Hal - Deliberately Basic

If you do not label yourself either liberal or conservative, someone else will. Most people I know fall somewhere in the middle. However, in Ohio USA, especially south of the Great Lakes region, is a vast conservative plain. Being neither liberal nor conservative, I have noticed a marked difference between these sociopolitical combatants beyond the obvious. But first, what are the dictionary definitions for these factions that are such polar opposites?

American Standard Dictionary
Conservative:
1. Opposed to liberal reforms. 2. Resistant to change.

Liberal:
1. Having political or social views favoring reform and progress. 2. Tolerant of change; not bound by authoritarianism, orthodoxy, or tradition.

With only these definitions you can readily put yourself in one camp or the other. As a conservative you can fight change and attempt to maintain traditional values, and social norms. Choose to be a liberal and you can fight for social change and progress. Do you detect a superficial explanation of liberal vs conservative with this criteria? You should, because there is much more to these divisive parties than a mere few words can define.

The key is divisive. In reality, both of these confraternities are radical for their cause. In effect this is a battle between movement and staying put. Movement means change, and change creates fear and resistance. Non-movement means maintaining the status quo, be it evil or not,  and most people will take the road of least resistance. Liberalism exists because of the evil and social inequality created and maintained by conservatism. Conservatism exists because liberals would create too much change too fast. Both could come under one heading, radicalism. And both suck at their approach to progress or quiescence.

One major difference I have observed between these two gangs is how they attempt to progress with their causes. The liberals I know and have known tend to create things such as political correctness. They quietly (in most cases) implant shit like this into society, to the point of making puke bags as necessary as garbage cans. Ultimately PC becomes a joke, yet once instilled, it will not go away. You can no longer call a spade a spade.

Conservatives, on the other hand, are in your face with their illogical, false, downright bullshit. Conservatives are, every man for himself, mean, hard-ass, think like me or die, people. This brings me to a phenomena I have noticed for about 15 years or so. It has been about that long since the Internet really caught on and has become as common as a telephone in developed countries.

Hardly a week goes by that I don’t get at least one spam message from someone, extolling a conservative cause. These urban legends run the gamut from kill the illegal aliens to Christians for God and country. They mis-quote history, how the democrats have ruined our society - always without actually reading the truth. They support the troops, the war, more prisons, more death, and George Bush. They hate. They hate Katrina victims, welfare, gays,  blacks, Latinos, and abortion. And they push this dung heap all over the net with the same warning at the bottom - if you really care about your country, Mom and apple pie, you will pass this “truth” to everyone in your address book.

I have never gotten a message from a liberal. Never have I received anything about the virtues of a liberal cause, whatever it may be. No one demands that I save the whales, or vote for a liberal candidate, or love a segment of society. Not a single thing have I received about the ACLU. Again, I am not a liberal. But I do admire their finesse, innovating bullshit.

Conclusion:
Liberals are people who attempt to help those they know nothing about. Conservatives are people who attempt to spread hate for those they know nothing about. Obviously, it takes more energy and solicitation to spread hate.

“Reflect often upon the rapidity with which all existing things, or things coming into existence, sweep past us and are carried away.”
Marcus Aurelius - Meditations

Those of us who write for a blog, also read blogs. If you are serious about writing and your blog, then it stands to reason, you must be curious about what other people are doing. Blogging is about disseminating information, banal and bromidic or original and worthwhile. One of the most prevalent blog topics is how to get more done in your alloted time on earth, while simplifying your life. Until recently I’ve been a sucker for this paradox of do more, get more, buy more, but simplify.

Like most people, I read only blogs that have particular interest to me. Any time I see that someone has come up with a better way to get something done, my curiosity is piqued. Many times this involves either more software or a gadget i.e more hardware. Either way, a new element has entered the scheme to simplify, and adds yet another level of attention distraction.

About a month ago I gave up using a PDA. I have had two different PDAs in the last five years, and although they are invaluable for carrying about large quantities of information, they are also a pain in the ass. Many times I need to enter information quickly, make a note for something, and I have never mastered a way to do that with a PDA. I went back to a pocket calendar and paper. I no longer have the 200 plus contacts, the PDF and Word documents, photos, and other information available, but I find I rarely use these anyway. And I store contacts on my cell phone, so there was some redundancy already built in.

Choice is a good thing, but how many text editors, sticky notes, and small calendars can you use. Again, I have gone to a simple paper notepad, even a slip of paper stuck in the calendar will do just fine. I rarely use real sticky notes; they are well, sticky, and only useful to me to stick on a paper for someone else to read. I never use them on the computer, digital or paper. There is not much more disgusting than a perfectly good LCD monitor plastered with sticky notes.

As a Mac user I find widgets useful, only if they perform a function I use often. Again, how many clocks, weather, calendars and other assorted clutter do I really need? Things such as package tracking, however, are quite useful. If I leave a note on one of the gazillion note widgets, chances are I will forget about it.

If you didn’t know that markets are created for new gadgets, you do now. Software is one of the best examples I can think of to illustrate this. Consider Microsoft Word®, the word processor. If you have been around for a while, you know that it has gone through numerous iterations, each purporting to improve productivity way beyond its predecessor. You also remember WordPerfect® for DOS. As a writer, WordPerfect was the best word processor I’ve ever used. It was stable and reliable. It did one thing and it did it well – it worked similar to a typewriter, and got your words in print, albeit digital.

Now, your Word, word-processor does almost everything, and redundancy rules your world. Are you really more productive with much of the newer software? Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes no. Do you need to jump on the bandwagon and upgrade whenever a new version of Windows is released? Of course not. The greater point is, if what you have works well for you, keep it until you have a compelling reason to change.

