The Joy of Innovation

When our focus is on the growth and happiness of others,  as opposed to putting green in our pockets, gaining fame or power,  then miracles can occur.   When a higher power,  a higher motivation, a higher sense of purpose motivates us, then we are anxious to bless others to the fullest extent possible.

To bless others, we need to know what really is best for them.    Sometimes we need to jump in and succor those in need.  Sometimes it is wise to not give too much so that people can learn, grow, and earn happiness for themselves.

Our country’s founding fathers were collectively wise.   Each  had weaknesses and limits in their views – but together they were wise.   They knew, based on personal pain and suffering, that individual freedom was needed.   The shortfall of our founding fathers is that they didn’t initially extend those rights to all of our brothers and sisters.   They knew that some government was needed to protect and bless us, but too much would most certainly destroy us – as demonstrated by most of recorded history.   The desire of some for money, sinful pleasure, fame and power were recipes for disaster.   Our founding fathers knew the tendencies of man and they built in complex checks and balances.  They created the right government that led to huge breakthroughs in innovation and economic strength.

Once our hearts are right and our minds our wise, we are in an incredible position to innovate and bless others.   The miracles of radio, of light, of television, of space travel are inspiring to consider.   There is no end to what can be developed to bless mankind.   Each of us has a deep desire to create and innovate.    These desires give us joy and focus.  It is part of who we are.   Find time to innovate.

Are you wasting your life away?

I am amazed at the number and status of the people who have looked into my eyes and have almost pled, “what am I supposed to do with my life?” Some of these have been highly accomplished, powerful and wealthy people who seem to have everything in life. Others have been destitute of hope because of harsh trials and a lack of belief in themselves. Both groups of people are just as important. They are our brothers and sisters. The most important question is, are they, are we, humble enough to take the right steps?

I wrote the workbook Journey To Your Potential because I can’t think of anything more important than someone taking the time to not just “jump into life” and either waste or sub- optimize their life’s journey, but to thoughtfully think things through. This isn’t rocket science. I attempted to frame up the right way to think about life, and then to help you through a process of asking yourself thought-provoking questions. It is honest and authentic. The real question we should ask ourselves is, “am I focused as I should be?”

Today we are swamped with broken philosophies that cloud the right questions we should be asking ourselves. We watch too many movies and love the climatic moment and excites our emotion – and all wrongs are righted once and for all. This isn’t life. This isn’t real. Life isn’t an event, there isn’t just one defining moment, it is a journey. Life can be a wonderful journey. We make mistakes. We make poor decisions – but it helps to see, or even re-envision, our potential, to make right decisions, and to strive to move in a direction that you know and feel in your heart is right. We will have our ups and downs – and again it helps to have the right vision -even if things seem really dark at times.

One of the most important points in this book focuses on noble passions. Nothing, absolutely nothing, seems more important to me than this.

Exploring Social Media Sites

Below are some of the social networking sites I’ve looked at today  to see if they might help with the objective of bringing citizens together to solve country problems.

• Facebook
• Friendfeed
• LinkedIn
• YouTube
• Friendster
• Ning
• Orkut
• Bebo
• KickApps
• MOLI
• Fast Pitch!
• Plaxo
• Livecasting -  SHOUTcast, BlogTalkRadio, TalkShoe, Justin.tv and Live365.
• ReadNotify
• Zoho
• Zoomerang
• Constant Contact
• Eventful
• Acteva
• Google Docs
• Google Wave
• DimDim
• iChat
• Skype
• http://www.20dc.com/
• http://www.essembly.com

Can we create solutions?

Do we know who we are and what we are capable of?

Debt Trap – Is There Hope?

Notice that this video was provided by the head accountant of the government (Director of GAO), David Walker,  back in January of 2008.   David Walker gave up talking to politicians and government officials and went around the country pleading to the public.  Did we listen?

Click here to see economic trends of our government. These charts focus on total government (federal, state and municipalities) economic trends.

Click here to see the economic trends of the U.S. public. In particular look at interest payment trends.

Let’s be honest.  Our government has been more than irresponsible and we has consumers have as well.  The situation seems hopeless.   Can we dig ourselves out?    What do we do?

