The Lost Symbol
I picked up Dan Brown’s new book The Lost Symbol in the SLC airport this last Friday. I liked his books Angels and Demons and the Davinci Code. They were both well researched and although it is hard to tell fact from fiction at times, I learned quite a bit about the derivation of languages and symbolism. I have enjoyed reading Brown’s new book- it actually coincides with some of the discussions we had a lake Powell. By observing a situation, or by changing the way we think about a situation not only changes our paradigm- it causes an actual physical change to occur. There is a new branch of science called Noetic Science http://www.noetic.org/about.cfm that deals with this topic and is discussed in Dan Brown’s book.
I find this topic fascinating. There are connections that happen in nature that we just do not currently understand. I like Einstein’s quote “That which is inpenetrable to us really exists. Behind the secrets of nature remains something subtle, intangible, and inexplicable. Veneration for this force beyond anything we can comprehend is my religion.”
The fact that we can actually change a situation by thinking a certain way about it makes thinking constructive, positive, creative thoughts even more important than if we were only pure observers. One of my favorite books is by James Allen and is called As a Man Thinketh When I read it again this year, I will do it with new eyes. It is hard to know how far to take this- but the topic of proactivity and the responsibility we have for our relationships or our situations in life may be sculpted by our thoughts long before we put a shovel to the soil.
Monday, May 04, 2009
An interesting quote from Mere Christianity by CS. Lewis…
No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German Army by fighting it- not by giving in. You find out the strength of the wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives into temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it; and Christ, because he is the only man who has not yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means- the only complete realist.
No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German Army by fighting it- not by giving in. You find out the strength of the wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives into temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it; and Christ, because he is the only man who has not yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means- the only complete realist.
Friday, March 06, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Mackson is Home!
There are events in everyone’s life that herald the change of one era to the next. Our family has spent two years trying to get our son home from Haiti. On Saturday we pulled into our driveway and closed one chapter and opened another. This visit to Haiti was much different than the last two we have taken. It seems we needed one last round of opposition. Our planes were late, our ride was not at the airport in Haiti, I just about got ran over on the streets of Port Au Prince but in the end, we are all home and are grateful to have Mackson with us.
More than any trip I have been on I saw what it looks like when the scarcity mentality is taken to an extreme. Haiti shows you what happens when the majority of the population is on the first level of Maslow’s hierarchy. Just getting off an airplane in Haiti is a new experience. In the USA people get off the plane one row at a time starting at the front of the plane. In Haiti we had 50 year old ladies in row 30 determined to be the first ones off the plane. People all over the plane were arguing about who was out in the isle first. We counted at least six arguments between people just getting off the airplane!
At one road intersection eight cars from four different directions all came out into the intersection at once and traffic was completely locked in. People were out of their cars arguing about who was in the intersection first before a UN peacekeeper arrived to get traffic moving again. When this was happening I got out of the truck to buy a painting to remember Haiti by. Cars were stopped because of traffic and I tried to walk between cars to get to the other side of the road. A couple times cars moved very close to the bumper of the car ahead of them just so that I could not walk in front of them! It was amazing to see how mean and self-centered people can get when in extreme poverty. It is like watching a pack of hyenas at a fresh kill- everyone making sure they get their share and willing to fight to ensure that fact. I do not blame the people, I don’t know what I would do in the face of such extreme poverty. It was sad to see and I wish there was more we could to help change the situation. 5% of Haitians have 95% of the nation’s wealth and they are committed to make sure that does not change. I see no change in sight and am grateful that Mackson will not need to deal with this failed nation for the rest of his life. We in America have our problems but if you want to have a renewed gratitude for all the USA has to offer, spend a week in Haiti…
Monday, January 05, 2009
Outliers- Malcom Gladwell & Fountainhead Review
The day after Christmas I picked up Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. It is by far Gladwell’s best book yet. The premise of the book is finding out what makes people successful. He debunks the idea that there is a group of “born genius” that are destined to be successful because of sheer intellect. He tells the story of Bill Gates and that he was getting up at 2:00 AM to sneak out of the house and walk to the University of Washington campus so that he and a friend could work on the mainframe computer from 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM when no one else was using it. Computer time was hard to come by when there was no such thing as a personal computer. He had well over 10,000 hours of computer time before he had graduated from High School. He then got consulting jobs and eventually founded Microsoft. Gladwell talks about this 10,000 hour rule. Those who become really great at something have usually spent more than 10,000 hours doing that thing before they become great at it. It made me pause and think- have I spent 10,000 hours doing anything? I have probably spent 5,000 hours on several things- I think it is time to make a study of that one thing I want to be great at and give it some focus.
He also talked about how so much of our current culture and behavior is due to where our ancestors came from. Why Asian Students do better at math. They go to MANY more days per year of school than American students (180 days vs around 220 depending on the country). And also, their Asian ancestors grew rice. Rice farming takes much more time, focus and work than growing corn or other crops we grow in America. American children are not willing to work on a math problem as long as Asian kids. The key to our math problem is that we quit too soon, not that Asians have higher math IQ’s.
He also talks about the advantage children get from their parents style of parenting and why wealthy families usually end up having successful children. The bottom line seems to be how involved parents are in their child’s lives. Are they taking them to Orchestra or Science camp in the summer and requiring them to read book and learn the piano? Or are they just allowing them to “hang out” with friends and watch TV? During the summer is when the big differences occur. Wealthy and middle class children’s reading scores improve in the summer months giving them even more of an advantage and poorer children’s reading scores fall in the summer.
Gladwell also talked about IQ and that you really don’t get much of an advantage if you have an IQ above 120. If you have an IQ of 120, the difference then seems to be- have you put in your 10,000 hours? And those who are rockstar successful like the Bill Gates of the world, had an IQ of at least 120, put in their 10,000 hours and then a series of fortunate events occur to make the stars align. Some of success has to be attributed to being in the right place with the right opportunity at the right time. One thing seems certain, if we have not put in the hard work, it does not matter if the “stars align” or not. We will not be ready to benefit from the opportunity.
I enjoyed the book because it demystifies the difference between those who have become truly successful and those who have the potential to be successful but just have not figured it out yet.
Fountainhead Review
I have enjoyed revisiting the Fountain Head by Ayn Rand. As I have talked about this book with friends, it seems there are no fence sitters- people either love it or hate it. I have been a Rand fan for many years, but I intentionally wanted to look at this book more critically and try to see things from the point of view of my friends who hated the book…
First I have to say I really like Howard Roark (minus the rape thing- not sure why that had to be in the book.) He created greatness simply because he could and was not willing to compromise for the sake of popularity. If everyone had his motives we certainly would not be in the political/economic situation we are in today.
Some things about the Fountain Head I disagree with…
Humanism- The idea that the creation of man are the pinnacle of existence. Rand was an atheist and thus felt that there is no inspiration or ideals higher than the greatness created by man. Part of the point she was trying to make was that we sometimes say “what is man that thou art mindful of him” and degrade ourselves. We feel guilty for not being perfect and thus go to the other end of the spectrum and feel worthless. I think she was trying to make the point that human greatness should be celebrated instead of focusing on our weaknesses.
Superiority Complex- many people with gifted minds in Rand’s books don’t use their gifts to bless the world around them by creating better systems and things of beauty (Roark is an exception to this). Many like Dominique Francon, spend their time mocking those around them with inferior ability and less courage. There is a difference between being a light for others to see and being an intellectual snob that demean those less gifted.
