From My Heart

I sit at my computer tonight with a pensive heart. It isn't just Haiti, although that gives it a focus.
I will freely admit to being a romantic. I love great stories and heroes. I love happy endings and noble causes and stories about people who displayed more integrity and courage than I have.
I'm not seeking solace or absolution, just thinking out loud.

We have an interesting set of choices before us. In many cases we are angry and disillusioned. We feel let down . Our economic security is at stake. People we trusted let us down. Where do we go?

I believe in people. I have been castigated about my focus on engagement and the power or relationships, but honestly I have have yet to see a more powerful force than a group of committed people in support of a common cause.

I have been and aspire again to be a "leader". Leadership is a a trust between those who "lead" and those who "follow".

For many years our philosophy was "Think Global, act local". Perhaps it is time for us to both think and act locally. Washington and "world leaders" can offer insight, but perhaps we need to embrace more solutions one person, one family, one community at a time?

From my heart. What do you think?

A Different Perspective

I had an opportunity to visit with a friend today who shared with me he finds my blog most meaningful when I speak "from my heart". I don't disagree with him. I find it most meaningful too.

I spent a good part of my evening tonight watching Hope for Haiti. I found it tragic, beautiful, inspiring and a host of other things. I got to see some of the greatest musical and stage actors of our time perform. The music was nothing short of incredible. Some of the quotes were memorable. Some of the scenes were tragic.

Haiti is a tragedy of the highest order. It also appears to be a country of great beauty and spirit. I've not had an opportunity to visit although I have a client who is intensely invested in the country. It has an almost mystical presence. As my wife pointed out the poetry of the Creole that is spoken is in direct juxtaposition to the darkness of their reality. Poverty is rampant as is HIV, and a host of other conditions and that was pre earthquake.

The inspiring part for me was that while 2009 was a train wreck of the highest order, it happened on us gradually almost a numbing process. The earthquake happened suddenly and tragically. Sometimes incidents like this bring out something human in us.

I saw some of the greatest entertainers alive today perform amazing music. Music that in many cases they hadn't written or performed previously, but performed beautifully; maybe even inspirationally.

I'll admit it. I am a soft touch and a romantic. Seeing people come together in a spirit of humanity speaks to a place in me. I hope it speaks to a place in you too.

I left the show with impressions of great tragedy, incredible performances, and hope. Seeing these artists perform without introduction, without the accolades of an audience, and organized in a very short time said we still care and hope. The idea that the major networks provided it commercial free said we still care. The idea that Bill Clinton and George W Bush jointly traveled to Haiti and are sponsoring fundraising efforts says there is a dignity in ex- Presidents and our current administration in making the request that speaks to our place in the world.

If you didn't see the show I reccomend it to you. At the very least download the soundtack from Itunes, I found it moving. I hope you will too....

Why Are We So Angry?

My brother recently sent me an awesome slide show titled Tips that may bring you a beautiful life- there were a number of "tips" that really struck me in the elegance and simplicity of their message, but one that especially spoke to me was " life is too short to waste time hating anyone" another equally profound and difficult for me was "make peace with your past so it doesn't mess up your present".

I read a lot. I will admit that aspire to one day be a positive force for change and a "lighthouse" for showing people a different way to interact with one another, especially in the workplace. As an "aspiring" writer and change agent people who can craft important messages with words, art or music humble me and make me wistful.

Some of what I read these days causes me to posit my question. I have read things ranging from Tiger Woods performance as a golfer to Michelle Obama's decision to wear shorts on a journey to trek the Grand Canyon and the solutions suggested by the CEO of Whole Foods to a less invasive way to deal with the health care crisis. The point isn't that people have strong differing opinions, it is the vehemence and the anger I see reflected in the words they choose and the personalization. Can't we disagree without demonizing?

Ted Kennedy's death has "officially" ended the Camelot era. I can't say that I agreed with his political positions terribly often and I am old enough to remember some of the more "colorful" episodes in his life. I do think that he contributed to many things that many of us have benefited from and and that he truly earned his mantle as "the great lion of liberalism".

I don't live in a surreal world. I have personally felt the effects of our current economy and no many others that have as well. I can't say that I blame any particular individual or party for where we are. I feel there has been plenty of "contributory negligence" on the part of many people including individual American consumers.

I mentioned in a previous blog that I am concerned that as the financial markets improve we declare the recession over! I still hope that we learned some things. A recovery that doesn't include much higher employment rates, the foundation of some solutions to the health care issues we face, and some means of dealing with the anxiety faced by many families seems a little empty to me. Maybe I am just feeling melancholy as summer begins to wind down, but I don't think so.

It seems to me that right after 9/11 we were angry, but we were also resolved and willing to put aside some of our differences and stand together. When we band together only in anger I get concerned. I have seen that movie- in Germany, in Palestine, and in other parts of the world. I don't like the way the movie turned out.

So I guess I will leave you with another "quote" from my brother's slide show-" Live your life with the 3 E's -Energy, Enthusiasm, and empathy and the 3 F's- Faith, Family, and Friends". I don't know about you, but I think that sounds way better than anger.........

A Change of Venue

I have had the opportunity to spend the majority of this week in the desert. I like the desert, I think people either like it or dislike intensely. Few are ambivalent about it.

In a strange kind of a way I see the desert as a metaphor for where we can go next with the economy. Many people think of the desert as an absolute arid wasteland with nothing to offer. I recommend to people that if they are within a hundred miles of Tucson to stop in at the Desert Sonora Museum. They call it a museum, but in some ways it is much closer to a zoo where the flora and fauna of the region are viewable in their native habitat. I can tell you that the variety of flora and fauna will astound you.

Similarly I look at places like Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Palm Springs that were "carved" out of the desert. Where some saw nothing but sagebrush and cactus others saw opportunity. I am not promoting the "instant community just add water" model, but these areas until recently experienced enormous growth.

As I was reading the newspaper this morning two stories also particularly struck me. The first story was where a team of surgeons removed six major organs from a seven year old girl in order to remove a baseball sized tumor, they then replaced many of her organs. I see this as an example of American health care at its best.

The other story was about some business owners who took a stand to "pay it forward"

• A pharmacist who split $16,000 among his 24 employees. He asked each of them to donate 15% to their favorite charity and spend the rest in local businesses to stimulate the economy.
• A florist who surprises 1 to 3 random customers per week with a free bouquet to brighten their day.
• A CEO of a small business who offers each employee $2000 towards the purchase of a new car or $1000 towards the purchase of a used car. The car dealers in his community are among his customers so he is trying to help them stimulate sales.
• A city councilman in California started a prom dress drive for young women who can't afford a gown. Local businesses joined the effort donating dry cleaning and free hair styling, and the local Elks Club is collecting shoes.

What is interesting here is that in each case these are small businesses. This is an example of personal competency and responsibility. These people didn't receive a bail out. They also aren't "turtling", they decided to take a personal stand.

I have said before that maybe the current economic situation will cause us to stop, pause, and reevaluate. There is plenty of "contributory negligence" to share with how we got where we are. As you know I am a huge believer that the answer is people, and I think some of these stories make my case.

For today anyway the market is up and all the news isn't negative.