Saturday in the park – once again

The rain has stopped and the sun is shining. So, we will celebrate with a nice hike in a close-by park trail. Hopefully, the trail won’t be too slushy.

Here are a few thoughts to chew on this weekend, in no particular order.

Note to expressive incoming Congressional representatives. Even though the President acts like what you call him, derogatory name-calling is not productive. It is even more true with this President who relishes mud fights simply because he does not need to know facts to win. Please stick to the issues and his actions and words.

Speaking of said man, he says he will do what it takes in shutting down the government to get his wall. Excuse me, but what sacrifices are you making Mr. President? It seems the federal workers who work under your watch are worried sick about mortgage, rent and bill payments and spending on groceries and prescriptions. What precisely are you sacrificing Mr. President?

What saddens me about the Republican Senators is they know their leader is largely untruthful and does not deal in good faith. This man screwed them over before Christmas reneging on a deal, yet again. Conservative columnist David Brooks said it best on PBS Newshour last night. If you get a deal with Donald Trump, get it in writing.

Lastly, let’s give a shout out to our newly elected Congress that looks more like America. It is indeed an exemplar of what our country should be all about. Whether people like the new Speaker or not, Nancy Pelosi is an effective leader and has a bipartisan record to prove it. She is far from perfect, but she is much closer to that paragon than another person in a place of leadership who I may have mentioned above.

Happy trails to you, until we meet again.

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A lesson that continues to evade someone

A certain man in a global leadership position continues to avoid learning an important lesson. Not only does it hurt his efforts, but it is harmful to this country’s relationships around the globe and within its leadership ranks. The lesson is his failure to vet decisions and communications of such with key people before a broader announcement.

Yesterday, this man decided to walk away from a summit with North Korea without giving advance notice to a key ally in South Korea. As a result, the US relationship with South Korea is strained. Now, he may be whipsawing them again as he has done all week saying the summit may still be on.

But, this is not the first time he has done this. After pleas from our European allies, he walked away from the Iran nuclear deal.  The echoes of that change continue to strain relationships with our allies to the point an EU leader said “with friends like these, who needs enemies?”

His first major change was so horribly vetted and communicated, it was pulled after two days. He failed to discuss with Congressional leaders in his own party that he was instituting a travel ban. He also failed to gain input and buy-in from affected agencies who had to implement the change. It was as he likes to say a “disaster,” but this one was on his shoulders. Soldiers often refer to poor decisions like this with a word beginning with “cluster.”

But, there are many more examples. What may turn out to be his Waterloo is he fired James Comey without telling him. Comey found out from a TV news report. Further, he failed to give advance warning to his communication team, leaving them to make plans in the White House bushes while the reporters waited. That may be the best metaphor for his Presidency.

Yet, for a man who used to have a faux-reality show where he fired people, he has a hard time doing this face to face. He fired Rex Tillerson without telling him. He had Andrew McCabe fired as he cleaned out his desk to retire, an especially vindictive move. Not telling people they are fired beforehand is extremely poor management. And, for someone who likes to talk tough, it reveals those words are part of a false bravado.

His followers like to say what a great businessman he is, but while he is accused of being a great merchandiser, he is rarely accused of being a good manager. Managing a multi-organization business or government is complicated. It requires diligence, input, time, communication, planning and a dose of compassion. For someone who makes decisions on the fly and bullies people, he is at odds with the tools for successful implementations or relationships.

But, as the man once said. “I, alone, can solve this.” With all due respect, no you cannot, but you sure can screw it up.