tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83277765405841365272024-02-24T23:29:32.180-08:00Moving ForwardJust like everyone else, I ramble. If ramblings are written down, does that make them philosophy?mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.comBlogger63125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-28641867939646950182018-11-20T16:28:00.001-08:002018-11-20T16:28:38.603-08:00We the People<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I have so
much to say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This may take several blogs
to finish.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then we’ll move on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Or not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The penalty,
in Minnesota, for first violation of an Order for Protection (OFP) may be
treated as a misdemeanor and may be supported by a bond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least this is the fact for a citizen of
the United States.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The penalty for the
very same violation by a permanent resident or registered Alien is deportation
with no appeal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, Permanent Residents
are still Aliens, at least for ten years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">In 1996, the
United States of America passed a major overhaul to the existing immigration
law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Below are a few of the changes that
were signed into law by then-president Bill Clinton.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"> 1)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">If an immigrant fails to report a
change of address to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services with ten
days, he or she can be deported.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"> 2)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">If an Alien purposely becomes a
public charge (welfare recipient) within five years of entry into the United
States. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"> 3)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The Attorney General has the right to
build a wall between the United States and Mexico.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
law already exists.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"> 4)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">An Alien can be held for two years
without release before being brought before an immigration board.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then the ‘alien’ has to pay for his own legal
representation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He is not provided an
attorney.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No bail needs to be assessed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is no provision for the assumption of
innocence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Get caught, we get to dump
your ass in jail and then we ship you back to your country of origin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"> 5)<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The commission of a crime of Domestic
Abuse is cause for deportation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">We posted my
employee’s bail on October 24, fifteen days after he was detained by ICE.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The day before that, he appeared before a
judge who said that he was lucky that so many people from his Church, his
employer and his children’s school had written letters on his behalf because
his case was shaky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">He was
detained because he violated an Order for Protection and pled guilty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His crime was to show up at his estranged
wife’s house, by her invitation, with flowers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She called the police.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
violation constitutes an act of Domestic Violence as defined by the 1996
immigration laws.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At his trial, he was
asked just one time (I have the transcript) if he realized that pleading guilty
(which he did on advice of a public defender) might result in deportation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was no discussion and his attorney
urged him to take the plea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The 1996
immigration laws are being enforced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
was held for deportation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Regardless of
the intent of his violation of the Order for Protection and regardless of the
way that the judge treated his guilty plea, which was to make it a misdemeanor
violation with two days of community service as his penalty, he committed an
act of Domestic Violence under Federal Immigration law.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The laws are not fair, nor were they written
with fairness in mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Immigrants are
Aliens, although I have never seen antennae on a single one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Immigrants have dignity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are afraid of Aliens.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
Constitution of the United States starts with “We, the People of the United
States…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It does not discuss the origin
of the People nor does it discuss the age, race or religion of those
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Constitution defines Voters,
Citizens and those who may become legislators.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Constitution says nothing about excluding anyone within this
country’s borders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have never seen the
version that says “We, the Citizens” or “We, the specially defined Interest
Group”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When I
posted the bail, the employee at the federal building asked how I knew
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I said that I was his
employer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She asked what he did for
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I answered that he is an
embroiderer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She paused for a
moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Is he really worth $10,000 to
you?” she asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">“Every one
of my employees is worth $10,000,” I replied.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Where we
used to have the scales of justice, we now have the railroad train of justice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once you are caught in the system, the train
just starts moving along, in one single direction and it is nearly impossible
to stop.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My employee
has a court date next June.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the
meantime, we are doing what we can to change the course of events.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He does not belong on this train.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, is not unique or alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are so many people caught up in this
system because, while we define ‘Illegal Aliens’ so well in our minds, we
really don’t have a clue what that actually means.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Done for
now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There will be more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do I sound angry?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yeah, maybe a bit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-56078604360916131142018-10-18T14:11:00.001-07:002018-10-18T14:11:19.806-07:00An open letter to our elected government<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I employ about 20 people at my embroidery company in
Eagan. The majority of them are
immigrants from Central and South America and from Cambodia. It might not surprise you to know that in the
25 years my company has been in business, we have found only a very few reliable
U.S.-born employees. Labor is hard to
come by, even when unemployment is high.
My experience has been that U.S. folks don't want to put that full day's
worth of work in that justifies their paycheck. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I work with immigrants.
I am a registered Republican but I do NOT agree with the rather
conservative policies that have promoted ICE treatment of our immigrant
population. I have recently had an
experience that I doubt you're aware of and I even doubt that you understand
just how awful ICE has become. You see,
they don't just pick up 'illegals' or 'undocumented aliens' in this country and
they don't use practices that would be remotely accepted if our police forces
were to use them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
ICE recently picked up one of my employees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was taken by them at 6 a.m. on Tuesday,
October 9.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I arrived at work, my
other employees told me that they were afraid the he had been kidnapped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His car doors were unlocked and his lunch was
still sitting inside his car.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I filed a
Missing Persons report with our local police and did not find out until late in
the day that ICE had taken him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
was no card, no note or notice and he had no opportunity even to secure his
possessions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> His children, who were due to be picked up by him, were not notified nor was their school. </span>Apparently ICE has the
ability to simply make people vanish without notice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My employee, who is now residing in the Elk River jail, has
legal documentation, a work permit and proof that he is applying for permanent
residency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has been arrested once for
DUI and sadly has a vindictive wife who is trying to get him arrested for
violation of OFP.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, the whole truth
has to be told.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>However, I know them
both and we have been working to help him get custody of his children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The estranged wife has indicated on many
occasions that she no longer wants to care for their three children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She does not work and cannot afford to feed
them, by the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My employee WAS their
sole means of support.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Until ICE took
him.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I work with immigrants all day long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My experience with ICE is short but I will
say that they do not represent me or my country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They seem to have been given a free hand to
do everything they can to frighten law abiding people who want nothing more
than the opportunity to do the jobs that others won't.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My Irish immigrant forefathers did the same
thing, were harassed for it and asked for not much more than equal
treatment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I ask the same for these
people.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Aside from the human aspect, think about the economic cost
that ICE is building.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It costs about $90 a day to keep a person in jail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, they do have to pay for outgoing
telephone calls, even if they are local.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They need to have someone on the outside with a credit card who can
accept the calls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But they don't get to
keep their phones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many phone numbers do
you happen to remember?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In my employee's case, he is the sole support for his three
children.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those children will most
likely become wards of the state (they are U.S. citizens).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The oldest is nine years old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can you guess the cost to raise three young
children when the state takes over?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Astronomical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s not even
consider the social cost since parenting is always suspect in that
situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The consequences to this country are far more costly than the cost of time
it would take to verify a person, ensure that they are not career criminals and
then help them to move forward with their applications for residency and,
ultimately, citizenship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is what
most want.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unfortunately, the government
where you represent me, doesn't care enough to do that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It's easier to send out a band of vigilantes
(ICE) to terrorize people who really are trying hard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In my estimation, Congress is failing the very people that
you supposedly represent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of them is
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I vote and </span>I will continue to write letters and
publicize my opinion regarding your complete and total failure to correct a
situation that most of us are asking to have
corrected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Got any plans to do something
about the immigration laws?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I hope that somehow you figure out how to
turn the plans into some sort of action.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Do NOT point fingers and tell me that ‘they’ won’t let us do
anything. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 25 years of business the
one thing that I have learned is that if a responsibility is given to me, a
result is expected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Excuses fall on very
deaf ears.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Several years ago I wrote to a republican representative in
the Minnesota house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I gave him some
research regarding the minimum wage laws and asked for him to consider them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His first response was to say “Well, the Democrats
are in control and there’s nothing I can do”.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I was infuriated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My reply was
that I voted for him and he represented me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I expected Something out of him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
very next week he was on television debating a Democratic representative.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, he did not get a lot done, but he did
something. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’d appreciate if you would do exactly that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Show me, your constituent, that you can come
up with a proposal, that you have an interest in what concerns me every single
day and please don’t send me an invitation to tour the White House or Senate
floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Been there, wasn’t
impressed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I want government, not a
bunch of people telling me what they are not capable of doing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-42951759497149113082018-09-21T10:56:00.005-07:002018-09-24T10:44:53.867-07:00For Nine Hundred a Month you’d think that…<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
I pay $900 per month for health insurance. For
that I get a high deductible followed by a thirty percent co-pay that eventually
tops out at $4,000 (in network). Most years
I don’t make the deductible amount because I’m afraid to go to the doctor. I believe that the word ‘deductible’ has come
to mean ‘bend over, this won’t hurt a bit.’</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I used my insurance this year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ankle surgery was necessary to correct
ligament and tendon damage due to ‘chronic ankle sprain’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It hurt to walk prior to the surgery and the
surgery to correct it hurt my pocketbook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A lot.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Twin Cities has a lot of good medical and surgical
options available and I opted for the surgical clinic that did my hip three
years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The clinic is affiliated with
all of the medical insurance plans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
called my insurance helpline to double check, though, just in case.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You’ll need a referral from your primary care provider,” they said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“But my insurance says that this clinic is in-network,” I
said.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“You have to switch to another primary care provider to have
the clinic actually BE in network,” they said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“But we can do that for you as of the
beginning of last month, no problem.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I went through the paperwork by phone and two days later had
another insurance card with my new network listed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The required primary care facility was over
an hour away from my home and I did not think to call them for an
appointment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve always seen a doctor
at a clinic near where I live.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I scheduled my surgery and necessary pre-operation physical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The physical came first. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>According to new standards, I now have high
blood pressure. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Actually, my BP is about
the same as it used to be but they lowered the range of acceptable and I now
fall on the high side of the scale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My
doctor looked at her online iPad which told her that I need to be on some sort
of med because I am 64 years old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Having
a tantrum did me no good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I bought the prescription.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
After a return trip to check on my blood pressure, which
went low enough after taking the prescription to actually put me to sleep, I
was declared fit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The surgery was done
and I was out of the clinic in a couple of hours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I looked forward to an uncomfortable and long
recovery.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The bills started to arrive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I paid my portion of the bills and watched as I neared the $4,000 out-of-pocket
costs. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One invoice was listed as out of
network but I didn’t question it since it was for my pre-op physical.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘Big
deal’ I thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At least that was okay until I had my colonoscopy that had
been referred by my local pre-op doctor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Suddenly I owed more than a thousand dollars over the deductible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I called my insurance company.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I questioned their billing tactics and yelled
at the first actual person who answered the phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even my prescription-controlled blood pressure
blew up.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Insurance companies hire really good and patient customer service
reps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe about thirty percent of
my premiums go toward their salaries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Insurers
know that every claim that is denied will be disputed by irate, nearly bankrupt
old people who probably didn’t follow the instructions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The rep’s job is to sympathize and empathize
and agree with us that the system sucks completely and that someone should go
after those execs who write the stupid policies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Those guys are good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
calmed down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I relied on their expertise
to fix whatever problem had occurred.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
have no idea what happened or how the problem got resolved but I now have a new
primary care clinic that actually allows me to go to the doctor I already
see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What a relief!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A few days later, I received a complaint form in my
email.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It requested that I detail the
issues and asked if I wouldn’t mind making suggestions as to how to fix the issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Basically, it said “You whined and now we
want you to formalize the whining.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I couldn’t remember the problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently those same customer service reps
have the power to make one forget everything that happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I deleted the form.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I also received one in the mail, just in case
I had deleted the email form.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This extra
