David S. Broder - National Service Bill is a Bipartisan Success Story

Important story not always well covered.

According to George Packer,

"What underlies so many of Obama's decisions,is an attachment to the institutions that hold up American society, a desire to make them function better rather than remake them all together."

Its all about the institutions being able to function well to meet their challenges.

A Tom Peters Manifesto

Our Credo/A Work in Progress


*We are thoughtful in all we do.
*We are excellent listeners—to each other and to all members of our extended family (vendors, customers, communities, etc).
*We will make the four words "What do you think?" an automatic instinct in all of our internal and external dealings; moreover, "What do you think?" will precede the explication of our own view in 99 out of 100 instances.
*We are dedicated to and measure our success to a significant degree by our unwavering commitment to the extreme personal growth of every one of our employees.
*We will only be "delighted" with our managers if their employees are universally surprised by the level of their personal and professional growth.
*We will be clear that we view leadership at every level as a sacred trust—and that leaders are indeed the servants of their employees just as the effective classroom teacher is servant to the lives and growth of her or his students.
*We believe in the "inverted organization chart"—with the "leaders" at the "bottom" of a reverse pyramid.
*We will construct leaders' incentive schemes so that measureable progress in human development is weighed as highly as marketplace success.
*We will be a leader in research and development in every aspect of our business—and we will work primarily with vendors who are also fanatical about research and development; and work to attract a set of core customers willing to play at the edge of things and become our co-developers.
*We will aim to make our customer engagements adventures beyond the comfort zone, or adventures in growth to use a less intimidating phrase—we will aim to add value in novel ways that surprise and stretch our customers and ourselves.
*We will use the three words "Try it! Now!" almost as often as "What do you think?"
*We revere the experimental method, and believe success is mostly correlated with the number of things one tries.
*We wholeheartedly acknowledge the value of analysis, but in the end swear by "Actions speak louder than words."
*We "encourage" failures; that is we acknowledge that a near-religious devotion to "Try it! Now!" necessarily invites the failures that are part and parcel of trying new things.
*We will, in fact, look askance at those whose records include few or no failures—such a spotless record suggests an unwillingness to brave the unknown.
*We will, to summarize the last few items, all view ourselves as explorers-adventurers, proceeding toward individual and collective growth by actively engaging at the edge of things; we unstintingly believe that our customers will reap enormous value from our commitment to our constant, restless exploration.
*We will encourage and insist upon constant and vociferous disagreement, but be absolutely intolerant of disagreement in the form of personal attacks.
*We will cut "overhead" to zero—every "department" shall aim to be best-in-class in its arena, and hence a full-scale participant in our concerted effort to add value in all we do.
*We will exude integrity, individually and collectively.
*We will exemplify the word transparency in all of our internal and external dealings—and bend over backwards to give new meaning and breadth to the term "information sharing."
*We will individually and collectively accept blame for our mistakes, or even our rather minor contribution to others' mistakes—and apologize accordingly and with dispatch.
*We will bring to bear overwhelming and instant and collective force to redress any customer problem, real or imagined.
*We will under no circumstance badmouth a competitor.
*We will aim to turn every customer contact into a memorable experience, remembering that all of life is indeed a stage.
*We honor the word "design" in all we do, in every nook and every cranny of our organization; every system, every web page, every customer invoice, every employee restroom is part of our purposefully designed "signature," and stand out and exude exceptionalism in one way or another.
*We understand that difficult decisions must be made, but we will bend over backwards to implement such decisions with kindness and grace—the dignity of the individual will always be foremost in our mind.
*We will not intrude into our employees' lives, but we are committed to aggressively helping employees achieve a healthy lifestyle.
*We will master the art of appreciation and be profuse in our use of the words "thank you" to honor assistance of even the most minor sort.
*We will acknowledge through celebration even small successes—and always cast a wide net in our "thank yous" to include bit players, especially from other functions.
*We aim for others to always be surprised by our "vibrancy" and "vitality"—we view enthusiasm as the key to success in anything, and take particular care in leader selection to ensure that every one of our leaders is a "remarkable" "carrier" of enthusiasm through thick and, especially, thin.
*We will drop whatever we are doing and rush to the aid of those involved in tight-deadline activities—even if those involved caused some of their own problems.
*We will be careful in our planning, but also understand that nothing ever unfolds as planned—hence we will be known for our ability to muster resources in an instant, without fuss and from everywhere, to deal with the unexpected; participating in these ad hoc response activities will not be seen as a distraction from our "real work," but as a significant part of our "real work" and an opportunity to contribute to others and build our own skills in ways we might not have imagined.
*We fully acknowledge that other units-departments-functions have other points of view than ours, but we will bend over backwards to develop social connections with those in other functions so that dealings over warring perspectives are dealings among friends.
*We acknowledge that agreed upon deadlines are holy writ, and will attempt to balance requisite urgency and requisite realism in all of our commitments.
*We will fight tooth and nail to minimize the complexity that "necessarily" comes with Growth and the mere passage of time.
*We will declare total war on our own systems to insure that they do not strangle us.
*We gladly acknowledge that anyone in the organization has the duty as well as the right to challenge anyone else when he or she believes they have a valid and useful perspective to offer—this is particularly true regarding any issue that has to do with safety, quality, or meeting agreed upon deadlines; such challenges may be firm but not rude.
*We will be civil in all our dealings with one another.
*We will bend over backwards to bring truly (not superficially) diverse views of every stripe imaginable to bear on plans and decisions of all sorts.
*We will pursue "diversity" in part so that the composition of our workforce and leadership from top to bottom is a "pretty good" reflection of the demographics of the markets we serve or aim to serve.
*We will use new technology tools to extend the definition of "our family" to every corner of the globe—we will welcome ideas and participation in our affairs from anyone and everyone.
*We will aim for gender balance in all we do and from tippy top to bottom—for reasons commercial more than reasons moral.
*We will never, in any way, compromise on the quality of our products or services—regardless of difficulties in our marketplace and economy.
*We wholeheartedly acknowledge that in the short term (as well, obviously, as the long term) we must be profitable and exhibit stellar financial performance that is consistent with the audacious efforts to serve our people and our clients as described above.
*We aim to be seen by others as "conservative" in our financial practices.
*We shall talk about EXCELLENCE constantly.
*We shall unfailingly aim for EXCELLENCE in all we do.
*We shall use EXCELLENCE as the principal benchmark in the assessment of ourselves and our work and our community.
*We shall never forget that the bedrock of EXCELLENCE is the unwavering commitment to growth of 100% of our employees—and, in fact, all of those we come in contact with.

