Prevention and Wellness – we are train wrecks waiting to happen

As a retired benefits professional, both as a consultant and manager of an employer benefits program, I have been involved with numerous healthcare prevention and wellness efforts. I have worked with wonderful colleagues who put in motion terrific ideas and measured their success. And, if not working well, they tweaked or scrapped them, as the key is to prevent illness and injury. The reason – we are train wrecks waiting to happen. If we don’t take care of ourselves now, issues will manifest themselves later.

March is national Colorectal Cancer Awareness month, so you may have seen more commercials on getting a colonoscopy. There is no better preventive exercise than getting a colonoscopy whether you are male or female. At the age of 55, I have had the “pleasure” twice and each time they have found pre-cancerous polyps, which they can and did remove during the procedure. If you are over the age of 50 and have not had one, please see your doctor. The worst thing is the cleansing liquid that you need to drink the afternoon and evening before. The procedure itself is twenty minutes in length.

Each October, we celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness month. Unlike colonoscopies, mammograms should start at an earlier age, especially if you have a family history. And, unlike colonoscopies, reading a mammogram is science and art. It takes a trained eye to read them and there are some false readings. I have two suggestions. First, start early with self-examination. If you don’t know how, ask someone who does. You know your body better than anyone, so you may sense something is amiss.

Second, if you do get a mammogram and get a positive result, don’t panic and do the follow-up with an oncologist.  Even if the oncologist says everything is OK, it is worth the trouble and expense. If you get a negative (or there may or may not be an issue) mammogram and feel it is not correct, get another one. In the mid-1990s, we ran a mobile mammogram (thanks Mary!), which conducted 11,000 screenings for our employees, irrespective of whether they signed up for the employer healthcare plan. We detected 9 cancers. That is nine lives who may have been saved, which makes the cost savings to the employees and employers meaningless when compared to a life saved.

While these are of critical importance, most people die from heart disease, including and especially women. So, every month should be heart disease awareness month. One of my old Global Health and Wellness colleagues said one of America’s greatest exports is obesity. We have shared with the world our affinity for fast food and each nation has made it their own adding other unhealthy items to the menu. In Mexico, you can get a burrito with your Big Mac at Mickey D’s. I should add the US is the most obese country in the world according to the World Health Organization with over a third of Americans with a BMI greater than 30, although Mexico is giving us a run for our money.

There are a number of programs and diets that attack people, especially women, from TV and magazines. Dr. Oz is great, but he has a new idea on every day, so you are blitzed by information and are hamstrung on what to do. You cannot do everything Dr. Oz suggests. So, here are a couple of simple ideas that we each can do (please do more if you are and can), that will help you with your heart health.

– Walk to better health. That’s it. Walk after dinner or to run errands. Walk the dog or with a friend. Even if for only five minutes, just walk and you will see a difference.

– See a doctor for a preventive or wellness check-up.This will be one of biggest benefits of Obamacare. People will now go to the doctor for preventive visits. High blood pressure and high cholesterol can be managed, but you have to know.

– Eat smaller portions. This is the most sustainable diet you can do. Start by leaving “bites for the cook” when you eat. Just don’t overload your plate or when you eat a snack, put the product in a small bowl and don’t eat from the bag or container. We keep lightly salted mixed nuts and small fruits (blueberries, grapes, e.g.) around and use them as snacks rather than chips.

There are many more ideas I could throw out, but let’s stick with those three. Since I retired, I graze during the day eating five or six small meals – the three main meals and usually two or three snacks. I try not to overeat at any of them. I would encourage you also to eat more calories earlier in the day and try not to eat too late, so your body can burn the calories.

I would ask my readers to share their ideas as well, but my main purpose is to suggest small steps that you can do and sustain. Diets will eventually fail unless you make changes that you can live with each day. Walking is easier to start and continue and, if you miss a few days, you can easily pick it up again. Best wishes on keeping your train on the track and avoiding the train wreck later in life.

