I have always wondered about people who want to run for office. Even as a student in High School I never understood why someone wanted to be student body President since it was a frivolous position carrying little weight. If anything, it was indicative of a person's popularity and perhaps looked good on a college application. Other than that, it meant zilch. Over the years I have seen this same phenomenon played out in numerous volunteer organizations where people thrived on the adulation of the title of their office but accomplished nothing. They accepted the title more as a status symbol rather than to achieve anything. I also found these same people ruled with an iron fist whereby nothing happened without their personal stamp of approval regardless of the triviality of the task.This becomes more insidious when applied to government, be it at the municipal, county, state, or national levels. I believe most officials accept the position for ulterior motives as opposed to accomplishing anything of merit. I have a theory regarding this; I believe most politicians are looking to become a part of what I call the "American Monarchy." True, the United States is a republic using democratic principles, but make no mistake, there is a ruling class.
The American Monarchy consists of career politicians who are more interested in personal glory and control than accomplishing anything of substance for their constituents. It is all about ego. Being a part of the monarchy entitles you to certain perks and privileges, such as automatic pay raises, and rewards from lobbyists, such as "fact finding" trips to lavish locations.
Of course, not all politicians are of this ilk and I realize I am writing in broad strokes here, but the fact remains the perception of voters is that politicians are only interested in serving themselves, not the people who elected them. This also explains why incumbents are incredibly nervous as next week's election approaches as an uprising is in the offing.
Leading the revolt is the Tea Party which neither political party seems to understand. Sorry NBC, the Tea Party is NOT a political party, nor was it intended to be such, but rather it is a movement consisting of citizens as outraged with the American Monarchy as their Boston predecessors were in 1773 with the British Monarchy. The Tea Party is not subservient or beholding to anyone, least of all the Republican or Democratic parties. The message of the Tea Party is simple, "We have had enough," and they are on a mission to depose the American Monarchy.
What I find amusing in all of this is that the media and political power brokers greatly underestimated the will of the people. Whereas they were used to having their way for so long, they flaunted it to the point whereby life became intolerable for others and an uprising occurred. To my way of thinking, what we are witnessing is every bit as historical as the Boston Tea Party from which the movement derives its name. Both "parties" revolted against representation. The first time was by a foreign power, this time it is an internal struggle.
Should the American Monarchy survive the mid-term elections, we only have ourselves to blame.
Vote November 2nd.
Keep the Faith!
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Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M. Bryce & Associates (MBA) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.comLike the article? TELL A FRIEND.
Tune into Tim's THE BRYCE IS RIGHT! podcast Mondays-Fridays, 11:30am (Eastern).Copyright © 2010 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.
I wore shorts to work the other day. Yea, I know, I'm the guy that says we should spruce up our image at work, but I did this to revolt against the rut I've gotten into in the morning (plus it was a Friday and I knew I wouldn't be running into anybody). Like a lot of guys, when I get up, I have a light breakfast, scan the newspaper, shave, shower, get dressed for the day, and drive to work. It is all very boring and repetitive and frankly, I think I finally blew a fuse.
I don't think anyone likes what is commonly called "run-arounds" - you know, people who set up a bureaucratic process just to keep you busy and out of their way. There are other names for it, such as "chasing your tail," "the dance of the fairies," "bunco," etc. No doubt you are familiar with the expression, "They are giving him the run-around." Run-arounds ultimately represent a test of our patience, endurance, and determination to see something through to fruition.
Ever wonder why our computers typically last no more than three years? Many contend it is because of the fast pace of technological advancements. Maybe. But I tend to believe there is a little more to it than just that, namely "Parkinson's Law." For those of you who may have forgotten, "Parkinson's Law" was devised by C. Northcote Parkinson, noted British historian and author. His original book, "Parkinson's Law: The Pursuit of Progress," was introduced in 1958 and was a top-selling management book for a number of years (it is still sold today). The book was based on his experience with the British Civil Service. Among his key observation's was that "work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion." Basically, he suggests that people make work in order to rationalize their employment. Consequently, managers create bureaucracies and superfluous work to justify their existence, not because it is really needed.