ala David Allen

"If you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch." - Big Dog stores.

Israel’s Election System Is No Good

Problem when prescribe for wrong problem.
Real problem for Israel -- threshold for getting elected representatives in an election (its way too low meaning very small percentages of votes can get representation leading to a fractious system and votes for those on the fringes)

ala David Allen
gtdguy: "What worries you, masters you." - Haddon W. Robinson

Beyond Life Hacks: Reusable Solutions to Common Productivity Problems [Mind Hacks]

Three sent to prison in KPMG tax fraud case - Los Angeles Times

Why The Left Thinks Obama Can't Govern

Dems harder to unify than Republicans!

Howard Gardner: Wagoner of GM lived in a bubble, disconnected from the public - On Leadership at washingtonpost.com

The Leadership Playlist: What You Need to Read - On Leadership at washingtonpost.com

Warren Bennis: The Deadly Hand of Habit - On Leadership at washingtonpost.com

Buffett and his attempts at self-control

Resilience: How to Build a Personal Strategy for Survival - Gill Corkindale - HarvardBusiness.org

The myth of big salaries (it's all marketing)

The pillars of social media site success
via Seth's Blog by Seth Godin on 3/24/09

Why people choose to visit online social sites:

* Who likes me?
* Is everything okay?
* How can I become more popular?
* What's new?
* I'm bored, let's make some noise

None of these are new, but in the digital world, they're still magnetic.

If you want to understand why Twitter is so hot, look at those five attributes. They deliver all five, instantly.

