Granularity at 50,000 Feet

AIG & the Knee-jerk Reaction

2009-03-21T01:51:00.000-07:00

The US Congress has passed a 90% tax on payments such as those that have so outrageed the public following the AIG bailout. This seems a knee-jerk reaction that is very short sighted and wholly off base.

Do I think that AIG execs have earned such largess? Of course not!

But, on review of the "retention award" agreement, it appears that these payouts are contractually structured. At issue then, is not some backhanded tax that will impact bonuses that may also apply to the year end "lucky pocket" that the low end of the scale depends on. Instead, try getting real about the criteria applied for the award.

In this case, the awards rest entirely on the "economic award" earned by the AIG employee. If the employee is entitled by agreement to receive a retention award at 100% of the economic award, then every ten dollars of economic award is doubled through another ten gained through the retention award. If the employee does not warrant an economic award, presto chang-o , the retention award is calculated at a percentage of zero!

Not being privy to all the relevant paperwork, I might be missing something...but it is equally likely that policy makers who don't know #*&^$*( about how organisations work are reacting for political reasons and in complete ignorance of the far reaching consequences of the "solution".

Res ipsa loquitur

2009-01-23T21:38:00.000-08:00

Res ipsa loquiturmeans "the thing speaks for itself" and Jonathan Turley's blog does exactly that.

YES! Dark Age drawing to a close in America!

2008-11-05T01:56:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful, surprising outcome! Barack Obama's message grips the heart, and the head, with its theme of personal responsibility, endless potential and commitment to the future. The man is walking intellectual capital.

To those who have so strongly resisted out of fear, lethargy, conviction that one's mistakes cannot have been mistakes, family habits, or what ever else might cause support for the Bush/McCain model, please step back, get over it, and come out into the light.

We need everybody to shape tomorrow.

And she will do the rest ...

2008-11-04T00:07:00.000-08:00

The Girl Effect, its a common sense thing really. Read more.

Why is John McCain respected?

2008-10-10T04:37:00.000-07:00

From Barack Obama to Ted Kennedy, Sean Hannity to Thom Hartmann, everybody seems to "respect" John McCain.

For the life of me, I cannot understand why!

What's the story here? Are people so unaccustomed to holding people to account for their record that nothing really matters? What's your two bits?

Toys beyond play, Play beyond toys

2008-10-10T03:26:00.001-07:00

Bill Wright's imagineering might just make an impact on the short term scale of thought that has been bred into children since the advent of television.

What do you think?

Hong Kong's Ongoing Illness

2008-09-18T00:23:00.000-07:00

You don't have to be a brain surgeon (pun intended) to recognize that the Hong Kong Health Authority and Department of Health need help in providing a safe, reliable health care for Hong Kongers, be they dependent on the public system or privileged enough to pay through the nose for a private system that still can't deliver the care one pays for.

When mothers die on the operating table from a loss of blood, when it takes 45 minutes to "find" a surgeon to help repair a surgeon's caused, life threatening error, when doctors see it as winning a "lucky draw" not to get stuck with a colleagues patient during an emergency, when nurses are viewed--and view themselves-- as "handmaidens to the doctors instead of accountable health care practitioners...when all of this is so as it is in China's "World Class City", you've got a problem.

Doing something about it will take courage and risk that organizational systems in Hong Kong do not tolerate. Recent scandals over exposure of patient information have increased scrutiny on the health infrastructure. And, a private source advises that there is a growing recognition that an integrated health system might help. But achieving the goal will take far more than secure transmission of shared data.

The HKSARG Government seems to lack capacity to rise above its colonial roots and take the reins. Of course, when staff are trained not to think, not to make waves, to be loyal and obedient, it is a bit much to expect innovation. In a system that has built in barriers to clearing out dead-wood (such as loss of pension if fired), there is faint hope of change within a generation.

Too bad.

Work less, grow rich!

2008-09-02T17:39:00.000-07:00

Shameless grab for attention or prophetic insight? The Worker's of the World: Relax! video presents some interesting comparisons of work-life models. Is "growth" sustainable? What is "enough"?

The previously embedded version is now linked to provide oversight from 50,000 feet!

Game, set...

2008-09-01T18:07:00.000-07:00

The UK Times offers an assessment of the strategic and tactical angles visible in the US election campaign.

Work less, grow rich!

