The New Year has come and we have 365 days to repeat our mistakes of 2017. Most organizations, including government will set goals and try to achieve or surpass them. Here are some pearls of thought to keep in mind.
In all successful organizations, consensus is used to open a path to goals set by the leader. Consensus should never be used to set goals; that’s why we have leaders that establish lofty yet achievable goals. The critical tasks of subordinates are to smooth the waves of resistance and pave the path to achievement of goals using creativity, innovation and common sense.
Politics has become a daily topic of conversation and easily exceeds the pleasantries of weather and offenses by leaders of all occupations and professions. The most important thing for us to remember as the earth rotates on its axis is that we must not listen to the most vociferous voices on either side of any conflict; we must watch the actions of those who have established goals and are setting a course for achievement. Great speeches by orators provide temporary guidance but actions following the words of leaders define the quality of leadership and true achievement.
The revised tax plan was signed into law a few days before Christmas. Taxpayers and all U.S. citizens should be cheering the passage of this law. However, “resistors” such as Senator Schumer (D-NY) and Representative Nancy Pelosi, (D-CA) are speaking and writing critical reviews and declaring that the new law is a cruel scam. Some readers, listeners and viewers may believe the criticism.
Consider who Schumer and Pelosi are: Schumer has never signed a paycheck on the front side since graduation from Harvard Law School. Over a two-year period when she was Speaker of the House, Pelosi spent more than $2 million in commuting costs using Air Force aircraft; more than $100,000 was spent on expensive liquor and food items on these trips.
It’s easy to ignore true facts and regurgitate factoids, distortions, falsehoods, misrepresentations and vicious rumors. It is easy to replace facts with innuendo to divert attention away from reality and into the mystical world of inhaling toxic words of personal destruction while ignoring policies of achievement.
Here are some facts: The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) eclipsed the 25,000 mark for the first ever on Thursday, January 4th, 2018 and closed the next day at 25,295. Employment gained 2.1 million jobs in 2017; Black unemployment dropped to 6.8%, the lowest level since record-keeping started in 1972; most Blacks voted against Trump. Hispanic unemployment dropped to 4.9%.
Overall, unemployment fell to its lowest level in 16 years. Real Gross Domestic Income (GDI) increased by more than 2% during the year and wage earnings in December 2017 increased by 2.5% over December (2016). Boeing, AT&T, Wells Fargo and other corporations have announced substantial bonuses to hundreds of thousands of employees. Trump has removed many government agency regulations, unleashing the creativity and growth of the economy.
Many liberal progressive left-wing Democrats are boisterously advocating the impeachment of President Trump saying he is mentally unfit to be President. If Trump is a wrong-hand-wing-nut, what President would resume diplomatic relations with Cuba when the USA got nothing in return? What inane President would promise the world’s leading advocate of terrorism-Iran-that they could become a nuclear power in ten years? What kind of furtive U.S. President would send $400 million in currency to Iran via an unmarked aircraft in January 2015 in exchange for five American citizens when his policy was that we would never pay ransom? Answers: Obama, Obama, Obama
In 1964, ‘Fact’ magazine surveyed 2,417 psychiatrists regarding the mental state of presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. Almost half of those tallied (1,189) responded that yes, he was probably paranoid, schizophrenic and narcissistic. These diagnoses were made without personal contact and probably based on the writings of biased pseudo-journalists. Goldwater sued the magazine, won $75,000 in court and ‘Fact’ magazine became the equivalent of an excised appendix. The publisher might have had better luck in court if the magazine had been named ‘Factious.’
Heed these prescient words of Will Durant (1885-1981): “The political machine triumphs because it is a united minority acting against a divided majority.”