I can excuse Peter Keating and those like him who are driven with the winds of public opinion and never have a on original idea or opinion of their own. I will never agree with them- but they didn’t have a spine to begin with and so I don’t expect anything of them. The characters I don’t understand are those that have a spine, have the ability, but choose to cruel instead of kind with their gifts. I can only take the virtue of selfishness so far. Our first obligation is for us to personally become what we are capable of becoming- BUT it is only the first obligation. According to Rand’s philosophy this is the only obligation we have. If everyone was anxiously engaged and equally capable I would agree- but this just is not reality. We don’t live in a vacuum and what we do affects those around us.
We have the ability to influence others for good and to the degree we can- we should.
It’s hard for me to be too critical because the beauty of great writing is that it makes you really think and question your own life. It makes you question your motives, your actions and the way you see the world. Rand’s books do all of these for me to a degree that few books do. Sometimes it seems we don’t like a book because it doesn’t support our current beliefs- I feel this is the wrong reason to dislike a book.
The day after Christmas I picked up Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. It is by far Gladwell’s best book yet. The premise of the book is finding out what makes people successful. He debunks the idea that there is a group of “born genius” that are destined to be successful because of sheer intellect. He tells the story of Bill Gates and that he was getting up at 2:00 AM to sneak out of the house and walk to the University of Washington campus so that he and a friend could work on the mainframe computer from 3:00 AM to 6:00 AM when no one else was using it. Computer time was hard to come by when there was no such thing as a personal computer. He had well over 10,000 hours of computer time before he had graduated from High School. He then got consulting jobs and eventually founded Microsoft. Gladwell talks about this 10,000 hour rule. Those who become really great at something have usually spent more than 10,000 hours doing that thing before they become great at it. It made me pause and think- have I spent 10,000 hours doing anything? I have probably spent 5,000 hours on several things- I think it is time to make a study of that one thing I want to be great at and give it some focus.
He also talked about how so much of our current culture and behavior is due to where our ancestors came from. Why Asian Students do better at math. They go to MANY more days per year of school than American students (180 days vs around 220 depending on the country). And also, their Asian ancestors grew rice. Rice farming takes much more time, focus and work than growing corn or other crops we grow in America. American children are not willing to work on a math problem as long as Asian kids. The key to our math problem is that we quit too soon, not that Asians have higher math IQ’s.
He also talks about the advantage children get from their parents style of parenting and why wealthy families usually end up having successful children. The bottom line seems to be how involved parents are in their child’s lives. Are they taking them to Orchestra or Science camp in the summer and requiring them to read book and learn the piano? Or are they just allowing them to “hang out” with friends and watch TV? During the summer is when the big differences occur. Wealthy and middle class children’s reading scores improve in the summer months giving them even more of an advantage and poorer children’s reading scores fall in the summer.
Gladwell also talked about IQ and that you really don’t get much of an advantage if you have an IQ above 120. If you have an IQ of 120, the difference then seems to be- have you put in your 10,000 hours? And those who are rockstar successful like the Bill Gates of the world, had an IQ of at least 120, put in their 10,000 hours and then a series of fortunate events occur to make the stars align. Some of success has to be attributed to being in the right place with the right opportunity at the right time. One thing seems certain, if we have not put in the hard work, it does not matter if the “stars align” or not. We will not be ready to benefit from the opportunity.
I enjoyed the book because it demystifies the difference between those who have become truly successful and those who have the potential to be successful but just have not figured it out yet.
Fountainhead Review
I have enjoyed revisiting the Fountain Head by Ayn Rand. As I have talked about this book with friends, it seems there are no fence sitters- people either love it or hate it. I have been a Rand fan for many years, but I intentionally wanted to look at this book more critically and try to see things from the point of view of my friends who hated the book…
First I have to say I really like Howard Roark (minus the rape thing- not sure why that had to be in the book.) He created greatness simply because he could and was not willing to compromise for the sake of popularity. If everyone had his motives we certainly would not be in the political/economic situation we are in today.
Some things about the Fountain Head I disagree with…
Humanism- The idea that the creation of man are the pinnacle of existence. Rand was an atheist and thus felt that there is no inspiration or ideals higher than the greatness created by man. Part of the point she was trying to make was that we sometimes say “what is man that thou art mindful of him” and degrade ourselves. We feel guilty for not being perfect and thus go to the other end of the spectrum and feel worthless. I think she was trying to make the point that human greatness should be celebrated instead of focusing on our weaknesses.
Superiority Complex- many people with gifted minds in Rand’s books don’t use their gifts to bless the world around them by creating better systems and things of beauty (Roark is an exception to this). Many like Dominique Francon, spend their time mocking those around them with inferior ability and less courage. There is a difference between being a light for others to see and being an intellectual snob that demean those less gifted.
I can excuse Peter Keating and those like him who are driven with the winds of public opinion and never have a on original idea or opinion of their own. I will never agree with them- but they didn’t have a spine to begin with and so I don’t expect anything of them. The characters I don’t understand are those that have a spine, have the ability, but choose to cruel instead of kind with their gifts. I can only take the virtue of selfishness so far. Our first obligation is for us to personally become what we are capable of becoming- BUT it is only the first obligation. According to Rand’s philosophy this is the only obligation we have. If everyone was anxiously engaged and equally capable I would agree- but this just is not reality. We don’t live in a vacuum and what we do affects those around us.
We have the ability to influence others for good and to the degree we can- we should.
It’s hard for me to be too critical because the beauty of great writing is that it makes you really think and question your own life. It makes you question your motives, your actions and the way you see the world. Rand’s books do all of these for me to a degree that few books do. Sometimes it seems we don’t like a book because it doesn’t support our current beliefs- I feel this is the wrong reason to dislike a book.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Sunday, November 30, 2008
The Abolition of Man- Some semi-heavy stuff by C.S. Lewis but well worth reading.
It is a compilation of three essays. My favorite is entitled Men Without Chests. It is about the role of an educator and what their role is not. In the essay he is critiquing a text book by authors he named Gaius and Titus so that he would not embarrass them. A few quotes I really liked... "Parents would be annoyed if their son returned from the dentist with his teeth untouched and his head filled with the dentist's philosophies." "They conclude that the best thing they can do is to fortify the minds of young people against emotion. My own experience as a a teacher tells the opposite tale. For every one pupil who needs to be guarded from a weak excess of sensibility there are three who need to be awakened from the slumber of cold vulgarity. The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles but to irrigate deserts. For famished nature will be avenged and a hard heart is not infallible protection against a soft head." "Aristotle says that the aim of education is to make the pupil like and dislike what he ought."
Lewis' comments on the definition of the Tao... " It is in reality beyond all predicates. the abyss that was before the creator Himself. It is Nature, it is the Way, the Road. It is the way in which the universe goes on, the way in which things everlastingly emerge, stilly and tranquilly into space and time. It is also the Way which every man should tread in imitation of that cosmic progression, conforming all activities to that great exemplar." But what is common to them all, is something that we cannot neglect. It is the doctrine of objective value, the belief that certain attitudes are really true, and others really false to the kind of thing the universe is and the kind of thing we are." He also says something that I struggle with from time to time... "The heart never takes the place of the head: but it can, and should obey it." We are sometimes told to "just follow our heart" it is hard to know the times when the head or the heart should lead out.
"The head rules the belly through the chest- the seat of magnanimity, of emotions organized by trained habit into stable sentiments. The Chest-Magnanimity-Sentiment- these are the indispensable liaison officers between cerebral man and visceral man. It may even be said that it is by this middle element that man is man: for by his intellect he is mere spirit and by his appetites mere animal. And all the time- such is the tragi-comedy of our situation- we continue to clamour for those very qualities we are rendering impossible. You can hardly open a periodical without coming across the statement that what our society needs is more 'drive' or dynamism., or self-sacrifice or 'creativity'. In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the gelding be fruitful.
