- Anyone expecting a peaceful mid-term election is taking it in the arm.
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The 2018 Congressional midterm elections will be bloody. As usual the GOP is naive regarding political campaigning and underestimates the ferocity of the Democrats. Let's first understand what is at stake here. The Democrats suffered a severe blow by losing the 2016 elections. Because of this, 2018 represents a make or break year for the progressive/liberal agenda. If they fail to retake Congress, in either chamber, the Democratic Party will be unable to stop President Trump in 2020 and will likely go into a tailspin searching for new leadership. As such, they are desperate for a victory and will go to any length to achieve one, whether it is legal or not. In desperation, the left and their news media lapdogs will undoubtedly be pulling out all the stops. This includes misleading the public, character assassination, lying and deceit, violating voter laws, intimidation, etc. No, they will certainly not be playing fair; they are at war.
Their hatred of President Trump is nothing more than a campaign tactic. This is why they will never find anything positive to say about the president and refuses to cooperate with him. By doing so, they create a diametrically opposing view of reality which is reported to the public in the hopes it will be construed the president is an utter failure. To illustrate, the Left adamantly contends the president is a racist, yet there is no evidence to this effect in his personal, corporate, and presidential lives. He has made generous donations to minority organizations and his economic policies have benefited Blacks and Latinos, particularly in generating jobs and getting them off of welfare. Yet he is labeled a "racist."
His recent Tax Reform legislation benefits both corporations and all classes of workers. Yet, it is dismissed by the Left as only benefiting the wealthy and supports their premise of "trickle down economics." Yet, the new tax structure is already showing signs of materially boosting the economy and increasing worker income. In another area, the president's doctor recently gave the president a clean bill of health. Yet there are people in the news media spin this to mean he is at risk to heart disease. In other words, no matter whatever good the president does, it will always be spun and reported as evil by the Left. This is why they have a fixation with the Russian probe, even though nothing of substance has yet to surface. Remarkably, there is little interest in the Russian bribery case regarding the Uranium One deal involving former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
By vilifying Mr. Trump, they hope to associate GOP Congressional candidates with him, thereby thwarting the chances for election. If these candidates renounce the president out of fear, the Democrats will win. Instead, they need to turn something negative into something positive by touting the president's accomplishments. In other words, the GOP candidates have to jump on the Trump Train as opposed to resisting him, recognizing their collective fate rests in his hands.
The GOP better get its act together fast as the left is already organized and working in a concerted manner. As usual, the Republicans have to play catch-up but, fortunately, there is still time. The first thing to learn to do is think beyond a single candidate. You might have a favorite, but you have to think of all the candidates in your jurisdiction; the Democrats are. Next, recognize it is time to fight back with the same ferocity the left is exhibiting. Frankly, this country cannot afford to revert back to Democratic rule, they need to be slapped down.
There are three steps required for this type of political campaign:
1. Get organized - this includes forming committees with leaders and workers who will assume responsibility and possess a sense of urgency. Education and instruction are essential. Very important, these committees need to learn to network in order to understand what is going on elsewhere and to learn from each other. They should also find ways to work together, not apart.
Communications is vital, whether it be through a web site, e-mail blasts, telephone calls, podcasts, or a regularly produced newsletter. All of this implies the need for a master address book to contact people.
As an inherent part of your communications, develop a calendar of events and maintain it regularly. Be sure to include pertinent dates of both Republican and Democratic events in your area, thereby encouraging attendance by members of the GOP. This is particularly useful for attending Democratic town hall meetings where people can voice their opposition.
Planning and scheduling is key to this activity. Be careful in allocating human resources as you do not want to stretch your people thin, thereby causing them to burn out. Your management philosophy should be simple: Delegate responsibility and get out of the way; empower people and hold them accountable for their commitments.
2. Enlist recruits - not just volunteers to serve on committees but to register people to legally vote. For those who wish to vote in person, as opposed to absentee ballot, make arrangements to get them to their voting precinct.
3. Let your voice be heard - whether it is through advertising, sign waving, speeches or writing campaigns to editors and local politicians. More importantly, take the fake news to task as they are not proponents of Republicans and spread the lies of the Left. Prepare a list of the newspapers, television and radio stations, and bloggers in your area, including the names and contact information of the key contacts of the fake news. Write to them and correct their inaccuracies. It may even be necessary to picket their offices and make sure other news sources are made aware of it. If necessary, start a campaign to boycott or censure them. After all, if they mislead the public, they are not proponents of truth. Let them know what they are doing is unacceptable.
