TGIF 2006 MUSINGS

Odds and Ends to Finish the Week

1. Since 1980, the number of cigarettes smoked (in billions) dropped from 605.8 to 393.1.
I once heard it said that smoking would be a 20th century phenomenon. Well, not quite, but there’s definite improvement in the numbers and the decline should continue considering the price of a pack or carton of cigarettes. Just like other commodities, raising prices does affect consumer behavior. Let’s hope cigarette sales continue to be too pricey for people to start or that the cigarette companies don’t somehow subsidize lower prices.
2. The graying of America has hit the US Congress! The average age of US Senators is 60.4, up from 58.5 in 1949; US Representatives average age is 55, up from 51 in 1949. Average age of the Supreme Court justices is 66.1
Certainly the average age of the US lawmakers does reinforce the idea that social change will be slow as this generation still represents a conservative and male dominated era. The equality of females in the workplace and politics, the question of women’s choice, equality between races or gay rights will not be effectively discussed until the next generation of lawmakers takes office.
3. Parents in a Pennsylvania school district will be barred from bringing fast food lunches to their children when visiting for lunch. (Schools are being pressured to start serving quality lunches that are low in fat and address the rise of obesity in young people.)
First of all, the idea that any school can greatly affect eating behaviors of students without the help of parents and the community is absurd. Schools serve 180 lunches per year (given no early dismissals that may reduce the number somewhat). That’s around 16 percent of the meals a child may have during the course of a year (snacks not included). The other 84 percent of the time, the child may make their own “fast food” meals or the parents will treat them to their favorite high-fat, high caloric belly budding meal. Convenience food chains are abundant in every community.
If a school has to order a “ban” on bringing fast food for lunch, it’s not likely that the offending parents understand why. Don’t you know that it is un-American to limit the freedom of choice? Don’t you know that people have the right to be as fat as they want and it is part of our democracy? Good luck school administrators; let’s hope your school funding isn’t tied to the bathroom scale!
4. There’s a rise in private tutoring that is the result of more home schooling. Retired or unemployed teachers are being hired to tutor home schooled students in subject areas parents are unable to teach. Today, nearly 29 percent (1.1 million) of all school age children are home schooled and 21 percent have private tutors.
Actually, this is a time-honored practice that was once reserved for the wealthy. With an abundance of under-employed teachers, fresh from college and credentialed by their respective state, tutoring should grow and be affordable to more families.
Home schooling with highly trained teachers will challenge public schools to change. Poor reading and math scores coupled with standardized testing and fewer extra-curricular activities that involve all students will make public schools less inviting in the future.
The one key area that home schooling with a trained teacher can’t match: the socialization and diversity of groups. Isolating students from diversity and common interactions can place them at a disadvantage when entering the work environment or higher education. At least they’ll be able to read and understand a book about manners!
5. Doing nothing is a choice.
People routinely say something like, “I can’t get involved because of __________.” Doing nothing is as much a choice as drinking and eating. Not getting involved is an opportunity to generate excuses. That’s why we have crime, hunger, poverty and homelessness. It’s easy to allow those things be someone else’s problem.
Libertarians believe that government should be limited to protecting the country. They believe that social programs are the responsibility of local communities. When you consider the bureaucracy in health, education and human services and the inconsistencies of funding or leadership of programs that yield tremendous wastes of resources, maybe government should be reduced to homeland security.

GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE
© 2006 3 Minute Learning LLC