It is a compilation of three essays. My favorite is entitled Men Without Chests. It is about the role of an educator and what their role is not. In the essay he is critiquing a text book by authors he named Gaius and Titus so that he would not embarrass them. A few quotes I really liked... "Parents would be annoyed if their son returned from the dentist with his teeth untouched and his head filled with the dentist's philosophies." "They conclude that the best thing they can do is to fortify the minds of young people against emotion. My own experience as a a teacher tells the opposite tale. For every one pupil who needs to be guarded from a weak excess of sensibility there are three who need to be awakened from the slumber of cold vulgarity. The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles but to irrigate deserts. For famished nature will be avenged and a hard heart is not infallible protection against a soft head." "Aristotle says that the aim of education is to make the pupil like and dislike what he ought."
Lewis' comments on the definition of the Tao... " It is in reality beyond all predicates. the abyss that was before the creator Himself. It is Nature, it is the Way, the Road. It is the way in which the universe goes on, the way in which things everlastingly emerge, stilly and tranquilly into space and time. It is also the Way which every man should tread in imitation of that cosmic progression, conforming all activities to that great exemplar." But what is common to them all, is something that we cannot neglect. It is the doctrine of objective value, the belief that certain attitudes are really true, and others really false to the kind of thing the universe is and the kind of thing we are." He also says something that I struggle with from time to time... "The heart never takes the place of the head: but it can, and should obey it." We are sometimes told to "just follow our heart" it is hard to know the times when the head or the heart should lead out.
"The head rules the belly through the chest- the seat of magnanimity, of emotions organized by trained habit into stable sentiments. The Chest-Magnanimity-Sentiment- these are the indispensable liaison officers between cerebral man and visceral man. It may even be said that it is by this middle element that man is man: for by his intellect he is mere spirit and by his appetites mere animal. And all the time- such is the tragi-comedy of our situation- we continue to clamour for those very qualities we are rendering impossible. You can hardly open a periodical without coming across the statement that what our society needs is more 'drive' or dynamism., or self-sacrifice or 'creativity'. In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the gelding be fruitful.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Fencing
Brock, Seth and I had a great time working on the fence last Saturday. This is one of the reasons I really like living on a little bit of land. Every little boy should grow up somewhere that he can pee in the back yard and play in the mud with his dog. We miss some of the ammenities of living next to a city. Great plays and restaurants, the krishna temple- where you can take your kids to something that is very different than their every day life. We miss the diversity and sometimes wonder if there is a happy medium. In the end we feel like being close to family and having enough room for goats so that Seth can drink out of thier water is more important than convenience.
Brock, Seth and I had a great time working on the fence last Saturday. This is one of the reasons I really like living on a little bit of land. Every little boy should grow up somewhere that he can pee in the back yard and play in the mud with his dog. We miss some of the ammenities of living next to a city. Great plays and restaurants, the krishna temple- where you can take your kids to something that is very different than their every day life. We miss the diversity and sometimes wonder if there is a happy medium. In the end we feel like being close to family and having enough room for goats so that Seth can drink out of thier water is more important than convenience.
Friday, November 21, 2008
We went to Haiti again last week. We were a bit nervous to see Mackson again, we wondered if he would have forgot us or would be mad for us leaving him last time we went to Haiti. Within 1 minute he was hugging Becky and would not let her put him down. He is a sweet little boy and we are looking forward to bringing him home in a couple months. The only real hurdle we have left is finding his birth mother again. She has signed papers with the Haitian government saying she is giving Mackson up for adoption, but she needs to do it again for the US government. Her home was destroyed by the recent hurricanes and she was displaced. Hopefully they will be able to find her. If not, it could take us another 3-4 months to have him declaired "abandoned" We should have him home some time between the end of January and Easter.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Thomas Jefferson Biographay
I finished a book on Thomas Jefferson- after reading John Adams biography I saw Jefferson as a man who was into appearances was fickle in his opinions. This book helped me see another side of Jefferson and help me understand why he did some of the things he did.
A few things that Jefferson was accomplished at…
Speaking, writing, the law, farming, gardening, playing the violin, a voracious reader with thousands of books in his personal library, a natural philosopher, inventor, architect (designed the University of Virginia), created the plan for public education from elementary school through college (he did this during his retirement), An amazing problem solver and thinker.
Jefferson was a champion of states rights. This is one of the main arguments he and Adams had. Adams was a Federalist and believed in a strong federal government. Jefferson wanted decisions to be made as local as possible with states having the authority to make decisions on many issues that the federal government presides over today.
Jefferson believed in a “natural” aristocracy- an aristocracy of merit and ideas. Adams on the other hand still believed in an “artificial” aristocracy like England had. An aristocracy of money and family name.
“Throughout his life, one of Jefferson’s most cherished notions has been the creation of independent farmers, at once self-sufficient and mutually dependent. No other mode of living was as conductive to true democracy or the health of the state and the individual than an existence based on the soil. Jefferson took every opportunity to contrast the virtues of rural life with the vices of the city, the pleasant advantages of farming versus the cruel hardships of manufacturing.” He later stated that he had come to realize the importance of manufacturing on America remaining free and promoted the growth of manufacturing.
“Jefferson was always far less interested in the building than the planning. Build something and it is over and done; its tense is past. Create an idea, however and it is always becoming.
America is a land of contrasts…
1- A huge central government built by a people who inherently distrust big central governments
2- A massive military-industrial war machine raised in the name of peace.
3- Defenders of freedom of religion rushing to embrace federal subsidy of sectarian private schools.
Jefferson had many contrasts as well…
1- A lawyer who distrusted the law.
2- A man of peaceful rationality who relished revolution.
3- A lover of scholarly solitude who enacted his thoughts upon a nation and broadcast his philosophy to the world.
4- A hater of slavery that kept slaves.
5- A lover of ageless liberty who never quite saw beyond the racism of his day.
6- A radical modernist most comfortable among the heroes and architecture of ancient Greece and Rome.
7- An advocate of a presidency subordinated to the legislature who nevertheless assumed executive powers that even his high handed Federalist predecessors shied away from.
Fact is that these contrasts may be what made Jefferson MOST American.
A very interesting book that I am glad I read…
I finished a book on Thomas Jefferson- after reading John Adams biography I saw Jefferson as a man who was into appearances was fickle in his opinions. This book helped me see another side of Jefferson and help me understand why he did some of the things he did.
A few things that Jefferson was accomplished at…
Speaking, writing, the law, farming, gardening, playing the violin, a voracious reader with thousands of books in his personal library, a natural philosopher, inventor, architect (designed the University of Virginia), created the plan for public education from elementary school through college (he did this during his retirement), An amazing problem solver and thinker.
Jefferson was a champion of states rights. This is one of the main arguments he and Adams had. Adams was a Federalist and believed in a strong federal government. Jefferson wanted decisions to be made as local as possible with states having the authority to make decisions on many issues that the federal government presides over today.
Jefferson believed in a “natural” aristocracy- an aristocracy of merit and ideas. Adams on the other hand still believed in an “artificial” aristocracy like England had. An aristocracy of money and family name.
“Throughout his life, one of Jefferson’s most cherished notions has been the creation of independent farmers, at once self-sufficient and mutually dependent. No other mode of living was as conductive to true democracy or the health of the state and the individual than an existence based on the soil. Jefferson took every opportunity to contrast the virtues of rural life with the vices of the city, the pleasant advantages of farming versus the cruel hardships of manufacturing.” He later stated that he had come to realize the importance of manufacturing on America remaining free and promoted the growth of manufacturing.
“Jefferson was always far less interested in the building than the planning. Build something and it is over and done; its tense is past. Create an idea, however and it is always becoming.