 

 

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With Obamacare showing more success, let’s expand Medicaid in the remaining states

Now that the current phase of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is showing success it is time for the states who did not do their part to seriously consider expanding Medicaid, maybe taking a cue from a successful, bi-partisan variation in Arkansas. As of March 27, over 6 million Americans have signed up for the exchanges under the ACA, with another over 6 million benefitting from the expansion of Medicaid in the states that did so. Further, you cannot be excluded from coverage due to pre-existing condition nor can your be kicked out once you become ill or disabled, which is a huge plus.

This success is on top of what had happened in earlier phases of the ACA. Over 3 million adult children under the age of 26 have been able to remain on a parent’s plan, which is in addition to the above. Among other early adopted features prior to 2014, the ACA eliminated the lifetime benefit limits, eliminated the preexisting condition for children, required some additional health prevention benefits and limited profit margins on policies for insurance companies which resulted in some premium refunds the past two summers.

The ACA is here to stay, but could stand some additional improvements. While complex, it has moved the ball forward in a major way and will continue to do so. Yet, part of the ACA has been hamstrung by various states that chose not to expand Medicaid for those beneath the poverty level, including the two Carolinas. For example, like other states who failed to do this, the two Carolinas rank low on overall healthcare and child poverty, per the United Health Care Foundation and Center on Budget and Policy. NC ranks 33^rd in healthcare and 39^th in child poverty. SC is worse off ranking 46^th in healthcare and 48^th in child poverty. More on this can be found on the following post.

https://musingsofanoldfart.wordpress.com/2013/06/18/why-are-the-states-with-the-worst-healthcare-not-expanding-medicaid/

According to the RAND Corporation, The Commonwealth Fund and Economic Policy Institute expanding Medicaid would not only be good for those in need, it will help the economies in those states. In my home state of North Carolina, for example, the reason stated for not expanding Medicaid is the administration problems it already has. That is true as the current leadership is not steering the ship very well. An unstated reason for these states is political as the leadership are not advocates for Obamacare. Yet, other Republican states have embarked down this path.

But there is another option for Medicaid expansion, which has been successfully rolled out in Arkansas with 83,000 enrollees so far. This bi-partisan alternative uses the federal support for Medicaid expansion covering the enrollees in the exchanges. This transfers the state’s administrative burden to the insurance companies. In North Carolina and other states with Medicaid administration issues, the Arkansas model would be worth consideration.

As a retired benefits professional, covering more people will benefit not only those in or near poverty, but hospitals who are struggling and our economies. People with coverage will seek treatment before troubles get worse, seek treatment from the more appropriate source and have dollars to spend on other basic needs. Since the absence of good healthcare coverage is the number one reason for personal bankruptcy per The American Journal of Medicine, having coverage can help people weather the storms in their paycheck to paycheck living.

So, it is time for these states to make a move. Under either Medicaid expansion model, people in need would benefit. So, would their state economies and hospitals, especially in rural areas where poverty is so prevalent.

 

 

Miami 2017 – Billy Joel may need to change the ending with the encroaching seas

In one of Billy Joel’s more memorable songs written in the 1970s, “Miami 2017” sometimes referred to as “The Night the lights went out on Broadway,” he sings of how everyone moved away from New York to Miami when it got so bad there. Here are the concluding lyrics: You know those lights were bright on Broadway. But that was so many years ago… Before we all lived here in Florida. Before the mafia took over Mexico. There are not many who remember. They say a handful still survive… To tell the world about… The way the lights went out. And keep the memory alive…

However, Joel may need to change the song ending as Miami is being encroached upon by the sea and it is not anticipated to let up. Per a PBS Newshour news article led by Kwame Holman, sea water is now coming up through the sewage system into the streets, the only place the water can escape. And, unlike Hurricane Sandy that leveraged off the rising seas to wreak havoc, this is happening without a hurricane, which makes it even more scary. Here is a link to the article:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/south-florida-rising-sea-levels/

I am not implying Miami will be under water by 2017, but I am saying that the predictions of a meter rise in the seas (between 39 and 40 inches) by the end of the century, may be too optimistic. Miami’s Dade County has been joined by three other adjacent counties to plan for the rising sea. Per the article, Eric Carpenter of Miami Beach Public Works Department said, “We have done our storm water management master plan that was adopted in 2012, and that had identified approximately $200 million worth of improvements that we needed to do over the next 20 years in order to keep pace with sea level rise and addressing flooding concerns within the city of Miami Beach.”

