29, 2016

Disarray of Relationships

I’m retired and 73 years old. I worked from 1962 (part time during college) to 2006 when health issues consumed my time and made full time work impractical.

During my career – mostly at non-profit entities and mission-oriented organizations – I noted the use and reliance on interpersonal relationships. Most were functional and workable. Others were faulty and dysfunctional. Still others were dynamic, synergistic and creative. These are the ones I recall most fondly. Those relationships engaged me in the organization and drew me into the 'foundries' where ideas were made, tweaked and launched within the organization.

Such ideas were seminal in pressing the organization’s mission forward. Programs and operations improved with these ideas. Outcomes of our work improved as well. At the university students experienced more relevant education and developed their adult selves purposely and effectively. Years later we heard from many of those same students as they moved through their own careers and personal lives with success and forward thinking.

I also worked in organizations that had narrow views of themselves. They were there to do a job, make some money so the jobs remained in place, and otherwise didn’t push the organization to higher levels of success or optimal output. In such organizations the customer or end user was often tolerated and not valued. That kind of working environment is crushingly uninviting and thwarts personal growth. Best to leave it behind as a lost cause.

Later in life I began organizations to fulfill a needed social function. These were mostly public service and charitable organizations. Their importance in this discussion is two-fold. They clearly have a social value or mission that is pre-eminent for them; and they also have an all-volunteer working staff. Coordinating activities and operations of such a group relies mainly on interpersonal relationships and mission centrist values shared by all involved. That should make the work easy. Decidedly it was not easy!

Interpersonal relationships are difficult to manage on a continuing basis. On a transactional basis – have a task, get it done; it’s over – is sort of easy. But when these tasks are on-going and require dedication and enrichment of the end users, transactional relationships don’t work well. On-going longitudinal relationships are the key to maintaining structural wholeness and maintenance of mission delivery. Such is the norm for most organizations and their operations.

In a sense we are hoping to acquire a 'career resident' attitude among the volunteers when clearly they have a short-term, transitory relationship with the organization based on many personal interests not necessarily focused on the mission of our organization. So relationships are the critical element in operating successfully.

This is true for churches, too, and schools, and educational support groups. It is very true of long-term public interest groups like the NRA, Abortion Rights associations and Pro-Life groups, too.

Just think of political parties! These are fraught with many complexities – local, regional and national issues; candidates of the same territorial significance; party mission and party philosophy; shared and unshared values that are in conflict; and elections won and power shared in the final analysis.  Political parties are still voluntary regardless of the financial scope of their operations.

The current condition of American political parties is woeful. Both of them – the majors (republican and Democrat) – are in disarray. The republicans are waging war within the party on whether conservatism or practical-ism is the focus of its mission. This is a very unsettled element within this party. There are many Americans who feel disenfranchised by their candidates and political party. So they are speaking out and supporting candidates who are out of the norm. Witness Donald Trump. But witness the other 19 candidates who competed with him for the nomination. Most of them were products of mainstream political processes, but they were mostly not of the national presidential timber dictated by past presidential election cycles. Maybe one or two were mainstream; the rest were not.

And the republicans have to live with that and wonder how they can return to a more normal operational format in the future. For now they must deal with the Trumpist phenomenon.

And the Democrats: with Bernie Sanders too old to prevail in a campaign to the White House, and too liberal to be taken seriously in the halls of Congress let alone the White House (remember compromise is key to success in politics), the Democrats had to figure out how to incorporate Bernie Sanders’ message because much of what he talked about and supported is good material for the party to work on going forward. Is it included and embraced? I think yes in the main, but it won’t be readily apparent for some time as the Democrats wage a campaign to get a candidate elected to the White House.

Meanwhile we learn that the organizational structure of the party took some short cuts in decision making, internal lobbying and strategic thinking that appears to favor one candidate over another. Of course it did! That’s the nature of the organization. Same for the republican party. Who’s positioned to best win the election in question, and how do we make that happen? Bernie was not going to win that discussion; no way. Hillary was the best candidate to do that. You can disagree with that conclusion but history will always clash with any decision to support Bernie. It was not in the cards at this time and party leadership understood that.

Rigged? Pshaw! Not the right term to use. There is a process and a logical one, to follow. The party did and Hillary came out the nominee. Get over it. Now, unless you think Trump is the best candidate overall, get behind Hillary and win this election for all of us!

That’s what is in the best interest of the nation. And deep down you know it.

Going forward the Democrats have to accommodate a broad range of issues. Bernie’s issues are very important. So are Hillary’s. And so are a host of other issues begging for attention in our nation. There is much to do. Trouble is there is not enough time or money to attend to everything all at one time.

We must settle for what we can do best now and move on. Later, we can choose more issues to champion and work on.

Republicans have the same job to do.

Outside the two parties the rest of us have a lot of work to do. The primary position at issue is this: Are we a conservative, liberal or middle of the road nation politically? This is an age old issue and it is not settled. But the act of working on it and deciding it should not make enemies of our neighbors. We should be big enough to discuss the issues of the day without needing a gun strapped to our hip to make the point of who has power. And who doesn’t.

For me it is ideas, relationships and human values. My party of choice needs to focus on those things to get my support. And now you see why I’m a Democrat these days and not ‘the other.’

Thank God for that!

July 28, 2016