What ever happened to the "Can Do" mentality of the United States? Let me give you an example; 1982 was a particularly profitable year for our company. We were flush with cash and like a lot of other companies in such a situation, wanted to spend it before the end of the year as opposed to letting the government tax us for it. At the time, we were in need of a new computer. PC's were not in vogue yet, and mainframes were cost prohibitive. Instead, we were interested in a midrange computer that could suit both our development and administrative needs. After considerable investigation, we settled on a DEC VAX (an 11/750 with VMS) from Digital Equipment Company in Massachusetts, a fine machine with a good reputation for reliability and service. Keep in mind, such computers back then were high ticket items costing thousands of dollars.There was just one problem with the computer; we couldn't buy it. True, we had plenty of money, but we had difficulty finding a salesman to take our order. The last week of the year is always bad in terms of people taking time off between Christmas and New Year's Eve, but a big company like DEC should have someone around, right? Wrong. We ended up speaking to a salesman who was more interested in the holiday break than in selling us a computer. When we realized he was incompetent, we asked for another salesman. The second rep said he could take the order and would begin the paperwork in terms of setting us up as a customer and performing a credit check on us, which would take several weeks to complete. This was unacceptable, so we had to make additional calls to find the right person, a sales manager.
We explained to the manager we had spoken to his underlings who didn't seem to comprehend our situation. We said, "Look, it's simple, you've got a computer on your docks which we want to purchase; we'll send you a certified check by overnight mail, if you can process the contract and ship the product within 24 hours." The salesman sensed the urgency of the matter and understood the necessity for acting promptly (as he didn't want to lose the sale). "Can do, Sir," was his response. We processed the check accordingly and promptly received the computer from DEC. All of the bureaucratic problems as described by the DEC underlings never materialized and everybody was happy with the transaction, all because the DEC sales manager knew how to take some initiative and conquered all of the obstacles in his way.
Three years later, in 1985, we were planning on moving our offices from Cincinnati, Ohio to our present location in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. Again, keep in mind, we were not dealing with PC's that could be easily packed up and shipped accordingly. Instead, we would need a team of technicians from DEC to break the computer down and another team to set it up on the other end in Florida. Many people warned us it would take weeks to make the migration; "It can't be done in a weekend," we were told.
Fortunately, we had established a good relationship with DEC's Customer Service group and knew some key managers who had a "Can Do" attitude. We met with them and explained our move and asked for their assistance. On the day of the move, on a Friday, we backed up the computer one last time before powering it down. The DEC team then came in and took it apart and packed it for shipping. The last thing loaded in the moving van was the computer with its many terminals and other peripherals. The time - 5:00pm.
Our company then moved by convoy down I-75 until we arrived at our new offices in Florida. At 8:00am on Monday, the DEC technicians arrived and helped us unload the computer and move it into its new room. By 9:00am, Monday morning, the computer was powered up with everything connected and our developers began to work. In other words, we didn't miss a beat, all because of a little planning and a "Can Do" mentality.
You don't see too much of "Can Do" anymore in business, it's more of a "Can't Do" attitude instead. I'm not sure why this is. Perhaps because we tend to overly micromanage people and, consequently, they no longer feel empowered to take action, waiting instead for authority to do so. Perhaps people are not properly motivated either. Regardless, I see this "Can't Do" attitude permeating our society. It is very negative and to my way of thinking counterproductive.
I'm not going to be one of those old fuddy-duddies who says this is how we did something years ago, but there is definitely something to be said about someone with a "Can Do" mentality. It's always a pleasure to work with anyone, regardless of their occupation, who knows what they are doing, and does it well. Some call it "confidence," some call it "empowerment." I call it, "Can Do!"
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.
"Enterprise Engineering" is a term we coined in 1988 to reflect the third and final part of our concept of Information Resource Management (IRM) representing a triad of methodologies to design, develop, and control all of the resources needed to support the information requirements of an enterprise, be it a commercial or nonprofit endeavor. Earlier we had produced organized methodologies for "Information Systems Engineering" and "Data Base Engineering," but now our attention turned to producing an Enterprise Information Strategy, a plan for satisfying an enterprise's information requirements based on business priorities. 
A couple of weeks ago I attended a Chili cookoff at a nearby town. For the uninformed, a "cookoff" is a cooking competition that concentrates on a particular dish, in this case, chili or "chili con carne" to be more precise, a spicy meat stew which is particularly popular in the South. There were a few dozen vendors in attendance and I took my time to sample all of them. I've tasted a lot of different interpretations of chili over the years, e.g., shredded beef versus ground beef, various types of chili peppers, textures, not to mention how served, such as on a bed of rice, on spaghetti, with corn bread, etc. Because of these many variations, I like to believe I have a pretty open mind when it comes to chili.
Good question. For years, controlling the work environment was considered management's responsibility. After all, they were the ones charged with the task of implementing certain business functions. But the times have changed or have they really? Today, most young people expect the corporate culture to adapt to their life style and work habits, not the other way around. And there is some evidence to this effect. For example, suit and ties have been replaced by some rather avant-garde dress. Even "Casual Fridays" have been replaced by grungy appearances on a daily basis. This has manifested itself to the overall office appearance and organization. Further, most younger office workers are now plugged into iPods to avoid social interaction. One has to wonder if this new corporate culture has truly been conducive to completing assignments on time and within budget. If not, maybe a change is in order.