Per Holman, “Miami Beach is not alone in addressing sea level rise. South Florida has become a model for regional cooperation on this issue. Projections by a four-county climate change compact were turned into an action plan with more than 100 recommendations. Those now are being reviewed. Some have been adopted by county governments. Broward County Mayor Kristin Jacobs has been at the forefront of South Florida climate change discussions and has earned national recognition for her work.”

The dilemma is the $200 million estimated fix will likely not be near enough, some thinking it may need to be doubled. Miami is right at sea level, so any rise of significance will be problematic. Yet, the fact four counties have joined together to discuss the problem and identify action steps is encouraging. The logical concern is how to pay for what needs to be done. So, mapping that funding strategy must be a key part of the equation.

Several states have accepted reports of the 39 inch plus sea level rise – Virginia, Louisiana are two that come to mind. Unfortunately, I sit in a state that refused to accept such a report and would only accept one that projected forward off the previous 100 years’ results. So, North Carolina is hoping the seas only rise by 8 inches by the end of the century. North Carolina is literally holding back the sea with legal briefs. I applaud South Florida for doing what we are not in NC. Climate change is real, we are seeing it already and we need to do something about it. I hope that other communities share Miami’s concern and plan accordingly.

Boys with Toys – when factions fight, no one wins

Maybe our world is more connected with social media, so I may simply be more aware of various factions fighting for turfs around the world. But, it seems like we are having more useless fighting than ever before. Part of the reason may be the fall of various iron fisted regimes such as in Iraq or with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, although Vladimir Putin wants to put all the stuff back in place under his iron fist.

As I review this constant state of fighting, two major conclusions can be gleaned. First, you do not see women leaders fighting over turf like men do, so it is grown up “boys with toys” doing all of the harm. Unfortunately, the women citizens are the ones who pay the dearest price as they are raped, pillaged, stolen, mistreated, or given lower status. Second, when a region has fighting like this, it will not flourish economically. No one in their right mind would want to enter a country to do business as the risks are too great. And, the men and boys who should be working their livelihoods are too busy finger-pointing and saying that group is responsible for why I am poor.

On the business front, now that Russia is more entwined with other economies, they will suffer from the sanctions, but more importantly from less commerce, as no one will trust Putin to do business with them again. He was already corrupt before, but now you would need a serious return on investment to risk doing business with Russia. Either that, or you are obligated to do business with them as there is no other market. There is no better example than to look at the two Koreas. You have South Korea who is flourishing with open markets and vibrant cities. Then, you have North Korea which is a totalitarian disaster where people have few rights and have to acquiesce to the Boy Emperor or get executed or sent to a labor camp. It is not a surprise more North Koreans go hungry than their southern neighbors.

But, back to the violence of certain areas. It is one thing to be under an iron fist with few rights. At least you know what you are dealing with and people can make do. It may not be a great life (or even a very good one), but it can be safe if you keep your nose clean and don’t make waves. Yet, the areas where extreme groups are fighting each other and blaming other groups or groups they support for their woes, there is little hope for stability. To get there, the violence has to stop or be managed to a minimum. Until the violence is stopped, people will live in fear and poverty. Until the violence is stopped, women will be maltreated as they are easier prey and considered such in the minds of brainwashed boys with toys.