The Nudge cafeteria part II

Ignore your critics

YouTube EDU Launches, So Go Learn Something

Six Happiness Tips Advice from Tal Ben-Shahar

Permission to Be Human
1. Give yourself permission to be human. When we accept emotions — such as fear, sadness, or anxiety — as natural, we are more likely to overcome them. Rejecting our emotions, positive or negative, leads to frustration and unhappiness.

Combine Activities that are meaningful with those that are fun for you
2. Happiness lies at the intersection between pleasure and meaning. Whether at work or at home, the goal is to engage in activities that are both personally significant and enjoyable. When this is not feasible, make sure you have happiness boosters, moments throughout the week that provide you with both pleasure and meaning.

* 3. Keep in mind that happiness is mostly dependent on our state of mind, not on our status or the state of our bank account. Barring extreme circumstances, our level of well being is determined by what we choose to focus on (the full or the empty part of the glass) and by our interpretation of external events. For example, do we view failure as catastrophic, or do we see it as a learning opportunity?

* 4. Simplify! We are, generally, too busy, trying to squeeze in more and more activities into less and less time. Quantity influences quality, and we compromise on our happiness by trying to do too much.

* 5. Remember the mind-body connection. What we do — or don't do — with our bodies influences our mind. Regular exercise, adequate sleep, and healthy eating habits lead to both physical and mental health.

* 6. Express gratitude, whenever possible. We too often take our lives for granted. Learn to appreciate and savor the wonderful things in life, from people to food, from nature to a smile.

Should Internet companies be more transparent in their advertising?

An Icon That Says They’re Watching You

You have to wonder on the logic of those who no matter what information or what credible source is place before them will deny culpability or insist that they've been done wrong.

If we didn't torture, then (as Thomas Ricks puts it), you must know something that the International Red Cross doesn't know. Red Cross on US Torture


The best passage of Ricks' post reads as follows:

This makes me think more than ever that we need a truth and reconciliation commission -- not to punish the low-level guys who inflicted torture, but to set the record straight on who thought it was a good idea to make the use of torture U.S. national policy. Those are the people who dragged this country's name through the mud, and who also didn't understand that we can't win a war for our values by undermining them.

how's obama doing?

Is a Food Revolution Now in Season? The power of symbols.

Do you want controls or not. Is it good when your parent joins facebook and keeps you honest or is it a restriction of your freedom? What's the balance between freedom, self-development, and the courtesy and respectfulness we're expected to maintain within the earshot of our parents.

Expansion of social media means

Michelle Obama in candid conversation with kids, talks about being told, "you talk like a white girl"

What a beautiful contrast to our previous first lady who loved to attack those who might say mean things about her. The Obama's behave as adults. How refreshing.

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Quote of the day
via The Best Defense by Thomas E. Ricks on 3/19/09

NightWatch passes along this classic bit of diplo-babble, from a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry:

At present, the situation on the Korean peninsula is rather complicated with an increasing number of uncertain factors."

I think this observation could be applied to just about anything, not just the Korean peninsula. Kind of like the classic British universal retort, attributed to Stephen Potter, of "Yes, but not in the south."

Isn't it ironic that the fastest growing parts of the web are elements less having to do with technology than with the use of technology for the usual human needs -- namely connecting with other people. The Facebook phenom is hard to avoid, even if you prefer to.

Facebook is taking over our lives

It's a good idea to "Sprint regularly." Sprint!

Can our country manage with so many litmus tests for public servants? The end for Freeman

Bob Sutton helps us understand why leaders that are successful can be similar to leaders that are very ambitious but cause great harm. Self-deception is important for both a leader that is successful and one that causes great harm.

Andy Grove Tells The Truth About What Great Leaders Do

Proof of Anaheim math teacher's skill is in students' test scores

Ernest Hemingway claimed was his best novel:

"For sale: Baby shoes, never worn."

If a Swiss bank can be prodded into opening its secret bank accounts, everything in this world is up for grabs.