2008-09-01T02:35:00.000-07:00

Art, reality, and the Sheer Spookiness of John McCain

2008-08-29T15:03:00.000-07:00

For any thinking person, non-progressive (so-called conservative) developments over the last decade-plus suggest that Margaret Atwood is prescient in her chilling work, The Handmaid's Tale. Surprisingly, the novel has been adapted for the operatic stage. With McCain's choice of Alaska governor Sarah Palin as runing mate in the 2008 Presidential election run, the tale may be moving to an even biggr stage!

Art as a reflection of reality...or is it the other way around?

“They’re asking for another four years — in a just world, they’d get 10 to 20.”

2008-08-28T03:27:00.000-07:00

If a line is going to get cut from a speech, might as well be a good one!

Denis Kucinich lost only one line to the editors at the Democratic National Convention. True to form, in but a few words, he sums up an entire history.

Michelle Obama - Text of the DNC Speech

2008-08-27T00:55:00.000-07:00

From her initial reference to a VERY tall brother to a final call to recognize the sacrifices of all those who have cotrinbuted to a workd in which people can strive to achieve their best potential, Michelle Obama's speech at the opening of the Denver Democratic National Conference (DNC) was an impressive success.

It is with some surprise that I hear the edited film coverage may mis-represent the overwhelmingly positive reaction from a crowd that is eager for change, and more open to the idea that party doesn't matter half as much as integrity and purpose. In case you missed it, here's the text of the speech.

Michell OBAMA:
As you might imagine, for Barack, running for president is nothing compared to that first game of basketball with my brother Craig.

I can't tell you how much it means to have Craig and my mom here tonight. Like Craig, I can feel my dad looking down on us, just as I've felt his presence in every grace-filled moment of my life.

At six-foot-six, I've often felt like Craig was looking down on me too — literally. But the truth is, both when we were kids and today, he wasn't looking down on me — he was watching over me.

And he's been there for me every step of the way since that clear February day 19 months ago, when — with little more than our faith in each other and a hunger for change — we joined my husband, Barack Obama, on the improbable journey that's brought us to this moment.

But each of us also comes here tonight by way of our own improbable journey.

I come here tonight as a sister, blessed with a brother who is my mentor, my protector and my lifelong friend.

I come here as a wife who loves my husband and believes he will be an extraordinary president.

I come here as a Mom whose girls are the heart of my heart and the center of my world — they're the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning, and the last thing I think about when I go to bed at night. Their future — and all our children's future — is my stake in this election.

And I come here as a daughter — raised on the South Side of Chicago by a father who was a blue collar city worker, and a mother who stayed at home with my brother and me. My mother's love has always been a sustaining force for our family, and one of my greatest joys is seeing her integrity, her compassion, and her intelligence reflected in my own daughters.

My dad was our rock. Although he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in his early thirties, he was our provider, our champion, our hero. As he got sicker, it got harder for him to walk, it took him longer to get dressed in the morning. But if he was in pain, he never let on. He never stopped smiling and laughing — even while struggling to button his shirt, even while using two canes to get himself across the room to give my Mom a kiss. He just woke up a little earlier, and worked a little harder.

He and my mom poured everything they had into me and Craig. It was the greatest gift a child can receive: never doubting for a single minute that you're loved, and cherished, and have a place in this world. And thanks to their faith and hard work, we both were able to go on to college. So I know firsthand from their lives — and mine — that the American dream endures.

And you know, what struck me when I first met Barack was that even though he had this funny name, even though he'd grown up all the way across the continent in Hawaii, his family was so much like mine. He was raised by grandparents who were working class folks just like my parents, and by a single mother who struggled to pay the bills just like we did. Like my family, they scrimped and saved so that he could have opportunities they never had themselves. And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values: that you work hard for what you want in life; that your word is your bond and you do what you say you're going to do; that you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don't know them, and even if you don't agree with them.

And Barack and I set out to build lives guided by these values, and pass them on to the next generation. Because we want our children — and all children in this nation — to know that the only limit to the height of your achievements is the reach of your dreams and your willingness to work for them.

And as our friendship grew, and I learned more about Barack, he introduced me to the work he'd done when he first moved to Chicago after college. Instead of heading to Wall Street, Barack had gone to work in neighborhoods devastated when steel plants shut down, and jobs dried up. And he'd been invited back to speak to people from those neighborhoods about how to rebuild their community.

