An exercise in futility. 

What’s the alternative?

I was about to rail, again, at the media’s irresponsible reporting.  They couldn’t wait to report last Friday that Sony and Samsung were expecting significant declines in profits for the next quarter or two.   

The emphasis was on the decline, not on the fact that both companies are still profitable, still generating positive cash flows or that the projection was only for a quarter or two.  When fear is rampant on main street, this kind of reporting is criminal.

On the same day, a 10-second sound byte announced that the 15^th province (15 of 18) in Iraq was taking over responsibility for policing itself.  Why didn’t we hear about numbers 2 through 14?  Why weren’t the press congratulating the Iraqis on the significant progress they’ve made or giving the U.S. military kudos for its role in this achievement?  Is it too much to ask that our media help rebuild relations between the U.S. and other countries? 

This is the path I was about to take when it dawned on me how successful my last effort had been.  It achieved nothing.  Then I asked myself “What can I do to help people on main street during this time?”  Immediately, the serenity prayer came to mind.  I share its opening with you now.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

I cannot quickly change the media’s approach to reporting, if at all.  I can, however, offer you an antidote to their poison - the serenity prayer.

It’s counter-intuitive to realize that we can only control our own behavior.  That the stock market losses being reported are only paper losses until we actually sell.  That it’s our choice whether we allow the purveyors of fear access to our psyche.  The serenity prayer is your shield.  Use it well and often.

Please forward this message to friends that you know are especially troubled by the current economic conditions.  It may just afford them the peace they seek.  If you have suggestions for other ways I might be of service during these challenging times, let me know that as well.  You can reach me at dale@furtwengler.com.

How is it exhibited?

When is it most effective?

 What do the Chicago Bears and the Indianapolis Colts have in common - great head coaches.  Tony Dungy is the head coach of the Colts.  His protégé is Bear’s coach, Lovey Smith.

Both display an intensity that is palpable - you can feel it.  Yet neither is prone to emotional outbursts, denigrating players or the use of foul language.  Indeed, announcers regularly cite them as true gentlemen of the game. 

Their quiet demeanor isn’t a lack of passion for the game or winning.  Quite the contrary, they are both very focused, results-oriented individuals who expect a great deal from their players.  These coaches aren’t devoid of emotion; yet they are able to guide their players through the emotional ups and downs of momentum changes during the game.  What makes these coaches so special?  How can they be so successful, yet so quiet in their demeanor? 

Their players say that both men inspire them to higher levels of performance, yet both let players know, in no uncertain terms, their displeasure when they’re not performing to their capabilities without emotional outbursts.

It’s counter-intuitive, but quiet intensity is more powerful than emotional outbursts because of the reaction it generates.  A basic law of physics says that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.  In other words, emotional outbursts trigger reciprocal outbursts. 

When emotions are triggered, logical thinking takes a holiday.  The mind cannot perform both functions as once.  Conversely, calm communication invites calm, logical consideration of the information provided.  If you want to use your intensity to its greatest advantage, follow the examples of Tony Dungy and Lovey Smith, present your thoughts calmly.  Those around you will enjoy the experience and achieve better results.

If there are topics you’d like me to address, send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.

What’s the cost of group think?

A trillion dollars

This past week Congress passed a $700 billion dollar “recovery” plan designed to renew confidence in the banking system and among bankers themselves.  Add that to previous bailouts and we’re rapidly approaching a trillion dollars.  My guess is that we’ll exceed that number.

I won’t go into a lengthy diatribe about how we got here.  Placing blame is always an expensive activity - one that slows the progress on fixing the problem.  From the news reports and analysis by various Washington journalists, it seems that the plan to make home ownership possible for a greater number of citizens (a worthy goal) began in the Clinton administration and has been perpetuated through the two Bush administrations.

Unfortunately, everyone thought this was a good idea and no one asked “What will happen if…?  The executive branch didn’t ask, nor did Congress, the Federal Reserve Board, SEC or any number of other regulatory agencies.  There was a complete failure in the system of checks and balances that should have prevented this debacle.

The question is “Will Congress, once again, trust the executive branch and these regulatory bodies to implement this recovery plan well or will they set parameters to protect the American taxpayer?” 

I hope that they will be the first to establish some checks and balances into the system rather than trusting that others will do so.  It’s counter-intuitive, but trusting others to do things we’re not is a prescription for disaster.  If Congress doesn’t want to contend with more emergency actions, it needs to set guidelines for the implementation of the recovery plan.