The word “brainwashed” is appropriate as the boys (and some girls) are carefully taught by extreme leaders to hate others. Remember the line from a song in Oscar Hammerstein’s South Pacific, “You have to be carefully taught to hate from an early age.” It is their fault, not yours or mine. To convince a young person to strap on a bomb and self detonate is an act of cowardice on the leader’s part. He has “wound up” a boy with a toy that will kill people as well as the young person. Until leaders within these groups or related groups stand up to these cowards and say this is not right, until the women stand up and say this must stop, and until the young people realize that they should not listen to this propaganda, the violence will continue.

My friend George Dowdell wrote a post recently about the contributing factor violence plays in poverty. He eloquently defines it as the lack of justice. Here is a link:

http://georgedowdell.org/2014/03/18/broken-justice-systems-the-legacy-of-colonies/.

Until the violence ends, poverty will not end. And, for those in the US reading this, we have communities in America where poverty persists because of the violence. Poverty exists because the opportunities are too few, where boys are drafted early to be part of extreme groups. Until we stop this everywhere, poverty will continue to exist and no one will win, including the boys with toys.

 

 

Countdown – Too many people to sustain long term

I watched a fascinating interview with Alan Weisman, the author of the book “Countdown: Our Last Best Hope for a Future on Earth” the other day in which he said environmentalists are failing to talk about the major problem we face as a planet which is having too many people to sustain life. I have written before about how many people our earth could sustain and the answer varies based on how much we consume – if we consume like the average Rwandan we could support over 15 billion; however, if we consume like the average North American it is under 3 billion. With our current population of 7 billion, Weisman believes we need to plan our way down toward the smaller number. The following is a link to a Los Angeles Time article on the book.

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/sep/20/entertainment/la-ca-jc-alan-weisman-countdown-20130922

He noted the big reason we have so many people is we have created chemically leveraged ways of growing more food. Yet, even with that people are starving. Further, the chemicals are now being seen as harmful to the environment and our resources. But, it is not just the food – it is the water which is the “new oil” per Steven Solomon’s book called “Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization” as well as our other limited resources. So, in his mind, we have to manage the decline of our population to survive.

He cites a good example in his book where Iran used extremely reasonable means to curb their population growth and did so in a non-coercive manner. The Iranian approach was even more effective than China’s one child per family mandate. After the revolution in 1979, Iran was soon invaded by Iraq. To stave off the Iraqis, more children were needed, so families were encouraged to have more. Once the Iraqis were pushed back, the leaders saw they had far too many people and that would cause unrest. So, the leaders convinced the Ayatollah of the problem so he issued a four-part edict that made much sense and has been successful:

1) Beyond a replacement number of offspring for the family, it is more than OK to use contraception.

2) Contraception was made readily available to Iranian citizens.

3) Pre-marital counseling on the cost of raising children was made mandatory.

4) Girls were encouraged to stay in school and get an education.

This last point is vital as data indicates the better educated the family, the fewer children they tend to have. He also noted in the area around the Vatican resides some of the more educated females per capita and they have a very low birth rate.

I have not read Weisman’s book yet, but look forward to doing so. But, I think his message speaks loudly to all of us. If we are going to sustain ourselves on this planet of ours, we need to factor in population planning along with our environmental planning. We need to have a more manageable and sustainable population.

Reflections on the week it was – intimidation and bigotry abound

Looking back at a few occurrences over the course of the week, I observed Vladimir Putin is quite good at influencing outcomes and bad behaviors. Even ministers are not immune from his lessons of bigotry. This is a key reason he is unlike other Soviet leaders (word intentionally used) as he is a very skilled, scary and corrupt politician.

Crimea election shows 96% plus favor joining Russia

History has shown when you intimidate voters, the election results will favor your cause. A few weeks before, North Korea voted to continue with Kim Jong Un with 100% of the vote. Something about killing your own Uncle for not bowing low enough or clapping hard enough has a tendency to sway voters. Saddam Hussein used to win elections with 98% of the votes as well. Hussein was not too tolerant of dissent, but was smart enough to allow 2% vote against him to show the world he is fair. I would not want to be in the 2% in Iraq back then or 4% in Crimea this week, as you might not be around much longer..

In Crimea, the native Tartars and pro-Ukrainian voters decided to stay home, since there was evidence of dissenters disappearing and having big “X’s” marked on your door can make you feel unwelcome. Yet, I found an interesting statistic. One district had 124% turnout. That is a turnout any Tammany Hall politician would love. It appears, if you had a Russian passport, you could vote. So, people who are not even citizens of Crimea voted to join Russia. You could have sensed something was amiss when reporters were having their cameras thrown to the ground and independent election officials were not allowed in to verify results.

Two final comments. First, if Crimeans want to join Russia, I understand that, but at least have a fair, democratic, and constitutionally (Ukraine’s not Russia’s) supported vote and not one that looks and smells like it was rigged as this one was. Second, as I said in an earlier post, I would not put it past Putin to send in his own thugs to stir up trouble in a community and then send in troops to provide security. This is an old school strong-arm tactic and I believe it was used in Crimea and is being used in other parts of Ukraine. PBS Newshour corroborated this with their belief last night when they spoke of a seemingly orchestrated set of eleven demonstrations in an Eastern Ukrainian city at the same time. It is too much a part of Putin’s nature to believe he did not puppeteer this outcome in the manner I described.

Franklin Graham applauds Putin for denigrating the LGBT community 

Reverend Graham published an article that said he admired Putin’s stripping away the rights of the LGBT community in Russia. He did not support other things Putin has done, but he took a shot at our President and Attorney General for supporting non-discrimination of gays and lesbians and heralded Putin for discrimination. From the bible I was taught, Jesus was inclusive. In fact we used to sing a bible song, “Red and yellow, black and white, Jesus thinks we are out of sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.” I have searched my memory banks, but cannot recall an exception on whether they were gays or lesbians in the song or in Jesus’ Golden Rule.

I have a very low tolerance for bigotry from the pulpit and have written several posts about my distaste for when ministers misuse the faith the congregation has placed upon them. Per the song from the movie “South Pacific,” you have to very carefully taught to be a bigot. My mantra has been when religion is inclusive it is at its best and when it is exclusive it is at its worst. Let me go one step further. When religion is bigoted, it is wielded as a weapon to divide. I have known many ministers in my day and they are by and large the most wonderful people and give much of themselves. But, just because someone is a minister does not mean they are immune to biases and mistakes. They are imperfect just like everyone else.

What disappoints me about the younger Graham is his father was so admirable in cutting a path of inclusion for all. Using an old phrase, he was a “Big Tent” preacher who wanted everyone to come and hear the word of God. That is the way it should be. Franklin would ask you to complete a survey and if you checked the wrong boxes, you would not  be allowed to enter the tent. He needs to spend some more time with his father and ask for guidance on how to be inclusive.

I will reiterate what I said before. Vladimir Putin is a thug, but a skilled one who uses people’s biases to divide and achieve his purpose. Franklin Graham took the bait and tried to appeal to a base of bigotry that is being cultivated in our country. I am hopeful many will see Putin’s true colors through this process and will not tolerate bigotry from anyone, but especially a religious leader.

The Anti-Charity Charity

In his book “Toxic Charity,” Bob Lupton writes from experience that charity should be reserved for true emergencies*.  When a person loses his home (or is about to) due to sudden natural or economic causes, then people stepping in to help is definitely in order. Yet, after the emergency subsides, the more efficacious way to help people should change. We definitely should help people, but do our best not to do for them what they can do themselves.

I am involved as a volunteer with an agency that helps homeless families. We believe in empowering our homeless families—working in partnership with them to secure safe and stable housing and to create lasting change. These are things we know are necessary to break the cycle of generational poverty and become self-sufficient. When families have permanent housing, strong personal relationships and motivation to change, families will have the best chance to move out of a life of poverty and into a life of self-sufficiency.

Our families are working families—people you meet when you go to your doctor’s office or your child’s school, etc. Many have lost their homes due to a reduction in work hours, a medical crisis, domestic violence or some other financial or social setback. Our families were living paycheck to paycheck and with one small change, their world was turned upside down.

To access the full support of our agency, our families have to do their part. Families attend classes to learn better budgeting and financial skills, and they meet weekly with a social worker who challenges and encourages them to make better decisions. Also, after saving for a down payment, they work with a housing specialist to obtain affordable permanent housing. Families also receive supportive services from volunteer mentoring teams, which we call “Hope Teams.” Our model is simple—to help homeless families help themselves.

To be the best stewards of our families, funders and volunteers, we constantly evaluate our model to ensure that we are creating lasting and permanent change in the lives of the families we serve. In our last fiscal year, 91% of our families were self-sufficient after completing the housing part of our program. And, we just completed an exhaustive measurement exercise to learn that 88% of the families that exited our program into housing have sustained their housing on their own after three, six, twelve and twenty-four months milestones.

Our staff and Board of Directors know this model serves our clients in a respectful and effective manner—and we have the outcomes to prove it. The key takeaways are to help people climb the ladder, but not climb it for them. And, entrust the people closest to the client figure out the how to tweak or improve the model. Finally, measure outcomes. It is important to use your funders’ dollars judiciously and your volunteers’ time and efforts wisely. This stewardship is essential to success for our families.

* https://musingsofanoldfart.wordpress.com/2012/11/18/toxic-charity/

Monday morning you sure look fine, but Friday I got traveling on my mind

With due credit to Fleetwood Mac, I thought I would borrow a song lyric from Lindsey Buckingham to start off a post of potpourri topics on employment and wages. Here are a few musings from this Old Fart the last day off before your Monday at work that may cause you to think differently come Friday per the song.

Why do people against increasing the minimum wage not earn a minimum wage salary? Over 70% of Americans in a recent polls want to increase the minimum wage and I listen to all the mumbo jumbo about how it will affect jobs, yet none of the speakers are making the minimum wage. There is also data that shows people will turn over less from jobs and productivity will rise. There is a great quote from a CFO in the book “The Rich and the Rest of Us” which notes that companies chase cheap labor. They always have. He notes that if they could get by without employees they would.

Have you ever wondered why companies lay people off later in the fiscal year? It is important to mention this topic next, as companies tend to lay people off when they head into performance review season with a limited budgets. By moving on higher priced people who may not be an A employee anymore and have declined to only a B or C employee, they save money from the salary budget. Plus, by moving on lower performers, they in essence are moving the normal curve of ratings but not the salary budget. What I mean by this is if someone was not performing and deserving a lesser raise, by taking that person out, they are now giving the lesser raise to slightly better performing people.

Have you ever noticed slow but steady may win the race, but usually lose the raise game? This is one of the unfair things in life that does not get talked about enough.The people who tend to get the highest raises are less likely to be the slow and steady workers who show up every day and do a good job, but not a great job. These solid B, B- or C+ employees are the backbone of every organization. They know how to get things done due to a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic experience. Yet, they tend not to blow the doors down, so they do not get rated “Exceeds” are “Far Exceeds” expectations. These latter folks are more marketable and unless opportunity exists internally, they will leave for greener pastures. The best thing the steady Eddies (and Edwinas) can do, is to every once in a while, look for another job for which they would be prepared to leave, and let their employer know it.  Don’t play this card too often, but be sincere and ready to move if needed. Also, be wary, as your employer may have a different sense of your performance than you do.

Have you become aware that it has been the employers who have broken the loyalty contract? Let me close with this observation. We used to work in a world where loyalty to a company mattered. If you worked hard, you may not be able to buy a castle, but you could have a nice roof over your head. Maybe it is just my awareness of this, but beginning around the late 1980s when the information age truly began to heat up, analysts started predicting the profits a company might expect each quarter. My previous post spoke to this, but managing to short-term expectations caused leaders to treat employees more like expenses rather than assets. So, employees would be let go in a heart beat. Now, we are workforce of free agents. My father would have never given me the advice I noted in the previous observation as loyalty mattered and it should matter. Yet, the employers have broken the loyalty contract, so you are in charge of your career now. The employer is not.

So, where does that leave us? My advice is to do the best job you can anywhere you work and make yourself indispensable. Keep a mindset of continual development. But, always keep your resume fresh and listen and look for opportunities to grow yourself or make more money doing what you want to do. Finally, be honest with yourself. Are you good at your job because you know the intrinsic parts of the job (how to get things done in this company) or because you have extrinsic knowledge that will help you in any job? If it is more the former, be careful as you look, as you may be leaving a place where your skills are more valuable.

There is one final caveat to the loyalty equation, which is of most importance. Loyalty is more for your teammates and immediate working group than the company. The companies that are “more than profits” are able to expand this loyalty feeling, yet time and again, people will say after they leave or are asked to leave – “I don’t miss the company, but I miss my colleagues and/ or clients.”  This is an important part of any decision to leave or stay, provided you have that choice.

We step over quarters to pick up nickels around here

I was struggling for a title for this post, as it started out with a concept I call “dialing for dollars.” What do I mean by that? In publicly traded companies, at the end of every quarter, the accounting staff goes dialing for dollars. Each year, various departments or “responsibility centers” set up an estimate of their expenses for the year. These amounts are typically accrued over the course of the year as expense items. At the end of each quarter, the accountants call you if you have not spent the money accrued for that quarter or year-to-date.

Why do they do this? They are looking to reverse excess accruals into income for the quarter. The company is having difficulty meeting the expected Earnings Per Share performance for the quarter, so they are looking to make the number any legitimate way they can. When a company does not meet their short-term expectations, even by a penny or two, the capital markets may reduce their share price. Yet, this unhealthy focus is usually harmful to longer term success, as it shortens the focus of the leadership. It makes leaders more like managers and usually waters down risk taking, as you don’t want to not meet your goals.

I have a friend in retail company who summed it up this way. He said “we step over quarters to pick up nickels around here.” Investments are often not made if the results are not profitable in the same fiscal year. Think about that for a second. You may have a great idea for the company that will produce profitable results either through revenue gain or expense reduction, but if it is not “accretive to earnings” (meaning adds to earnings) in the same year, it may not get done. So, the company would rather step over a quarter that will be earned next year for a nickel today.

The key reason is most incentive plans are short term in nature. Coupling that with impatient investors who read analysts’ expectations, leaders do not have the time to overcome an error that hurts earnings and causes them to miss estimates. They become more pensive and take fewer risks. This is one reason so many companies are sitting on cash these days as a leader does not want to invest poorly. When you hear their reasons, you have to take them with a grain of salt and a healthy does of skepticism. The CEO might say I am not investing because of uncertainty in the economy, because of Obamacare, or because of regulations. Excuse making like this has gone on for years and is largely poor-mouthing gamesmanship. The leaders do this, so when they achieve success, they can appear to have overcome obstacles.

Yet, I digress. The focus on short-term profits hinders progress toward long term goals. This happens not just in publicly traded companies, but in other enterprises as well. A good example is investing for a cleaner energy future. The profits in “drill baby drill” are huge for fossil fuel companies, so they are riding that horse for as long as they can. However, that is not the best answer long term, as the cost of not moving more quickly to alternative energy will outweigh the short-term benefits these companies gain now.

One of the hardest parts of this equation is the costs and profits are not always borne by the same entities. Developers want to get in, make their money and get out. Their typical modus operandi is to leave the problems for someone else. Fracking is a great example, where the fracking company makes a huge profit and the land owner makes a nice nest egg, but the problems are left for the community at large through less usable water, poisoned water, air quality concerns, and landscape degradation. We are only beginning to see the negative results of fracking which will be a gift that keeps on giving in a negative way.

So, we need leaders to be leaders and look longer term. How can we create sustainable earnings? How can we be good community citizens and help the lives of everyone? How can we make money without harming others? If we allow them to continue focusing on short-term, the long term problems will not get solved. And, then it will cost more money to fix things. Eventually, someone will have to pay the fiddler while we dance to the music today.

“I’m a Man” versus “I am Woman” – an interesting distinction on song lyrics

Two songs. Two very different songs. Muddy Waters sang in his wonderfully unusual style about his manhood in “I’m a Man.”  Several years later, Helen Reddy pronounced to the world “I am Woman.” These are two very different songs with different meanings based on the difference in men and women’s psyche and self-esteem. These songs may be one reason why Sheryl Sandberg’s book “Lean In” resonates with so many. Here are excerpts from each song, the first being from Waters, the second from Reddy.

Waters sang:  I’m a man

I’m a full-grown man. Man

I’m a natural-born lovers man. Man

I’m a rollin’ stone. Man-child

I’m a hoochie coochie man.

While Reddy sang: I am woman, hear me roar. In numbers too big to ignore

And I know too much to go back an’ pretend ’cause I’ve heard it all before

And I’ve been down there on the floor. No one’s ever gonna keep me down again

Oh yes I am wise. But it’s wisdom born of pain

Yes, I’ve paid the price. But look how much I gained

If I have to, I can do anything. I am strong (strong)

I am invincible (invincible). I am woman

I recognize this comparison could be viewed as unfair, as one is singing about sexual prowess and the other is shouting to fellow women that they can do anything, so don’t let people deny you that chance. However, you don’t hear many songs with this kind of title about men which do not speak to sexual prowess. In other words, a man’s self-esteem could be viewed as too tied up in his perception of his sexual prowess. The movie with Jack Nicholson, Ann Margaret, Rita Moreno, Candace Bergen, Art Garfunkel, etc. called “Carnal Knowledge” was about this very point. When you do hear more impactful songs about men, it is usually about becoming a man due to events such as the one about “Patches” who had to grow up quickly after his father died or about men working hard in the fields or mines to feed their families. This is what being a man is about.

However, the reason for Reddy’s anthem is women, unlike men, have not received the opportunities and, in many cases, still don’t today. I am reminded to this day of three female colleagues that became prominent in their professions, who each started out as Administrative Assistants in the early 1970’s. They took the only viable job to get ahead that a man would dare not take at the time. The context of Reddy’s song is important as well, as it was at the very beginning of the women’s movement. Bella Abzug, Betty Friedan and Gloria Steinem were just getting started when this song burst onto the scene. And, it should not be a surprise that it did become an anthem for the movement.

As a 55-year-old man, I have written about the concerns of many that unless a community, society or country embraces the equal rights for women, their economy will not flourish like it could. I recognize that some may flourish due to an abundance of a natural resource in their borders, but that wealth does not flow to everyone and, in some of these places, women are treated as chattel. Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn have written about this very issue in “Half the Sky.” You can access a post I wrote on this troubling book with the following link:

https://musingsofanoldfart.wordpress.com/2013/04/20/half-the-sky-turning-oppression-into-opportunity-for-women-worldwide/

Men don’t need to have songs written about “I am man, hear me roar” as opportunities have abounded. Men also have tended to have higher expectations that women also need to embrace more. That is Sandberg’s point in her book. Lean in as you deserve this chance just as much as a man does. Just today, I read an article by Catherine Rampell, an economics writer in the Washington Post, about women in college that would tend to shy away from a major where they earn their first “B” whereas male students would recover from a “C” with their esteem not as tarnished. Her point is the male student expected to succeed in the major more so than the female student who may have received a better grade.

So, let’s continue to look for opportunities for women, as well as teaching our boys what being a man really is all about. It is the same thing that applies to women – being responsible and being accountable. If we give women an equal opportunity, we are doubling our chance to succeed. These other countries need to know they are competing in a global world with at least one arm tied behind their back. As Reddy sang, the voices of women are “in numbers too big to ignore.”