America is a land of contrasts…
1- A huge central government built by a people who inherently distrust big central governments
2- A massive military-industrial war machine raised in the name of peace.
3- Defenders of freedom of religion rushing to embrace federal subsidy of sectarian private schools.
Jefferson had many contrasts as well…
1- A lawyer who distrusted the law.
2- A man of peaceful rationality who relished revolution.
3- A lover of scholarly solitude who enacted his thoughts upon a nation and broadcast his philosophy to the world.
4- A hater of slavery that kept slaves.
5- A lover of ageless liberty who never quite saw beyond the racism of his day.
6- A radical modernist most comfortable among the heroes and architecture of ancient Greece and Rome.
7- An advocate of a presidency subordinated to the legislature who nevertheless assumed executive powers that even his high handed Federalist predecessors shied away from.
Fact is that these contrasts may be what made Jefferson MOST American.
A very interesting book that I am glad I read…
Monday, October 20, 2008
USU Customer Service Seminar…
The first speaker was a fellow who had won The Apprentice on TV with Donald Trump. A summary of what he said would be as follows…”Do whatever is popular and that you feel people will want to see you do. It is not the substance of greatness but the appearance of greatness that matters.” It was a good reminder that you do not always need to follow correct principles to be successful in the short term. Sometimes we see companies or people who operate in this way and we are tempted by the short-term results that we see. Nothing really great was created on the foundation of appearances.
A fellow from Proctor and Gamble was there and had some great market data. It made me jealous that he had access to so much information. Most of it was from AC Nielson and IRI. He talked of the current economic situation in our country and a few things Proctor and Gamble are expecting to happen.
1- The “low income” bracket will be the fastest growing segment of the economy. People are going to be shopping more on price than they have in years past.
2- Stores like Whole Foods (maybe Real Foods) will struggle because people have fewer dollars to spend and it needs to stretch farther than it has in times past.
3- 27% of people will spend less on groceries than they did when the economy was more sound
4- He stressed the critical role of shelf presence and being able to tell our story to the customer at a blink of an eye.
5- Low income people will splurge on brands they love.
6- Two moments of truth- when she chooses and when she uses the product.
A good presentation on customer service by Richard Hanks, a couple key thoughts….
Our customers do not see our quality and service the same way we do.
If I put my head in the over and my feet in the freezer, on average I am warm… Customers do not experience averages- they experience their individual encounter with the company.
He suggested that we need to ask them more frequently. As Doug, Blake and I talked about it, I think we disagree with him. We feel we need to build a system so focused on the customer that we do not need to ask. I do not think Nordstrom’s is always asking “How are we doing?” they know how they are doing deep down and people continue to rave about their service to others.
I feel we should stop doing customer surveys and build a system of customer service that is beyond questioning.
The first speaker was a fellow who had won The Apprentice on TV with Donald Trump. A summary of what he said would be as follows…”Do whatever is popular and that you feel people will want to see you do. It is not the substance of greatness but the appearance of greatness that matters.” It was a good reminder that you do not always need to follow correct principles to be successful in the short term. Sometimes we see companies or people who operate in this way and we are tempted by the short-term results that we see. Nothing really great was created on the foundation of appearances.
A fellow from Proctor and Gamble was there and had some great market data. It made me jealous that he had access to so much information. Most of it was from AC Nielson and IRI. He talked of the current economic situation in our country and a few things Proctor and Gamble are expecting to happen.
1- The “low income” bracket will be the fastest growing segment of the economy. People are going to be shopping more on price than they have in years past.
2- Stores like Whole Foods (maybe Real Foods) will struggle because people have fewer dollars to spend and it needs to stretch farther than it has in times past.
3- 27% of people will spend less on groceries than they did when the economy was more sound
4- He stressed the critical role of shelf presence and being able to tell our story to the customer at a blink of an eye.
5- Low income people will splurge on brands they love.
6- Two moments of truth- when she chooses and when she uses the product.
A good presentation on customer service by Richard Hanks, a couple key thoughts….
Our customers do not see our quality and service the same way we do.
If I put my head in the over and my feet in the freezer, on average I am warm… Customers do not experience averages- they experience their individual encounter with the company.
He suggested that we need to ask them more frequently. As Doug, Blake and I talked about it, I think we disagree with him. We feel we need to build a system so focused on the customer that we do not need to ask. I do not think Nordstrom’s is always asking “How are we doing?” they know how they are doing deep down and people continue to rave about their service to others.
I feel we should stop doing customer surveys and build a system of customer service that is beyond questioning.
Monday, July 07, 2008
Grandpa Bastian Died at age 96- June 27, 2008
Everyone has a few people in their life that have shaped and molded them. You are not completely aware of the totality of their influence, you only know you would be a different person had they not been a part of your life. My Grandpa Bastian was one of those people for me. He died this Friday afternoon at 5:38 PM at the age of 96.
It is impossible to summarize in words what my Grandpa meant to me. Many of my earliest recollections of life are with me driving a tractor or combine between his knees as he would poke me in the ribs when I would veer too far to one side. As we were working the fields he would tell me the stories of his life. What it was like to grow up in an era when physical strength was so much more important than it is today. All of the contests they would have- seeing who could buck hay the highest, lift an anvil onto a table with one hand etc… He would also tell me the story of how he met my grandma and of their courtship and early life. A tape I made of his stories is one of my most prized possessions.One of the ways I feel I have been most cheated in life is not to have known my grandpa in his prime. He was 59 when I was born which means he was about 65 when I first remember him. Even at 65 he seemed larger than life to me, very strong in both body and mind. I wonder what it would have been like to know him when he was 35?
He owned a gas station in Aurora that I would help him run after schools and on weekends when I was about 12 years old. I loved when my uncles Jake and Garn and a few other farmers would come in and they would all pitch quarters for drinks and debate who’s corn was looking the best that year.
Until he was in his late 80’s I can not remember grandpa ever passing a child on the street without stopping and giving him a piece of candy. He did not do well at the gas station business because he would let everyone charge and never had the heart to aggressively collect from them. He never passed a hitchhiker without giving them a ride, paying them $5.00 for their pack of cigarettes, telling them to join the church and get a good job where they can make something of their life.
The last 15 years have been hard to watch grandpa slowly lose the ability to do the things that he loved to do. He had two loves in his life, his work and his family. And because he always worked with his family, it was even hard to separate those two loves. Up until a couple years ago he was feeding cows every morning and working on the farm as much as my dad dared let him. He was so frustrated that my dad would not let him do more, but deep down I think he knew he just was not able to hear and see well enough to work the machinery safely.
It has been so difficult for me to see my grandpa wither away over the past few years- almost more than I could bear at times. It was hard for me to learn that superman is mortal after all. I could go on for hours writing about him and probably will in my journal but won’t trouble all of you with that.
My grandpa was a living testament to the fact that a honest, hard working man that loves his family can leave this world a much better place than he found it. I find myself haunted by his example, and feel it unlikely to ever fill his shoes. It is an honor to call him my grandpa and to have been able to know him in such an intimate way. I have missed the real him for years as age has taken its toll on his body. I am so glad that he is now free to be himself again although he will be greatly missed.
Everyone has a few people in their life that have shaped and molded them. You are not completely aware of the totality of their influence, you only know you would be a different person had they not been a part of your life. My Grandpa Bastian was one of those people for me. He died this Friday afternoon at 5:38 PM at the age of 96.