In all of your dealings with the public and the news media, do not lie, cheat or defraud, that's what the Democrats do. It is not worth lowering yourself to their level. Handle yourself professionally and with dignity, thereby becoming a model for others to emulate. Those that elected Mr. Trump in 2016 from middle America, find it refreshing when people deport themselves honestly. Do not apologize for being right.
As Americans, the concept of such a vicious campaign is distasteful, but the reality is the progressive/left agenda is at stake here, and the Democrats have already demonstrated they will sink to the lowest levels to maintain their programs, honesty be damned.
No, the kid gloves are off and it is time to stop the lying and dirty politics of the left. They have distracted this country long enough and kept us from achieving greatness. It's time to get organized and get going.
Keep the Faith!
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Tim Bryce is a writer and the Managing Director of M&JB Investment Company (M&JB) of Palm Harbor, Florida and has over 40 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com
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Copyright © 2018 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.
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What you learned in school, of course, will be useful to you in your adult life, but more importantly, it means you possess the faculties to learn, that you can be taught; two important attributes employers are looking for. They are not so much interested in what you have learned in school as much as your ability to learn and adapt, which is what the diploma represents. Regardless of your degree, most employers are going to spend a period of time debriefing you and then teach you how to do things in the manner in which they want things done. This is an important first step in acclimating into the corporate culture. And just because you have graduated, don't think this is the end of your education. You will be learning lessons for the rest of your life. Our schools and universities do nothing more than train your mind to learn. That is their mission.
I have been thinking a lot about micromanagement lately. It seems the corporate world is consumed with mini-dictators who are bent on directing the activities of others. I also see this in nonprofit organizations consisting of volunteers and managed by leaders who can be rather ruthless. Nonetheless, I have also noticed there appears to be an inclination for such managers to be reactive as opposed to proactive in their style of management, and I cannot help but think that micromanagement and reactive management are somehow related.
From an industrial psychology perspective, 
The Peter Principle was introduced back in 1969 by Dr. Laurence J. Peter in his book of the same name. In a nutshell, the principle contends that in a hierarchical organization a person will rise to the level of their competency, and trouble arises if the person rises above it. Along with Parkinson's Law, it is one of the most well known principles in the world of management. Unfortunately, young people are unfamiliar with the concept which is perhaps why we are seeing more people lately rising above their level of competency.
The need for outside contract services is nothing new. IT-related consultants have been around since the computer was first introduced for commercial purposes. Today, all of the Fortune 1000 companies have consultants playing different roles in IT, either on-site or offshore. Many companies are satisfied with the work produced by their consultants, others are not. Some consultants are considered a necessary evil who tackle assignments in an unbridled manner and charge exorbitant rates. For this type of consultant, it is not uncommon for the customer to be left in the dark in terms of what the consultant has done, where they are going, and if and when they will ever complete their assignment. Understand this, the chaos brought on by such consultants are your own doing.
There used to be a time when I relished coming home after work and watch some television after dinner. It was a good way to relax and unwind. Thursday nights used to be "must see" TV featuring comedy. News magazines like "60 Minutes" and "20/20" were also meaningful. Personally, I was a sucker for "Law & Order"
and watched it for years. We would end the day by falling asleep to the late night talk shows. Unfortunately, all of this has changed.
I was recently watching a PBS biography regarding 
When I got into the work force back in the mid-1970's it seemed everyone dressed in a suit and tie, drank black coffee, smoked their brains out, and worked their butts off. Today, golf shirts have replaced suits, herbal tea and bottled water have replaced coffee, nobody is allowed to smoke, and rarely does anyone work beyond 5:00pm. More importantly, we used to care about the work we produced; there was a sense of craftsmanship, regardless of the job. 
As you get older, you discover there are fewer shades of gray in life. As you gain experience, you tend to see things more in terms of black-and-white. You now possess an appreciation of what works and what doesn't, which is why people ask for your advice. Some would say you become less tolerant of others but the truth is you've simply been down that road before and don't want to revisit it. From this, you learn the subtle truths of how the world works.