Thoughts, Commentary & Rants

Thoughts, Commentary & Rants

Friday, February 10, 2017

Fear Uncertainty & Doubt (FUD) and the Rise of Chaos



Throughout history charismatic leaders of both the “good” and “bad” variety have challenged the institutions that make the population feel comfortable. The institutions that we rely on for protection, information and democracy. The institutions that make the nation and world a synchronous environment, so everyone, no matter their agenda, can at least coexist.

Spreading Fear Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD) about the institutions that people believe in, causes panic among part of the population that divides it and creates skepticism about the validity of these institutions. Creating a platform of misinformation, fake news and alternative facts are tactics used historically by charismatic leaders to discredit these institutions and spread chaos throughout the divided population.

Charismatic leaders are very smart, shrewd individuals, who have an “it’s all about me” demeanor and aren’t bashful when it comes to taking credit for things they are or are not responsible for. They understand that in the chaotic world they created, they become the “thought leader” of the divided population. The leader who can legislate “fixes” that can correct the ills of the institutions they themselves have discredited with misinformation, fake news and alternative facts. By responding “in kind” the discredited institutions just add fuel to the FUD fire which further divides the population, intensifies the chaos and gives more power and legitimacy to the charismatic leader spreading the FUD.


The saving grace in all of this chaos, is that over time the truth will surface and be proven with factual information, based on real outcomes, news and events, not FUD. Fear is triggered in the amygdala of the brain and is the most primal and powerful of instincts. Charismatic leaders are well aware of this and use it to their advantage. Our brains strive to solve problems and answer questions rationally but FUD clouds the brains ability to do this causing the fight or flight response we see and hear today, in the dialog and actions of the population. Divided we stand! But not for long.

Saturday, January 28, 2017

President Trump Announces "New" Email for America:


“COMPROMISE” Is Killing American Democracy!

During my days as an Account Manager, I negotiated multi-million dollar contracts and managed the “Who’s Who” of Wisconsin business. (NML, Johnson Wax, Fiserv, J.I. Case, Johnson Controls, Woolworth) As an educator for 17 years, I’ve taught “Negotiation Skills” using the Harvard Business School concept of “Principled Negotiations”. In a nutshell, “Principled Negotiation” is the old “Win-Win” negotiation strategy on steroids. The aim is to protect the long-term relationship of the parties by identifying the “real” problems and solving them. Tactics include: free flow of information, trust, honesty, developing multiple alternatives and the belief that there is an agreeable solution that’s worthy of negotiation.

Negotiation and Relationships

By looking at the relationship between the negotiators we can determine our negotiation tactics. If there’s NO RELATIONSHIP and the deal is a one-off negotiation, we can play hard ball and go for the deal that best suits our own interests. A Win-Lose strategy would suffice and compromise would be welcome if it helps close the deal in our favor. However, if there is a LONG-TERM WORKING RELATIONSHIP between the negotiators that needs to remain positive and accountable to constituents, a very different set of tactics and strategy must be invoked to PROTECT the relationship and provide POSITIVE SOLUTIONS for the constituents. PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION and SOLUTION are the ONLY OUTCOMES that will suffice.

COMPROMISE is NOT considered a POSITIVE OUTCOME of “Principled Negotiation”

When you COMPROMISE, you agree on something that allows the negotiation parties to move on for a period of time but DOES NOT address the underlying problem or provide agreeable solutions. NEITHER PARTY IS SATISFIED. The possibility of resolution gets shoved off to a later date. It’s the proverbial “kick the can down the road”. As the negotiation process continues and the results keep reverting to compromise the negotiating parties become more frustrated with each other. They withhold information, garner mistrust and settle for a Win-Lose strategy vying to get the most they can out of each COMPROMISE and blaming the other side for the lack of problem solving solutions. COMPROMISE becomes the NEGOTIATION STRATEGY, not PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION and RESOLUTION.