It is impossible to summarize in words what my Grandpa meant to me. Many of my earliest recollections of life are with me driving a tractor or combine between his knees as he would poke me in the ribs when I would veer too far to one side. As we were working the fields he would tell me the stories of his life. What it was like to grow up in an era when physical strength was so much more important than it is today. All of the contests they would have- seeing who could buck hay the highest, lift an anvil onto a table with one hand etc… He would also tell me the story of how he met my grandma and of their courtship and early life. A tape I made of his stories is one of my most prized possessions.One of the ways I feel I have been most cheated in life is not to have known my grandpa in his prime. He was 59 when I was born which means he was about 65 when I first remember him. Even at 65 he seemed larger than life to me, very strong in both body and mind. I wonder what it would have been like to know him when he was 35?
He owned a gas station in Aurora that I would help him run after schools and on weekends when I was about 12 years old. I loved when my uncles Jake and Garn and a few other farmers would come in and they would all pitch quarters for drinks and debate who’s corn was looking the best that year.
Until he was in his late 80’s I can not remember grandpa ever passing a child on the street without stopping and giving him a piece of candy. He did not do well at the gas station business because he would let everyone charge and never had the heart to aggressively collect from them. He never passed a hitchhiker without giving them a ride, paying them $5.00 for their pack of cigarettes, telling them to join the church and get a good job where they can make something of their life.
The last 15 years have been hard to watch grandpa slowly lose the ability to do the things that he loved to do. He had two loves in his life, his work and his family. And because he always worked with his family, it was even hard to separate those two loves. Up until a couple years ago he was feeding cows every morning and working on the farm as much as my dad dared let him. He was so frustrated that my dad would not let him do more, but deep down I think he knew he just was not able to hear and see well enough to work the machinery safely.
It has been so difficult for me to see my grandpa wither away over the past few years- almost more than I could bear at times. It was hard for me to learn that superman is mortal after all. I could go on for hours writing about him and probably will in my journal but won’t trouble all of you with that.
My grandpa was a living testament to the fact that a honest, hard working man that loves his family can leave this world a much better place than he found it. I find myself haunted by his example, and feel it unlikely to ever fill his shoes. It is an honor to call him my grandpa and to have been able to know him in such an intimate way. I have missed the real him for years as age has taken its toll on his body. I am so glad that he is now free to be himself again although he will be greatly missed.
Thursday, May 08, 2008
EMPIRE OF DEBT
Finished Empire of Debt, here are some quotes I liked and learnings I took from it…
Watching the news is a bit like watching a bad opera. You can tell from all the shrieking that something very important is supposed to be happening, but you don’t quite know what it is.
Savings
Americans consume more than they earn. The difference is made up by thrifty Asians whose savings are recycled into granite countertops and flat screen TV’s all over the United States.
The savings rate in China is 25%. The savings rate in America is -.4%. Asians now own enough US dollar assets to buy a controlling interest in every company on the DOW. They have enough T-bonds to destroy the US economy on a whim.
And what about the millions of dead Americans who immigrated to the United States to find freedom- what would they think of our current situation? What would they thing of their descendants so deeply in debt and so dependant on Asian lenders that they can barely pass a Chinese restaurant without bending over and kissing the pavement?
When an economy comes to depend more and more on credit, it must get more and more of it or that economy will stop. A man who has borrowed heavily to finance a lifestyle he cannot afford must keep borrowing to keep up with appearance. Or else he must stop.
Housing
Houses are too expensive. They usually go up at a rate roughly equal the rate of inflation, income or GDP growth- no more. For the past 10 years however, they have gone up three to five times as fast House prices can not grow faster than income for very long; people have to be able to pay the price in order to live in them. So, you can expect housing prices to revert to their mean too. Prices will fall or else stop rising. These simple reversions to mean are hardly controversial. We don’t know what will happen or how, but that they will come about is practically guaranteed.
One dillusion that has been especially fetching lately. Alan Greenspan tells us that as long as house prices rise in parallel with household debt there should be no problem. He must know that this is not true. Relative to his assets, he says, the US consumer is not over indebted. This is a little like telling a man not to worry about drinking too much as long as he is getting fatter at the same time! The price of the house is only of interest if he is going to sell and live in a cave, or die. Otherwise, he has no way of realizing the inflated value of his house- except borrowing against it, which only makes the situation worse.
Stock Market
When people you know are of the opinion that stocks will rise 15% per year indefinitely, you are nearer to the top of the market than the bottom. When people believe the opposite- that stocks will never go up, most likely you are near a bottom.
The Dollar
A landmark in the history of America happened in 1971 when Richard Nixon said that the value of the dollar would no longer be calibrated with the value of gold.
We can measure the damage by looking at the price of gold. In 1970, each dollar would by an investor 1/34 oz. of gold. Thirty five years later, a dollar would buy us 1/425 oz. of gold. Today a dollar will buy 1/870 oz. of gold. For the many years after 1913 when the Federal Reserve was set up, gold remained as immoveable in it’s value as ever. It would buy roughly the same amount of good then as it did when Christ was born. As a result of losing it’s backing to gold- guess how much the dollar is worth in comparison to what it was worth in 1913 in purchasing power? 5 cents.
The USA economy has been so strong for so long, people all over the world have come to accept it’s currency as though it were real money; they take it and ask nothing in return. In exchange for a shipment of TV sets, the Japanese take a wad of $100 bills and call it even. And here is another remarkable thing: the bills tend to stay over seas wher they are uses to buy another form of USA paper, Treasury Bonds. The United States can print as many $100 bills as it wants. So can it issue as many bonds and notes as it pleases. As long as people don’t try to exchange them for other forms of wealth- all is well…
Taxes and Spending
I have been frustrated with our current administrations fiscal policy of wanting to have their cake and eat it too. President Bush cut taxes- which is wonderful. Tax cuts are a good way to stimulate the economy as people risk more when they do not feel most of it is going to be taken by the government anyway. On the other hand- Government not only needs to cut taxes, they need to curtail spending. Our current policy is to lower taxes, but not spending leaving a HUGE debt to be paid by us and our grandchildren. The debt equals more that $100,000 for every man, woman and child in America when unfunded liabilities are considered.
Thomas Jefferson was against this sort of debt. He said “ No generation can contract debts greater than can be paid in the course of it’s own existence.”
Defense
America spends as much on defense as the rest of the world combined. Do we really need to spend that much?
Conclusion
He ended the book with the following suggestions
1- Don’t get caught up in the whole- “spend more than you make” society we live in.
2- Invest in BUSINESSES not stocks- that have fundamental value. He is a big fan of Warren Buffett and his style of investing
3- A home is not an investment- It creates nothing of value that can be sold. It’s price may go up, but it’s value stays the same. The value comes from allowing my family a comfortable place to live.
4- Gold is a good way to protect value- its worth has been stable for thousands of years. Do not expect gold to be an investment either- it creates nothing of value.
5- Expect there to be a significant change in our economy at some future time. We can not spend more than we make as a country indefinitely without significant ramifications.
Somewhere in the still unwritten Essentialists Handbook it warns readers that “they cannot be too trusting in private nor too cynical in public.” Essentialists make private life paramount. They “sweep their own doorsteps” as Goethe put it, in hopes of making the whole world clean.
A final line from Benjamin Franklin- “So, we leave you a republic, if you can keep it.”
Finished Empire of Debt, here are some quotes I liked and learnings I took from it…
Watching the news is a bit like watching a bad opera. You can tell from all the shrieking that something very important is supposed to be happening, but you don’t quite know what it is.
Savings
Americans consume more than they earn. The difference is made up by thrifty Asians whose savings are recycled into granite countertops and flat screen TV’s all over the United States.
The savings rate in China is 25%. The savings rate in America is -.4%. Asians now own enough US dollar assets to buy a controlling interest in every company on the DOW. They have enough T-bonds to destroy the US economy on a whim.