expense probably accounts for another ten percent of my insurance premiums.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I always try to make a point with my little essays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here’s today’s lesson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We have managed to screw up our healthcare system, our
insurance system and the doctors who are supposed to take care of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It now costs more than ever (and, by the way,
my insurance went up by six percent this year… it did NOT go down as was
propagandized) to insure ourselves and we are afraid of going to the doctor
because the premiums and deductibles are so high.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Somehow, though, the insurance companies have made
themselves more powerful, more able and more a part of our lives than
ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have to ask the health insurance
companies for permission to go see doctors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It doesn’t always seem that way, but when we have a problem, we are guided
toward the right places by patient advisors who make us feel lucky that we met
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While we do our best to care for
ourselves, we are becoming fully dependent on someone else to tell us how we
are actually allowed to care for ourselves, what specialists we can see and
when.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There may be a good result in some ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe the insurance companies will guide us
toward losing weight and ultimately be our perfect caretakers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wonder how much of a premium I’d have to pay
for that kind of service? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Gotta go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have to call
my customer service rep and ask for some investment recommendations.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-12691508746743350402018-08-28T13:51:00.000-07:002018-08-28T13:51:03.548-07:00Are we done yet?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">A friend and I were discussing the Bible recently. </span>I wondered why nothing has been
added to it in so many centuries and suggested that perhaps it was time for
another chapter or two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She told me that
it was complete as written and that there was nothing left to add.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I said that I found this hard to
believe, her response was that everything from the beginning of time until the
End Times is included, forecast and chronicled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s all we need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There is nothing more to tell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Progress is
an interesting phenomenon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Take a somewhat
closer look at the last two thousand years and you’ll find that humanity and
society have made tremendous leaps in science or technology or philosophy at a
few points in our known history and also have shown absolute stagnation a few
times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We had the Dark Ages followed by
the Industrial Revolution. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Most
recently, the invention and development of computers and telephone technology
has proceeded at a very fast rate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
were several years during the 1990’s when I was hesitant to buy a computer
because every few months there was a new model that made everything else
obsolete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Changes happened so fast that
by the time I’d get a computer home I had a compelling reason to go buy the
next generation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Technological
innovation is geared toward making our lives easier.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Windows started out as a clunky, horrible
program and has evolved, like Apple’s operating system, into a self-teaching
set of interactive programs that make it simple for us to get any information
we need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spreadsheet work is intuitive
and spell-check handles not only our spelling errors but even some of our
grammatical mistakes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Phones are just
simply amazing today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Here’s the
thing, though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are getting to the
point where we have just about everything that we want.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>New cell phones advertise ‘Better Cameras and
More Pixels!’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most other improvements
are not at all earth shattering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just
traded my eight-year-old laptop on a newer model and see very little change in
the operation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Technological change is
slowing down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">My personal
observation is that when you provide a certain level of comfort to a person or
group of people, they stop looking for more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At some point, it requires ‘too much effort’ to improve something that
already does most of what you want it to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I used to be
very excited about the very cool stuff we were going to have, according to all
of my favorite Sci Fi authors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Heinlein,
Asimov and many of the others worked very hard to project advancement to a
point where they could create believable futures.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those futures had flying cars, advanced limb
regenerators and all sorts of matter transmitters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was completely absorbed with the fantastic
but realistic future we were going to have. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Science
Fiction has changed a lot since I first started reading it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It doesn’t seem as much like fictional
science and it really shares a lot in common with what we used to call fantasy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wonder if this means that writers
themselves are not able to look into a farther future and make further
predictions about where we are headed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Most
importantly, these very same writers today are something of an indication that we’re
already there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Development is
slowing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Engineers are needed but the
call for actual scientists is on the wane and in many cases, we talk quietly
about what ‘real science actually means and ask what happened to peer
review.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I worry
about that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Humanity should be
curious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should want to know
everything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We should always be
challenged by the things that we don’t have and by the future that we don’t
know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we actually lose that momentum,
we stagnate and the Bible won’t require another chapter at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll hit End Times pretty quickly and will
disappear without so much as a whimper.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Wow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s depressing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m going back to dreaming some more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-42370433685371724242018-07-27T11:32:00.004-07:002018-07-27T11:32:39.374-07:00The Hard Sell<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">After
graduating college I was hired as a department manager for a large retail chain
that no longer exists.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Our store was not
terribly successful so we experienced a certain amount of manager
turnover.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">During my
final week as a department manager, we welcomed a new general store manager who
viewed credit card applications as a road to success.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hated asking customers for them and the new
store manager saw that as a complete failing on my part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It led to my immediate demotion to commission
sales in the appliance department at a different store.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
transition was pretty easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I learned
how to recognize buyers versus browsers and I learned how to sell appliances
that I had never used and couldn’t possibly afford.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was really fun.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The
competition in that department was fierce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There were usually three or four people on the floor hunting for customers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The goal was to snag a buyer and then wall
them off from the rest of the sales crew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We all developed our own techniques for doing this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a daily competition that only the truly
hungry could survive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I learned a
lot about closing sales during that time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>First, I learned how to read reactions to statements about price,
delivery and product.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Second, in order
to sell something, you needed a person’s full attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the customer likes you, they listen to
you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They also are much more likely to
buy from you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The third
thing I learned was that if I had to stop in the middle of a sale to ask
someone else a question about a product, or if I had to glance at the owner’s manual,
the sale was almost always lost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
would be no more customer when I got back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Worse, someone else would step in, ‘help me out’ and take the sale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I spent time
studying the washers, driers, stoves and refrigerators I was selling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I learned how long a cycle took, how much
water was consumed and how much power each one used.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When customers asked questions, they could
count on my confident answers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sales
were easy and upsells were absolutely assured.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Today, I
spend a lot of time talking with salespeople about the best way to adjust logos
for embroidery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I try to suggest alternatives
and edits when possible in order to get the logos to sew most accurately and
clearly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few of my customers pay
attention and when they move on to their next customer, they apply what they
have learned in order to advise the new buyer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They tend to close their sales much more quickly and profitably.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their customers generally have more realistic
expectations of the appearance of their apparel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sales are faster and smoother and ultimately
very profitable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They take the time to
learn their product.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">On the
converse are those salespeople that send a design with no instructions and who
expect me to just know what the right answers will be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the one hand, this allows them to slide
away from any responsibility regarding design or quality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they can blame mistakes on the decorator, they
never lose any money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the other hand,
they are not keeping their customer’s attention, they are not closing the sale
and they are certainly not going to get value added sales.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The sales
profession is a tough one in many regards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It requires a very tough skin and a willingness to have doors slammed
shut.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beyond that, a little bit of
knowledge and the willingness to advise a customer, ask questions and show some
interest in what they are selling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I learned to
sell things a long time ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our culture
has changed a lot since I started selling and yet the process remains pretty
much unchanged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The very best salespeople
make their customers into experts, provide them with honest information and
deliver as promised.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In order to do
this, those very same salespeople have to know their product, advise their
customers and have a genuine interest in what they are selling and to
whom.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Of course it’s
much easier to take no interest and rely on someone else to do your
thinking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just don’t understand where
that could be a very fulfilling way to pass the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-8536197094853935282018-06-22T12:05:00.001-07:002018-07-13T09:25:34.934-07:00Who's there?<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We have been
so busy making every child college ready that we neglected to provide those
budding managers with one important thing.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">
</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We forgot to make sure that there were enough working employees who
could be managed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I have had a
help-wanted ad on Craigslist for the past couple of weeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have hired three people, interviewed ten
and left dozens of messages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of the
three people that were hired, one worked three weeks, missed four days and sent
a text on the fourth of his missed days saying that he got this incredible job
offer and wouldn’t be returning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The second
came in for one day, cost us over $200 in incorrectly addressed shipments, left
for lunch the following day and sent a text saying that “The job does not meet
with my expectations.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, that is an
exact word for word quote.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The third
accepted an offer on a Thursday and told us that he would be in the following Monday
morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And on Monday he was a no show,
no phone call, no message, I couldn’t even get an answer from his
references.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I learned
that ‘ghost’ has become a verb.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
means, “I am gone, disappeared and not available.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I won’t answer your texts, calls or emails
and I’m going to pretend that you can’t even see me.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look for it next year in Webster’s.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">One of the
interviewees was asked back for a second interview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She sent an email on the Sunday before her
Monday second interview saying that her car was broken and she needed to take
it in on Monday so would not be able to make her appointment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sent an email back and tried phoning on
that Monday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another ghost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Who does
this shit?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Really.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who does this?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I have a
theory of course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It starts with
us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is ‘us’ the older
generation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The blame rests on us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see, we’re getting older and soon enough
will be dependent on the kids.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Our
government has done a fabulous job of scaring the hell out of the youngsters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Baby boomers are retiring and the shrinking
population of laboring children has to support them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Social security is a big tax and may not be
around forever (according to our government) and yet all those poor children
still have to pay into the system.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is
a huge burden.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So yes, we older folks
caused the problem.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I have a
couple of comments about how the younger generation is handling this issue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">At least
half of you have never learned the value of showing up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m not kidding about the half, either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I recently discussed the situation with a
temp personnel agency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The operations
manager said that his agency had reduced the number of interviewee no-shows
from fifty percent to thirty percent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
was proud of his agency for having done so well!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Showing up
is a lot of the job, by the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If you
did that, you might discover the value of working.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least you might discover that the income
you generate pays for your stuff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Otherwise,
where the hell do you get your stuff?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After
all, your parents eventually stop paying for everything although a lot of them
seem to be involved in paying off your student loans.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I suppose that’s okay, though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After all, they are the ones who worked so
hard to make you college ready and then prepared you for that cushy job you
didn’t get.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Oh, another
thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More than a few of us old people
realize that the burden you carry is tough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You have no guarantees about retirement or pensions and the companies
you work for don’t offer them these days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We have been watching the news and we realize that you might benefit
from our experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More than a few of
us want to help and we find it disconcerting that you ignore us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m talking about your grandparents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your parents, who taught you that it’s okay
not to show up, need to be put into a corner for a time out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">While you
are busy not showing up, the government is busy taking over your life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you realize that each time you step away
from the process, someone steps in and limits your reentry?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The door gets narrower each time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pretty soon, you’ll be wondering how in the
hell you found your way into the jail that your life has become.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Look, I
realize that all the good jobs are taken.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There are no more CEO positions out there and the chairs with footstools
are all gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You don’t get a bonus for showing up at an
interview and you also don’t get applauded for coming to work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, someone may tell you that your work
needs improvement or, heaven forfend, you are not getting the job done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those are all good things, by the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They mean that someone is paying attention to
you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Okay, I’ve
said my piece.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Time to move on and write
something for next time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See you at
work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-21059435028358453102017-08-28T12:24:00.000-07:002017-08-28T12:24:53.778-07:00I have no words<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ve been
struggling for the past two months to write a blog on expectations. I’ll finish that one sooner or later. In the meantime I was just handed a subject
for a blog last Friday. It was dressed
in a tuxedo, given a brand new haircut and freshly shaved. In short, it was quite the beautiful subject.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Team Mates
is in an industrial building. We are
located on an easy access road and have enjoyed our last 11 years, growing at a
fairly average but successful rate during that time. We are not a glamorous business. At present, we employ 22 wonderful people and
me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A new
taproom moved next door to us a year ago Friday. They sell their own beer and have made quite
the hit in town. I met the owner early
on and he’s a great guy. The head brewer
also is a wonderful person and overall, I know they put a lot of effort into
their beer and promotions. This week,
they are celebrating their first anniversary.