As citizens of the free country,  we need to have a voice.  We need to assume that we are the CEOs and that our politicians work for us.    In the last article I suggested we find or build social networking tools to help us.  The media should be an important vehicle.  We have government run media – and the extremists.   Where is the balance?   We are.    We need to learn together, research together, dialog together,  track together, etc.   We represent different perspectives – and that is fine.  Take a look at my last blog entry.

As individuals,  we need to stop looking for someone to bail us out.   Let’s own up to our own problems- and take the necessary steps.  There is no magic to getting out of debt – just a lot of discipline of a long period of time.

Don’t politicians work for us? Can social networking help?

Isn’t this our country?   Are we really the CEOs?   Don’t politicians work for us?  Do they?  Is the current approach working?    Do have have problems with secretive meetings, special interest groups,  politics,  favors, sound-bits,  attacks,  slopping planning,  and incredible poor execution?   These politicians are  sometimes articulate – but what are they saying?   Does it really make any sense?    Are these the type of people you’d turn to help you with a complex problem?   Doesn’t is sound like we have a bunch of extremely spoiled children running around causing a mess with our most important rights and resources?

Perhaps it is  time that we  get involved in the assessment, planning, and oversight of  those that report to us.   I know this sounds complex… but does it really need to be?   I guess we could continue to trust what is happening and close our eyes.  As joint CEOs isn’t it time for us to do our part?   So, how do we best do this together?

Perhaps the right social networking tools can help.  Below I have identified a simple, common-sense problem solving approach.  Also, I’ve began to outline social networking features that could help.   I’m not a technician or designer – so your help is appreciated.   The tool would need to be simple and fun and engaging so people will want to be a part of this on an ongoing basis.  Without enough participation this would fail.

Problem Solving Approach and Needed Social Networking Features

1.  Identify desired results:   Examples of desired results for our country may include things like eliminating the federal debt,  reducing divorce rates,  increasing the average personal income,  minimizing crime, etc.    The ideal tool would facilitate the brainstorming, commenting,  linking to similar,  rating, ranking/voting on ideas.

2.  Outline problems and causes: The federal debt is an example of a high level problem.  One cause may include legislators not understanding the effects of the debt,  focusing more spending programs or tax cuts to get votes.  The ideal tool here would allow us to identify problems, causes,  comment on,  link to, rate, and rank/vote.

3. Research:  One of biggest problems is that legislators don’t adequately research lessons learned and best practices.  We see repeated patterns of spending that leads to wasted money.   The ideal tool would facilitate access to and discussion around the applicability of lessons learned and best practices.   Linking, commenting, rating, and ranking/voting would be important features.

4.  Design Solutions: The temptation is to say it is the role of the legislator to design.   We need to bring a broad segment  to be part of this process.   The question is how do we turn off the loud, arrogant and obnoxious voices and turn up the voices of those that have the most common sense.   We need to design solutions that will best the problems and their causes.   Simple cause and effect.   The idea tool would include the ability to brainstorm, narrate, comment on,  debate,  rate and rank/vote on solutions.

5.  Test Solutions:   The Japanese believe that Edwards Deming,  a quality and management guru, had more impact in turning their economy around back in the 70 and 80s than anyone else.   He commented once that he wished that Congress won’t do anything.   They continue to dig bigger and bigger holes.  They don’t understand problem-solving,  they don’t understand cause & effect, and they rush to solutions that leave us bankrupt.    Solutions must be testing and piloted.   The ideal tool would allow us to design test solutions,  and together monitor the  efforts and results, offer course correction ideas…until we see the desired results.   We can choose to skip this step like our politicians but at what cost?

6.  Deploy Solutions: Often solutions only get partially deployed – leading to wasted resources.  Again, the ideal tool would allows us to monitor the efforts and results,  offer course corrections, until we see the desired results.

If you think there is merit in the ideas, please share them.

Civility

- Civility Is Vital To Our Country

For most of history, people were ruled by kings and tyrants. The United States Constitution was an experiment – that worked brilliantly.  At its foundation was an understanding of people and their basic rights and their tendencies. Today most nations have written constitutions, and the U.S. constitution has influenced all of them. It is a model of rights and protection for all. The right of religion, free speech and press is core.

