Are Americans Stupid??

Bill Maher, an anti-God, anti-American humorist recently said on CNN that “America was a stupid country." Like many so called comedians such as Letterman and others, Maher has gone from telling jokes to being a joke with his nightly liberal commentaries on current events which he knows little about.

But still the question is worth considering. Are Americans stupid?NO!!

However, the vast majority of adults in America are intellectually lazy, uniformed, easily influenced, ignorant and oblivious about real issues that require careful thought. The education problem is not exclusive for Americans. My British, Greek, Russian, Asian, East and Western European friends suffer the same indictment in varying degrees.

With the advent of technology our young people have given their minds over almost exclusively to video or inter net entertainment. As a consequence, they have forfeited the knowledge of political, business, religious and ethical understanding. They depend on the media elites and select groups to THINK for them. “Sound bites” have taken control over thinking through complicated and opposing views.

Many adults can not tell you the difference between Socialism, Communism, Capitalism and their competing virtues. People say they live by the 10 Commandments but couldn't tell you what 2 of them are. They don’t know the inalienable rights expressed in the Declaration of Independence. (How many of these do you know?)

Without question, our school systems have failed us all. Collectively we will all suffer long term consequences for the unprepared next generation work force. However, there is something WE can do now to correct the problem.

For years I have argued that blaming the public school systems is not an action plan and certainly not the answer for educating our work force. We have failed our employees just as surely by not informing, teaching and guiding for the purpose of building a strong company and/or country. Here is my ongoing recommendation.

Join forces of departments to teach to ALL the basics of business, the free market system and how we make money. A great leader by the name of Alistair Begg says “Let the main things be the plain things and the plain things be the main things."

*Accounting Department: Teach financial basics. I recommend a great little book by Ram Charan "What the CEO Wants You To Know."

*HR Department: Spend less time talking about legal issues and CYA activities. In place teach ethics, purpose and vision of the company and why those concepts are important to the company and society as a whole.

* Sales Department: Teach ALL in the organization their role and responsibility in the overall customer service function.

Do all of this in weekly communication meetings, company publications, and other innovative, INTERESTING formats.

If you don’t know how to get started, give me a call. I would love to hear what your company is doing in this area. Billrun@aol.com




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The number one question on everybody’s mind is “when is the recession going to be over?” In parallel people are wondering, how am I going to be impacted now, and what will my future look like?

I can not give you a certain date, (although I’ve got a pretty good idea) on the first question, but I'm less specific on the 2nd one. So let’s start with the first question.

The answer is when CONFIDENCE is restored! Then the recession will end.

Right now there’s little confidence that the folks in D.C. have a clue about what they are doing to restore this economy. On top of that most business are concerned with cap and trade, health insurance legislation and endless new tax proposals (aimed primarily at those who create wealth.)

Before any person, country or company can go forward they need to feel confident that’s it’s ok to go forward. We need to feel confident in our leaders, that they know what they are doing and the action they are taking is good for the country and for ME specifically. With out confidence in a sensible plan then companies will not move forward and people will not feel confident enough to go out and do what must be done and that’s to spend money which makes our market system operate effectively.

YOU, as a leader in your organization, must demonstrate confidence in your area of responsibility. Here are just a few thing you should be doing.

1. Communicate truth. The good news and the not so good news.

2. Listen and respond with empathy to what others have to say.

3. Explain the plan. Not rhetoric but specifics as often and in many different formats as possible.

4. Be willing to give or provide advice to individuals who need to consider alternatives to their unique needs.

5. Do NOT be a know it all who stands before the masses and appears to be above it all. Share in the pain. Feel the pain. Respond to the pain in a genuine, caring way.

6. Be positive, but realistic. Stop the false motivation BS.

7. Be respectful...humble...caring. Be a servant leader who is confident of the future and confident in the customers and employees who make our firms possible.

Out of Crisis

Definition: Crisis – An unstable or crucial time. A situation that has reached a critical phase.

Out of Crisis is the name of the book written by Dr. Deming in the 1980’s in which he urged business to “transform” their companies if they wished to compete in the ever increasing global economy.
Tom Peters, the legendary management consultant and author said “If you don’t have a crisis, create one!”

Rob Emanuel (the President’s Chief Of Staff) said, “Never waste a serious crisis. What I mean by that is, it’s an opportunity do things you could not do before.”

Regardless of my personal or political views regarding this U.S. administration and their actions (which I believe will cause irreversible damage to American business), as a professional who facilitates change in companies, I have to admire the “opportunity seizing” tactics they have aggressively taken during the past 7 months. They are not merely trying to “manage crisis” but to “transform” the way things have been done in the past.

Many companies today are doing “crisis management” such as reduction of staff, cutting salaries, cutting prices, cutting cost and protecting the balance sheet as much as possible. These actions are certainly required but they may be missing the opportunity to transform their organizations for greater competitiveness when recovery occurs. As you know, this transformation or change management requires careful consideration of three elements. Culture, People and Processes. There are several reasons why managers are not considering Change Management.

1. Too busy dealing with crisis management.

2. They do not think there is anything wrong therefore no need for improvement or change.

3. Pride. "I am the boss, I have all the answers and do not need anyone (inside or outside the organization) to give me another opinion or point of view. "

4. Cost. "I know we may need to consider this, but now’s not the time. We can not spend the money required."

5. "We do not need change, we just need more business!!!"

While watching Bloomberg news yesterday, I listened to JimYoung, CEO of Union Pacific, discuss the current economic crisis and their balanced approach between crisis “management “ and “change management." One key idea stated was that UP was going to stay focused on their value proposition i.e. Safety and Customer Service but at the same time everything is up for “transformation consideration." Not bad advise. What is your company doing? Share with me and others. You can respond to this blog or to my email. I look forward to learning from you...
Press on….

Thinking.....

As hard as I may try, I just can't stop my brain. It seems as if my mind is always racing. Just ask my wife, she will tell you "it never stops!!"

So what is it I'm thinking about... Business, politics, God, foreign affairs, the economy, current events and how all of them fit together.

I'm not a great writer and my spelling and punctuation is often atrocious, but that's not a big concern for me. When I have those intense moments of contemplating burning issues that have invaded my body during a long run in the early morning, or after a restless night in a hotel room, I just want to get my thoughts out of my body and express my opinion.

After many years of working in countless organizations around the world I encounter the best and worst of business practices and am always learning new approaches to "doing business". I want to share that with you!

In addition, with so much facing business, the free enterprise and our world today, I feel compelled to say something.

Maybe I will be writing to myself, but I don't think so. I have resisted doing a "blog" for many personal reasons. But I have discovered I need an outlet and a forum to my clients, friends and the business contacts to enter into a dialogue. So I welcome your comments, positive and negative as I address major issues of our day. If you agree or disagree, you too can get it "out of your body".. I look forward to hearing from you...

Press on.....