They did a charity golf event today and have big plans for the whole
weekend. Great marketing is a good
thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The result
of this is that the parking lot around our complex started to fill up early on
Friday morning. We, as next door
neighbors, have three permanent signs that say “Team Mates Parking only from
8AM until 6 PM” in front of three spaces, right in front of our offices. These are reserved for customers who arrive
to pick up their goods each day, or come to consult on embroidery issues that
they have. While we aren’t retail, we do
have a fair number of visitors. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Friday was
quite the madhouse next door and as a result, all of the parking spaces near
the taproom were occupied. People
actually had to walk around the building to get to their watering hole of
choice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This led to
people wanting to park in our three marked spots. Mostly, they arrived late in the afternoon, around
4:30 which is very near the end of our work day. I watched several start to pull into our
spots and then back right out. Finally,
one car pulled in, stayed for a moment, apparently reading the sign, and then
two younger people got out of the car and locked it. They looked at a couple of us in the office,
turned and walked to the taproom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Okay, I’ll
admit. It made me angry to see someone
completely ignore the signs. I dashed
off a quick note, saying “Do you have trouble reading? Did you notice the people who were looking at
you from the office window in front of you?
The sign says “No Parking”.” I’ll
admit. My anger forced me to name
calling. I wrote “Ass hat” and put the
note on the guy’s windshield.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The couple
came out to their car about a half hour later.
I was getting ready to leave, went to check the shop area and finally
locked up and walked out. My truck was
parked next to their car. They waited
for me to finish closing up the shop. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Did you
leave that note on my car?” asked the young male. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“I did,” I
replied. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“My daughter
was in that car and she could read it,” he said very angrily. The car doors were open at that point, so his
daughter could hear the conversation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Okay,” I
said. No, I’m not the best at
confrontation. I don’t think that
quickly and really didn’t want to see him start around the car as he did. “There is a sign that says that this is
reserved,” I said quietly as I put my bag into my truck. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He stopped
in front of his car. “It’s not my fault
that your business is so irrelevant that no cars are parked in front of it,” he
said, still angry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I was
speechless, could do nothing more than put my workout bag into the truck. He was not done and I muttered “You don’t
want to fight.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He wasn’t
done. “You don’t get to do that, you fat
fuck!” he shouted. Oh, the door was
still open and his daughter, who had been locked in the car while he was inside
the taproom, heard his tirade. His
girlfriend joined in and called me names as well. All I could do was mutter, “Wow, words hurt.” I should have been on my game. Ah, well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He popped
into his car as I quietly put the rest of my gear away. Finally, he and his young girl friend got
into the car and pulled away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For my part,
I guess I’m just slow. I really didn’t
see that one coming. I guess I’m
supposed to be hurt. Irrelevant? Do they teach those words still? Does he understand the meaning? And of course I’m overweight. I sit at a desk a lot, even though I work out
really hard twice a week, ride a horse, throw hay. I like those activities. Oh, last week when I turned 63, the 22 year
old who worked out with me was comatose when I went back to work. But yeah, I’m overweight. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I won’t
stereotype. They were young. I’m slow and not one for debates. I need to ask the obvious, though. “Did you know that it’s illegal to leave a
child locked and alone in a car?” or “If your daughter was able to read my
handwritten note, did she also read the sign that says No Parking? Maybe she could have helped you sound out
the words.” Sadly, I didn’t. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am
shaken. Not by the words. They really don’t hurt at all. I am shaken because up to now, the young
people that I have known have been more respectful, less entitled and they
actually seemed to take responsibility for their actions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Of course I
do have a closing lesson. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Mommies, pay
attention. Inform your children and
teach them to never, ever start a sentence with “It’s not my fault” no matter what
they are going to say. We old fat fucks
really don’t listen after we hear that phrase. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-60867784112557174182017-07-05T08:45:00.000-07:002017-07-05T08:45:12.285-07:00Employment<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We
celebrated the 25<sup>th</sup> year of Team Mates with a big party last month. I invited all of our local customers, many of
our suppliers and some colleagues within the ASI industry. I enticed them with the promise of my
homemade wine, some fabulous barbecue and the chance to embroider their own
shirt. The embroidery theme won the day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We came up
with the ‘learn the art of embroidery’ concept at our 20<sup>th</sup>
anniversary party. We felt that this
would give our customers a better idea of the skills involved in decorating a
piece of apparel and we also wanted a chance to introduce customers to the
staff at Team Mates.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A lot of
people compliment me on Team Mates’ success.
My answer is that it is the people involved in this company
that make it a success. It is also our
customers and suppliers. It is not ‘my’
company. I just work here. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I spent
several years as a consultant to small businesses. It was not glamorous or fun, at least in my
experience. The first instruction that
every owner gave me was to ‘make the company pay them back’. It was always the same. In each case, the owner felt that his or her
investment of time, labor and money entitled them to a big return and that
whatever they were getting was not enough to justify the years of work. I only lasted about five years as a consultant. I got tired of telling owners that they were wrong.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">A business is a living, breathing entity. It reflects its owners and as it grows, it is
transformed by the employees. It changes
and adapts if it is going to survive. It
stagnates if attention is drawn from it.
If an owner demands that the business provide more cash than is actually
generated, by, say, pulling out what might be considered a fair return on all
those years of investment, the business will die. The personality of a business, often confused with its 'culture' is affected by every single person who comes into contact with it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The owner of
a successful small business understands this personality. The business is capable of
growth because there is ample credit and cash available. More importantly, there is an openness and
friendliness that welcomes customers and suppliers alike. The employees work at it with energy. The owner and managers and staff communicate. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Several
years ago, I asked our staff to help define what Team Mates is. Yes, we do embroidery. My questions related to what we are. Does Team Mates have a good personality? How do our employees view the company and
what can we do to make it better? What effect does a good customer have on our business and what happens when we have a poor customer?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">The result was that we defined our relationship with the rest of the world.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We identified our ideal customers and
suppliers.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We created a model for them
and then actively sought them out.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Internally, we helped our employees define their relationship with the company as a whole. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The process worked. Team Mates transformed into a better company, at least in our employees' eyes. No, I am not a believer
in having all of us sit around and do meditation. I do not look at any of this in some sort of
New Age way. We did these things in
order to create our business in a way that reflected the people who work here
and at the same time, allowed us to build a business plan that we actually fit. Yes, growth, sales and profitability are part
of the plan. The definition part, though, is
done with the goal of actually building a business that retains employees,
takes less risk and builds long-lasting relationships with customers, suppliers and staff. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The end
result, for me, was to discover something important about me and about Team
Mates. I work for the company. I took risks and worked hard at the beginning. At the end of the day,
though, I did not make this business.
Our employees did that. Our
customers did that. People who walked by
and noticed the company name did that.
Our suppliers helped us out. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I know that
while it would be nice to get rich from all of this, it is not going to
happen. At the same time, and at very
least, I have a place to work that rewards me with a little bit of money and a
lot of satisfaction in knowing that I work with a really great group of
people. When we had our party, I wanted
our customers to meet our employees. I wanted
them to talk, to get to know each other.
What better way to demonstrate that it isn’t just me showing the face of the
company. The attitude and dedication
runs all the way through. I think that we got the message across.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-29799044318990518932017-05-31T16:56:00.002-07:002017-07-05T13:50:59.190-07:00Language!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I just sent
a text message to my friend.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“What tome
is jut?”</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">That went over well.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">How about “Happy Bitch Day”?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">That one worked well, too.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When I read
the text exchanges that people post on Facebook, I laugh along with everyone
else, and then sit back and contemplate my own embarrassing moments. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As is
normal, I tend to think in long, run-on sentences that meander along a very
poorly defined route that occasionally leads to an undetermined
destination. In this case, it has led me
to an actual set of thoughts. Prepare
for a lecture. Got your pencil
sharpened? Ears open? Good.
Let’s begin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Writing is a
form of communication that dates back a really long time in human years. At first, I am sure that mostly nouns and
verbs were used. Eventually, someone
came up with the idea that we could modify nouns and verbs. They added adjectives, adverbs, articles, and
a whole lot more. Latin was really big
on conjugation in order to express present, past and future. At some point we gained the ability to
express ourselves in written form. Spellcheck
and grammar check arrived a lot later.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Okay, enough
made-up history. We’ll work on where my
rickety trail of thought took me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">During the
course of my business career I have met a lot of people face-to-face who have
later written me. It is often easier to
write a quick note, especially with email being such an integral part of our
lives, than it is to try to hunt someone down by phone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I wish that
people would focus, edit and read what they write. Their letters are terrible! Some of them make no sense at all. Poor grammar and spelling (spellcheck does
not care if there is their way of getting enough capital to go see the capitol)
contribute to misunderstandings and a poor overall impression of the
writer. While I know a lot of the people
who write me emails and I know that they are pretty darned intelligent people,
I also maintain a very bad impression of their overall education when they
write me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A business
email is the same as a job interview. If
you are serious about getting a job, you’ll dress properly and practice good
manners and communication. An email is
even more critical because I can’t see you and my only available data from
which to draw the conclusion that you are a complete moron, a demanding pain in
the rear or a good person with whom I would like to develop a rapport is via
that very same email. Once a negative
opinion is formed, it will never be completely erased.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have
trouble with the answers to emails as well.
Years ago, one of our managers would fire off responses to my emails that
didn’t answer the questions that I asked.
We went round and round on it and finally she realized that she needed
to read the emails slowly, or maybe twice in order to slow down and give her
enough time to compose a good response.
Of course, I learned from it too and that lesson serves me well. My job, as ‘interviewer’ or respondent to an
email is to answer the questions asked and provide the information
requested. More than that is useless and
less than that subjects me to another email.
Time is wasted and communication is hindered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is
important to provide exactly what is requested.
Again, an example. I had a friend
call in a panic because he was being audited by the IRS. He had received a letter requesting
justification of his mileage for business purposes. He was being audited! He panicked.
