EMPTY NESTS

BRYCE ON LIFE

- What happens when your children finally leave home.

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I have finally reached that stage in my life where my children have grown up and are off pursuing other interests. Its kind of strange experiencing the empty nest syndrome. You start to notice small changes right away, such as how the volume of trash goes down, as does your water, power, and food bills. The phone doesn't ring as much and it's generally a lot quieter around the house at night. Maybe the hardest part is changing your eating habits. Instead of shopping and cooking for a group of people, you find yourself staring at the TV over a Marie Callender pot pie or a Stouffer's pizza. It takes quite an adjustment to learn how to cook for two.

As your offspring leaves, you determine its finally time to clean out their rooms. This is when you find that socket set you've been missing for the last five years and your old records and CD's you had forgotten about. And when they come back for a visit they look at you mortified as to why you found it necessary to clean out their rooms. "Wasn't it okay the way it was?" Some people like to go the extra mile and replace the furniture and create a new guest room or den. This really exasperates the kids as to why you didn't do this earlier when they were still home.

Although you were always looking for a little peace and quiet around the house after the kids were gone, now you find you cannot sleep as the house seems too quiet to you. I guess we get conditioned to a little helter-skelter being around us.

You also discover you're starting to get some free time on your hands. Instead of school functions and chasing the kids around the ball fields, you finally have time to reacquaint yourself with your spouse. The only problem is you are not in your twenties or thirties anymore and you both find more solace in reading a good book or watching a movie then chasing each other around the bedroom. You're not dead yet, but you come to the painful realization that life isn't quite the same anymore.

Perhaps the hardest part of the empty nest is realizing the kids are no longer chasing you around anymore and that you are now chasing them. You no longer take them for granted and cherish every moment you speak to them on the phone as well as every e-mail or letter they send you. The hardest part is simply missing them.

First published: June 18, 2007

Keep the Faith!

Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.

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

For Tim's columns, see:   timbryce.com

Like the article? TELL A FRIEND.

Copyright © 2017 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.

Also read Tim's columns in the THE HUFFINGTON POST

NEXT UP:  EMPTY NESTS - What happens when your children finally leave home.

LAST TIME:  THE DRIVING TOP TEN - What drives me wild on the open road.

Listen to Tim on WZIG-FM (104.1) in Palm Harbor,FL; KIT-AM (1280) in Yakima, Washington "The Morning News" with hosts Dave Ettl & Lance Tormey (weekdays. 6:00-9:00am Pacific). Or tune-in to Tim's channel on YouTube. Click for TIM'S LIBRARY OF AUDIO CLIPS.

ARE I.T. WORKERS BLUE COLLAR?

BRYCE ON MANAGEMENT

- Good question. Do programmers act like professionals?

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To use this segment in a Radio broadcast or Podcast, send TIM a request.

"Are I.T. Workers Blue Collar?" Interesting question. I was recently asked this by some executives who were concerned with improving the productivity of their I.T. departments. I asked them to explain why they thought this way. They contended their I.T. people (e.g., analysts and programmers) exhibit a lot of blue collar characteristics, e.g., repetition in types of work performed, they do not dress or act like professionals, and regularly punch in and out of work with little interest in going above and beyond the call of duty.

I countered there were two other aspects to consider: first, blue collar workers tend to perform manual labor, and; second, they are nonexempt workers who are paid an hourly wage. Also, they tended to be less educated than white collar workers.

They told me I was being naive; that blue collar workers can perform technical tasks as well as manual tasks, such as those found in manufacturing and assembly; and although they are classified as exempt workers paid a salary, they tend to behave like hourly workers instead. Further, there are plenty of blue collar workers who were just as educated, if not more so, than a lot of the programmers and analysts on their staffs. One executive even went so far as to tell me about a couple of craftsman machinists he had with MBA degrees.

Frankly, I had a hard time refuting their arguments. This is actually an old concept, one which I haven't heard in quite some time, back to the 1980's when there was talk of unionizing programmers. Nonetheless, it should cause us to pause and think how I.T. people are regarded in the board room. To me, it suggests a credibility gap between management and I.T. and helps explain why a lot of jobs are being outsourced.

In recent years I have met a lot of people who have abandoned corporate I.T. shops and have opted to become consultants instead. Its not that they didn't like their companies, they simply became disenchanted with how I.T. departments were being run, read the writing on the wall, and figured it was time to bail out before they were outsourced. So who is at fault here, management or I.T.? If management truly perceives I.T. workers as blue collar, than there will be a great temptation to give the work to shops overseas at greatly reduced costs.

There are those in the I.T. field who believe unionization is the route to take. As far as I'm concerned, this would be the kiss of death to corporate I.T. shops as executives would rather outsource than be held hostage to a union.