U.S. Democracy 2017


If you pay any attention to Congress, you know that what I described above is absolutely correct! The negotiation policy is COMPROMISE, COMPROMISE and COMPROMISE. A clean negotiated problem solving solution isn’t even on the radar as a potential goal. The “proverbial” can is full of dents from being kicked so often. The relationship between the parties has escalated to “hatred”. BUT what’s worse is the effect it’s had on the Nation and Democracy. The divide between the right and left politically, in the media and entertainment industry is unprecedented. The tearing apart of friends and family is abhorrent. We all think of COMPROMISE as a “good thing” when actually it’s the DIRTIEST of WORDS! 

Thursday, January 26, 2017

Academic And Career Planning… A K-12 Necessity


Student loan debt sits today at about $1.3 trillion. Studies show that many 30-40 year old college graduates will have a lower standard of living than their parents and are not able to purchase homes because of one thing – student loan debt. Seventy percent of all jobs require a two-year degree or less, yet we dangle the mantra that career and academic success ride on the attainment of that proverbial four-year Bachelor’s degree. In other words, we are encouraging our students to mortgage their futures for a college degree that might not be necessary. Why?

The annual Manpower Talent Shortage Survey lists the top 10 jobs companies cannot fill. Most require an education level of a two-year degree or less. A University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee skills gap report shows that 70% of prospective job openings in Wisconsin through 2020 will require an education level of a high school diploma or less, and then goes on to say, “even if every unemployed person were perfectly matched to existing jobs, over 2/3 of all jobless would still be out of work.” Why?

When I speak to high school career planning classes, I ask if anyone is considering a two-year degree, diploma, or apprenticeship. Five to six percent of the students respond with a “yes.” The rest of the students indicate they are looking at colleges offering four-year degrees. We then whiteboard their career areas of interest. Ninety-five percent of them would require only a two-year degree or less to enter their chosen field. Only 7 to 9% of high school graduates go on to a technical college. The average age of a technical college student is 30. Why?

 In Milwaukee, certain demographic populations have unemployment rates between 30 and 50%. Employers are starved for skilled employees. Technical colleges cannot attract enough students to meet the industry demand for skilled workers, and enrollments are down over 10% at Wisconsin technical colleges. Why?

For years we have told students to stay out of the trades, factories, customer service, and information technology careers because they were being outsourced or they were “dead end” positions. They all now reside at the top of the Manpower Talent Shortage Survey. We tell our children throughout their K-12 years that you need a college degree to be successful. You even hear, “in the future, every job will require a college degree” even though the data does not support that. Why?
 Students choose careers for the wrong reasons.  Their father was an accountant; it looked cool on television; it pays big bucks – not because it matches their personal interests and attributes. My classes are full of students with college degrees that did not like their career choice or now need the hands-on skills in order to get a job they did not get with their existing degree. That is nothing but foolish and very expensive! Seventy percent of all American employees go to work every day to a job they dislike. Why?

As standalone sound bites, the statements above are just that, but when you string them together they take on an entirely different context. Why are we pushing our children to get four-year college degrees when the majority of the current and future jobs will require an education level of a two-year degree or less? We all assume that a four-year college degree will be a badge of success, but for many, it will be a ball and chain that they will drag around with them for life.

We need to rethink the whole notion of higher education, its value, and who really needs it. Not everyone needs formal education after high school. We need to look at the career and academic planning processes used by our schools to make sure parents, students, and counselors really understand the educational and career landscape, their options, costs, and time-frames. We need to make sure students know which careers match their personal attributes and encourage them to pursue careers in these areas. Students should understand the job market, which careers are in high demand, and which have longevity. Today’s graduates will work over 50 years before they can retire. We need industry to step up and invest in more internship, job shadowing, and student sponsorship opportunities that target areas with high unemployment and high schools where students have been literally brainwashed since kindergarten that a four-year college was their only hope for success.


Finally, students need to understand the concept of a career pathway: starting with a two-year degree or diploma, gaining work experience, obtaining further education (preferably employer paid), taking on more responsibility within the workforce, making more money, and on it goes. It is called life-long learning. Remember, it does not matter what kind of degree you have or where it is from – if you have no experience, you start at the “entry level” position, as no one starts at the top. Therefore, target the minimum education needed in order to obtain an “entry level” job within a field that matches your personality and interests. Do not drink excessively from the student loan well, and do not over educate yourself.