When I arrived at his house and saw the ten or so boxes of receipts,
returns, prior and subsequent years’ information that he wanted to bring to the
audit, I stopped him. “What does the
letter request?” I asked. “They want to
see my mileage for work,” he began. He
went on to say that they were ‘going to catch him, and he’d be in jail or
something’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I asked if
he had kept a log of his mileage, which he had in a small diary. We took that to the audit, where they told
him how impressed they were with his record-keeping. End of audit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Too much
information, long wordy comments and answers to unasked questions and just
plain too much does us no good these days.
We don’t have time to read and certainly can’t absorb everything. It is best left to long letters to family.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Go write
your mother.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-25822331241374575362017-04-30T12:32:00.001-07:002017-04-30T12:32:26.655-07:00Routine<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This morning
I didn’t go out to feed the horses at their regular time. I didn’t think that it was important to get
out there because they are mostly on pasture now and don’t eat a lot of hay any
more. I figured that being late would
not be an issue. I learned a lesson, though.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">About an
hour after the regular time, both horses, most especially Sam, became very
agitated. They ran down into the
pasture, tore back up, went down again at full speed and then raced back
up. They both ran all the way up to
their shelter and Sam started calling out as loud as he could. The sound he made was a very urgent call,
much louder than I have ever heard. He
tossed his head as I quickly put on a jacket and went out. He kept trotting around in circles, breathing
heavily and snorting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It took some
time to get them both calmed. I stood
and talked to them, opened the barn so that they could see that all was well
and finally, they got back to normal.
Once I had filled a couple of unnecessary hay bags for them, they seemed
to realize that nothing had changed. After
that it was the day as usual.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I learned
that routine is far more important to them than I realized. For five years, I have gone out every morning
at around 8:30 am and either fed them or let them out into the pasture. They get the same treatment at night. When I was late today, it threw their whole
schedule off. They were nervous and
sensed that something was wrong. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Routine
permeates our lives. Even those of us
who like to take a different route to work every day or travel to different
places every year or even have a different breakfast each day practice a
routine of some sort. Time creates them. We still wake up at the same hour, depending
on the day of the week. We still pack
the same clothes for our trips, and I’d hazard a guess that the different
breakfasts are eaten at about the same time each day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Changing it
up, though, is a great teacher. What
makes us uncomfortable and what doesn’t matter at all? A certain changed routine can cause all sorts
of anxiety and ruin a day or a week.
Some don’t matter at all. It
makes me wonder if I shouldn’t start doing more observing of my own habitual
activities, just to see which ones really don’t matter at all and which ones
actually become conscious and necessary.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Long ago I realized
that the same holds true with new customers in the embroidery business. I suspect that this is a truth for most
businesses. My company does contract B2B
work. Years ago, when we made a decision
to grow, the first thing that we did was to list as many of the common
complaints people made about other decorators.
We heard that poor service was the primary complaint, either because of
a lack of notification, late delivery or a sense that the company did not
really care about the customer. We
focused on changing the way that we operated in order to provide the answer to
those complaints. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It was a
surprise to learn that the world did not come rushing to our doorstep. On reflection, though, I discovered the
reason that it did not happen. It was
easier to deal with that one memorized phone number even though it led the
customer into yet another bad experience.
It was just much less complicated to make that call than go through what
seemed to be a major headache in order to start all over with someone else.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I quit
trying to fight habits at that point. If
a potential customer already had an embroiderer (which is most often the case),
I would only anticipate a single job from them.
My best hope was to give them all of the things that they did not
previously have. If it worked out, they
might call again. And very slowly, they started
to do just that. We began to grow. We actually began to acquire new
customers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Changing
habits is very uncomfortable. It doesn’t
matter if the habit is bad, unhealthy, or results in constant aggravation. What is important is that a change is really
tough to make. Sometimes, the best sales
technique is to just be good at what you do.
Maybe a new customer will see the difference in service and start the
road to changing habits.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Today, I’m
going to go practice my routine of keeping my horses company for a bit, just to
let them know that I am still around. It
makes me comfortable. Apparently it
makes them comfortable too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9OIDZooCjKzzBweZ-8MbGGiogia55rYkOSALOwMsevDV9F-z4Mj61q09xE9oSDCtjVTzILCG-q7HAf81suOOL1-0Wa3EF0Px-iZeslscFDHR81bLU4w3LMk4ibAo2O7Fyr6ei21_GBd0/s1600/Sam+Running.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9OIDZooCjKzzBweZ-8MbGGiogia55rYkOSALOwMsevDV9F-z4Mj61q09xE9oSDCtjVTzILCG-q7HAf81suOOL1-0Wa3EF0Px-iZeslscFDHR81bLU4w3LMk4ibAo2O7Fyr6ei21_GBd0/s320/Sam+Running.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-53442828152634505352017-03-31T14:09:00.003-07:002017-03-31T14:09:42.343-07:00Never Change!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">I mean,
really.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Change is scary.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">It might lead to success or even
recognition.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Change does strange things
to us.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I’m going to
write about my horse now. Please bear
with me, prepare to saddle up, don’t go wandering off into the sunset, try to
shoe a pig. I’ll do my best not to be cliché.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sam is a
draft horse. Sometimes draft horses are
known as gentle giants. There was a TV
show that told us that. Big draft horses
are gentle, kind souls at heart. They
never get upset and are gentle with kittens and small children. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sam is a
gentle giant. He is big and strong and
gentle with the barn cats all of the time.
He tends to enjoy small children most of the time. When he is not being a gentle giant, he is
being mule-headed, stubborn and obnoxious.
In the time that he has been my companion and friend, he has tossed me
from the saddle five times. Each time
was due to a disagreement as to who was directing whom. We have our moments. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While we’ve
managed our way through most of the troubles, Sam has a couple of habits that
are absolutely unbreakable. One issue in
particular drives me around the bend.
Sam likes to eat grass whenever I am leading him in his halter. It never fails that, as soon as the halter
goes on, his head drops to the ground and he goes after the grass. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is not
such a bad habit as habits go. The
trouble is, it is something that I don’t want him to do. I have my reasons. The reasons are valid so don’t go all
judgmental on me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have done
just about everything possible to get Sam to stop grazing under halter. By now, I’ve found that the best I can get is
that he will lift his head when I jerk on his rope. He also pays attention when I say “Stop!” in
my dad-voice. If I say nothing or just
keep walking, he’ll drop his head to the ground and stop to grab a bite. When that happens and because Sam is about
1300 pounds heavier than me, I also stop, often very suddenly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They say
that horses will change habits within six or seven weeks with steady and
consistent training. Sam has hung on to
his habit for five years with absolutely no sign of giving up. Even for a horse, that’s a long time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I know a lot
of people who are like that. We have
clients who insist on calling with orders, expecting us to just record
them. Each time, we ask for a valid
purchase order. Responses vary but
everyone does at least give it lip service.
They are always shocked when they call back a week later and the verbal
order has not been started.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My response
is always the same. “I can’t do it without
a purchase order”. Heck, I can’t even
remember that we ever discussed the logo if I don’t have a purchase order. When they finish being upset I will quietly
repeat that we can’t keep track of anything without a purchase order. And their response is typical. “Well, it’s the way I’ve always done things.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the 25
years Team Mates has been doing business, we have made many changes to our
processes. We have adapted to the
requirements of our customers and we have reacted to our growth by streamlining
our systems and through the improvement of our processing. We do this in order to be of better service
to our customers. After all, our goal is
to listen to our customers, consider their needs and react through change and
adaptation. That is how we provide
service.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sam will
never change. He is a horse and has a
different thought process. He can’t
communicate with me to tell me why he won’t adapt. He might have his reasons for not wanting to
stop eating under halter. It might be
that he just doesn’t understand. No
matter the reason, I don’t ever lose patience with Sam. He is a horse. I am not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My
customers, though, are humans (for the most part). They are reasonably intelligent and we take
the time to explain the reason for needing to change our policies and procedures. We also explain how the changes will benefit
them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Those customers
that see the value of change are usually the most successful in their
businesses. The ones that continue to
call in their orders and never change are pretty well guaranteed never to be
successful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Fortunately,
Sam will manage quite nicely. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-58116115219874391782017-02-28T13:47:00.004-08:002017-02-28T13:47:38.240-08:00Heroes<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In recent years, the debate over immigration in the United
States has been epic. There are few
places in the heavily populated regions of this country where you don’t run
into foreign-born people working at jobs.
We see people in all lower-paid areas of the service industry who are
‘not from around here’ and yet they work at those jobs every single day. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
No, they’re not just like us U.S.-born citizens. They have a different language and culture
and they earn substantially less money than we do (<a href="https://www.bls.gov/news.release/forbrn.nr0.htm">https://www.bls.gov/news.release/forbrn.nr0.htm</a>). They work hard in spite of this and they work
every single day just like we do. The aforementioned
report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics tells us that the jobless rate
in 2015 was actually .5 percent lower for foreign-born people than it was for
U.S.-born people. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I emigrated to the Dominican Republic in 1982 from the U.S. I went there to see the world from a
different point of view and to see what it was like to live somewhere
else. It was a learning experience to
state the understated. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I found out what it was like to survive in a completely
different culture, to not speak the local language and to see how local
citizens acted. I worked hard to learn
Spanish and soon became fairly fluent. Those first months were frightening,
especially when I learned that I wasn’t ‘from around those parts.’ People treated me differently. I didn’t make a lot of friends at first. I learned about nationality, about survival
in a foreign country, about the very different view from outside the United
States and about culture. I learned a
whole lot about who I was (a citizen of the United States) and I learned to
respect those who found themselves in a foreign place.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For the most part I was welcomed. I am from the Latino world’s view of heaven
on earth, the home of the American Dream and the two car garage. I was seen as rich, even when I found myself
unemployed and nearly penniless. There
is, by the way, no unemployment net in the Dominican Republic. You either survive and pay the rent or you
find yourself on the street. It is
frightening for someone like me. Latinos
(and I am sure, many others), just live with the risk. Eventually, by the way, I came back to the United States because I could not live in a country that had electricity 5 to 10 hours a day and expected its citizens to buy generators to make up the difference.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
People who come to the United States are looking for
work. They are looking for
opportunity. Legally or illegally many
people work to get here and work to stay here, to take the most menial jobs if
that is what they have to do. In the
Dominican Republic, I met a lot of Haitians who had gone to the Dominican
Republic the very same way, in order to find a slightly better
opportunity. They worked as maids for
barely survivable wages because Haiti is even worse economically than the
Dominican Republic. There are simply no
jobs in Haiti. Conditions are horrible. Haitians are hated, though, and still they
go. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The U.S. citizenry has a long history of treating its immigrants
poorly and yet, without that supply of new people, we would not have anyone
working in the jobs that we think ourselves too good to perform. Eventually, those very same people have
families, children who become acclimated to our culture and who become
assimilated. Those children become
doctors and executives and pillars of our communities. In short, they become like us. Then it is their turn to be U.S.-born and to
take better jobs, and treat the new arrivals exactly as we have treated those
children’s parents.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think of immigrants as heroes. I was once in a similar position. I know just how hard it is to go to another
place, not speak the language and to eventually receive the sideways, sarcastic
comments directed toward the new arrival.