And what about the millions of dead Americans who immigrated to the United States to find freedom- what would they think of our current situation? What would they thing of their descendants so deeply in debt and so dependant on Asian lenders that they can barely pass a Chinese restaurant without bending over and kissing the pavement?
When an economy comes to depend more and more on credit, it must get more and more of it or that economy will stop. A man who has borrowed heavily to finance a lifestyle he cannot afford must keep borrowing to keep up with appearance. Or else he must stop.
Housing
Houses are too expensive. They usually go up at a rate roughly equal the rate of inflation, income or GDP growth- no more. For the past 10 years however, they have gone up three to five times as fast House prices can not grow faster than income for very long; people have to be able to pay the price in order to live in them. So, you can expect housing prices to revert to their mean too. Prices will fall or else stop rising. These simple reversions to mean are hardly controversial. We don’t know what will happen or how, but that they will come about is practically guaranteed.
One dillusion that has been especially fetching lately. Alan Greenspan tells us that as long as house prices rise in parallel with household debt there should be no problem. He must know that this is not true. Relative to his assets, he says, the US consumer is not over indebted. This is a little like telling a man not to worry about drinking too much as long as he is getting fatter at the same time! The price of the house is only of interest if he is going to sell and live in a cave, or die. Otherwise, he has no way of realizing the inflated value of his house- except borrowing against it, which only makes the situation worse.
Stock Market
When people you know are of the opinion that stocks will rise 15% per year indefinitely, you are nearer to the top of the market than the bottom. When people believe the opposite- that stocks will never go up, most likely you are near a bottom.
The Dollar
A landmark in the history of America happened in 1971 when Richard Nixon said that the value of the dollar would no longer be calibrated with the value of gold.
We can measure the damage by looking at the price of gold. In 1970, each dollar would by an investor 1/34 oz. of gold. Thirty five years later, a dollar would buy us 1/425 oz. of gold. Today a dollar will buy 1/870 oz. of gold. For the many years after 1913 when the Federal Reserve was set up, gold remained as immoveable in it’s value as ever. It would buy roughly the same amount of good then as it did when Christ was born. As a result of losing it’s backing to gold- guess how much the dollar is worth in comparison to what it was worth in 1913 in purchasing power? 5 cents.
The USA economy has been so strong for so long, people all over the world have come to accept it’s currency as though it were real money; they take it and ask nothing in return. In exchange for a shipment of TV sets, the Japanese take a wad of $100 bills and call it even. And here is another remarkable thing: the bills tend to stay over seas wher they are uses to buy another form of USA paper, Treasury Bonds. The United States can print as many $100 bills as it wants. So can it issue as many bonds and notes as it pleases. As long as people don’t try to exchange them for other forms of wealth- all is well…
Taxes and Spending
I have been frustrated with our current administrations fiscal policy of wanting to have their cake and eat it too. President Bush cut taxes- which is wonderful. Tax cuts are a good way to stimulate the economy as people risk more when they do not feel most of it is going to be taken by the government anyway. On the other hand- Government not only needs to cut taxes, they need to curtail spending. Our current policy is to lower taxes, but not spending leaving a HUGE debt to be paid by us and our grandchildren. The debt equals more that $100,000 for every man, woman and child in America when unfunded liabilities are considered.
Thomas Jefferson was against this sort of debt. He said “ No generation can contract debts greater than can be paid in the course of it’s own existence.”
Defense
America spends as much on defense as the rest of the world combined. Do we really need to spend that much?
Conclusion
He ended the book with the following suggestions
1- Don’t get caught up in the whole- “spend more than you make” society we live in.
2- Invest in BUSINESSES not stocks- that have fundamental value. He is a big fan of Warren Buffett and his style of investing
3- A home is not an investment- It creates nothing of value that can be sold. It’s price may go up, but it’s value stays the same. The value comes from allowing my family a comfortable place to live.
4- Gold is a good way to protect value- its worth has been stable for thousands of years. Do not expect gold to be an investment either- it creates nothing of value.
5- Expect there to be a significant change in our economy at some future time. We can not spend more than we make as a country indefinitely without significant ramifications.
Somewhere in the still unwritten Essentialists Handbook it warns readers that “they cannot be too trusting in private nor too cynical in public.” Essentialists make private life paramount. They “sweep their own doorsteps” as Goethe put it, in hopes of making the whole world clean.
A final line from Benjamin Franklin- “So, we leave you a republic, if you can keep it.”
Monday, December 17, 2007
Tyranny of the OR....
It was a great learning week for me, traveling too and from ACRES gave me quite a few hours to study. One of my main take- homes this past week is a contrast of philosophies.
First, from the book The Toyota Way, as they were working on designing the first Lexus vehicle, they stated the vehicle needed to…
1- Have great high speed handling YET A pleasant ride
2- Fast and smooth ride YET Low fuel consumption
3- Super Quiet YET Light weight
4- Elegant styling YET Great aerodynamics
5- Warm YET Functional interior
6- Great stability at high speed YET Low friction
Toyota was not willing to accept the word OR- they demanded a third alternative.
It seems demanding a third alternative is one of the keys of true innovation. This it a huge difference that I see between Toyota and much of the organic movement. There is much I learn and appreciate from the ACRES conference, but I do not agree with their methods of change.
Common thoughts in the ACRES/ organic movement
1- being independent OR cooperating with regulation
2- Healthy food OR the food we can get at Wal-Mart
There are many other ways where it seems this group is not looking for a third alternative. They want to confront and downgrade regulators rather than working with and educating them.
In order for us to have access to great food on a large scale in our society, people in power are going to need to be educated and accept change. I am not naïve enough to think this is a simple task, but attempting it seems more productive than fighting them.
The backwards way that the organic movement approaches change may increase the amount of time it takes to get real food in the hands of the masses.
I am grateful for a great reminder for the need to look for third alternatives.
It was a great learning week for me, traveling too and from ACRES gave me quite a few hours to study. One of my main take- homes this past week is a contrast of philosophies.
First, from the book The Toyota Way, as they were working on designing the first Lexus vehicle, they stated the vehicle needed to…
1- Have great high speed handling YET A pleasant ride
2- Fast and smooth ride YET Low fuel consumption
3- Super Quiet YET Light weight
4- Elegant styling YET Great aerodynamics
5- Warm YET Functional interior
6- Great stability at high speed YET Low friction
Toyota was not willing to accept the word OR- they demanded a third alternative.
It seems demanding a third alternative is one of the keys of true innovation. This it a huge difference that I see between Toyota and much of the organic movement. There is much I learn and appreciate from the ACRES conference, but I do not agree with their methods of change.
Common thoughts in the ACRES/ organic movement
1- being independent OR cooperating with regulation
2- Healthy food OR the food we can get at Wal-Mart
There are many other ways where it seems this group is not looking for a third alternative. They want to confront and downgrade regulators rather than working with and educating them.
In order for us to have access to great food on a large scale in our society, people in power are going to need to be educated and accept change. I am not naïve enough to think this is a simple task, but attempting it seems more productive than fighting them.
The backwards way that the organic movement approaches change may increase the amount of time it takes to get real food in the hands of the masses.
I am grateful for a great reminder for the need to look for third alternatives.
Monday, October 29, 2007
Some quotes from the 5000 Year Leap…
After eight years in exile as a communist- living in the USSR, Eldridge Cleaver asked to be allowed to return to the United States and pay whatever penalty he was due. He and his wife were no longer communists (or atheists). Bitter years behind the iron and bamboo curtains had dispelled the propaganda concerning “equality” and “justice” under communism. Cleaver told the press: “ I would rather be in jail in America than be free anywhere else.”