The people gathered together that day were ordinary folks doing the best they could to build a good life. They were parents living paycheck to paycheck; grandparents trying to get by on a fixed income; men frustrated that they couldn't support their families after their jobs disappeared. Those folks weren't asking for a handout or a shortcut. They were ready to work — they wanted to contribute. They believed — like you and I believe — that America should be a place where you can make it if you try.

Barack stood up that day, and spoke words that have stayed with me ever since. He talked about "The world as it is" and "The world as it should be." And he said that all too often, we accept the distance between the two, and settle for the world as it is — even when it doesn't reflect our values and aspirations. But he reminded us that we know what our world should look like. We know what fairness and justice and opportunity look like. And he urged us to believe in ourselves — to find the strength within ourselves to strive for the world as it should be. And isn't that the great American story?

It's the story of men and women gathered in churches and union halls, in town squares and high school gyms — people who stood up and marched and risked everything they had — refusing to settle, determined to mold our future into the shape of our ideals.

It is because of their will and determination that this week, we celebrate two anniversaries: the 88th anniversary of women winning the right to vote, and the 45th anniversary of that hot summer day when Dr. King lifted our sights and our hearts with his dream for our nation.

I stand here today at the crosscurrents of that history — knowing that my piece of the American dream is a blessing hard won by those who came before me. All of them driven by the same conviction that drove my dad to get up an hour early each day to painstakingly dress himself for work. The same conviction that drives the men and women I've met all across this country:

People who work the day shift, kiss their kids goodnight, and head out for the night shift — without disappointment, without regret — that goodnight kiss a reminder of everything they're working for.

The military families who say grace each night with an empty seat at the table. The servicemen and women who love this country so much, they leave those they love most to defend it.

The young people across America serving our communities — teaching children, cleaning up neighborhoods, caring for the least among us each and every day.

People like Hillary Clinton, who put those 18 million cracks in the glass ceiling, so that our daughters — and sons — can dream a little bigger and aim a little higher.

People like Joe Biden, who's never forgotten where he came from, and never stopped fighting for folks who work long hours and face long odds and need someone on their side again.

All of us driven by a simple belief that the world as it is just won't do — that we have an obligation to fight for the world as it should be.

That is the thread that connects our hearts. That is the thread that runs through my journey and Barack's journey and so many other improbable journeys that have brought us here tonight, where the current of history meets this new tide of hope.

That is why I love this country.

And in my own life, in my own small way, I've tried to give back to this country that has given me so much. That's why I left a job at a law firm for a career in public service, working to empower young people to volunteer in their communities. Because I believe that each of us — no matter what our age or background or walk of life — each of us has something to contribute to the life of this nation.

It's a belief Barack shares — a belief at the heart of his life's work.

It's what he did all those years ago, on the streets of Chicago, setting up job training to get people back to work and afterschool programs to keep kids safe — working block by block to help people lift up their families.

It's what he did in the Illinois Senate, moving people from welfare to jobs, passing tax cuts for hard working families, and making sure women get equal pay for equal work.

It's what he's done in the United States Senate, fighting to ensure the men and women who serve this country are welcomed home not just with medals and parades, but with good jobs and benefits and health care — including mental health care.

That's why he's running — to end the war in Iraq responsibly, to build an economy that lifts every family, to make health care available for every American, and to make sure every child in this nation gets a world class education all the way from preschool to college. That's what Barack Obama will do as President of the United States of America.

He'll achieve these goals the same way he always has — by bringing us together and reminding us how much we share and how alike we really are. You see, Barack doesn't care where you're from, or what your background is, or what party — if any — you belong to. That's not how he sees the world. He knows that thread that connects us — our belief in America's promise, our commitment to our children's future — is strong enough to hold us together as one nation even when we disagree.

It was strong enough to bring hope to those neighborhoods in Chicago.

It was strong enough to bring hope to the mother he met worried about her child in Iraq; hope to the man who's unemployed, but can't afford gas to find a job; hope to the student working nights to pay for her sister's health care, sleeping just a few hours a day.

And it was strong enough to bring hope to people who came out on a cold Iowa night and became the first voices in this chorus for change that's been echoed by millions of Americans from every corner of this nation.

Millions of Americans who know that Barack understands their dreams; that Barack will fight for people like them; and that Barack will finally bring the change we need.

