Tuesday, March 23, 2010

BloggeRhythms 3/23/2010

They say these blogs are places to note what's on the blogger's mind at the moment. Like an automated, public diary. Now, I've got no problem doing that, but I'd guess that from the perspective of folks who read my writings, it might get a little tiring. Because, for the past few days (seems like months), I feel like I'm on a merry-go-round. It seems the same stuff keeps coming up, over and over again.

For example, as recently as yesterday I thought I had a breakthrough and was talking the exact same language as a service provider I'm trying to work with. I explained why a couple of days ago in my blog. Well, today I come to find out that although I've done what they told me to do, I still didn't do enough. Apparently, our "programs" aren't communicating and until I figure out how to meet the supplier's standards, my projects going to stay on hold.

I only wish I had thought of operating as businesses do today back when I was plying my profession. Because if I had, I would have had the time to do so many things I was never able to do, such as: spending time with my family and friends or stopping during my working day to have lunch or dinner, may even play some golf, go see a movie, perhaps take a long walk, even take a vacation now and then. I never had time for any of that stuff, because I was too busy working with my customers, trying to please them, and trying to succeed. Today, I'd be able to do all of things of leisure I never did, because if I used the current customer service attitude, I wouldn't have had any customers at all. Thus, my time would have been my own.

As far as what's occupying the other part of my brain, it's also still the same old, same old. Health care. I don't mean "health care" itself, that's something else entirely. I'm only talking about government's role, if any, in how it should be run. I've also written about this a couple of times before, so I won't bore you or me with the details again. I only want to mention something I saw this morning.

Jack Welch, retired Chaiman of GE, was on CNBC. He seemed livid about the way this issue has been handled by the politicians. Aside from the massive cost that he suspects has likely been grossly underestimated, there's the matter of whether there's really that huge a problem with health care presently at all. His practical and sensible approach made a lot of sense to me. He said something like, don't take on the whole monster of an issue all at once, it's too big and likely impossible a task to handle that way. He suggested attacking the individual issues, the most problematical ones first, such as tort reform and malpractice insurance, and then managing a way into the solutions in controllable bites.

The main reason I was so pleased with his approach was, I suggested the exact same thing a day or so ago in this blog. And, now that I know that the former GE Chairman and myself think so much alike, I'm going to go out and replace all my bulbs.

That's it for today folks,

Adios

1 comment:

  1. Speaking of Jack Welch, I came across a little tibit about his early career in GE. Reminds me of someone...just can't put my finger on it:

    "Welch joined General Electric in 1960. He worked as a junior engineer in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, at a salary of $10,500 annually. While at GE, he blew off the roof of the factory, and was almost fired for doing so.[2] Welch was displeased with the $1,000 raise he was offered after his first year, as well as the strict bureaucracy within GE. He planned to leave the company to work with International Minerals & Chemicals in Skokie, Illinois.

    Reuben Gutoff, a young executive two levels higher than Welch, decided that the man was too valuable a resource for the company to lose. He took Welch and his first wife Carolyn out to dinner at the Yellow Aster in Pittsfield, and spent four hours trying to convince Welch to stay. Gutoff vowed to work to change the bureaucracy to create a small-company environment.

    "Trust me," Gutoff remembers pleading. "As long as I am here, you are going to get a shot to operate with the best of the big company and the worst part of it pushed aside." "Well, you are on trial," retorted Welch. "I'm glad to be on trial," Gutoff said. "To try to keep you here is important." At daybreak, Welch gave him his answer. "It was one of my better marketing jobs in life," recalls Gutoff. "But then he said to me--and this is vintage Jack--'I'm still going to have the party because I like parties, and besides, I think they have some little presents for me.'" Some 12 years later, Welch would audaciously write in his annual performance review that his long-term goal was to become CEO.[3]

    Welch was named a vice president of GE in 1972. He moved up the ranks to become senior vice president in 1977 and vice chairman in 1979. Welch became GE's youngest chairman and CEO in 1981, succeeding Reginald H. Jones. By 1982, Welch had disassembled much of the earlier management put together by Jones."

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