There is a strong move towards secularism and religious antagonism. There are growing attacks on Christian religions by atheists and are hostile to religion. They are skilled at demonizing those who are believers.

So, what do we do?

Dallin A. Oaks suggests:

First, we must speak with love, always showing patience, understanding and compassion toward our adversaries. We are under command to love our neighbor, to forgive all men , to do good to them who despitefully use us and to conduct our teaching in mildness and meekness. ….Even as we seek to speak with love, we must not be surprised when our positions are ridiculed and we are persecuted and reviled…

Second, we must not be deterred or coerced into silence by the kinds of intimidation. We must insist on our constitutional right and duty to exercise our religion, to vote our consciences on public issues and to participate in elections and debates in the public square and the halls of justice. These are the rights of all citizens and they are also the rights of religious leaders.  We must also insist on this companion condition of democratic government: when churches and their members or any other group act or speak out on public issues, win or lose, they have a right to expect freedom from retaliation.

Third, we must insist on our freedom to preach the doctrines of our faith. … Religious people who share our moral convictions feel some intimidation.

Fourth, as advocates of the obvious truth that persons with religious positions or motivations have the right to express their religious views in public, we must nevertheless be wise in our political participation.

If we aren’t open and civil in our dialog, what is the alternative?    Whatever it might be, it isn’t good.

Stop Whining – An Example of a Solution

The most amazing invention.

Stop Whining – Start Solving Country Problems

So, what is the solution to our country’s problems?   Let’s highlight some of our problems (for trend data click on links):

• Economic:  increasing debt, deficits, entitlement costs;   diminishing baby boom; lack of R&D
• Security:  terrorism,   cost of war,  cost to fight crime
• Social:  increase in divorce,  abortions, children with single parents;  lack of fidelity
• Mental: brain drain,  growing competitiveness of foreign countries
• Spiritual:  downward trend in Church attendance,  belief in God, belief in common values

We hear about how great our country is.   It was and it should be.   We are living off the merits of our incredible ancestors and the legacy they left for us.   Let’s stop bragging and prove ourselves again to them and to future generations.    We have no reason to brag right now.   Let’s re-earn goodness and greatness.

So, what are the solutions?    Here is one idea.   Americans working together and leveraging social networking to research,  to discuss, to debate,  to plan, to test,  to deploy solutions that work.  Let’s stop depending on experts.   If they can explain their ideas in a way that all can understand, debate, and buy into – then great.  May the best solutions win where ever they come from.

In the next article, I’ll begin to lay out my ideas requirements for social networking technology that can be used successfully to help us solve our problems.

Stop Whining – Start Solving Country Problems

U.S. Needs to Get Morally Right First

U.S. Needs to Get Morally Right First

We could put together a well conceived strategy map to get the country out of its mess and on to a bright future. Figuring out the technical details is the easy task. For instance, we could lay out a economic plan for the government to get us out of this economic mess. It would be difficult and painful – but we could get there. Send less than what we make, refinance rates, find ways to increase revenue strictly to pass off debt. When it comes to international security, we could objectively look at current and future threats, considerable all possible solutions, and start investing in the best solutions. Our fact finding, planning and decision-making processes are weak – and could be made strong. These processes could be largely transparent, we could elicit the best fact-finding, inputs, and solutions through social networking technologies. The archaic processes and technologies could be replaced with fascinating new ones.

The challenges are in the soft issues. Things like individual agendas, special interest agendas, are difficult – but even these deceptive practices can be overcome. John Adams said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Samuel Adams said, “The sum of all is, if we would most truly enjoy the gift of Heaven, let us become a virtuous people; then shall we both deserve and enjoy it. While, on the other hand, if we are universally vicious and debauched in our manners, though the form of our Constitution carries the form of our Constitution carries the face of the most exalted freedom, we shall in reality be the most abject slaves.”

Do we have enough awareness of the path we on, and what will happen if we continue? Are we willing to recognize our vices? Are we humble and willing enough to keep the 10 commandments or are we going to allow ourselves to be broke? If we have to debate the 10 commandments – then we aren’t ready.

U.S. Needs to Get Morally Right First