"From ghoulies and ghosties
I was at a restaurant for lunch recently and happened to sit next to a group of businessmen. By their conversation, it seemed to me they were a group of old friends who had known each other for a long time, perhaps since youth. Nonetheless, I couldn't help but overhear their table conversation most of which centered on the fragile state of the economy and how each was trying to cope with it.
I wish I lived in Washington, DC. It must be very inexpensive to live there. I say this because I noticed our rate of inflation dropped over the summer from 1.24% to 1.15%. The rate is calculated using the current Consumer Price Index as published monthly by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The index is "a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of consumer goods and services."
We now live and work in a mobile society. It is not uncommon for people to be out of the office either visiting clients and vendors, traveling, or working from home. Unlike days of old where the whereabouts of workers were generally known by their managers, usually at their assigned desk or workstation, today's workplace is more likely to offer temporary facilities to accommodate an in-transit workforce which is sometimes referred to as an "agile" workplace (a label I find particularly annoying). Such mobility complicates the life of managers charged with completing assignments on time and within budget. Today, the manager worries about such things as:
Whether you love her or hate her, you have to hand it to the promoters of pop music icon Lady Gaga who seems to have exploded on the music scene in the last year or so. Her flamboyant dress, presentation and lifestyle has made her the darling of the music world, an envy of the gay community, and an unsurpassed cash machine that can make anyone's head spin. The press went wild for her avant-garde "meat dress" at a recent music awards program. Her celebrity is such that she placed fourth in Forbes magazine's list of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential celebrities in the world (June 2010), as well as Time magazine's 100 Most Influential people. 
It seems I've been attending a lot of funerals lately. I've noticed they seem to come in spurts. For some reason, the fourth quarter seems to be the busiest season for me. Maybe there is something in the water after all. I don't wish to make lite of funerals as it is an uncomfortable subject for people to discuss and something we don't really like to attend, but I've noticed some subtle changes occurring in funerals recently.
As much as we are accustomed today to presidents serving two consecutive terms, this was not always so. In fact, prior to FDR only ten of the first 31 presidents were elected to second terms, that's just 33%. In the 1800's there were eight single term presidents between Jackson and Lincoln, and seven single term presidents between Grant and Teddy Roosevelt. Then along came FDR in the midst of the calamity of the Great Depression and World War II who was elected to an unprecedented four terms thereby ushering in the concept of the career politician. This of course was negated by the 22nd Amendment which now permits only two consecutive presidential terms. Since it was enacted, five out of eleven presidents were elected to consecutive terms (45%).
Starting with the MIS movement (Management Information Systems) of the 1960's, companies invented major enterprise-wide systems that handled everything from manufacturing to customer service, to accounting and beyond. These were mammoth systems that were designed and built by systems analysts working in conjunction with programmers. The systems were not exactly glamorous by today's technological standards, but they worked. Over the next two decades the stature of programmers rapidly grew and system analysts declined. So much so, by the 1990's the analysts were almost extinct. This greatly affected the ability of companies to build and maintain major systems as evidenced by the numerous development disasters during that period. It seemed every field was affected, and we read about major system snafus in banking, transportation, insurance, health care, manufacturing, etc.
In the United States, small businesses account for about half of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and more than half of the country's employment. As we all know, the GDP recently dropped to a paltry 1.6% and, as of this writing, the country's unemployment rate is up to 9.6%. Recognizing the role small businesses play in the nation's economy, our politicians are slowly trying to figure out what can be done to help them out. Actually, it doesn't take a genius to figure out what is wrong or what to do.
Shortly after the Obama Health Insurance Bill (aka "Obamacare") passed the Congress last March 21st, Democratic spin doctors crowed over its passage and claimed it would be an asset to incumbent Democrats in their bid for reelection in November. This, of course, never happened. Here we are just three weeks away from the mid-term elections on November 2nd and I have yet to hear anyone triumphantly gloat over the passage of Obamacare. Maybe this is because nobody has ever taken the time to read the massive document cover-to-cover, prior to voting for its passage (or afterwards for that matter). All of the signers of the bill (see list below) have basically kept quiet and hoped nobody would notice them, thereby allowing them to quietly slip back into office. The bill is being treated like the plague, Democratic politicians running for re-election refuse to make the slightest mention of it on their web sites.