A Swiss Bank Is Set to Open Its Secret Files

What does history tell us about free markets and how to learn from our current predicament. Amartya Sen, one of the world's great wise men has some thoughts here, Capitalism Beyond the Crisis

Why had Tim Geithner been such a bust so far? His unveiling didn't work, he's been tiptoeing around nationalization but not doing enough to restore confidence in this tact and he's still under a bit of a tax cloud.

Why aren't there more level 5 leaders -- ones whose focus on doing well for their company or cause irrespective of how they are affected. They give others credit when things go well and take responsibility when things go ill.

What's happened to the stories about clawbacks? Who made money on chimerical earnings?

Can television or another form of entertainment both entertain and inform our public on the complexities facing public officials and the choices they must make. Would welcome a movie or two that shed light on the banking meltdown -- something that was fun but was easy to understand. Documentaries just don't have the necessary reach.

Who are the members of the boards who have let BofA, Citicorp, Lehman, and Bear Stearns, Washington Mutual, and other financial institutions get in the state they are now in? Why are they not more in the news? What is their fiduciary responsibility here? Should that fiduciary responsibility be changed given what we've learned.

Why are there so many high level political figures having tax problems. We need two questions answered -- one, is it a problem of how complicated the system is? If yes, make it less complicated. When the tax system is sullying people's confidence in the government it needs to be changed. If its not an issue of complication, why do so many think they can get away with not paying their share and why are they not bothered by this? What can we do for them to understand that they should be honest and pay their fair share?

I wonder why image and reality are so far apart in so many cases. Would you wish your healthcare come from the Veterans Administration? If not, read the following piece which raises many important issues regarding healthcare.

Best Care Anywhere

Evaluation of Obama Speech by Mark Halpern captures it all...

1. He smartly plans to ignore the media's fetishistic obsession with how he balances optimism and realism.

2. Michelle Obama (and her popularity) will not go unused by the administration as a valuable asset.

3. He appreciates Joe Biden, even when he wants to muzzle him (which is often) – and Biden is gamely taking to his role as public comic sidekick.

4. The president has a good ear for the level of populist outrage he needs to exhibit to satisfy the public's anger over Wall Street shenanigans.

5. If Republicans weren't sufficiently worried about the size and reach of Obama's megaphone before Tuesday night, they should ramp up their concern now.

6. Obama truly believes he is at the beginning of four-year teaching moment for the American people – and that his students are mature enough and interested enough to actually learn.

7. He's Mr. Cool, then, now and forever.

8. He knows that confidence is key – as much for him as for the country.

9. Like his predecessor, he feels no need to be loved by members of the Washington political power structure (but unlike his predecessor, he's not hostile to it).

10. He's doing his homework and he knows his history.

11. He's well aware of the audience(s) in the room and the audience(s) at home (and how those bodies interact and dovetail).

12. Education is the sleeper issue of this administration.

13. He seems genuinely inspired by the power and opportunities of the presidency (and has not become overwhelmed by the responsibilities, despite the overwhelming circumstances).

14. Youth + competence = a refreshing antidote to these exhausting times.

15. The man can give a heck of a speech – and has a close to perfect record of delivering at big moments.

Obama gets it. Using this fellow as an example during his speech -- stroke of genius.


Leonard Abess Jr Gives $60 Million To His Banking Employees

The problem with leaving policing up to the government is that what's politically palatable is not always sensible. Big bonuses, for example, may look terrible. But in some cases they may not be crazy. However from a political perspective they're poison.

Michael Kinsley on the feeble banker's arguments for limiting pay. Can't they do better than that?

Banking for Dummies

If not wiser heads, then at least richer heads seem likely to prevail in the dispute over limits on executive pay in the stimulus package. The Obama version contained some restrictions on pay for top executives of banks that get “exceptional assistance” from the government. For instance, any compensation over $500,000 a year would have to take the form of stock, and couldn’t be cashed in until the government has been paid pack. Led by Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), senators insisted on inserting tougher restrictions and applying them to more people at more banks -- any, in fact, that have received so-called TARP, or bailout, money.