The founders distinguished between equal rights and other areas where equality is impossible. They recognized that society should seek to provide equal opportunity but not expect equal results; provide equal freedom but not expect equal capacity; provide equal rights but not equal possessions; provide equal protection but not equal status; provide equal educational opportunities but not ensure equal grades…
Benjamin Franklin’s view on counter-productive compassion-
1- Compassion which gives a drunk the means to increase his drunkenness is counter-productive
2- Compassion which breeds debilitating dependency and weakness is counter-productive
3- Compassion which blunts the desire or necessity to work for a living in counter productive.
4- Compassion which smothers the instinct to strive and excel is counter-productive
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly, all experience has shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But, when a long train of abuses and usurpation pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.
The government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the people and that, when any government shall be found inadequate or contrary to these purposes, a MAJORITY of the community have an inalienable right to alter, reform or abolish it, in a manner as shall be judged most conducive to the public weal.
The reason I feel this last paragraph is so significant is because we do not have the right of MINORITY revolt. Starting a militia and blowing up the Oklahoma City Federal Building is not an option. It has to come at a time when the majority of people are willing to stand up and say- NO MORE. Many of the same arguments that were used to justify our seceding from England exist today- some of the abuses today are much worse- but until we all get fed up enough to stand up and say “no more” as the majority of the people- we have no right to real change. I am not sure I see that happening any time soon although I am very frustrated with the politics of today…
After eight years in exile as a communist- living in the USSR, Eldridge Cleaver asked to be allowed to return to the United States and pay whatever penalty he was due. He and his wife were no longer communists (or atheists). Bitter years behind the iron and bamboo curtains had dispelled the propaganda concerning “equality” and “justice” under communism. Cleaver told the press: “ I would rather be in jail in America than be free anywhere else.”
The founders distinguished between equal rights and other areas where equality is impossible. They recognized that society should seek to provide equal opportunity but not expect equal results; provide equal freedom but not expect equal capacity; provide equal rights but not equal possessions; provide equal protection but not equal status; provide equal educational opportunities but not ensure equal grades…
Benjamin Franklin’s view on counter-productive compassion-
1- Compassion which gives a drunk the means to increase his drunkenness is counter-productive
2- Compassion which breeds debilitating dependency and weakness is counter-productive
3- Compassion which blunts the desire or necessity to work for a living in counter productive.
4- Compassion which smothers the instinct to strive and excel is counter-productive
Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly, all experience has shown, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But, when a long train of abuses and usurpation pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security.
The government is, or ought to be, instituted for the common benefit, protection, and security of the people and that, when any government shall be found inadequate or contrary to these purposes, a MAJORITY of the community have an inalienable right to alter, reform or abolish it, in a manner as shall be judged most conducive to the public weal.
The reason I feel this last paragraph is so significant is because we do not have the right of MINORITY revolt. Starting a militia and blowing up the Oklahoma City Federal Building is not an option. It has to come at a time when the majority of people are willing to stand up and say- NO MORE. Many of the same arguments that were used to justify our seceding from England exist today- some of the abuses today are much worse- but until we all get fed up enough to stand up and say “no more” as the majority of the people- we have no right to real change. I am not sure I see that happening any time soon although I am very frustrated with the politics of today…
Saturday, October 27, 2007
For years Becky has been sending me to the store with "a list". For someone as prideful as me, a list is so limiting. I KNOW I can remember everything on the list, my mind is a steel trap. Becky is starting to agree, once somethings gets in my mind, it is never getting back out-like "what was on that list anyway?" At times I have difficulty "remembering" to get everything on the evil list. I am taking a big step today- I am coming out of the closet and admitting that from time to time I forget things. For this
reason, I am changing the way I use this blog. Until now I have been using this blog only as a catalog of a few thoughts from some of the significant books I read. The blog has become much too serious and impersonal. My intention is that I will use this blog as a more encompassing journal of what is going on in my life and the lives of my hot wife and kids. I am doing this because it seems I may not remember everything that happens in my life. I would have much rather stayed in my little utopia- thinking that I remembered everything, it would have taken much less effort than writing everything down. I mean really, if I don't remember it than I obviously don't miss it right? I could have gone through life perfectly happy- if not for the list.
The picture I posted above is my son Brock in the Gooseberry mountains. We went deer hunting this year and he was the GPS man, in charge of not getting us lost. It was a perfect deer hunt. We went on some great hikes, saw a lot of beautiful animals, caught about 30 fish and did not have to take one shot at a deer. Times like like these need to be remembered, it is good I had the list to remind me of that...
reason, I am changing the way I use this blog. Until now I have been using this blog only as a catalog of a few thoughts from some of the significant books I read. The blog has become much too serious and impersonal. My intention is that I will use this blog as a more encompassing journal of what is going on in my life and the lives of my hot wife and kids. I am doing this because it seems I may not remember everything that happens in my life. I would have much rather stayed in my little utopia- thinking that I remembered everything, it would have taken much less effort than writing everything down. I mean really, if I don't remember it than I obviously don't miss it right? I could have gone through life perfectly happy- if not for the list. The picture I posted above is my son Brock in the Gooseberry mountains. We went deer hunting this year and he was the GPS man, in charge of not getting us lost. It was a perfect deer hunt. We went on some great hikes, saw a lot of beautiful animals, caught about 30 fish and did not have to take one shot at a deer. Times like like these need to be remembered, it is good I had the list to remind me of that...
Monday, September 24, 2007
Maverick- Ricardo Semler
Last week I read a great book- Maverick by Ricardo Semler. He is also the author of 7 day weekend.
So many things at Semco- Semler’s company, are similar to what we do here at Redmond. They are organized into many small companies to allow them to be nimble and decrease bureaucracy. They also believe that making a profit is not the goal of business although it is essential.
A few good quotes from the book…
“It’s so easy to blame employees when a business does badly, but often they haven’t had the freedom to work or the motivation to perform as if the business were theirs.”
“it took us almost a decade to learn that our stress was internally generated, the result
of an immature organization and infantile goals.” We should probably ask ourselves
where our stress originates from.
He also told the story of the three men working. One said he was laying bricks, one was
building a building and one was building a temple. How often at work do we have the big picture and realize we have the opportunity to build temples in our own realm of responsibility.
“We simply do not believe our employees have an interest in coming in late, leaving early, and doing as little as possible for as much money as their union can wheedle out of us. After all, these same people raise children, join the PTA, elect mayors, governors, senators, and presidents. They are adults. At Semco (Redmond) we treat them like adults. We trust them. We don’t make our employees ask permission to go to the bathroom. We get out of their way and let them do their jobs.”
Some beliefs that Semler held the he found was faulty…
1- The belief that effort and results are directly proportional
2- The gospel that the quantity of work is more important than the quality of work.
3- “Things are a little irregular at work right now, I will just need to work a little longer until they straighten out.”
4- “Fear of delegation and it’s cousin, fear of replaceability. – we sometimes do not delegate things that we probably should…
5- I no longer wear a wrist watch- it struck me that life should be measured in years and decades- not minutes or hours.
“Without rules, all answers are suggested by common sense. No, I can’t define what common sense is, but I know it when I see it..”
“Growth through acquisition is exciting, cancerous and ulcer-inducing.”
“Much about growth is really about ego and greed, not business strategy.”
“It is not worth it to me to have a company at which you do not trust the people with which you work”
Semco changes their team leaders responsibility every few years. It would be akin to Kyle and Boyd switching jobs and Sammy and Deran changing roles at the end of the year.
Some things that I do not agree with that Semco does- they subsidize employee lunches for some employees- treating them as inferiors. On one hand they tell their employees that they are adults and that they want them to succeed, and on the other hand they caudle them and do not treat them like equals.