Immigrants work, they celebrate their culture and they grow families
that become Americans in every sense of the word. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A week ago, we were informed that the United States would
have ‘A Day Without an Immigrant’. I
told my staff, the majority of whom are Hispanic and Asian, that I would not
penalize them for taking the day off.
All but 2 of the 20 or so folks that work at my company came to work
that day. I thanked them. I continue to thank them. They are the heroes to me. Regardless of the social pressures exerted on
them, they said that working that day was more important. Why?
First, yes, they need the money.
Second, they see themselves as a team, a group of individuals who work together
to make a company grow and prosper. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Their logic was that this whole thing is a non-issue to
them. They live here. They work.
Who, after all, would they be showing and what would they be
proving? That they had power? They know that. I tell them all, every chance I get, that they
have that power. I can’t replace our
staff. That makes them valuable and
important both as individuals and as a group.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
The people who make up the fabric of our country are
important individuals who are respectable, who work for a living and live for
something that they probably could not have in another place. There is a good reason for people to want to
move to the United States. I know that
immigration won’t stop for any reason at all, regardless of who is doing what
to whom. And I know that the people who
come here to make a better life for themselves earn the right to be heroes an
awful lot of the time.<o:p></o:p></div>
mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-6117250581467622442017-01-31T12:43:00.002-08:002017-01-31T12:43:52.809-08:00Promises<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I was
recently elected to the board of our wine makers’ club. The meeting was held while I was on vacation
and it was suggested that if I wished, I was welcome to send a campaign speech
to be read by one of the members. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My speech
consisted of two paragraphs. First I
said that it would really be a pleasure to serve on the board. The second was my “campaign speech” where I
promised wine in the drinking fountains and free pony rides when we hosted the
board meeting at my house. Board
meetings are, by the way, open to the entire club and are generally social
gatherings. We do, however, do quite a bit of work at the meetings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In the past
six months, I’ve actually honored both promises. I gave rides to at least one member, although
they were offered to everyone. The
trouble was that my ‘pony’ is actually a large draft horse. I think that Sam, the large pony, intimidated a few members,
even after wine was consumed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The second
promise was honored, at least to some extent, when I put on a wine blending
class. Instead of fountains, I had pumps
in glass bottles that dispensed measured amounts of different wines so that
people could measure what they created.
It was a fun class and in the end, I did dispense the wine out of, well,
sort of fountains. I guess that it
depends on the definition of a fountain.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At my
company, I have two very important philosophies. First, tell the truth. Customers call often and ask if we can do
certain jobs and we will give them honest answers. Also, if we have a problem with any bit of
work, and it was our fault, we tell our customers what happened. Honest answers serve us far better than
anything else. This also applies to our
employees. We will not misrepresent any
part of the company’s operations nor will we allow for our employees to do
that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The second
part is that we honor our promises. When
work is promised, we take it very personally if it is not complete at the
proper time. We can’t control every
aspect of our surroundings, and know that.
We take the responsibility for our commitments though. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have no
control over snowstorms that stop all shipments. While this year has not been terrible in that
regard, we have had a lot of people out with illness, sick children and other
issues. It seems as though our staff is
never all at the shop at any given moment.
And yet, we take the responsibility and not once have I blamed staff
shortages for any job to which we have a committed due date. The thought that this might be a good excuse
is foreign to me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After
several years of practicing the two policies, our staff also tends to work together tocreate successes. We didn’t
always do this. The changes took place
back in 2008 when I started asking customers and what was required of Team
Mates in order to set us apart from other embroidery companies. The answers were clear and repetitive. “Honor your promises and tell us the truth”
were repeated so often that even a stubborn guy like me actually started to
listen. We changed the way that we did
business, learned to track the progress of our orders and tell the truth to
each other and to the public at large. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The result
has been that people began to trust us.
Over eight years have passed and the idea that we do this has become so
ingrained into the company and to the people that work here and to our
customers in general that we generate few complaints and more often than not,
we are able to create great successes even through failures. People understand that if we didn’t deliver
on time, something catastrophic and beyond our control has happened. Usually, rather than penalizing us, we are
given help.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It thrills
me how well people work together when we deliver on a promise or two. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-70226906559322277812016-12-23T14:12:00.002-08:002016-12-23T15:47:47.724-08:00Really?<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They met in
college and dated for their final two years.
He was a long way from home. His
parents didn’t have enough money to visit during the school year so he never
got the chance to introduce her to them.
Consequently, the surprise was even bigger, the disappointment
greater. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They fell deeply
in love. They studied together and were
rarely apart, except on weekends when she went home to work. She never mentioned him to her family, afraid
that they would ask her about him and knowing how they would react. They would want to see pictures and she knew
that they would demand an immediate breakup.
He learned about her and about her background. He worked to understand her beliefs and her
culture, how she had developed her opinions.
They adored each other in spite of their vast differences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He told her
of his own childhood and how his had only first been exposed to her culture at
sixteen, how he had kept shaking the young boy’s hand, fascinated, wanting to
touch him, to see how his skin felt, trying to discover a difference. His family was deeply embedded in its own
culture and he had rarely had the chance to get to know a different one. And now, he wanted to spend the rest of his
life with someone so completely outside of his own world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Graduation
day arrived. His parents and
grandparents came to the ceremony, so proud to see their son in cap and
gown. Her parents were there as well,
excited for their girl who was the first to get a university degree. Their families still had not met, or heard of
the relationship. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They decided
to spring the wonderful surprise of their engagement on graduation day. Both were nervous, knowing that they might
face some negative reactions and yet forever hopeful that everything would go well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The plan was
to meet at a local restaurant, sit at adjoining tables and introduce each
other. He arrived last, family in tow,
and took the table next to hers. He
brushed her shoulder as he walked by, smiling at her. His parents noticed and shook their heads as
they sat. In a loud whisper, his
grandmother asked “How can you know someone like that? And why are they allowed in this restaurant?” He was shocked at her disgust. His parents nodded in agreement, barely
containing their anger. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Finally,
though, he signaled to her that it was time.
They both stood and moved together, ready to make the announcement. Both family tables became silent as they
watched them take each other’s hands.
“Mom, Dad,” he said. “This is
Sarah. I’ve been dating her for the last
two years and we are engaged to be married.”
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A shocked
silence followed. His grandmother stood,
almost knocking over the table. “You
will NOT do this as long as I am alive,” she shouted. “My grandson will never have a Liberal as a
wife!” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Her family
stood. Her father sneered at his
grandmother and said, “Don’t worry. It
will never happen. Your kind will never
share our table, our home or a scrap of food with us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">They turned
and hurried out of the restaurant, their daughter in tow. She looked back with tears in her eyes. That was the last that they saw of each other
for many years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">“Seriously?”
you ask. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Think about
it. In our haste to make sure that
everyone has to get along with everyone else, we seem to have forgotten that we
are all essentially human, that opinions divide us far too often. In fact, they divide us far more often than
race, culture and country. Amazing, isn’t
it? And sort of silly in my own personal
universe. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With that in
mind, I wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and happy holidays.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-84747856464100251232016-11-12T12:00:00.000-08:002016-11-12T12:00:12.009-08:00The American Dream<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have
listened to a lot of radio since the election.
I’ve read a lot of articles online and heard all sorts of opinions
too. It helps to have perspective. Sometimes, it even helps to have a little
knowledge when forming an opinion. I
also have the rare but welcome inspiration that allows me to propose the
occasional hypothesis. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I was
reading about strategic mistakes made by the DFL Party during this past
election cycle. One of the proposed
errors caught my eye because it was a comparison between the two candidates’
core message. On one side, it was “Make
America Great Again”. The DFL proposed a
series of ideas regarding jobs creation, education, and getting more people
into the middle class. The proposal
centered loosely around the idea that the DFL would build “an economy that
works for everyone, not just those at the top.”
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Yes, the
most outstanding problem is that the message was way too complicated. It’s far easier to grab onto a slogan. Regardless of your political leanings,
slogans work. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Today’s
brilliant inspiration derives from the more complicated message. It seems to explain some things. Or maybe I had too much wine last night. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The real
message here has to do with the disappearance of the American Dream. In fact, I doubt that many people actually
hear those words these days. My baby
boomer generation grew up with tales of rags-to-riches business types. If those didn’t hold our attention, there
were still plenty of retirees around who were living just fine off their
savings and a social security supplement.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">What always
fascinated me, though, were the stories of people who put their hearts and
souls into their small businesses and then one day sold them for a good sum of
money and retired to live a wonderful life in some nice tropical place. The hours of labor and the small salaries during
their working years paid off. Even more
plentiful were the stories of immigrants who took whatever menial job they
could find, saved carefully, raised children who became doctors and lawyers and
eventually retired to enjoy the rest of their lives with their grandchildren.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That was the
American Dream. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Dream
disappeared during the past thirty or so years.
About five years ago I discovered that my business would not be worth
enough to allow me to sell it and retire.
There is no more capital gains reduction, no more income averaging. Selling a business has become complicated and
is worth a whole lot less than it used to be.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This led me
to realize something about the current generations going into the
workforce. Young people are being
educated. They are being encouraged and
they are being told that we need them.
They are not being given a Dream.
They see their working life as something that won’t be a joy. When we of my generation run into snags or
start getting burned out because of the long hours, we look ahead with some
small remainder of that wonderful Dream and say ‘Don’t stop now. Retirement will bring a great future.’ <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These days,
our children know that Social Security will be running out, that there is very little
profit sharing happening in companies and if there were, they’d be taxed to
death on it. Instead of working long and
hard for an employer, they are mobile, not loyal and they tend to see work as a
means to a pleasant trip, enough money for the weekend’s entertainment, or some
other personal pleasure. It is
absolutely no wonder that less effort is put into the day’s work. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It is no
surprise that we allow manufacturing to go overseas. I no longer wonder why I can’t find reliable
young people of U.S . origin who might be interested in the embroidery
business. It’s simple. I have nothing to offer but work. I can’t make them rich, give them a share of
a very slim profit, promise them the end of a rainbow. All I can do is tell them that we have
schedules to keep, minimums to produce and that we need to run fast to even pay
for ourselves. For them, there are easier
and better ways to make money. Machine
embroidery is no one’s passion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Millennials
and so many others do not deserve to be blamed for their attitudes. We tried to give them a work ethic. We forgot to tell them that there could be fun
at the end. Or in the middle. Instead we suggested that life pretty much
sucks these days. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Maybe we should try a slightly more positive
approach to our grandchildren. Maybe we
should try figuring out how to recapture the American Dream. </span>mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-84615363129401901912016-11-02T12:40:00.001-07:002016-11-02T12:40:16.459-07:00The Easy Way Out<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It seems like the popular thing to do these days is
to ask rich people to pay more taxes. I
hear the shouts that ‘They don’t pay enough!”