5 MYTHS ABOUT CHANGE

Demoralizing The Workplace II

1. CRISIS is a powerful force for change
From my experiences working in health care, cardiac patients rarely modify their “negative” behaviors to decrease the likelihood for another incident. Furthermore, some people caring for cardiac patients are likely to smoke, be obese or exhibit the kind of behaviors that are being discouraged in the people they are caring for.
People like their comfort zone. If a crisis scenario is forced on them, the likely response is to retreat and feel powerless. This is how dictators are able to control and manipulate large populations.
2. FEAR motivates change
Cognitive dissonance is a powerful attitudinal force that people use as a defense mechanism. For example, smokers believe that poor health will happen to someone else or that spending an extra few thousand dollars on a car was worth it.
In the workplace, people are motivated by a positive vision with clearly defined outcomes and rewards.
3. FACTS will guide people to accept change
Everyone has a conceptual framework that is comprised of values, morals, beliefs, knowledge, attitudes and behaviors. If the facts don’t fit the framework, they will be set aside.
People know that hurricanes are destructive forces, yet many refuse to leave an area believing that they can ride out the storm. Americans know that gasoline supplies will eventually run out yet they continue to buy gas gulpers.
4. SMALL changes are better than all at once, large scale change
“Cold turkey” (wholesale, all-at-once change) works for people trying to quit drugs or smoking rather than a wean strategy. Gastric bypass surgery helps obese people regain control over food better than diet programs. A newborn will help parents stay focused on building accountability better than a “to-do” list.
In the workplace, a large scale overhaul may be more effective in creating new opportunities instead of a linear piece-by-piece plan. Remember the “definition” of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.
5. I’m TOO OLD to change
Many people believe that their brain is “hard-wired” and change is impossible. Actually, the brain will accept whatever you decide to input. If you make a commitment to continuous learning, you can do anything you choose (doesn’t mean it will make you wealthy, just more competent). People are responsible for personal change; you can’t change others you can only change yourself. We live, we change, we grow and just when it seems everything is stable, it is time to start over.
Alvin Toffler in his ground breaking book, Future Shock (1970) said: The definition of illiteracy in the 21st century will not be the inability to read but the inability to UNLEARN, LEARN and RE-LEARN.
Many people believe that Darwin’s theory of evolution was that the strong or fit will survive. Actually what he said was that survival belongs to those who adapt.

GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE
© 2006 3 Minute Learning LLC

6 MANAGEMENT MYTHS

Demoralizing The Workplace

1. Creativity is limited to those paid to be creative
2. Money is a motivator
3. Pressure on time and resources create better solutions
4. Fear creates breakthroughs and savings
5. Internal competition produces more results than teamwork
6. Less employees creates stronger commitment and results

Fact: Stress costs the US economy over $300 billion a year in absenteeism, lost productivity and increased health care costs
Fact: US companies have laid off more than 30 million full-time employees since the early 1980s.
Fact: In 2005, over 15 percent of the world’s 2500 biggest companies lost their CEOs as boards became less tolerant of poor performance.
Fact: Over 40 percent of retired workers in the US stropped working sooner than planned because of health problems and layoffs

Not everything that can be counted counts and not everything that counts can be counted.

--- Albert Einstein

GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE
© 2006 3 Minute Learning LLC

EARTH: THE ULTIMATE TERRORIST

Planet Responsible for Thousands of Deaths

It Could Happen Tomorrow is a popular show on the Weather Channel. The idea is to inform viewers how close we are to death and destruction with each passing season. Earthquakes, killer waves, hurricanes, tornadoes, heat waves, cold snaps, wind shears and lightning are just some of the weapons of mass destruction available in our eco-system. Add to that the global warming and what it may do to the temperature of the oceans or better yet, how about that rogue meteor that has its sights set on Montana?
For a fascinating look into the geology, physics, meteorology, astronomy and all other physical sciences of Earth, start reading A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson. While this is not a book that can be read in one or two sessions, it is a great book to enjoy 30 or 40 minutes at a time. The stories and interviews are very enlightening and written without all the technical jargon.
Earth and our solar system is a constant threat to all of us. Just think about how many people have died in natural disasters since Christmas 2005, when the Tsunami swamped Indonesia. The devastating earthquakes, Hurricane Katrina and the recent typhoons that hit mainland China proves there are no countries immune to Earth’s wrath.
An interesting piece of learning in Bryson’s book has to do with mankind’s history on earth. It was stated that if you stretched both of your arms out to the side to form a human “T”, the straight line from the right middle fingertip to the left middle fingertip would represent the timeline of earth. Travel from the right fingertip across the shoulders and over the top of your head and all the way to the end of the left middle fingertip. At the very end of that tip would be the history of mankind! In fact, it is best represented by taking a nail file and taking one stroke of the file to the end of the fingernail. Those tiny specs of dust are the history of mankind.
Four main points gleaned from Bryson’s book regarding the future of mankind are:
1) All life wants to be
2) Life doesn’t always want to be much
3) Life from time to time goes extinct
4) Life goes on
Looking at that list, my ideas for the lessons from Earth that can be applied to education and the workplace are:
1) Life is a struggle; get over it there are no easy shortcuts; everyone fights to survive
2) If you are in position of leadership or teaching, help those around you find meaning in work or school and reinforce the value of their efforts
3) Even though workplace is ever-changing, there’s always reasons to be hopeful for the future; we can learn new things and have a quality life
4) Teach patience and investing for the long-term (investing means more than money, for example, education)
Just like Earth, people are dynamic. Change is inevitable so adjust and look for new opportunities. If you are a coach, mentor or leader, help those around you understand change and how it may benefit them. Take the FEAR out of situations by being open and empathetic.
Did you see the wonderful movie Chicken Little? It’s not a bad idea to keep your eye on the sky. Something may be heading our way!

GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

IT’S HUMAN

Natural: The Reason We Are The Way We Are

Hedonism: the doctrine that pleasure or happiness is the sole or chief good in life
Egoistic Hedonism: the ethical theory that achieving one's own happiness is the proper goal of all conduct

It is our basic instinct to “live for the day.” Perhaps it goes back to times when humans spent their days foraging and surviving. There were no guarantees that tomorrow would be any easier. This approach to life in the US probably ended after World War II but unfortunately still exits today throughout the world.
People are hedonistic and this attitude is natural. It is not natural to focus our brains on any thing but our daily living and entertainment needs. As a manger or teacher, you must be sensitive to the idea that “work ethic” is a daily struggle with all those around you. Hence, it is unnatural for people to “buckle down” at school or put their “nose to the grindstone” at work. To be disciplined takes energy.
That’s why it is so easy for people to watch too much TV, explore the Internet, play video games and indulge in social outlets such as bar hopping, movies and other fun stuff. People are social beings, living for the day and who want to be liked. It seems like it is always the isolated teens who go on a rampage against their classmates and teachers.
It is our nature to be self-centered. Observe an “only child” and watch how the world revolves around their being. As we grow older and can afford “toys” for our enjoyment, we can see how this self-centering matures. For example, men love to brag about their trucks or their golf game.
Mangers and teachers need to find the compromise to gain the kind of productivity or outcomes they are seeking. Students and workers go to school or work for the social aspects of the environment. At school social contacts are obvious; for work, consider office romances.
There are no easy solutions to this dilemma of how much social freedom to offer to your students or workers. If it is natural to “goof off,” how much time is appropriate? Is social time a reward for good outcomes at school or work? How tightly defined are your objectives that give people the guidelines for when the work is done and they can relax? Remember, it takes energy to remain disciplined and fight the urge to be natural.
Good leaders provide boundaries and goals. This allows students and workers to “zig-zag” through the routines of achieving the objective without going “off-course.” There’s enough physical evidence from the world of sports and physical training that shows hard work followed by relaxation or “downtime” produces greater results the next time during competition.
So teachers, leaders and managers, brighten up a little bit. Show your appreciative side with a smile, a thank-you and some empathy that life is demanding.
It could be a lot worse. We could be living in a country where people wonder if there is another meal tomorrow.

GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

JUNE THOUGHTS III

1. Stock Market Insanity

Stock market investing takes rich people and makes them wealthier. This is rule number one. Rule number two is that wealthy people let us play in their “sandbox” but we will never “own” it.
The small investor, with limited exceptions, will not earn spectacular short-term results. The stock market rewards the long-term small investor with steady returns over 20 to 30 years (this is the “sandbox”). For the majority of people in the stock market, this is your objective, not the insanity of daily and weekly speculation.
Remember when the market was “crashing” a few years ago? Wall Street brokers and pundits wondered when the Fed, then headed by Alan Greenspan, would take action and lower interest rates. Money managers fretted about when he was going to act; then he did. Managers were satisfied, temporarily, and the stock market began its slow climb back. Then the question became when will the Fed stop lowering rates? Every meeting was fronted with the concerns if it doesn’t stop soon the economy may “overheat.” Finally, the rates bottomed out at 1 percent and then the opposite arguments began. When will the Fed start raising rates? Eventually, the rates started to go up; that concern was followed by when will it end? That worry continues through today. This sequence represents the whimsy of money managers to tempt the small investor to make irrational decisions and investments. Remember: your buying and selling makes money managers rich.
There is rarely a timeframe when money mangers are happy. Why? The stock market is fueled by emotions. If various economic factors stabilize, the market settles into a trench and flattens out. This leaves pundits with little to talk about on their daily radio and TV shows. That is why you see “major” reports released every week (reports that tend to be contradicted the next week or corrected the next month).
Speaking of pundits: the financial section of a major newspapers feature the “pundit of the day,” spewing his or her advice. The majority of the time their comments are negative. It is easier for them to cover their tracks by stating the negative because if the worst case scenario doesn’t happen no one will care and their credibility is not compromised. Plus, negativity sells advertising space on TV, radio or in the newspaper. Don’t expect “rosy” comments from pundits.
The advice from this small investor is not to panic and only read the pundits for amusement. Invest for the long term and your patience will be rewarded. Just look at the stock market since the modern era began after the 1929 crash. The line steadily moves upward.
If you are not a rich person, don’t invest like one. Day trading will make your broker richer and you will be “broker.” Buying “options” sounds tempting but it is too hard to “time the market” in order to make a financial killing. That means you need to have the financial resources to invest and wait. If you have minimum resources, you will be forced out before the rewards materialize.
Remember the volatility of May 2006, and how there were 4 days of triple digit market corrections? Wealthy people made money during those corrections because they had options that “shorted the market” (meaning they “gambled” that prices would go down). Rich people have the resources to make money regardless of the market goes up or down. For the rest of us, we need the “tried and true” investing of buy low and sell high.
The first day you enter the market with a mutual fund or an indexed fund purchase, you bought “low.” Ten years from now, you’ll understand what I mean.

2. What About the American Tech Worker?

Every week you will read that another company has terminated several thousand high-tech and other workers in an effort to increase profits. These highly trained and “mobile” workers will spend the next year or more looking for work that compensates them at a level near their previous job. Most people are disappointed.
These high-tech workers don’t realize that the US Government has a program (H1-B) that allows companies to import highly trained tech workers at a fraction of the costs for a comparable American worker. Companies pay no benefits and lower wages; wages that seem like a fortune for people from a third-world country. All the talk about US Immigration reform and how Mexican workers are taking away jobs that Americans want is merely a “smoke-screen.” Americans go to college to learn to work in high-tech companies. To be replaced by a low-cost H1-B worker is the ultimate legal immigration insult.
But, that’s just the beginning. Companies are upset that the limits for H1-B visas are not being increased! For the time period beginning July 1, 2006 to June 30, 2007, the maximum number of H1-B visas has been allotted. That’s 65,000 foreign workers taking away jobs once held by under-employed and uninsured Americans.
Meanwhile, America builds fences along the Rio Grande and creates legislation that will try to eliminate the few dollars a day a Mexican worker may make picking produce.
Why hasn’t any action been taken to stop the H1-B high-tech program? It’s doubling insulting to know that tech jobs have been outsourced to other countries plus those that remain are being filled imported tech workers.
Colleges produce sufficient high-tech workers to meet American companies’ needs. Less than half of this year’s graduates will find jobs in high-tech fields. Next year, a comparable number will graduate, possibly with the prospect that even fewer jobs will be available. Colleges won’t take any accountability for this; many of these high-tech programs take 5 to 6 years to complete and have the most expensive tuitions on campus. Basically, colleges produce ready and willing workers; it’s not their problem there are no jobs.
This is America: big companies dictating who works and who doesn’t based on Wall Street earning expectations. Add to that the fantasy colleges provide that a good education yields a high paying job and you have a recipe for poverty.
The H1-B program needs to be terminated until there is sufficient evidence that American trained people have been absorbed into every possible opening and there are no more to be hired.

3. Quote

To think is to differ. ---Clarence Darrow

GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE