Organizations vs. Individuals

“Everyone is a genius. But if we judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, then it will live all its life thinking it is stupid.” Albert Einstein

Is it ethical to entice an employee to change his behavior for the organization’s interest? Is Organizational behavior a form of unethical manipulation or not?  This controversy stems from a common conflict between the temptation of organizational managers (1) to manipulate or control individual behavior to do what is “right” – both for the individual and the organization’s interests, OR (2) to allow individuals the freedom to act and to decide for themselves what he perceives to be right.

 

Leaders on the one hand may want to “manipulate or control” — or more acceptably, ” encourage, inspire, or motivate” — individual behavior, for several reasons, say to ensure that the final outcomes are good for the organization; or to ensure that plans are properly executed for example. Stakeholders are all expected to want to promote their best interests. This is why they get involved in a business in the first place.  So company managers give the carrot or the stick, rewards or reprimands,  to fulfill organizational goals, greater sales, lower costs, higher value added, and so forth.

 

On the other hand, some leaders are tempted to give individuals the freedom to act, to choose for themselves, according to what they think is best, and hopefully what will not violate their personal values and beliefs.  The intention behind this is to ensure “buy-in” or  participation, or volunteerism.  Volunteerism, in fact is the most powerful and most passionate forms of “motivators.”  It ensures higher commitment, fosters individual self discovery, and a host of other benefits.

 

There is no conflict, when it comes to the underlying needs in the “conflict” between leaders controlling indivdual behavior and letting go or giving freedom. The underlying needs of (1) the need of organizations for the final outcome   to be ultimately profitable, or of value to organizations, (2) then need of individual for the final outcomes to be for the long term interest or welfare of the individual.

 

To resolve this ethical dilemma, leaders must ensure that all engagements are win-win, or where outcomes of the engagements are genuinely GOOD for both the organizations and for the individual, and if I might add for all “stakeholders” as well.  Win-win or no deal. This is the only way towards genuine sustainability.

There are many alternative “win-win” resolutions around the above “ethical dilemma” or “conflict.”  In what possible ways perhaps, can we “encourage” employees to do what is good for the organization, in ways that eventually help them achieve their own individual goals?  The concept of “work-life-balance” for instance has proven to be a deep source of internal strength for organizations. A happy, balanced person is a productive person!  And a company that offers work-life balance, attracts the better and brighter people, which creates an upward spiral of good things.

 

Another  example of win-win  is  when mission-critical projects are assigned, deliberately to maximize the unique individual strengths of assigned employees. BOTH parties i.e. the individual who deploys personal talent and the organization that needs it.  Let a numbers guy do the budget. Let a design-conscious employee spearhead changes in office layout.  Allow a born-writer to be editor of the company blogsite or newsletter,  and so forth.

Well-meaning individuals and prudent organizational leaders, ultimately,  pursue the long term success of the organization itself,  setting goals for the interest not only of the business, but for the good of employees, as well, thereby improving health care benefits, upgrading competency, improving job design, training new skills, and so forth.  The deeper challenge is how to align these goals towards the same strategic ends, at the right time, triggering consonance and not dissonance, say, as in grabbing more shares of a shrinking pie.

Key is to match real individual talent (say, in hiring, placing or delegating), with real organizational needs that address core conflicts and root causes, solve real problems, or that  tap the best of available opportunities. Consider the uniqueness and strengths of individuals and match these with critical work requirements. This resolves the dilemma as it moves from win-lose, lose-win, to win-win. It is not unethical to do this.  In fact it would be imprudent to do otherwise.

 

Another example of win-win is to forge a more clear and shared understanding of the meaning of “value” for the organization.  The “right” thing to do is what adds – not diminishes – “value”. But what is “value”? Is it customer value, share-holder value, value added as in taxation, or is it value to an employee – i.e. his benefits and compensation? Ultimately the end-customer pays for everything in the value chain, and so it can be strongly argued that “value” – for the business-  is what the customer is willing pay for.  So if “value” is defined by the customer, is the customer always right?  By agreeing on unified definitions of VALUE, we can align actions of people with organizational goals. We can synchronize strategic plans with strategic execution.  We can limit our actions to what the customer is willing to pay for.

 

I dream of  less schizophrenic organizations, where inspired individuals pursue company  goals alongside their own individual dreams.  I dream of integrated organizations where strategic plans are aligned with implementing structures and systems are synchronized with jobs. I dream of  organizations that respect – and are therefore able to draw from – the  genius of even seemingly ordinary people.

 

Manipulation and coercion are for the lazy. There is absolutely no need for it, when people voluntarily commit time and resources and passion, to do what they want to do, because they are  cut out and created  to do that. This happens when common purposes and shared values are clear and  individual talents are aligned to them. This happens when structures, policies and systems empower, and do not disempower people from deploying themselves.

 

An organization is one of integrity when it clearly and  collectively defines VALUE, not just to shareholders or to employees, but  to customers and all stakeholders as well. Such is an organization of real sustainable power, that more meaningfully and convincingly  delivers value; the kind of value that blesses the world, and changes it for the better.

by Joseph Pangilinan, Sept. 26.2011

 

 

 

Dysfunctional

Corrupt, incompetent, lazy, grand-standing, or cowardly legislators, allow, if not cause, the creation of dysfunctional laws, which cause us all so much pain, and at best, add little or no value to Society.

Dysfunctional laws usually favor a few privileged souls, but generally do not work for other stakeholders. In fact, many of our complex, convoluted laws cause massive devastation, poverty, and death in the nation.

So what causes dysfunction in laws? Is it not wrong motive? Great lawmakers write laws to solve real problems for the common good. But others tweak laws to favor a few, if not themselves. So can we expect well-thought, comprehensive bills that benefit majority of the bill’s stakeholders, IF such were written by paid lobbyists, advocated by envelopmental journalists, and signed into law by corrupt lawmakers — to favor a few “financiers”?

Seriously, if a law is not well-thought out, then it is unlikely to be “win-win”. If it is not “win-win,” what then is it? “Win-lose,” where only one party benefits, and the others lose. Worse is “lose-lose” where eventually nobody wins. In short, unless it is “win-win,” then a law is not sustainable. It just cannot work. So status quo prevails until the social volcano erupts. Who knows, maybe that was precisely the underlying motive — i.e. for the law not to work, in order to maintain the status quo… and hopefully not to cause social eruption.

Let’s clean up our laws, and create a policy environment that enables people and institutions to deploy their gifts for our country’s benefit.

Let us create an environment that embraces positive change, and not thwart it; an environment that rewards the good deeds of good people, and prevents the bad from doing their thing. Otherwise, our best and brightest will continue to leave, and the scum who benefit from today’s dysfunctional policy environment, will fight tooth and nail to stay.

Win-win or no deal. That is always best practice. Let it be our next practice.

Joseph Pangilinan

1/11/11

ERADICATE POVERTY NOW! Philippines Version: Stand Up Song of the United Nations MDG

Another Must See Video posted on YouTube.com.

What happens when the children of Gary and Angeli Valenciano, Martin Nievera and Pops Fernandez, Zsa zsa Padilla and Dolphy, and Kuh Ledesma get together and volunteer to “ERADICATE POVERTY NOW”?

YOU GET AN AWESOME, VERY MOVING PHILIPPINE MUSIC VIDEO!!!

This is the official Philippine Version of the Stand Up Song of the United Nations Millennium Campaign.

Visit http://www.MyStreetPhilippines.Com and monitor your local officials as they deliver the Millennium Development Goals or MDGs.

This is a product of the volunteer performance by Karylle, Gabriel Valenciano, Paolo Valenciano, Isabella Gonzales, Duncan Ramos, Robin Nievera and Zia Quizon

The song won as Official United Nations ASIA PACIFIC MDG, STAND UP Song.

Oh by the way, guess the parents and win a PRIZE?! 😉

Are New Technologies Changing the Game of Business? On Cloud Computing, Web 2.0 and other Disruptive Technologies.

My son left this on my bed one evening.

 

For both techies and non-techies, like it or not, CLOUD COMPUTING and WEB 2.0 are today’s  so called Game Changers. But has the game  really changed?

With the advent of disruptive technologies of Web 2.0 (user generated content ) and all Cloud Computing technologies that allow this to happen today, the game of business seems to have changed dramatically. The success of social networking sites, Facebook and  Twitter, in particular, where these virtual communiites are given nearly everything FREE of charge,  is a testimony of this unstoppable force (still difficult at this point to decide what to call this force).

Erstwhile technology leaders, giants in businesses like IBM and lately even Microsoft are beginning to feel the pinch. The Business Model of box-pushing is dead. It is nearly as dead as the music CDs industry is anyway. The real value of these businesses  – after all – was never  in the boxes. Neither was it in the nice hardware,  the cool gadgets and so forth.

The real value is ALWAYS in  the software, or what was in them. The monster apps.  The search is on for monster apps.  And monster content. The photos, videos, the music  and the videos don’t really matter – except for the value they provide, maybe as status symbols or design statements, etc., etc., etc.

These new technologies are certainly changing the game on how these “needs” are to be delivered. Businesses that recognize the whys and wherefores of this unstoppable force – Cloud Computing about virtually everything – are the first to benefit from it.

This  phenomenon called Cloud Computing (or using applications directly from the Internet), and more specifically the burgeoning social network sites under the Web 2.0 platform (sites where user-generated content is made available free of charge), tens of thousands of personal, home, and business solutions or applications (apps as they call it nowadays) are now made available – for the most part free of charge – in what they call the “Cloud” or more popularly “the Internet.”  And literally, billions of users worldwide are buying, if not fueling, this phenomenon.

What is causing this unstoppable force?  For one, people are –no doubt – sick and tired of boxes being rammed down their throats costing us more than an arm and a leg. We search for Real Value. Real solutions to real problems. As an example I gave, we are tired of paying more for “upgrades’ for no apparent practical reason.  The only reason I want to upgrade is because I am afraid I won’t b able to read my friends’ files anymore and that is a no no…?    I am also tired of high-flying IT solution providers who take advantage of my ignorance and charge me outrageous amounts just because I don’t know what’s available for FREE out there and they do.

The rise of Cloud Computing or Web 2.0 developments, two of the biggest Game Changing technologies in recent years, may be explained by a number of trends and triggers. Let me see if I can list a few:

1)    The unlimited and free nature of the Cloud (the Internet/ Ethernet)

2)    Voice over Internet Protocol

3)    Phenomenal strides in Wide Area Network optimization

4)    Trends in Virtual Private Networks, other privacy and Security solutions

5)    Excess capacity in bandwidth, central processing power, and memory

6)    Other Trends in bandwidth optimization, data compression, information transfer and retrieval systems

7)    Other trends in decision support systems, expert systems and so forth

8)    Other Trends in open and closed source application development.

9)    Political- Legal Liberalization, Deregulation of Information, communications technologies and other trends in globalization

10)The shortage of real empathy for consumers.

Many other unstoppable “trends” and issues – like globalization itself, or the growth of business process outsourcing for example – might be explained by the above triggers in the business environment, among others. Some “emerging lifestyles” coined by Faith Popcorn, as early as the 80’s include:

1)    Cocooning, or the fact that people wish to be protected from noise, pollution and other harsh realities of urban living

2)    Fantasy Adventure- people are bored. They seek adventure, but would rather reduce the risks of adventure.

3)    Eve-olution. The realization that it is the women that make most of the purchasing decisions at home.

4)    99-Lives. The multiple roles of people in urban living, underscores how valuable and how limited their TIME is. This means let us not waste it.

5)    The rise of idealism, ethics and social responsibility.

Cloud computing and web 2.0 technologies such as FACEBOOK and TWITTER – have leveled the playing field for smaller players, but in the end, those able to captures the hearts and minds of people are the ones who will end up winning.

Facebook, Twitter, can be powerful for business, if used and mined properly. But like normal conversation, if we speak more than we listen, then the other side can get really bored or irritated. If we listen more, we can be very powerful communicators. I believe that this, among other considerations, is what it takes to succeed in the social media scene.

Twitter in particular, is simpler, and in this world where oceans of data and websites compete for your attention, SIMPLER is better. LESS is MORE. IT serves another function and it is not so much to express ones’ ideas, as it is, say to broadcast, to announce, or to inform.

In any case, well-thought-of, well-written tweets, or one liner status messages, like RSS feeds, or say, Breaking News Headlines, immediately invoke action and reaction; even attacks or counter-attacks; i.e. positive or negative reaction.

For business, I believe people know whether your are just pulling their legs, or  pitching or trying-to-impress them, or trying to get them ot buy something –and don’t we just despise those who do that?  We like those that add value to us We like those that are a blessing to us. We like those that address our day to day issues and struggles. We like those that respond to our needs. This is what it means to Add Value.

Sometimes well-intended and inspiring tweets, or status messages, lead to positive things: edification and integration. More often however, self-centered, un-thought-of tweets lead to confusion, if not the disdain of readers. They are only being polite by not removing you as a “Friend “

Amazing power, Twitter has. Usually, when I need to update myself on current events, say when I need to know who won an important game (with videos attached to boot) OR to find out updates during a typhoon, or flood, or during some national or global crisis or calamity, I visit Twitter. For this reason I am connected via twitter to CNN, ANC, the local networks, Bloomberg and so forth.

For business, IF anything, research, listen, or browse target audiences/ markets regularly – not to stalk, but to understand them and their needs, and use this information to deliver VALUE, as precisely as we can.

Ultimately, it is the message, not the medium. It is the solution, not the program. It is the  benefit, not the product. What do we get from it, that is VALUE. That is what we are willing to pay for.. although the medium – how it looks, how it feels, and how it works – may have a lot to do with whether we will pay for it, click it, or listen to/ view it , or not.

How are we able to use these gadgets and apps to benefit us, to heal us, to teach us, to solve our problems? How do we use them  to live, to love, to learn and to leave a legacy?

What message? What benefits? Are we entertained by this status message? Do we feel better  from reading this content, OR does it just add  more noise and clutter into our already noisy and cluttered  lives? Does it teach us something? Does it make us laugh? Happy or Sad? Excited or Bored?  Does it inspire us or invoke compassio? Will it solve our toughest, most difficult questions?

What will compel people  to even consider this? That is the key question.

Today, the business model rests not in COST-PLUS products, but rather in capturing people’s imagination and compelling their attention . People will pay for – or volunteer to consider – what they perceive will add value to their lives.  The moment we compel  them to stay a few moments with us, THEN online advertising sponsors line up. Now everyone wants to join our bandwagons and “advocacies”.  Campaign contributors line up to give to the leaders in political races. Online donors will line up to finance the best causes. Even givers or  tithers in church line up to give to the best church organizations, that have  the best preachers or Online  podcasts.

Notwithstanding new disruptive technologies that can really help us, and we ought to leverage on, the real business model – where the money  comes from for example,  ironically has nothing to do with the technology or medium used.

Money will follow the organization that delivers the best value.  So, the key to succeeding in business today, given all these game changing , disruptive technologies, is simply to follow the same simple business philosophy: add value or be kicked out of the supply chain.

In short, find a need and fill it (at the very least, better than your rivals do). This is true for digital or brick-and-mortar businesses. For products or services. For local or imported products. We find the need and fill it, or we close shop, and move on to other ventures.

Let us commit to build businesses that will truly add value and bless others. This is what entrepreneurs are created to do. In a way, this is what on earth we are here for; this is how we are to be used mightily by our Creator.

The Telegraph: Zuckerberg is Time’s Man of the Year

Facebook\’s Mark Zuckerberg is Time\’s \”Man of the Year\”

So what  TIME is this again?

Here’s the gist:

Mr Zuckerberg, a 26-year-old multi-billionaire, took the honour after being judged to have influenced the events of 2010 more than anyone else.

He became the youngest winner since Charles Lindbergh, who at 25 was named Time’s first person of the year in 1927 after becoming the first pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.

He is also a fortnight younger than The Queen was when she was awarded the prize in 1952.

Announcing the decision, Richard Stengel, the editor of Time, said Mr Zuckerberg’s 500 million-strong social network was “affecting human nature in a way that we have never even seen before.”

“The scale of Facebook is something that is transforming our lives,” Mr Stengel said. “It’s not just a new technology. It’s social engineering. It’s changing the way we relate to each other.”

Incidentally, I prefer reading  The Telegraph, Technology Section

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/

 

It has updates 24/7 everything you can capture in both Europe and North America, in ENGLISH. My kind of news magazine.

J

“Mashable Startups”– Great Site for Start-Up Social Media Entrepreneurs

Mashable Executive Interview Start-up Entrepreneurs on YouTube

Bar none, Mashable  – Mashable | The Social Media Guide – is by far the best, most relevant

Mashable is the number one social media business site in the Cloud today.

Social Media-based entrepreneurial business site I’ve seen, particularly but not limited to technology enabled businesses.

One of my favorites segments is Mashable Startups – http://mashable.com/startups- which offers countless practical resources for FREE, say, to spark ideas, train on skills, share testimonies and experiences so we can learn from those who’ve done it.

Take this YouTube video for example Mashable Interviews Startups on YouTube. Mashable’s Johanne Rarayani (sounds like that) interviews several experienced start up entrepreneurs. Check out some excerpts of the interview:

The questions evolved around “How do you pitch, run and grow your own (startup) business? ” and “What does it take to run a business?” Experienced entrepreneurs had this to say:

-“Before you pitch a venture capitalist, make sure you already met them.. investors. Know them first. Know about them.”

-“You’ll want to get in front of your smartest friends and pitch, and have them say, “How do you get to that market size, I don’t get that?”

– “Be able to explain the business in a few minutes. The best slide shows rarely get opened.. within minutes we just close the laptop and we’re discussing, conversing about the idea.”

– “Build a great prototype. (Run successful demos) A track record of demos (or an installed base) is as vital as the business plan.In fact many don’t want really need to see the biz plans, if  the demo works.”

– “Schedule stuff or it doesn’t happen; what are we going to have to get down now, what are we going to do later?”

– “How to raise money?” Or maybe ask yourself, “Who trusts in you enough to put in money?”

– “How to wire your business?”.. Knowing what we know now about Cloud computing, given new technologies, how should we wire our business?

–  You have to have a great lawyer and a great accountant.

Now take a deep breath and listen of these sound and solid tips. Mistakes are necessary to learn, but it is also wise to listen to good advice from those who’ve “been there and done that”. Do not cower in fear  be believe the drumbeating of naysayers. But listen. Building any of these pointers into your execution, can save you years worth of trial and error efforts and costs;  tons of money in terms of losses from avoidable failure.

Risk is a function of ignorance, incompetence. Indeed foolishness is NOT looking before you leap. Even Jesus Christ himself  said, “ye shall know the Truth, and the Truth shall set you free.”

Joseph

http://newsonqueue.com/technology/introducing-the-mashable-startups-channel.php

Word Cloud: Crash Course on Cool Technologies; Learnings @ DLSU INFOMAN class of Prof. Benedict Avila

102-INFOMAN Making A Difference profavila@yahoo.com Web 2.0 Internet Apps Are You Living Out Your Destiny? User Generated ContentBlogsites Facebook uncommonsense101.wordpress.com Leadership “DON’T JUDGE TOO QUICKLY!” photography iPhone iTouch iPad Excel Expert Systems MS Office ERP funphotobox.com jnpangilinan.multiply.com WAN optimization Family Life IBM: hu u? Balsillie RIM Android SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY smart phone Online Apps Intelligence Agents kuliglig Bing prezi.com proshow.com Express Yourself steve jobs STRUMMS When Bill Gates Quit Microsoft Warren Buffet

Google Docs Powerpoint Google Ads monster apps howstuffworks.com jnpangilinan Yahoo! Answers Your Work Matters to God Google Apps WiFi management information systems SMARTBOOKS entrepreneurship

Benedict Avila keyboard shortcuts Social Responsibility & Ethics Business Resolving Conflict Love

Politics Church Freedom to Change Leave a comment Change Management Work Top 10 Whatever! shareware RIM Playbook Married Life Compassion Championing Entrepreneurship: Bridging the Economic Chasm Between the Rich and the Poor What is Love? Try this mind-blowing definition… LATEST TECHNOLOGY cloud computing Julian Assange wikileaks

Decision Support smart devices Keynote wordpress.com Blackberry LUGAW BUSINESS

bill gates Make A Difference CRM Artificial Intelligence MOBILITY

Google Translate FINAL EXAMS SME opportunities Word Cloud Google Sketchup Is Microsoft Dying? internet PayPal Amazon C3 SCM WIKIPEDIA Google Zeitgist FREEWARE

MARK ZUCKERBERG Time Man of the Year YouTube Use Technology and Bless the World

 

Word Clouds are a form of data visualization or infographics, which are actually interchangeable,  which mean various innovative ways of presenting data.

In this case, more than just a “presentations” of Words,  word clouds are actually inter-active tags because each word is connected to a link, or hypertext link, which connects the word to a location or website in somewhere in the Cloud, or the internet.

As part of the requirement for our Information Management class, INFOMAN-KGA, our professor Benedict Avila, asked us to prepare a Word Cloud for showing keywords we recall learning in class, and to post the same in our blogsite (which we also set up in his class, earlier in the term, by the way). So here it is, just click this link Infoman Word Cloud. If you cannot access it directly, please cut and past the following link:

https://uncommonsense101.wordpress.com/2010/12/16/my-word-cloud-for-dlsu-prof-avila%E2%80%99s-infoman-class/

but which I simply assigned to the phrase “Infoman Word Cloud” above.

One way to construct these cool word clouds is to type several words or phrases on whatever subject you choose, say in MS Word or better yet Powerpoint or Keynote. To make it interesting, use different fonts, colors and positions. You may also post a background. Then, you right click each word or phrase, and assign the appropriate hypertext link, as I did above.

The faster, more pragmatic way, is to Google “Word Cloud apps” or “Tag Cloud generators”, and download these – and there are so many of these downloadable for free – from the internet.

Thanks a lot!

 

JOSEPH

Are You Living Out Your Destiny?

“We seal our fate by the choices we make,” a popular soda (soft drink) commercial declared sometime in the 80’s.

The first thing that validates this concept in my mind is what Jesus Christ himself said, “What you sow, ye shall reap.” Another thought that comes to mind is the Hinduism concept of karma, which to some extent agrees with this system of cause-and-effect or past actions and reactions that impact on one’s future.

Ralph Waldo Emerson poetically expressed similar thought much later when he declared,

“Sow a thought and you reap an act; Sow an act and you reap a habit; Sow a habit and you reap character; Sow character and you reap a destiny.”

Emerson, an American lecturer, essayist, and poet in the mid 19^th century,  criticized popular religious and social beliefs during his time, especially what today, we call ‘fatalism”. He published dozens of essays and spoke in more than 1,500 public lectures across the United States on a variety of advocacies.

Some might still contradict Emerson’s teachings, say on transcendentalism, but I think few will argue that thoughts do breed action and that day-to-day “acts” — good, evil, or neutral – have rippling effects on what happens to us in the future.

Indeed the choices we make daily, our actions and decisions, the tapestry of “moves we make, steps we take, and vows we break” determine what we make of our lives.

Ultimately, this mosaic of little seeds planted or sowed do determine what kind of plant or tree of life we reap!

Here  my friends, in nurturing the small thoughts and actions that lead to big thoughts and actions, here lies the crux – the fulcrum – of INTEGRITY. World-renowned author Stephen Covey calls this, “Integrity at the moment of choice.”

Do we practice what we say we believe in? Or do we say we believe something but do the complete opposite?

Do we walk our talk? Do we really do what we say we ought to? Are we who we claim to be? Are we who we say we are?

Let us not therefore take our day-to-day choices lightly, because every single moment, everything we think or say or do, determines who we are, and in these, we practice who we will become.

As Christians, especially, we influence no one  when we are duplicitous, or when we do something else other than what is written as good.

As Christians, we believe in the sovereignty and omnipotence of God, but we also believe that He gave us free will — essentially to decide if we will act out of love, or out of some motivation other than love. And in this belief, what are we commanded to choose? According to Christ the entire law  – in other words, the entire bible – depends on the two greatest Commandments: “to love God above all things, and to love neighbor as self.”

Daily, in our thoughts, actions and decisions, we are free to live our faith, or not to live our faith. We are free to love or not to love. In every action or decision, we are FREE to obey or not to obey, to trust or not to trust God’s word, i.e. by obeying it or not obeying it.

This idea of free will remains a mystery to many, even to me, but I do believe that while God remains in total control  (and therefore deserves all my love and trust), he allows us to choose our actions, and every choice – both good and evil – have their consequences. I believe as God’s word says, “What you sow, you shall reap,” but likewise I believe “All things work together for the good of those who love God, and are called according to His purpose.”

I believe God has a plan for each of us, and it is for us to choose what is right, on a daily basis, so we prepare ourselves, for the good He has prepared in advance for us to do, all to complete His story, for His purpose, and honor, and glory.

“DON’T JUDGE TOO QUICKLY!”

How does a simple, innocent situation explode into a full-blown misunderstanding, argument, or conflict?

What begins as an innocent attempt at pleasing the other person can indeed – bizarre as it may – explode into shocking, unexpected conflict, as shown in this funny commercial from AMERIQUEST MORTGAGE (no endorsement or complaint intended).

One can almost predict the next scenario: a major, major misunderstanding, if not a terrible fight.  It is not wise then, no, it is foolish and inexcusable, to allow prejudice or emotional biases to figure in any argument. Remember this tagline, especially in conflict situations: “DON’T BE TOO QUICK TO JUDGE.” When one is not armed with proper facts, he or she is bound to jump to the wrong conclusions and, well, act like a jerk or a goat, no offense to jerks and goats.

Prejudice and wrong paradigms indeed prevent couples, teams, and institutions from addressing long standing conflicts, and thereby reach their full potential.  They cannot, in fact, unite and work at common goals, unless they are united.

Make it a discipline then, if not a special power, to listen before you speak, to understand before you give opinions or make conclusions. Otherwise, you can be dead wrong, if not devastatingly offensive.

In critical complex situations, particularly in conflict, crisis, or change management situations, it is always wise to “count 1 to 10” before reacting to attacks or similar stimuli. More than this, however let us keep in mind sound advice of Stephen Covey in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, and I quote,

“Seek first to understand, then be understood.”

.

by Joseph N. Pangilinan, uncommonsense101.wordpress.com

When Bill Gates Quit Microsoft

by Joseph Pangilinan, De La Salle University

The “Dollar Bill” William Henry Gates III, reputedly the world’s richest man, shocked the world when he announced that he would formally retire as Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, sometime in July 2008.

Gates said  he wanted to fight “more important wars,” particularly crucial problems involving world health and education in the Third World.

Some fresh goals:

(1) Find and deploy  the cure for AIDS, cancer,  malaria, et. al. and

(2) Bridge gaps in educating the world’s poor.

Awesome Goals. Why do I believe them more than I do the Millenium Development Goals?

The solutions mogul wants to solve the right problems for a change! He believes these new “pursuits” are more significant than protecting his $60 Billion “baby” Microsoft.  Mind-blowing!

In fact, Gates is currently persuading the best of the best scientists, engineers, doctors, experts in various disciplines, to come together for this new cause.  Warren Buffet, and some others among the world’s richest, most powerful, mostly retired leaders, have bought into the Gates challenge. W.Buffet has allegedly donated billions of dollars to Gates’ Foundation work. Gates himself has earmarked over US$10 Billion thus far, to this quest.

Make no mistake about it. These powerful yet unlikely leaders, a kind of “third force,” are converging to find real answers to the world’s real problems.

Hallelujah!

Yet, while tremendous resources may be needed in this new mission, Gates wants warm bodies to contribute – to the thought processes, research, development and strategic analysis required to solve problems, project execution, and so forth.

Challenges in “democratizing” health and education solutions in Third World countries, for example, are daunting in both depth and breadth. Research and technology, corruption in government and business sectors, poor infrastructure, dysfunctional policies and support systems, supply chain constraints, politics, and so forth.  Even “helping” is easier said than done.

Why the paradigm shift? Gates realized that despite all he knew, and despite having the largest research knowledge database worldwide, he was at his peak, virtually clueless about hunger and AIDS in Africa, or babies killed in China, or poverty in India.  He felt it was time that ‘the best and the brightest’ address Second and Third world problems, rather than just First world problems.

What a breakthrough!

The world’s most powerful solutions involve “integration” of the best and the brightest from various disciplines, interdependent knowledge, skills, and leaders from multi-sectoral institutions of the world.

I am no Gates fan, to be quite honest. I have always despised the idea of paying more for MS Windows, or MS Office upgrades, just so that I can read my friends’ latest doc and ppt files. That’s hardly any value added. But  for now, I cannot think of anyone else in the world who would be better qualified to integrate various disciplines’ technologies, resources, and build the most powerful solutions to complex problems, if not the Master-Jedi, Solutions-Integrator himself, William W. Gates III.

Making sense of the latest in information, telecommunication, and other technologies to build user-friendly “solutions,” over transnational distribution networks and supply chains: in fact constitutes Bill Gates’ most distinctive competitive competence!   Microsoft does project management and solutions integration on a global-scale, better than anyone else in the world!

Indeed collective knowledge is power, especially if applied to the right questions of the human race. In college physics, recall Poiseuilles Law, named after this French physician, who studied the flow of blood through capillaries. This law gave rise to new approaches to the treatment of high blood pressure, other such illnesses, and has saved millions of lives.

Bear with me on this one. Poiseuilles Law states that:

• the flow rate, Q, or the volume of a liquid flowing through a capillary, per unit time (cm3/sec) is directly proportional to the difference in pressure of the liquid between its ends, and the fourth power of the radius of the capillary (or pipes, in the case of plumbing or other fluid dynamic systems);
• and is inversely proportional to the viscosity of the liquid (represented by the greek letter ? “eta”), and the length of the capillary, or the pipe, through which the liquid travels.

So what now?

The formula for Fluid velocity or Flow rate is

Q = Volume per Unit time = [(p2-p1 ) x ( p  ) x ( r4 )] /  8 x [? x  L]

?  = “eta”, or the coefficient of viscosity

p  = “pi”, or the engineering constant 3.1416, or the circumference of a circle when the diameter is one (1).

So, how –pray tell –is this “knowledge” of any USE to the human race?

Take the medical problem of high blood pressure, a simple fluid flow problem, where we might want to reduce the velocity of blood flowing through human, veins, or arteries (cylindrical capillaries, all).  Say the blood flows too quickly. Am no doctor, but from Pouiselle’s Law, I thought up a few options to reduce blood flow rate, Q (barring any complications that may arise, of course):

1) reduce the radius  of the pipe (i.e. notice how radius is raised to the 4th power!), because the greater the radius, the greater the flow.

2) increase viscosity of the fluid, to reduce fluid velocity

3) increase the length of the capillary or pipe, which would reduce the rate of fluid flow.

4) reduce the pressure difference between entry and exit points of the capillary.  I suppose this is when the doctor advises the patient to “check his lifestyle’ or say, to avoid stressful situations, or even highly strenuous exercise.

Poiseuilles and related discoveries have saved millions of lives, and continues to solve countless day-to-day problems for people all over the world.

Dr. Poiseuille might have thought he was only researching treatments for high blood pressure, but his“law” is applicable to all homogenous fluid moving along circular tubes or pipes, just as it does to veins and arteries, spinning off into countless applications in fluid dynamics, not only in medicine, but in business, industrial and organizational theory, fluid dynamics, aerodynamics, supply chain management, and so forth.

Applied Science rocks!! Such are the kinds of solutions we need for the world’s most challenging problems, and not just popular “monster” applications as gaming, gambling, texting, or other forms of social-networking.

Combining knowledge, power, wealth, even fame, may be helpful, even necessary, to bless the world with the solutions it so badly needs, but as Bill Gates himself has seemed to realize, these are not sufficient.

The right problems will neither surface nor resolve themselves, if leaders will only pursue selfish, vested or parochial interests.

Complex problems will remain unresolved, precisely because they are complex, involving thorny “conflicts”, disparate systems and policies, many wasteful, dysfunctional, and frustrating steps, say in business, industry, or government.

Not enough leaders have the guts, the gall, and the gumption to address such complexity head on, for the greater good.

Thus, what Gates and Buffet are doing, is a breath of fresh  wind and spirit at such times as these. Even the world’s most difficult problems and conflicts can be solved, if more of such leaders work together, and channel their collective passions, resources. and skills, towards crucial issues of the human race.

We do not need more knowledge, power, or wealth, but more action.

We do not need a change of heads or hands, but a change of hearts.

What the world needs now, are more men and women with the unconditional love and courage to DO what is right, despite fear or resistance.

The world needs more men and women, with hearts turned to flesh, from stone.

JN Pangilinan

Note: Poiseuilles Law, The American Heritage® Stedman’s Medical Dictionary, Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.