If there are topics you’d like me to address, send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.

Is Dickens about to rival Nostradamus? 

Not likely.

Charlotte and I came back from vacation just in time to hear of yet another bailout.  Neither of us reads a newspaper or listens to the news while on vacation.  Quirky? Maybe, but vacation is a lot more fun that way.

Upon hearing the news, the Charles Dickens quote “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” came to mind.  The second thought was - how prophetic!  Was Dickens a prophet?  Not really; he’s simply a student of human nature.

We always live in the best of times and the worst of times.  Life is beset with both great joy and great challenge.  This time is no different.  Yet, one thing remains the same - the indomitable human spirit. 

It’s counter-intuitive, but during these trying times we’ll find people:

• helping one another weather the challenges they face
• returning to values overlooked because we’ve been moving too fast
• enjoying simpler pleasures of days past
• dealing with today’s economic challenges as we have in the past - effectively

Yes, we’re going to experience some pain with these economic challenges.  We’re also going to discover ways to deal with them that will allow us to recover more quickly than the press might lead us to believe.  It’s our nature to thrive in the face of adversity. 

As we look ahead, let’s look with the eyes of belief - belief that we will not only survive, we will thrive.  We will thrive because we possess the will, knowledge, intelligence and creativity to overcome any challenge life presents.  We will thrive, because we have an indomitable human spirit.

If there are topics you’d like me to address, send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.

Will today’s challenges make us better consumers?

Or simply different consumers?

With all the price pressures we are experiencing, the inevitable question is “Will we become more intelligent consumers?” 

Of course, this presumes that we were not making good buying decisions before.  Is that the case?  You decide.  During periods when we were enjoying our highest income levels, we viewed time as our most valuable asset.  When the things we bought broke, we disposed of them.  It wasn’t worth our time to fix them.  Similarly, we didn’t “waste” our time carpooling, we were already losing huge chunks of time to the commute.  We chose suburbia, in lieu of city dwelling.

With the outsourcing of work, both nationally and internationally, many of us (including the best educated among us) have experienced a diminution in income levels.  The result is that we’re taking a harder look at how we spend money.  Does this make us more intelligent consumers?  Not really.  It’s simply a reflection of changing conditions.

Our failure as consumers comes from our inability to recognize and adapt to trends before they become crises.  It’s easy to point to Washington - to our elected officials, the lobbyists, the big money contributors - and say it’s their fault that we’re in this mess.  The reality is that they are merely reflecting our wishes.  If you are looking for evidence that proves my point, we need simply look at Hillary Clinton’s and John McCain’s earlier willingness to temporarily lower gas taxes for the summer travel months.  

I’m not willing to let politicians skate on their contribution to the problems we face.  They should have the personal strength to tell us that we’re misinformed when we ask for things that aren’t in our best interests.  Having said that I am not willing to lay these problems solely at their feet.  We, as consumers, need to put more pressure on our elected officials to make wise choices, even though it may cost us more in the short run. 

My Dad was an automotive mechanic.  He impressed upon me that maintenance is always less expensive than repair.  If we had pressured our elected officials to be more aggressive in establishing fuel efficiency standards, in setting and enforcing lower speed limits, in using fuel taxes to increase the price of gasoline for the express purpose of making alternative sources more attractive, we wouldn’t be experiencing gasoline prices as high as they are today.  Our roads wouldn’t be in such a constant state of disrepair.  We wouldn’t be suffering the commute times we do today.

We can see similar results from the subprime mortgage fiasco.  The American dream of owning our own homes prompted our elected officials to embark upon a program designed to make homeownership more affordable.  The Fed jumped on board with some of the lowest interest rates in 40 years.  The result has been devastating for millions of us. 

Health care is another arena in which our poor consumerism has resulted in many people not being able to afford health insurance.  I know that I contributed to this problem, more so in the past than I do today.  When my wife and I had healthcare coverage through her employer, we never questioned the tests the doctor suggested.  When she left that employment and we replaced that coverage with our own, we suddenly began to question the doctor.  The first time I explained to the doctor that I had a high deductible and would be paying for these tests myself, he eliminated half the tests without batting an eye.  I could have helped keep healthcare costs lower by being a more intelligent consumer earlier.

It’s counter-intuitive, but it’s our short-term view that makes us poor consumers.  If we want to become more intelligent consumers we need to take a longer-term view of how are our actions today contributing to the potential for higher prices in the future. 