As a former CPA who did a lot of very rich peoples’ tax returns, I can
tell you that those people will never pay as large a percentage as the average
American. Get used to it. Never gonna happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You can tax rich people. They’ll leave or expatriate their incomes
though. They will look for, and find,
loopholes that reduce their taxes. They
will never pay what you would expect them to pay. And the economic bottom line will be that
instead of getting a rich person to be more supportive of the government and those
who are less-rich, they will become more reclusive and less participative. Or they will use their income to generate
more power and control over the government.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Regardless, the less rich will always cry out
against the more rich. The poor will be
angry with everyone.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is also no way to eliminate competition,
either physical or economic or mental, and still have people. We grow due to competition. There is always someone out there in the
world that we want to beat. More often
than not, there are always many people that we want to outcompete. There may or may not be animosity involved. There is always some jealousy. We don’t get better by doing less than the
next person. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I can understand the desires of the less ambitious
folks in our country. They are competing
by working to slow other people down and by discouraging them to work
less. Who hasn’t heard the phrase “Hey, slow
down. You’re making the rest of us look
bad.” I hear it sometimes in my shop,
much to my own personal dismay. Those folks don't last long, by the way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This attitude seems to have gotten worse during the
past few years. The outcry against the
very rich has actually been translated into proportionately higher tax rates
for that class of people. It is a
tragedy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The less ambitious are working side by side with the
less rich to raise minimum wages, create a shorter work week and allow for more
paid vacation and family leave.
Corporations should pay for all of this because they make lots of
money. Oh, and the big rich companies
don’t pay a lot of taxes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The outcry does not consider the fact that small
businesses, who are in the less rich category, comprise nearly fifty percent of
the work force and create nearly sixty-four percent of the new jobs in this
country. (<a href="https://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/FAQ_Sept_2012.pdf">SBA FAQ</a>) Every
new tax and wage hike and family leave allowance that is imposed on the large
corporations takes a much larger toll on the small corporations. It is no wonder that new business startups
are falling behind business failures (<a href="http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/180431/american-entrepreneurship-dead-alive.aspx">Gallup
Business Journal</a>).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The past couple of generations of people in this
country have subscribed to the idea that we can take an easy way out. We can just vote for higher taxes and higher
wages and more vacation. Social media
says that will solve our problems.
Thankfully, I am not part of the latest generations. I really don’t want to see the consequences
of the easy way out. For my part, I’ll
keep my head down, manage my small business and keep people employed for as long
as possible. And hope that I can survive
the easy way out for long enough to get at least one or two days of
retirement. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-76115138763332711392016-09-30T11:25:00.004-07:002016-09-30T11:25:42.998-07:00Out in the woods<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Today we get a story, fun, and an observation.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">A good friend, Pete, has a small vineyard in his
back yard. He grows about a ton of
grapes each year and when harvest time comes around, it is an excuse to have a
big party that he calls the “Grape Stomp”.
It is a big potluck and during the day much wine is consumed while people
are given sharp instruments that are used to cut grape clusters from the
vines. Once the grapes are all cut, at
previous stomps he has put out small tubs for the kids to stomp grapes in. Each year, the kids get a little bit bigger and
the bins look a lot smaller.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Pete has been seeing something a little bit more
complex in his mind for the past couple of years. He described it to me by saying that he
wanted something like a floor and walls surrounding maybe a wading pool where
people could stomp a little bit better.
He loves to have everyone participate.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">His description produced a picture in my head of a
rickety little disposable framework surrounding a plastic pool where adults
could walk on grapes for some time, maybe fall down a few times and have a
laugh or two. So we made a date to get
this thing built. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The day before we were to stay, Pete picked up the
wood and texted me the directions to the place where we’d be building it. His friend would be helping us with it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I escaped work early, and followed his directions out
into the country, to the end of a gravel road, down a long driveway bordered by
electric cattle fences. I arrived at a 10,000 square foot fully equipped
professional wood shop. Turns out that
Pete had enlisted the help of a master cabinetmaker who does a little bit
better than simple rickety frames.
Pete’s friend is a perfectionist who uses nothing in the way of hammer
and nails. He works with beautiful
reclaimed wood. The cabinet maker was
designing a rather unique grape stomping barrel. Pet and I would be doing the work, milling
reclaimed telephone pole cedar and reclaimed white oak into the sides and floor. The cabinet maker would instruct and
direct. The barrel would be five feet in
diameter and would be water tight, all made without use of a single nail or bit
of glue. We finished our own wood,
routered it, sanded it and cut every single piece at a custom angle. When it was done, it was an actual round
circle. It was beautiful!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It worked, too.
People had a ball stomping grapes in it and getting all purple. The day was deemed a success and there were
lots of photo opportunities for all of the partiers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Our project took me to places where the true
backbone of the United States still resides.
In order to get wood, we visited a pallet maker. She builds them out of old cedar telephone
poles by cutting them up with a giant band saw into planks that are then sized
and nailed together. It is really hard
work. She does them by herself. She is off the grid. Try as hard as you can, you probably won’t
find her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We picked up some metal strapping to hold the barrel
together from a similar business that custom builds gates and metal fencing. And, of course, we did the project back in a
spot that is completely out of sight. These
are people who aren’t voting in the current election. They’re busy working.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">These are people, though, who are the first ones to
jump to your aid, to defend their country and protect our rights as
individuals. There is no negotiation
prior to doing these things. The folks
that magically make pallets full of food and beer and products appear in the stores
don’t ask for anything more than the selling price of their products. That’s it.
No handouts are requested, no free benefits are needed. Helping someone is just exactly that. You never hear “What’s in it for me?” They already know the answer. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is the backbone of the United
States. There are no races here and
there is no difference between working men and working women. Much of this backbone consists of immigrants
and first generation U.S. citizens.
Their parents or grandparents studied and became U.S. citizens, and most
were treated far worse than the immigrants of today. They didn’t get welfare or free medical care
and they had to take menial jobs to survive.
They learned to depend on their own resources because help was out of
their price range. Today they pretty
much build our country. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I really don’t think that most people realize just
how amazing this subset of our country is.
They do still build things around here.
Pallets don’t come from pallet factories in Mexico. Cabinets don’t all come from the sales floor
at Home Depot. Someone actually makes
this stuff and then has to sell it. Lettuce
does not come from the lettuce factory.
And meat is not created already in the package. Someone had to feed it, grow it and butcher
it. Those people aren’t well paid and
they can’t afford a new iPhone every six months. They pay for their own health insurance and
don’t quite understand why we need free trade agreements with neighboring
economies. After all, we can build it
ourselves if we put our minds to it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Ah, well.
Time to go home to my suburban house.
Time for a glass of wine while I sit and appreciate the fact that I
crushed the grapes that made the wine.
With my feet. Maybe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-89972068711132373172016-08-31T14:37:00.003-07:002016-08-31T14:37:30.778-07:00No Shows<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Toby Keith wrote a song called “How Do You Like Me
Now?” It’s about the one thing that
every single nerdy high school boy who has been stood up, laughed at or
otherwise belittled at the hand of the beautiful Prom Queen. Oh, don’t forget the girlfriend, or boyfriend
who dumped us one day just because it was cool to do that. We had dreams of revenge, not least of which
was that they would call in desperation one day to say that they had made a
terrible mistake and we were the one mate for them. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Oh, I remember all of that so well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Two weeks ago we put an ad on Craigslist advertising
for someone for the shop. We had
numerous applicants, belying the statements that low unemployment exists in
Minnesota. Many, if not all of the applicants
were underemployed if not unemployed. I
felt that we had a fairly good group from which to choose.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Hiring people, though, is no fun. I’ve met very few people who say that hiring
and firing is a great occupation and that screening applicants is incredibly
rewarding. It is, in fact, tedious,
difficult and even after practice, I always feel as though I’m just tossing the
dice. Employment firms cost way too much
money and they have never really provided us with a workable solution in any
case. Most of the time, the applicants
are just looking for a paycheck and we really want more from an employee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I scheduled seven interviews. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is where my reference to Toby Keith and
the hopes and dreams we had of teenagers kicks in, sort of in reverse. Hey, I think it’s valid enough that I am
going to write about it regardless of what you think.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Three of the interviewees were no shows. They didn’t even make it in. One of the three called the next day and said
that she was really sorry, that she’d forgotten about the interview but would
be happy to schedule any time during that day.
My answer was firm. “Nope.” Don’t make me explain myself. How important can making a living be if you
can’t even remember your interview?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I hypothesize here that the no-shows were simply
burning us in advance because they figured that we would not hire them in the
first place. Instead of waiting and,
say, covering the front door with teepee or throwing rocks at my car or maybe
even spreading the word that I’m a rotten person, they burned us first. I wasted time, I was hurt that someone
thought so little of me and of my time that they felt it necessary to show me
how low on the priority pole I really was.
I wasn’t even looking for a date!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So that’s out of the way. Now we can get down to actually giving you
the answer to the question you are asking in your head. Yes, we did hire someone. She came in for the interview, came in for a
second one, was in the shop for two days, then called in sick for two days and
quit the following Monday. True story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So now we have a second person coming in. I’m a little nervous about this. At the same time, we are rolling the dice
again and we will take even a full week at this point. Actually,
I would like to make it clear that my hope is that we hire once, that she stays
with us and that she turns into a strong and productive member of our
team. We will work hard to help her
accomplish that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now I need to find some embroiderers. Yeah, that’s going to be fun. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-29770776370751574112016-07-22T13:26:00.000-07:002016-07-22T13:26:15.549-07:00Play it Safe! <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">One of my
friend’s sons is studying ‘Entrepreneurship’ in college.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">He wants to get a degree in it.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I am happy that the university is offering an
opportunity to study something besides Neo-European Obscure Literature in Funny
Languages, although I understand that the major is making a comeback.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">We’ll be flooded once again with people who
have to choose politics as their means of support because they are otherwise
unemployable.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I do hear that the
Ministry of Silly Walks (Monty Python???) is hiring.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I didn’t
realize that one needed to study and get a degree in order to be an
entrepreneur. This is a very confusing
major. Entrepreneurship is not a
profession and it really isn’t a science.
It must be a liberal art, in which case I hope that the prerequisite
English classes teach them how to write decent emails. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Entrepreneurs
usually start out with a product, service or pitch that they want to sell. They have a strong belief in the product, and
a stronger belief that they are the ones to push it. They take on the responsibility to solve
problems, support their families and they risk their own capital. They are willing to work long hours and
perform all sorts of non-executive work.