As a general principle, executive compensation ought to be set by supply and demand, just like other goods and services in a free market. In practice, the machinery that sets the pay for America’s top business executives is badly broken. Whether we want the government in there fixing it is a good question we can debate in a more leisurely economic period. But meanwhile it is a sign of how far we have come, and how fast, that any government bailout of a bank, no matter how few billions may be involved, can be officially considered “unexceptional.”

There is general agreement that some pay restrictions are justified, or at least unavoidable, if the bailout is to proceed. “Populism” demands it. (And it’s nice to see populist anger redirected back toward bankers and business executives after recent decades when the Republican party managed to point it at hard-working politicians.) But a consensus is emerging that Dodd, and even Obama, go too far.

The critics make three general points. First is that restrictions on things like bonuses are easy to evade, simply by relabeling them as salary, which is either unrestricted or less so. This, the critics note (with exasperation, and some justification), will break the connection between pay and performance that was considered so crucial during other banker-burning festivals of recent years. Second, compensation ceilings limited to executives at troubled banks that have received government money will put these banks at a disadvantage in the competition for talent -- just when they need talent the most. And third, the rules give these bank executives a strong incentive to pay back the government too quickly, in order to be free of the restrictions on their pay.

So let’s put this all together. Here is what supporters of the Bailout Bankers are saying: These bankers, who ran their banks into the ground, asked the taxpayers for money to save themselves, and got it, will -- if given the opportunity -- use that money to give themselves a back-door raise in order to maintain their incentive to do their jobs so brilliantly. If they don’t get their traditional bonuses, they will flee to banks that are not under these restrictions, because they did not need to be bailed out. And if, for some inexplicable reason, these other banks don’t wish to hire bank executives who ran their previous banks into the ground -- and into the reluctant arms of the government -- these bankers will stay where they are, nefariously pay back the government in full, and then -- out of either malice or incompetence, or some lethal combination of both -- they will wreck their banks and need to be bailed out all over again.

That’s quite a threat. The banks have been buying full-page newspaper ads (and God bless them for that!) to express their patriotism and humility. Their CEOs have been up on Capitol Hill eating crow and promising to be more careful from now on. Yet in this side argument, they are in essence promising that their selfishness and/or incompetence will continue.

Having never tried to run a bank, or wished to, I’m not saying it’s easy at any time, let alone now. But it’s hard to believe that the people at or near the top of the banks involved in the bailout are so irreplaceably qualified that incentives to keep them, and keep them happy, must be a major concern. In fact, of all the world’s seven billion people, these are the ones who have established better than anyone else that they aren’t qualified to run a bank.

By Michael Kinsley | February 16, 2009; 6:24 PM ET

Why aren't clawback provisions de riguer amongst businesses? They certainly should be amongst financial firms of today -- particularly where the numbers are so easily manipulated in the short-run.


After Huge Losses, a Move to Reclaim Executives’ Pay

Truth in budgeting? Really? Its about time. Perhaps corporate America can take this example and apply it to themselves. This is an important first step in the right direction for the government's operations.


Obama Bans Gimmicks, and Deficit Will Rise

Is someone who hides his earnings in a secret Swiss bank account to avoid paying taxes ($300 million per year between 2002 and 2007) have the right to say they are proud to be an American? How is this different from stealing (other than the amounts are so much more and affect all of us rather than a few households)?


A Swiss Bank Is Set to Open Its Secret Files

Why do members of various professions not police themselves? Do they really enjoy it when their profession's reputations go in free-fall when there are enough of their fellow professionals doing terrible things? Are bankers proud to be the butt of so many other's jokes? Weren't there at one time a group of bankers who were proud of the service their profession provided their countrymen and would do quite a lot to protect the reputation of their profession? If yes, what could they have done in an organized fashion to prevent the current debacle?

Today's LA Times has a disturbing piece on how health insurance providers are overcharging their patients and thereby breaking the law. Doesn't their reputation for serving their customer and caring for that customer/patient's well-being suffer when this news comes out? Is the price they pay for this malfeasance high enough to discourage a repeat of this law-breaking and insensitivity to patients pocketbooks, much less the law of the communities they work in? If not, how do we discourage them from repeating this sorry episode?

Insurers exceed state-issued rates for last-resort health coverage