And in the end, after all that's happened these past 19 months, the Barack Obama I know today is the same man I fell in love with 19 years ago. He's the same man who drove me and our new baby daughter home from the hospital ten years ago this summer, inching along at a snail's pace, peering anxiously at us in the rearview mirror, feeling the whole weight of her future in his hands, determined to give her everything he'd struggled so hard for himself, determined to give her what he never had: the affirming embrace of a father's love.

And as I tuck that little girl and her little sister into bed at night, I think about how one day, they'll have families of their own. And one day, they — and your sons and daughters — will tell their own children about what we did together in this election. They'll tell them how this time, we listened to our hopes, instead of our fears. How this time, we decided to stop doubting and to start dreaming. How this time, in this great country — where a girl from the South Side of Chicago can go to college and law school, and the son of a single mother from Hawaii can go all the way to the White House — we committed ourselves to building the world as it should be.

So tonight, in honor of my father's memory and my daughters' future — out of gratitude to those whose triumphs we mark this week, and those whose everyday sacrifices have brought us to this moment — let us devote ourselves to finishing their work; let us work together to fulfill their hopes; and let us stand together to elect Barack Obama President of the United States of America.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America.

Michelle Obama hits does it right

2008-08-25T20:46:00.000-07:00

Can there be any more daunting task than to re-define oneself for millions of people who have heard this or that, and will never get an opportunity to make their own face to face conclusions? That the challenge that both Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain face in this election season.

This morning, recovering from eye surgery, I was able to focus on really hearing and letting in the words of Michelle Obama's presentation at the Denver Democratic National Conference. It was inspiring, touching, and hit all the right "topical" marks while providing insights into herself, her family and the values that her husband holds as fundamental to his country and the vision for the Presidency.

The values of hard work, equitable and accountable diversity, fairness, opening to the possible and the fulfillment of relationships are just plain "real".

Can those whose values use smilar language but seem based in fear and suspicion, or a sense of entitlement at the expense of others be reached--on both sides of the Democrat - Republican divide?

...the universe is endlessly bountiful.

2006-06-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

"Every moment of your life is infinitely creative and the universe is endlessly bountiful. Just put forth a clear enough request, and everything your heart desires must come to you."
- Ghandhi

I'm liking this. Go Ghandi!

So, I figure that our work in knowledge management, then, is really about empowering clarity--for all that abundance to flow.

Nice.

Smokescreen Politics

2006-02-19T20:22:00.000-08:00

Not a bad title, one to develop further when I have a bit more time. Just posted to the Truth Seekers forum on Ryze and and paraphrasing here.

>Neither Repub nor Dem here, but sincerely interested in good, representative, accountable, transparent government. Its what I help companies and individuals get to in their way of being/operating, so I expect no less when individuals form groups and become government. In that vein, I wonder if that, putting aside the naming of repub/dem stuff, the post resonates for people on both sides of that equation--seriously--no Repub this, Dem that.

If we put party politics and rhetoric aside, we should be able to agree on core some values and needs in the way of governance. Then it is a matter of determine if and the degree to which government conforms or varies from those core values and needs.

The thread quotes a Larry Beinhart article (Feb 19 '06) called "What is Means to be a Republican. Check it out at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-beinhart/what-it-means-to-be-a-rep_b_15986.html Unfortunately, in my view, the author positions his peice in a pro-Democrat way instead of taking up hte point that it is all part of the same political frame.

In response to a list of critical disappointments in the current US administration (and an incomplete one at that), one fellow put forward the typical (and lame) "yeah, well what about that BJ" position.

The thread resonates with me, and not in terms of only one party. Each party is chasing power and privelege within the frame that each has a vested interest in prepetuating...so toss out Repub/Dem for the moment...in that light, the post thread resonates. There is a tendency to suggest that references to post-Wiemar Germany are way off target because what is known now is not on the same scale as what we known (but some don't believe) about then. However, it is the similar bureaucratic and legislative frame that suggests a very serious situation.

Growing up, I truly could not understand how the average person could say "I didn't know", "I never saw it coming", "I was not a part of that (with emphasis on the worst of that so the enabling part of "that" can be ignored". Now I see it happening all around, with people taking the easier way out of not arguing, or seeing advantages to themselves rather than harm to others, etc. etc.

This Republican versus Democrat stuff is a smokescreen that in itself keeps people from seeing the real issues.
IMO.