I call this blog Hal, Deliberately Basic. My goal in life has always been to simplify and KISS. New toys can be fun, but somehow I always return to the basics. Make life easy, enjoy freedom from too many things that own you, and always work in moderation.

“The truth will set you free. But first, it will piss you off.”
Gloria Steinem

A Priest, a Rabbi and an ordinary consumer walk into a furniture store. At least one will wind up in the ranks of the pissed-off customer phenomena. American consumers are either elated with a purchase, or more likely, angry enough to vote Republican. In my lifetime, consumer disaffection is at an all time high.

My recent experiences with two companies is a prime illustration of American business as it is practiced now. The first shows that a company in fact does appreciate my business; the second that a company has a worldwide customer base and is not the least concerned with customers. The latter is atypical of corporate America, and explains the overwhelming number of complaints we see online.

Incident Good
A few weeks ago I had to have a medical procedure done at a local hospital. This procedure, an invasive test, required a medical team to set up. The team, and everyone involved from beginning to end, showed remarkable concern for my well-being. Not a single person, from check-in to leaving said or did anything improper. That alone impressed me. A week after the procedure, I received a card in the mail from the medical team. On the outside it stated they had not forgotten me, and inside everyone who dealt with me that day signed it. I’m not simply impressed, I believe this is a business that values my money. Yes, my money. This is business, and not a personality contest.

Incident Bad
About two years ago, I bought a sofa at a shop nearby, a brand known for quality. Two years later it is literally coming apart. Something is wrong with the undercarriage, and the seams are popping out. Yes, it is out of warranty, but two years is a very short time for an expensive couch.
After contacting the store, talking to the manager, and their repair service, I am SOL on this one. Not even an apology was given, but instead a defensive attitude, and a very frank I don’t give a shit about your problems. And they do not value my money.

I Googled La-Z-Boy complaints, and was amazed at the number of people who have had problems with various furniture products from this manufacturer. This link: la-z-boy-sucks, (Warning, the music on this site sucks) is a good example of what I found. Thousands of customers are having much worse problems than I have with this feckless company.

Name Brands used to be reliable, and I believe most people still think that is true. Outsourcing for cheap labor, greed and short term financial gratification drives the market. Today in the US, you lay down your money and you take your chance - brand name means nothing for most consumer products. The old saw, “The customer is always right” is anachronistic in today’s global economy. On occasion we do get value for our money, and we are as appreciative as a thirsty dog in July.

Another good example of horrible service is the airline industry. I do not feel much explanation is necessary for an industry that wants to charge people by body weight for service. Heavy people presumes fat people, which is not always the case. They may not want to piss off a 250 lb linebacker, or in fact an entire team of football players. Now that would be interesting.

In business, the only thing worse than having to fire someone is firing a friend, especially a long time friend. As the head of a large non-profit organization, I recently had to terminate a buddy due to his incompetence and failure to cooperate repairing critical problems in his office. Our friendship is not only gone forever, but I can feel the hate vibes from him and his wife across the cosmos.

The hatred is not reciprocal. Even though he may be the reason for a few sleepless nights, and he put me in an awkward position, I know that his animosity will eat him up. I no longer want anything to do with him, socially or otherwise. And I have no feelings except to view him as a pathetic, bundle of blunder who blames the world for all his ills. I will think of the good times we had together, and bury the hatchet of hatred in a hole in the backyard.

I do not believe friendship and business mix well. However, we are sometimes by chance, thrown together as manager and employee in this mix, and are forced to make the best of the situation. Regardless, friends are friends and business is business. Nothing can replace the personal lose of a friendship no matter the reason. But we can learn, and we never grow too old to learn some of life’s hardest lessons. Here are my guidelines for the strange bedfellows of business and friendship.

• Avoid hiring a friend. If you can do this, there is no better way to prevent friendship conflicts in the workplace, and the trauma to you and your friend, not only with termination, but admonition as well.

• If you must be the boss, then be the boss. You were hired to manage, not cultivate friendship or be popular.

• Give your friend the same consideration as any other employee. Do not be biased either way at the workplace.

• Document, document and then document more. At some point you will need to confront this employee / friend. You will need hard evidence to define the problem, and explain all possible solutions.

• Give him an opportunity to correct mistakes. Don’t draw a conclusion based on few facts, impression or perception. Be prepared to go to him and talk to him with the two Fs - Frankly and Friendly.

• Examine yourself as a leader. Have you done anything that may have been misunderstood? Do you communicate effectively? Be brutally honest when accessing yourself.

• Separate friendship from work. This is imperative. Do not procrastinate, do this at the onset of your work relationship, and be certain your friend knows where you stand.

• If termination becomes inevitable, do not blame yourself - he chose to create this situation, not you.

• Always think in terms of doing the right thing for the organization. As a leader, you are required to make tough decisions.

• Check the legality of employee termination. This is essential for any termination, friend or not. Are you certain you are within your legal rights to fire this person? A quick search will give examples of employee rights.

I keep this passage from The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius taped to a shelf above my desk. I read this every day. You can ill afford to be a pollyanna or a martinet if you expect to lead and command respect.

Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness - all of them due to the offenders’ ignorance of what is good or evil. But for my part I have long perceived the nature of good and its nobility, the nature of evil and its meanness, and also the nature of the culprit himself, who is my Brother (not in the physical sense, but as a fellow creature similarly endowed with reason and a share of the divine); therefore none of those things can injure me, for nobody can implicate me in what is degrading. Neither can I be angry with my Brother or fall foul of him; for he and I were born to work together, like a man’s two hands, feet, or eyelids. or like the upper and lower rows of teeth. To obstruct each other is against Nature’s law - and what is irritation and aversion but a form of obstruction?