To me, the most significant outcome of the past mid-term elections was how it split the country along ideological lines. There has always been substantial differences between the Democrats and the Republicans, but nothing as pronounced as what we are witnessing today. I remember the sharp differences of LBJ versus Goldwater in 1964, Nixon and Humphrey in 1968, and Reagan/Carter in 1980, but I do not remember a time in our our history where the people have been so bitterly divided in terms of how the country should be run. The differences between the two are often described as the "Haves versus the Have Nots" or "Givers versus Takers," but more precisely, the two sides can be distinguished by the following attributes:
My entire adult life has been spent trying to do what is right for all the people I've come in contact with, be it my customers who depend on me for advice, employees who wanted a comfortable and meaningful workplace, and constituents in the many nonprofit groups I have volunteered in over the years. You may not agree with my tactics now and then (I am most definitely not a politician) but I have always tried to be honest with the people I have come in contact with. You may not like what I have to say, but you know precisely where I stand on an issue. Throughout all of this, I have learned that telling the truth has cost me more than one friend over the years, but it is important to me personally to be able to look at myself in the mirror without blushing. As someone who has had to say "the Emperor has no clothes" on more than one occasion, I realize it requires some rather thick skin. Maybe this is why honesty is no longer in vogue anymore as it is easier and less painful to be so. It is a sad sign of our society when political correctness is more coveted than truth.
During the course of the past election it occurred to me that most of the candidates possess little formal education in how to govern or be an effective politician. Instead, they learn their craft on the job and through the guidance of a team of handlers, including media specialists. Even though I find the concept of career politicians distasteful, there are a lot of people who appear to be bent on becoming one. With this in mind, I have always been a proponent of establishing a true college environment for becoming a politician regardless if it at the municipal, state, or federal level. Most politicians take too much time to learn their job and make a series of mistakes along the way. Formal education and training could greatly alleviate this problem. Other professions require certification, why not politicians?
Perhaps the most common joke at a high school reunion is when someone inevitably makes the observation, "Gee, when did we become our parents?" To me, the answer is simple: at age 40. Actually, a lot depends on when we were born as well as our offspring, but it is fair to say the transformation begins in our early 40's. In our twenties, most of us are still learning to spread our wings and begin our careers. Love or lust typically raises its ugly head during this period, and along comes children. At this stage, I don't think we're our parents quite yet as we are still learning to find our way through the world and how to cope with the ankle-biters around us.
Now that we have survived the elections, where we were incessantly told what is wrong with America, perhaps it is time to reflect on what is right with it. I realize there are still hard feelings on both sides of the political spectrum, but we should shake it off and begin by thanking God we had a peaceful transition and not a bloody military coup like some countries experience. It proves the system works. We have had more than enough scurrilous rhetoric which shows how embarrassingly barbaric we can become, let's try something more positive instead.
Have you ever been looking through a mega-hardware store/garden shop and not been able to find precisely what you are looking for? Instead, you settle for something else which you take home, try it, and regret having purchased. Instead of returning it though, you think it is not worth your time and throw it in the garbage. Not only is the exact merchandise not available, merchants even go so far as to make the item difficult to return in order to discourage you from doing so. Even if you do, there may even be a penalty fee associated with it. You're stuck and you learn to live with it. 
You have no doubt heard my criticisms of computer programmers in the past, a lot of which dealt with discipline, organization and accountability issues. Quite often problems begin with the recruiting process whereby companies do not take time to substantiate the programmer's knowledge. This is what caused me to write 
It's election day here in the United States and the end of a grueling and quarrelsome race pitting one ideologue against another. It was bitter even within the parties as evidenced by the highly contested primary races. Undoubtedly there will be a lot of hard feelings regardless of the outcome. Not too long ago it was customary for the loser in a political contest to concede defeat and wish the victor good luck in his/her endeavors, but it seems such concession speeches are becoming few and far between. When they are finally given, they are done so grudgingly and not necessarily with the most sincerity. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if today they weren't sent by text messaging which is not exactly the best way to convey a heartfelt congratulations, e.g.,
Well, here we are on the eve of an election day for what is perhaps the most important, if not most controversial, mid-term election in recent memory. Over the last few months you have heard me discuss the virtues of voting, that it is an inherent part of our civic duty. You have also heard me describe the problems with such things as the economy, Obamacare, term limits, and electing incumbent career politicians. Many of you have agreed with me, but I suspect it wasn't unanimous. Nonetheless, I was attempting to encourage people to engage their brains and take a position, one way or another. If you have thought about these issues carefully, then I want you to most definitely vote, one way or another. If you are satisfied with the status quo in government, fine, vote your conscious. If you are not satisfied with the status quo, as I am, fine, vote your conscious. I cannot fault anyone for voting under either scenario. You are acting as responsible citizens.