We need to act on that view by putting pressure on our elected officials to make better decisions.  Our lack of activism contributes to our lack of intelligent choices. We live in the one country in the world that is established to allow its people to control their own destinies, yet we do nothing with this power.  Let’s become more intelligent consumers, let’s pay attention the long-term trends and put pressure on our elected officials to act wisely on those trends.

If there are topics you’d like me to address, send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.

No one denies that experience is valuable…

…but what role does it play in future success?

At the risk of being labeled a political pundit (this is the third blog in a row based on the current presidential election), I’m struck by the enormity of the debate over who has relevant experience.

Personally, I think experience is overrated.  Certainly it has value, but experience doesn’t necessarily prepare us to deal with the future.  I could bore you with countless tales of experiences I’ve had in which I learned valuable lessons only to repeat the same mistake. 

There is no pride in that admission, simply recognition of the fact that I’m human and, as is the fate of all human beings, I occasionally need to learn a lesson more than once for it to stick. 

If not experience, what then should we be looking for in our presidential and vice-presidential candidates?  The ability to think! 

It never ceases to amaze me how some people can be successful in any arena in which they choose to operate.  General Electric is a fine example of what I mean.  To rise to the top echelons in General Electric, leaders must demonstrate the ability to be successful - to continuously improve results - in diverse businesses, in varying market conditions with very different technologies at work.

GE’s leaders succeed because they’ve trained their minds to see similarities in diverse situations, not because they’ve had “relevant” experience.  Indeed, people who have spent the majority of their careers in one field, often lack the ability to see anything but normal industry practices, while those who move beyond their specialty are able to craft new and exciting approaches to whatever challenges they face.

How does all of this relate to you?  Whether you’re choosing a person to lead this great country or filling a position in your organization, look first to the person’s demonstrated ability think, then at their experience.  You’ll make better choices.

It’s counter-intuitive, but critical thinking will trump experience every time.

If you’re getting tired of political commentary and would like me to address a different topic, send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com.

Not if we continue to relinquish our rights.

We are inviting government control.

Last week an ABC World News Tonight report said that some independent pharmacists are refusing to sell contraceptive devices.  They also refuse to fill prescriptions for that purpose.  The Illinois legislature is considering legislation that would require pharmacists to sell these items. 

This is a battle over individual rights.  The question is “Whose rights should prevail?”  Or is it?  To me, it’s another example of our willingness to relinquish our right to make choices for ourselves.  A choice we could easily retain IF we learned to respect each other’s choices.

The third step, in the 7 Steps to Becoming INVALUABLE, is learning to suspend judgment.  We suspend judgment when we respect the rights of others to make their own decisions.  When we deprive others of that right, we risk forfeiting that right for ourselves.

Every time we turn over the decision-making process to legislators or the courts, we not only relinquish the right to choose for ourselves, we relinquish a future right - the right to change that decision.  Anyone who has ever tried to overturn prior legislation or set new court precedent knows exactly what I mean.  Conversely, if we craft solutions on our own, we reserve the right to craft new solutions as the situation changes. 

If pharmacists, when notifying their customers of their choice not to sell contraceptive devices and medications, would have provided alternative sources to their customers, they would have shown respect for the choices their customers make while honoring their own choices.

Similarly, if customers who choose contraception would respect the religious or moral beliefs of these pharmacists, they’d quickly realize that there are alternatives that fit their needs while respecting the choices of the pharmacist.  We live in a world of on-line pharmacies!  Orders are delivered right to our doors.  These “aggrieved” customers can’t even argue inconvenience.

It’s counter-intuitive, but when we initiate a battle over personal rights, we:

• Waste time fighting when we could be crafting solutions
• Give others the right to decide what’s right for us
• Forfeit our future rights to decide our fate

Is that what we want?  If not, let’s learn to respect each others choices and find ways to help each other find the solutions that are right for them while honoring our own choices. 

Send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com and let me know what topics you’d like addressed.

An oft overlooked aspect of praise…

Dealing with poor performers

One of life’s great joys is receiving praise from others.  Praise not only affirms what we’re doing, it gives us a sense of being valuable.  Praise motivates us to higher levels of performance.

What many leaders don’t realize is that praise can be a just as powerful when dealing with poor performers.  Withholding praise sends the message that we’re not happy with their performance, without being critical or denigrating.  The desire for praise can be exactly the motivation a poor performer needs.