They also vote on all decisions making it democratic. I feel that everyone should be heard- that everyone should have a say in decisions. But in the end the decision should not be left to a popular vote. Popular vote assumes that everyone with a vote has the same amount and quality of information and in some instances this is not the case.
One of my favorite quotes…
“At the heart of our bold experiment is a truth so simple it would be silly if it wasn’t so rarely recognized. A company should trust its destiny to its employees.”
Last week I read a great book- Maverick by Ricardo Semler. He is also the author of 7 day weekend.
So many things at Semco- Semler’s company, are similar to what we do here at Redmond. They are organized into many small companies to allow them to be nimble and decrease bureaucracy. They also believe that making a profit is not the goal of business although it is essential.
A few good quotes from the book…
“It’s so easy to blame employees when a business does badly, but often they haven’t had the freedom to work or the motivation to perform as if the business were theirs.”
“it took us almost a decade to learn that our stress was internally generated, the result
of an immature organization and infantile goals.” We should probably ask ourselves
where our stress originates from.
He also told the story of the three men working. One said he was laying bricks, one was
building a building and one was building a temple. How often at work do we have the big picture and realize we have the opportunity to build temples in our own realm of responsibility.
“We simply do not believe our employees have an interest in coming in late, leaving early, and doing as little as possible for as much money as their union can wheedle out of us. After all, these same people raise children, join the PTA, elect mayors, governors, senators, and presidents. They are adults. At Semco (Redmond) we treat them like adults. We trust them. We don’t make our employees ask permission to go to the bathroom. We get out of their way and let them do their jobs.”
Some beliefs that Semler held the he found was faulty…
1- The belief that effort and results are directly proportional
2- The gospel that the quantity of work is more important than the quality of work.
3- “Things are a little irregular at work right now, I will just need to work a little longer until they straighten out.”
4- “Fear of delegation and it’s cousin, fear of replaceability. – we sometimes do not delegate things that we probably should…
5- I no longer wear a wrist watch- it struck me that life should be measured in years and decades- not minutes or hours.
“Without rules, all answers are suggested by common sense. No, I can’t define what common sense is, but I know it when I see it..”
“Growth through acquisition is exciting, cancerous and ulcer-inducing.”
“Much about growth is really about ego and greed, not business strategy.”
“It is not worth it to me to have a company at which you do not trust the people with which you work”
Semco changes their team leaders responsibility every few years. It would be akin to Kyle and Boyd switching jobs and Sammy and Deran changing roles at the end of the year.
Some things that I do not agree with that Semco does- they subsidize employee lunches for some employees- treating them as inferiors. On one hand they tell their employees that they are adults and that they want them to succeed, and on the other hand they caudle them and do not treat them like equals.
They also vote on all decisions making it democratic. I feel that everyone should be heard- that everyone should have a say in decisions. But in the end the decision should not be left to a popular vote. Popular vote assumes that everyone with a vote has the same amount and quality of information and in some instances this is not the case.
One of my favorite quotes…
“At the heart of our bold experiment is a truth so simple it would be silly if it wasn’t so rarely recognized. A company should trust its destiny to its employees.”
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
"Communication"
We had a good discussion in our Shared Experience meeting about the relativity of truth. I do not espouse the idea of moral relativism and believe that there are absolute truths. I appreciated our discussion, because since then I have been thinking about the fact that even though absolute truth exists, we may sometimes err in thinking that because we are aware of and believe in a truth that our actions are in alignment with that truth.
As in most areas in life, when it comes to absolute truth, the errors come in the application. When we see a thing, we assume that we are seeing it correctly, when in reality we have filtered it through the lens of our experiences and beliefs and made it into something that is only real to us. We get in trouble (at least I do) when I project my “truth” onto someone else and not only expect them to see it, but to abide by it.
I think (here I go, with my own version of the truth again…) this is one of the fundamental problems with communication- that when we speak to someone, we expect that they hear what we say. They do not hear what we say they hear words that they filter through their own lens and then nod politely as if they actually understood what we were getting at.
I really like the quote- “ The problem with communication is that we think it has actually taken place.” With my new learning I will try to do two things…
1- be more tolerant of other people’s truths.
2- assume less in communication. It is very hard to over-communicate, and being busy, I too often err on the side of just expecting that the other person understood- understand?
We had a good discussion in our Shared Experience meeting about the relativity of truth. I do not espouse the idea of moral relativism and believe that there are absolute truths. I appreciated our discussion, because since then I have been thinking about the fact that even though absolute truth exists, we may sometimes err in thinking that because we are aware of and believe in a truth that our actions are in alignment with that truth.
As in most areas in life, when it comes to absolute truth, the errors come in the application. When we see a thing, we assume that we are seeing it correctly, when in reality we have filtered it through the lens of our experiences and beliefs and made it into something that is only real to us. We get in trouble (at least I do) when I project my “truth” onto someone else and not only expect them to see it, but to abide by it.
I think (here I go, with my own version of the truth again…) this is one of the fundamental problems with communication- that when we speak to someone, we expect that they hear what we say. They do not hear what we say they hear words that they filter through their own lens and then nod politely as if they actually understood what we were getting at.
I really like the quote- “ The problem with communication is that we think it has actually taken place.” With my new learning I will try to do two things…
1- be more tolerant of other people’s truths.
2- assume less in communication. It is very hard to over-communicate, and being busy, I too often err on the side of just expecting that the other person understood- understand?
Monday, March 19, 2007
The Anatomy of Peace
I finished a book by the Arbinger Institute last week called The Anatomy of Peace It discussed some of the same principles as Leadership and Self Deception, but focused more on the effects of treating others as objects- as tools to be used to accomplish our goals. I am sure that without knowing it- I have treated people like objects instead of people. The busier we are- the easier this is to do. It was a good reminder for me to
Make sure I am taking the time to treat everyone I meet as a person instead of an object.
Over the past few years I have noticed something that is sad to me. When I go to a hotel, I try to make it a point to talk to the ladies that are cleaning the rooms. A good majority of them are Hispanic or Black depending on where in America the hotel is located. I talk to these ladies as equals (because they are) and I can tell they are usually shocked that someone is acknowledging them. These are the kind of people I feel it is all too easy to treat like objects- a tool that happens to clean hotel rooms. There are people like this all around us- the lady that drives our kids home on the bus- or the retired man who works at the crosswalks to help our kids cross the street. Maybe we should do more to let these people know that what they do, really matters. It seems to be more a matter of our awareness and gratitude for the contribution of others than a lack of caring. At times we get just a little too busy to notice….
I finished a book by the Arbinger Institute last week called The Anatomy of Peace It discussed some of the same principles as Leadership and Self Deception, but focused more on the effects of treating others as objects- as tools to be used to accomplish our goals. I am sure that without knowing it- I have treated people like objects instead of people. The busier we are- the easier this is to do. It was a good reminder for me to
Make sure I am taking the time to treat everyone I meet as a person instead of an object.
Over the past few years I have noticed something that is sad to me. When I go to a hotel, I try to make it a point to talk to the ladies that are cleaning the rooms. A good majority of them are Hispanic or Black depending on where in America the hotel is located. I talk to these ladies as equals (because they are) and I can tell they are usually shocked that someone is acknowledging them. These are the kind of people I feel it is all too easy to treat like objects- a tool that happens to clean hotel rooms. There are people like this all around us- the lady that drives our kids home on the bus- or the retired man who works at the crosswalks to help our kids cross the street. Maybe we should do more to let these people know that what they do, really matters. It seems to be more a matter of our awareness and gratitude for the contribution of others than a lack of caring. At times we get just a little too busy to notice….
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