Above all else, successful entrepreneurs learn as they go and spend a
lot less time blaming other people or ‘circumstances’ for any failures they
might endure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I’ve
observed the successes and failures of businesses over many years. I find it interesting that the failure rate
of businesses does not seem to relate to the existence of a degree in
entrepreneurship. So why do we have such
a thing in the first place?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Years ago,
we had lots of choices if we just wanted a degree. We could choose from such wonderful options
as Art History, Geography, Political Science, English Literature or my personal
favorite (because they made it up just for me in order to get my sorry butt out
of college), Mathematical Ecology. It
didn’t cost much to go to college. When
we finally made up our minds about what we wanted to be when we grew up, we
went back to grad school, or just went to work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Today, it
isn’t that simple. College costs a
fortune. The general hope is that the
student will graduate one day and have enough skills to work a little and pay
off the enormous debt they incurred by going to college. So the majors are a little bit more directed
at learning skills. Well, at least the
names look that way. Hence we have “Entrepreneurship”
instead of “Advanced Basket Weaving”.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Of course,
there is another aspect that makes a B.A. in Entrepreneurship so
interesting. That is the fact that kids
today are overprotected to the point that they have no idea how to take a
risk. Helicopter parents watch their
children play safe in helmets, kneepads and protective armor. Mom and dad do their best to catch little
Jimmy before he falls and if he hits the ground, he is whisked up and cuddled
until the tears stop. Of course this just
encourages more tears.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://www.inc.com/magazine/201505/leigh-buchanan/the-vanishing-startups-in-decline.html">"Inc.
Magazine"</a> has charted a
slowdown in new companies over the past few years. They see a more positive future among millennials
than I do. It has to do with taking
risks. If a trophy is given to every
participant and if everyone is provided protection from everything, they will
never learn to take risks. They will,
however, expect to be compensated and supported for everything that they
attempt. Entrepreneurs don’t get
rewarded unless they succeed at their business.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is no
real need for a four-year degree in Entrepreneurship. There is, however, a great need for a little
restraint in the parenting department. I
laugh when my kids tell me that they are going to be better parents than I ever
was. They interpret that as a whole
roomful of soft landings. The truth is,
the scrapes and bruises teach a lot more.
We learn from mistakes and we are more informed each time that we make
one. We assess risk better after failures
and we are unwilling to take those risks if we have never learned that failure
is not death or dismemberment, that we don’t suffer the fires of hell if we don’t
succeed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And that is
the message that our children and grandchildren should be learning from their much
better parents. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Instead of
being ‘afraid to fail’ as so many of our children tell us, they should be
afraid not to succeed. This is the
difference never trying and never quitting.
And it doesn’t take a college degree to learn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-31058345802865607672016-06-23T08:23:00.000-07:002016-06-23T08:23:37.988-07:00Downfalls<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Family
businesses tend to have short life cycles.
According to an article in </span><a href="https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/openforum/articles/secrets-of-successful-family-owned-businesses/"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">American Express’ Open Forum</span></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">, only thirty percent of family-owned
businesses make it to the second generation and only thirteen percent make it
three generations. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The likelihood of
survival shrinks with each generation.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I used to
consult with a number of small businesses and ran into a huge number of
examples involving second, third and fourth generation owners and managers who really
had no clue how to guide their companies and quite often bled the businesses
dry of money or just ran them into the ground.
Today, you get my opinion on this cycle. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Here’s how
it goes. Dad or Mom open a
business. They work so very hard to get
it off the ground, spend evenings and weekends doing the work. If the business survives and grows, it
eventually can pay off by providing a decent lifestyle. Entrepreneurs become very attached to their
businesses and develop a strong ownership tie.
The business grows and adapts. It
takes on a life of its own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If that
business succeeds, the owner eventually may hand it off to the next
generation. That generation has come to know
the benefits that the business generated and if the children are smart and
humble enough to handle success, they will continue to grow and manage the family business. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Their
children, though, would be raised in a much more privileged environment. They would have all the fruits of success and
most likely would not grasp the connection between the work in the family
business and the benefits derived.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By the
fourth generation, trust funds are available.
Those children will be happy to enjoy their inheritance and most are not
inclined to work in the family business.
In fact, there is a sense of entitlement held by the majority of the
children and this is where the business begins to suffer. If the family is large, the trust funds can
dwindle at an alarming rate. Management
becomes a lot less capable. The company
falters, slides and stands a greater chance of failure. Each successive generation will drain the
assets further until there really is no company left at all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At some
point, past the peak of success, the family will tout its greatness and talk
about how much better they are than the rest of the competition. A few may say, “We were once great and we
need to get back to it again.” Few will
actually know what it would take to build or rebuild at that point. There are answers, though. One of the best solutions is to bring in new
builders who can take a look from the outside.
They take the risks that entrepreneurs might take. The company can grow again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The problem
with bringing in outsiders, though, is that the great family of descendants who
have had ownership are not going to want anyone to take the company away. It is impossible for inheritors and
entrepreneurs to get along. The inheritors
depend on what is generated while the entrepreneurs want to use what is
generated to create growth. The values
clash. Usually the inheritors win and
the company dies. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The United
States is going through this cycle right now.
The current ‘inheritors’ are fighting to keep everything from the hands
of ‘outsiders’. We want to stop immigration
because it forces us to spread the wealth on which we depend. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The problem
is, we need immigration. The people who
are willing to be entrepreneurs, who can bring new growth and who can help us
to build are the very people we are trying to keep from entering our
country. It is foolish and will lead to
stagnation and eventually the complete loss of our own country. That is an underlying truth and will not
change. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">No, I am not
‘going all liberal’. I am, however,
completely against closing our borders.
The fences that we build will do nothing more than keep us from working
with the rest of the world. No one
outside will suffer any more than they do now.
Those of us inside will wind up cannibalizing our own inherited
resources. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Done with my
rant. On to less relevancy and a little
bit of entrepreneurship. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-57281675480220823222016-05-03T14:54:00.002-07:002016-05-03T14:56:13.145-07:00Respectability and the economy<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Making
things with your hands is not respectable.
People who manufacture are looked upon as lower middle class at
best. If you truly want to be part of
the cool crowd, go to college, get a degree in engineering and work for a
research company or maybe an architectural firm. You could even design cars for an automotive
company as long as you wear a suit and tie to work. Have fun paying off the school debt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The United
States middle class is considered to be a shrinking segment of the population
who are, as defined by Google, <i>“</i></span><i><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">the social group between the upper and working
classes, including professional and business workers and their families.</span>”</i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Stan Shih,
founder of Acer, had a concept called the Stan Shih Smile Curve. He evaluated the various components of a
product cycle in terms of economic value and put together a curve to show the
highest and lowest values added to a particular event. For instance, the romantic virtues including
Conceptualization, Research and Development and Branding all have high added
value. Sales and marketing also have
high value. The lowest added value
events are primarily in manufacturing. Here’s
a reference to a picture of Stan’s <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/events/2010/6/09%20china%20global/20100609_china_global_steinfield">smiling curve</a>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Basically,
the curve tells us that manufacturing a product adds very little value to
it. We’re all about the branding and the
marketing these days. The trouble is, we
seem to have forgotten that if we don’t produce anything, all that grand
inventing and marketing leaves us with nothing to actually sell. Sometimes Gofundme accounts look a lot like
that.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The United
States has seen tremendous invention and some of the greatest marketing
programs in the world. We buy
stuff. We create more stuff to buy. We are innovators. And we make less of it all every single
day. Making it is not just at the lowest
point in the Stan Shih Smile Curve.
Making stuff is not glamorous or cool or even respectable. Since it
doesn’t come up to Middle Class, we send
the manufacturing job overseas to the poor countries where they can pay a
worker a dollar a day to make stuff that we can buy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The problem
is, if you cut off the manufacturing part of the curve, you are left with a
pair of parentheses </span><b><span style="font-size: large;">( )</span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> with nothing between them. The cost of manufacturing goes away and comes
back as a wholesale price. The money to
pay for the product left with the manufacturing. There are less people building and making an
income and so less people have money to spend on the fabulous products promoted
by incredible sales campaigns. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We are
creating a closed economy. We’re sending
money overseas to maintain the factories and then we’re paying an overseas
company to sell our produced inventions back to us. The money that would have stayed in our own
economy and been used to buy the products now has to be borrowed from
somewhere, usually through credit cards.
The parentheses are actually more like a drain hole. The money doesn’t come back to us ever. It gets used in other economies.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For most
factory production, it is too late to make a change. We won’t be moving anything back home in the near
future. It certainly would be a good
idea, though, to reconsider exporting any more of our factory work. Of course, that’s another topic. I owe another blog this month anyway. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-36763975555187566212016-03-15T15:54:00.000-07:002016-03-15T15:54:07.488-07:00Message from a conservative<div class="MsoNormal">
Yes, that’s me. Conservative. Let’s play with that little word today.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I went to college at U.C. Berkeley. I graduated with a student loan of
$500.00. My tuition was $312.00 a
quarter and my room-and-board was $1,750 for six months. I worked part time for most of the four years
I was there. I worked nearly full time
my last quarter. Part of the extra loan
was for my second ski vacation to Utah with the Cal Ski Club. When I went back to graduate school at Cal State
Hayward, I paid my tuition and finished school free of any loans. At the time, I was working as an accountant
and was the sole earner for my wife and child.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The other day, my very liberal son-in-law stated that he
wants Bernie for President because he thinks that college tuition should be
free. I respect that belief. In fact, I support it. Only forty years ago, I went to school
practically for free. I think that some
of it should be paid for, but any person who graduates college owing more money
than they can possibly earn in the coming two or three years has my absolute
sympathy. I got a nearly free
education. Every kid who wants one
should have one too.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The fact that this is a political issue makes me a conservative. Google’s definition of conservative states
that it is ‘<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">a person who is averse to change and holds to traditional
values and attitudes, typically in relation to politics.</span>’ Of course, the internet adds synonyms
like ‘Reactionary’, ‘Right-Winger’ and my favorite, ‘Diehard’. In other words, my conservatism puts me in opposition with my son-in-law. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Take a moment and reconcile this. Bernie Sanders wants free tuition. I want the same thing for my grandchildren
that I had. Bernie is seen as the angel
of change. I am a Diehard
Right-Winger. Our disagreement is in how
it is paid for. He thinks that we should
add taxes to the rich in order to pay for it.
I think that we should go back and find out how it was done before. Maybe we could gain a little knowledge from
the past. Yes, it is a conservative
point of view.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My health insurance was nearly free back in the ‘olden days’.
I managed to make a salary of $32,000 a
year, own a house, two cars and, at the time, had three children. Once again, I was the sole income
earner. Oh, and thinking back, the house
I owned was a duplex which cost $119,000 and came with a 30-year interest rate
of 8%. One of the cars was a brand new
Subaru that cost $20,000. Just so you
have perspective. This was during the
early 1980’s in the Bay Area of California.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now we have established a perspective. A few things cost less. Insurance was one of them. Kaiser Permanente had just begun offering
inexpensive HMO’s and we pretty much had our pick of doctors and
facilities. The whole plan cost me
around $150.00 a month with around a $200.00 deductible. That was it.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today, I want the same thing. After all, it doesn’t cost any more for a
doctor than it did back then. Not
really. Of course, they owe a ton more
on their student loans so they have to charge for that. So why do we pay so much more? Again, remember, I am the ‘Die-Hard
Right-Winger’. The people who have
provided us with the jump to our current HMO plans have given me a plan costing
$790/month as an individual and my personal deductible before ANYTHING is paid
is $6,000.00. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
All of our more progressive presidential candidates offer up
affordable health care (although I hear the whispered ‘for the low income
earners’ quite often attached to the affordable part). Their offers are all viewed as great
changes. My conservative point of view
says, “Hey, let’s go back and figure out why it costs so much today when we
paid so much less only 40 years ago.