It’s counter-intuitive, but praise is equally powerful when offered or withheld.

If you have examples of how praise or withholding it benefited you and your team, please post a comment sharing your experience with us.  Is there a topic you’d like addressed?  If so, email me at dale@furtwengler.com.

You know me well.

It’s about Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers.

I’ll begin with all the appropriate disclaimers.  I haven’t followed the news reports on the Favre situation closely, I’m not a sports agent nor have I read Mr. Favre’s contract.  I do know that he’s reported to have been offered between $20 million and $25 million not to play football.

This is one of the most uninspired solutions Packer management could have devised.  Any time “leaders” throw money at people to get them to do what they want, they’re either uninspired or lack courage.  As leaders yourselves, I’m sure you cringe at both labels.

Let’s look at some alternatives to the proposed “marketing” deal Favre was offered:

1. Most contracts call for players to be paid, not that they’ll necessarily play.  If that’s the case in Brett Favre’s contract, then appeal to his concern for the future of the team and ask him to teach the new quarterback what he knows.  It’s called succession planning!
2. If there are performance bonuses built into Mr. Favre’s contract, pay him as if achieved them all, assuming he’s teaching his replacement.
3. If he’s not willing to take on the role of teacher, if his passion is playing and that’s what he wants to do, trade him.  So what if he leads another team to a Super Bowl victory next year?  What’s the likelihood that the Packers or any team will get there with a new quarterback?

Packer management has demonstrated courage in holding their position that Brett Favre will not be their quarterback this year.  Yet, their “marketing deal” is uninspired and unproductive.

Throwing money at unhappy employees makes the situation worse.  In this case, I’m sure that Brett Favre’s dissatisfaction deepened as Packer management withheld the one thing he wanted - the opportunity to compete.  Other players, many of whom share that passion, can’t help but wonder what will happen to them when their time comes.  Will they be able to go to another team?  Finally, management set a precedent that they’re willing to pay unhappy players to get rid of them.  Do any of these create a culture that’s conducive to winning another Super Bowl?  I doubt it.  

It’s counter-intuitive, if you want to be respected as a leader, don’t offer money; offer alternatives.  Any of the alternatives listed above would have achieved the goals of all parties without paying any more than previously agreed.  Sweetening the deal cheapens the relationship and fosters ill-will.  Why?  It ignores the true goals of each party.

No, I’m not talking about book learnin’.

It’s about certainty.

A good friend of mine has incredible talent, a sharp mind and a very caring, sharing nature - all of the ingredients for success.  Yet, he found it difficult to let go of some of the things that were holding him back.  I’m sure that each of you has had a similar experience.  I know I have.

In the past 15 years, I’ve been able to release myself from these fear-based bonds.  How?  I’ve come to learn that everything I need shows up when I need it; not always in the timeframe I’d like, but always when I need it.  This knowledge allows me to avoid a great deal of fear, anxiety and stress in my life.  The absence of these limiters helps me enjoy greater success than I would otherwise.  How did I get to this stage?

There are three stages of development in creating the knowledge (certainty) that the things you need will always be there for you.  The three stages are trust, belief and knowledge.  In the beginning we trust that things will show up when we need them.  At this level we don’t have much evidence on which to base this trust, we are taking a leap of faith. 

As we see things showing up when we need them, we begin to believe that this is always the case.  When we see this reality in EVERY situation we face, even those that seem devastating, we know with absolute certainty that everything we need shows up when we need it.  At this point, our fears are easily set aside allowing us to move forward.

It’s counter-intuitive, but you can accelerate your progress through the three stages by examining any troublesome situation you’ve faced with the question “What showed up that made it easier to deal with this situation?”  Here’s an example of how examining a situation retrospectively can accelerate your progress toward knowledge. 

Recently, my wife had car problems.  It was on a day in which I had only one very early appointment.  I was able to make it back in time to swap vehicles to allow her to get to work.  I called several repair places and found one with an opening to fix the problem.  They were able to get the part they needed in time to get my wife to work the following day - a day in which I had no openings in my schedule at all.  It’s awareness borne out by situation after situation that allows you to KNOW that whatever you need will show up when you need it. 

Within days of sharing these thoughts with my friend, a potential problem was avoided by something, completely unexpected, showing up in time.  Smiling as he shared his good news with me, he also related three other, less troublesome, situations in which what he needed showed up as if on cue.  He’s well on his way to achieving stage three - certain knowledge.