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Re-Thinking the Pathway to Higher Education

We have finished another school year with over 3 million high school graduates. Congratulations! Seventy percent will go on to a four-year college, even though according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), only 27% of the jobs created through 2022 will require a four-year degree and 70% of all new Wisconsin jobs being created will only require a high school degree, according to the UWM Skills Gap Report. Based on the BLS data, National Public Radio (NPR) makes the “tongue in cheek” analogy that you could close every two and four-year College for 10 years and still meet the industry demand for college graduates.

Nineteen percent of these new high school graduates will finish their four-year degree in four years. Congratulations! Thirty-nine percent more will complete that four-year degree in six years. For the rest, life just goes on. Of those who do graduate, only about 30% will find jobs in their field do to a job market saturated with previous college graduates. Are we over-educated? Are we just choosing degrees that do not equate to a job after graduation? Or, do we just not understand our options?

College graduates will have an average student loan debt of $30-50,000 depending on which completion plan they were on, with many having student loan balances in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Total student loan debt is $1.3 trillion today and rising $3.300 every second. Congratulations! Did you know that higher education was a one-half trillion dollar industry? Paying back your federal student loan starts six months after graduation and has two options: 1) monthly payments over 10-25 years or 2) death.

There were over two million college graduates this year. Congratulations! Twenty one percent had jobs when they graduated with an average salary of $40,000, or about $20 per hour. Congratulations?  That is until the minimum wage moves to $15.00 per hour, then the whole return on investment college argument becomes suspect. Thirty nine percent took jobs that did not require a college degree even though they just spent four to six years of their lives and $30-50,000 getting one. Can you spell barista? For the other 40%, life just goes on.

Today, in the United States, there are more 18-34 year olds living at home than at any time since 1880. Congratulations! This makes perfect sense. A college graduate earns $40,000, Uncle Sam takes 25%, and the average monthly expenses for a 20-something living alone is about $2,600. Ouch, we are in negative territory. Let us look at all millennials. The average salary is $27,000, Uncle Sam takes 15%, and the expenses are still about $2,600. Even more negative! Pretty tough to stay out of the red being a single college graduate or millennial. Note to parents: make sure you save a room at the inn.


The PayScale Website points out that many careers we assume require a four-year college degree can actually be started with a two-year degree. The break-even earnings point for students pursuing this career pathway is about 10 years. You say sure, but after 10 years the four-year college grad will earn more, right? Nope. I forgot to mention that after two years on the job the two-year graduate went back to college using tuition reimbursement from the employer and earned a four-year degree. With the gained experience, four-year degree, and no student loan debt, the two-year career pathway choice was the best value with greater lifetime earnings.

Saturday, January 14, 2017

Student Debt & Mortgage Loan Walk Into a Bar...

Mortgage Loan: Hey Student Debt, it’s been a while. Glad you could make it. How was your year?

Student Debt: Man, I had a fantastic year. Grew at about $3300 per second. I’m now over $1.3 Trillion. Pretty hard to find a suit that fits when you’re this big and growing. I’m not sure why, but everyone thinks they NEED to go to college and I’m the ONLY WAY most are going get there. With college costs going through the roof and the Average Joe Family making only $56,000, there’s no way to pay for college without my assistance. Pretty good situation I’ve got here. How about you Mortgage Loan. How’s the recovery going?

Mortgage Loan: Slow but steady. Still a lot of rules and restrictions keeping my growth down. My customers need jobs and a good credit history. The properties they want to buy need to appraise at certain dollar amounts to support a manageable debt / equity ratio. I know it’s to protect my customers and to keep us from having another crises like we had a few years ago but it still seems a little constrictive. To be honest though, I do feel pretty good about myself. Got that weight under control.

Student Debt: My customers don’t need a job. They fill out a financial aid form (FAFSA) and when they don’t qualify for grants I lend them money. Sometimes boat loads of money. I NEVER ask what degree they are working on or if they will even make enough money to pay me back after they graduate. When they come back for more I just give it to them, NEVER asking how they spent the first batch or what kind of grades they earned with it. It’s almost free money. No questions asked. Well…at 6-10% interest.