Maybe we can learn something.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Get where I am going with this? <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once upon a time, long ago, George Santayana said “Those who
cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” He didn’t have a very good outlook on the past. What if we remembered history and saw some of
the good in it. Could we not repeat it
voluntarily? Perhaps that is the
ultimate in Conservatism. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dream on, MacDuff. And lead on, Diehard Right-Wing fool.<o:p></o:p></div>
mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-3022626839694326352016-02-22T08:50:00.004-08:002016-02-22T08:50:51.654-08:00Uh oh, A Horse Story!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Reader
Beware:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Another Horse Story</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Not long
ago, the temperature dropped well below zero for a few days. The wind blew, too. It was cold. During that period, I would feed the horses
twice a day and that was the extent of our contact. The barn was so cold that the cats got a
heating blanket. The horses weren’t
happy and I didn’t enjoy it at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My horse, Sam,
loves routine. He meets me at the barn
gate each day and we talk for a minute before I head inside to get his hay
bags. A couple of days after the cold
front hit, he stopped meeting me.
Instead he stood watching me from about a hundred feet away, while I
walked up to the gate. No amount of
calling or coaxing would bring him up to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Horse people
will tell you that this is a sign of disrespect, that a horse starts to get
dangerous when he makes up his mind that he is in charge. That was how Sam acted. He would not move or come to me at all. In fact, I started to get a little bit upset
about his behavior. We, I thought, had a
deal. A big part of the deal was that
Sam meet me each morning and we talk.
Simple.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One
afternoon, I had enough. I opened the
paddock gate and stomped in, ready to give Sam a large piece of my mind. I was going to back him up, move him forward
and get him back to ‘obeying’ our agreement.
He stood watching as I walked closer and something stopped me from
getting active with him. I stood, about
20 feet away, and pretended that I had no idea he was there. Normally, this elicits the proper response of
Sam walking to me. This time, nothing
happened.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I moved
farther down the paddock and away from him.
I stopped and looked off into the distance. After a short time, I looked back. He had quietly turned in place and was facing
me. I walked farther, turned to look at
him and he had turned yet again. He
would wait until I was not looking and then change his direction. He always remained exactly where he was,
though, and never moved an inch closer to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I walked
quickly down to the pasture. Normally he
follows me down. When I disappeared
behind the trees and could no longer see Sam, I stopped again. No sound, no sign of movement came from the
paddock. I inched around a tree that was
hiding me and there he was, still in the same spot but facing directly at
me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thoroughly
frustrated by this point, I very quickly strode up the paddock right at
him. He watched, unmoving, until I got
to within a couple of feet of him and then turned with me as I passed him. I kept walking, so did he. After a few feet, his head was at my shoulder
and I could feel his warm breath on my face.
We kept moving, then stopped, turned, and walked again. Each time, Sam moved right along with
me. We walked around the paddock a
little bit and he never once left my side.
In the grand scheme of things, this was a ‘moment’. I had tears in my eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">All it took
was a little bit of attention. Sam
wasn’t being disrespectful and he certainly didn’t try to push me around. He just wanted attention. As soon as he got it, he was fine again. It was a good lesson. It applies to all sorts of moments in
life. We think about our children acting
out and see it as a cry for attention. I
look at an employee’s chronic mistake issue and try to find out whether they
are lacking in attention, feeling underappreciated, or have just stopped
thinking. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Everything boils down to attention at some
point, most likely. I am so glad that
the days are getting longer. It gives me
a chance to go see Sam for a few extra minutes during the daylight hours. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Wzkid7v72XOnkhxZk8TlsHftc2_I1cbSdRCQUGKuJg6Q8BWSAIrtMVmBiZBkfT5gZ9GXnz0ykKnOXWrI8s4VCLQXad3JrSYeufDQAT7vy1IRYPCLpNLVi3xJRon097ssksNgCyuwtYM/s1600/Sam+and+Max+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7Wzkid7v72XOnkhxZk8TlsHftc2_I1cbSdRCQUGKuJg6Q8BWSAIrtMVmBiZBkfT5gZ9GXnz0ykKnOXWrI8s4VCLQXad3JrSYeufDQAT7vy1IRYPCLpNLVi3xJRon097ssksNgCyuwtYM/s320/Sam+and+Max+1.jpg" width="180" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Sam enjoys being led by his friend Max.</div>
<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span>mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-25040707074213379542016-01-22T13:17:00.000-08:002016-01-22T13:17:00.693-08:00Supplies with Demands<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I receive at
least two order status requests every day from one of our customers. The process is automated. Every email reply or request that we make
goes unanswered. We asked the customer
to stop or at least cut down on the number of times they send these. The customer has ignored us. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One status
inquiry proved to be for an order we have never received. The customer was notified. The requests for that order continue to
arrive. I wrote a rather direct note to
the customer to let them know that we are absolutely tired of receiving the
requests and we no longer have time to respond to them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The customer
failed to respond and the emails continue to arrive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This year, I
raised my prices to that customer. Call
it an Attitude Adjustment. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Another
customer sent a request that we begin processing their payments on a credit
card. They still wanted net 30
terms. They just wanted to put the net
30 terms on a credit card. Otherwise,
they told us, they would be paying in 45 days.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We responded
to the customer by giving them a choice.
We would be happy to process their payments via credit card with a 3%
surcharge to their payments to cover the cost of credit card processing. Or, they could continue paying us in net 30 days
by check or by direct deposit since that is our payment term. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The customer
was horrified at the thought of adding a service charge to their payments. Their whole goal was to accumulate air miles
at our expense. Paying a premium to do
so really wasn’t worth their while I guess.
We still receive a check and the terms are still net 30.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Getting
caught in an automated system isn’t new.
Using it to be an electronic squeaky wheel is pretty darned novel. Tossing credit cards and ‘delayed payment’
threats at suppliers is ridiculous. Do our customers actually think that we are
intellectually challenged? Perhaps they
believe that we owe those customers a huge debt of gratitude for actually
paying us on time. Or for giving us the
opportunity to do their work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We are in
business for the very same reason that all other businesses are in business. We all want a place to go that gives us money
for things that we want. Sometimes we
are passionate about our products.
Sometimes the job is all we need to be happy. Sometimes we even enjoy our work. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have
never, though, heard of a person in any business saying that they are in
business for their customers to take advantage.
I have never heard anyone say ‘wow, it’s so great that my customers
treat me like crap, demand more than I offer, want to pay less than I charge.’ No one ever said that it makes their day when
a customer expects them to grovel and beg for the work.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Conversely,
I do occasionally hear the words, “it has been a pleasure to serve you.” Those priceless words are earned, you
know. They indicate communication,
graciousness, an involvement in the work, product and job and a
relationship. The phrase tells the
customer that the transaction provided both supplier and buyer with what they
wanted and that the supplier appreciates the customer’s attitude, request and
ultimate purchase.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">While I am a
supplier during the course of my business, I also buy things. When I do, I listen to what is offered,
decide whether the offer suits me, purchase, request information and above all,
treat the supplier with respect. After
all, it is nothing less than polite. It
is also likely to earn me a smile, better pricing, faster service and a better
attitude. And it is exactly the way I
want to be treated. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I spend a
lot of time looking for reasons to tell someone that it has been a pleasure to
work for them. There aren’t a lot of opportunities these
days. There really should be more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327776540584136527.post-68084059225571332732015-12-17T21:21:00.000-08:002015-12-18T04:12:04.832-08:00My Thoughts for 2015<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is
necessarily a short blog post. First, it
is past my bedtime. Second, it has been
a long month and a half of very large amounts of work and problem-solving and
we are very near the end, which leads me to desire nothing less than a
rest. Third, if I stay up too late, I
will drink more wine, eat things that are not good for me and feel ill in the
morning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Tonight I spent a little bit of time reading
some posts on Facebook. Some of the
posters, okay most, are just there for laughs or are sharing the meal portion
of their lives (why do people on Facebook always want to show us what they are
eating tonight?). Some are my children
who share children pictures. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Occasionally,
I read a thought-provoking comment that causes me to wander into the
philosophical or political arena.
Tonight, Mike Rowe posted a good commentary regarding a response he made
to a Bernie Sanders ‘Tweet’. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Okay, an
aside. Mike is absolutely right. Any political, moral, opinion-based or
supposed factual statement that is made in one hundred forty characters or less
is not subject to anything less than straight interpretation. If an ambitious politician and his or her
staff want to use something like Twitter to further their campaign, the phrase ‘What
I meant was…’ doesn’t count at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Bernie’s
tweet: “</span><span style="background: white; color: #1c2022; font-family: "helvetica" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">At the end of the day, providing a path to go to college is a
helluva lot cheaper than putting people on a path to jail.</span>”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #1c2022; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">I’m going to refrain from making a
comment on ol’ Bern’s twit. Or
Tweet. Whatever. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #1c2022; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #1c2022; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Mike Rowe responded. He used Facebook because his response
required more characters than Twitter would allow. He was lambasted for it, apparently by
Bern-folks. They felt the need to do the
‘What I meant was…’ thing on the presidential hopeful’s behalf. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #1c2022; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #1c2022; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">I digress.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #1c2022; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #1c2022; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">My own personal thought was
this. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #1c2022; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #1c2022; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">After considering higher education
and college degrees, neither of which are possessed by most of those who work with me
(I have a tough time calling them my employees), it occurred to me that one
thing, above all else, is important. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #1c2022; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #1c2022; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">If you encourage thought by providing
an environment where all thought is rewarded, people will think. They will, in fact, prove ingenious. They will develop their own systems, their
own methods for control of quality and their own standards. They will improve. They will better themselves. They will become involved. It is a fact as truly as is the statement
that “you know it’s cold outside when you go outside and it’s cold.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #1c2022; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #1c2022; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">I am proud and happy to work in an
environment where people think. My
primary job is to encourage them. I don’t
consider myself a manager as much as a coach whose primary responsibility is to
see that decisions are made, that people learn from those decisions and that
they contribute to the growth of their company. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #1c2022; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #1c2022; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">This year we did well. Sales grew.
People grew. Those who showed
initiative were rewarded. Some made
detrimental decisions and those choices were pointed out. They were never derided, though. They were always encouraged to try
again. And they made me very proud.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #1c2022; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #1c2022; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">It is a tough thing to hold back from
telling people what to do. It is even
harder to ask for advice, to voice a thought without telling someone how he or
she should respond, especially as a manager or a leader. There are some amazing rewards, though. A
smile or a conversation with a thoughtful employee is probably one of the
biggest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #1c2022; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #1c2022; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica;">Merry Christmas and Happy
Holidays. Spend some thoughtful
time. </span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
mudlnthruhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08634911986697081406noreply@blogger.com0