Mortgage Loan: But they HAVE to pay you back?

Student Debt: You bet! I give them MANY payback options. #1) Payback principal + interest in 10-25 years #2) Death. Of course I prefer Option #1.

Mortgage Loan: My interest rates are only 3-6%, which benefits my customers. How come your rates are so much higher? Someone’s making a pretty good return on your loans!

Student Debt: Now wait a minute! Only about 50% of my customers get that college degree they borrowed the money for and many default because even with a college degree they can’t afford the loan payments and pay all their other bills. This year the average starting salary of a college grad was only $40,000. My loans are not secured and I’m taking on a lot of risk so my rates are higher.

Mortgage Loan: I wouldn’t misconstrue “Death” with unsecured. As a matter of fact it’s a little creepy just thinking about it. What I don’t understand is that you ARE a government agency which alleviates a great deal of the risk, so why would you want to profit off of YOUR citizens who are trying to better themselves? I think the real risk is YOU! Student Debt. The ease of borrowing and lack of accountability with your customers puts a huge debt burden on them some will never recover from. Plus YOU, the government is making a handsome profit. I’d be very careful if I were you, YOU resemble ME back in 2008 when I was growing out of control.

Student Debt: You’re always the pessimist Mortgage Loan! All I see, is a future of growth.


Mortgage Loan: All I see is another financial crash with the Average Joe’s of the world feeling the pain…AGAIN!

Thursday, January 12, 2017

It's Time: "Pay for Play" Social Media...

A student in my Social Media Technologies class was giving her final class presentation. She pulled up her YouTube video and clicked on the “Like” button a few times and said “I always do that”. We then had a class discussion about the REAL VALUE of a “Like”. We focused on (2) platforms, LinkedIn and Twitter.

When someone clicks “Like”, what are they liking? The way the person who posted the content looks? The headline of the content? The inferred subject matter? Are they supporting a friend or colleague? The company being promoted? Did they “Like” because they were asked to “Like”? Are they being part of the herd and liking because others did? Or, maybe they actually READ, LISTENED TO or WATCHED the posted content. We have absolutely NO IDEA!

Maybe there’s a little feeling of euphoria the liker gets when they “Like”. When someone “Likes” something I write, it makes me feel good even though I have no idea what they actually liked about my post. For me, “Comments” are like gold, they add something tangible to the network… VALUE!  So, in the scheme of “Social” networks the “Like” seems to be of some minimal value to the liker and poster but has absolutely NO VALUE to the NETWORK.

Scroll through your LinkedIn and Twitter feeds and look at what gets “Liked”, “Shared” and “Comments”. Also, look at what “Original” content was generated by the user or just regurgitated by the user from another source. If the original purpose of these “Social” networks was to share ideas, best practices, opinions and spur discussion they have FAILED.

When I look at my social media feeds I see mostly disguised sales pitches, links to articles I could Google if interested, very little original content and almost zero comments. There’s NOTHING SOCIAL ABOUT THESE NETWORKS! UNLESS you’re a politician, entertainment figure or sports star. They get all the “Likes” that mean NOTHING.

“Pay to Play”…How it would work!

·         Platforms are still free to sign-up but a payment device is required. (Credit / Debit / PayPal)
·         When a user “Likes” they are charged $.10
·         When a user “Comments” they are credited $.10
·         When a user generates “Original” content they are credited $2.00
·         Users are limited to 10 “Regurgitated” content posts per month
·         Users are charged $.50 for each “Regurgitated” post over 10
·         Number of “Views” will be added to each post
·         A “Thumbs Down” button will be added with a $.10 charge if used / credited back with a comment.

The “Pay for Play” strategy would still allow the voyeurs to reap the benefits of the network and would put the focus on intra-network communication by promoting “Comments” and “Original” content while penalizing non-value-added network behavior. It would also provide more information about the posts and offer additional feedback mechanisms.

Users would be billed monthly for balances owed. Credits would be carried forward. “Comments” please NO “LIKES”