Instead, I believe I.T. workers should do some soul searching and ask themselves how they can differentiate themselves from their foreign counterparts. Technical knowledge alone will not do it any longer. Outsourcers have already demonstrated their technical skills are on a par with ours. No, the answer is they must demonstrate how the I.T. department adds more value to the company than an outsider can. This means they have to become more serious about their work and produce better I.T. solutions more quickly, correctly, and less expensively. Anyone can apply quick and dirty Band-Aid solutions. What is needed is a higher caliber of professionalism and improved skills in management. The I.T. workers have to work both harder and smarter. In other words, job assignments have to be performed in a more professional and craftsman-like manner (methodically with a quality consciousness). This requires a more disciplined, organized, and professional attitude which is the exception as opposed to the rule in a lot of I.T. shops today.

If I.T. can demonstrate they behave more like white collar professionals, executives will become dependent on them and will be less likely to outsource their jobs. Ideally, you want to hear executives say, "I can't live without these guys (the I.T. department)." But if executives perceive you, the I.T. worker, as nothing more than a blue collar worker, than your story is told.

Think I'm kidding? Consider this, I know of a large manufacturing company in the U.S. Midwest who had a pressing I.T. project not long ago. Knowing he was short on staff, the CIO appealed to the executive board for additional funding for more personnel. Basically, the board gave the CIO carte blanche to hire as many people he wanted at generous wages, with whatever job title the workers wanted. But the CIO was explicitly told, "When the project is over, fire them." Do you think these executives had a high regard for I.T. people?

So, are I.T. workers "Blue Collar"? Look in the mirror and you tell me.

"How we look and act speaks volumes."
- Bryce's Law

First published: June 4, 2007

Keep the Faith!

Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.

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

For Tim's columns, see:   timbryce.com

Like the article? TELL A FRIEND.

Copyright © 2017 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.

Also read Tim's columns in the THE HUFFINGTON POST

NEXT UP:  EMPTY NESTS - What happens when your children finally leave home.

LAST TIME:  BEWARE OF BAITING - Do not allow yourself to be baited in debate.

Listen to Tim on WZIG-FM (104.1) in Palm Harbor,FL; KIT-AM (1280) in Yakima, Washington "The Morning News" with hosts Dave Ettl & Lance Tormey (weekdays. 6:00-9:00am Pacific). Or tune-in to Tim's channel on YouTube. Click for TIM'S LIBRARY OF AUDIO CLIPS.

WHAT PRICE QUALITY?

BRYCE ON MANAGEMENT

- And who is responsible for its implementation?

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To use this segment in a Radio broadcast or Podcast, send TIM a request.

We now live in a fast paced society where we expect products and services to be delivered rapidly, cheaply, and with a high degree of quality. This is particularly true in the systems and software industry. If we lived in a perfect world, systems and software would be developed rapidly and inexpensively, they would effectively satisfy business needs, and would be easy to maintain and modify. There is only one problem with this scenario: it is a fantasy. In reality, we live in a "disposable" world where systems and software are slapped together in the hopes everything will hold together and will pacify the end-user for the moment. Some people believe striving for a Utopian world is an impossibility and, as such, resign themselves to rewriting systems and software time and again as opposed to designing them to be industrial strength.

Improving speed in the development process is relatively simple to accomplish; e.g., the plethora of programming tools available, but adding quality into a product is something entirely different. From the outset we must recognize quality doesn't come naturally to people anymore. Back when there was a sense of craftsmanship, quality was rarely a problem. This is back when people identified with their work products, and strove to seek perfection as it was a reflection of their character. Corners were not cut and products were made to last. Unfortunately, we no longer live in such times and people tend to disassociate their work from their personal lives. Further, the speed and sophistication of our tools leads us to believe we are producing quality products. The reality is that our tools are only as good as the people using them, not the other way around.

A PERFECT WORLD

How one person perceives quality may be entirely different than another's. This is because we tend to have different perspectives in how to build something, e.g., whereas one person may build a product one way, another may build it using an entirely different approach. This means products are commonly built using inconsistent methods. Let me give you some examples:

* If we lived in a perfect world, we would have a standardized approach for defining requirements, thereby everyone would be operating with a standard approach for scrutinizing requirements, but the reality is our approach to requirements definition is redefined with each development project, thereby making it impossible to validate requirements with any consistency.

* If we lived in a perfect world, programs would be designed in a standardized manner so they may be easily modified or maintained by any other programmer at a later date, but the reality is programs are written based on the personal nuances of the programmer, making it next to impossible to maintain or modify by another person. Consequently programs are discarded and rewritten.

* If we lived in a perfect world, developers would adhere to a standard and consistent approach (methodology) whereby uniform work products could be produced and reviewed, thereby improving communications among the staff and allowing for the interchangeability of workers in the development process, but the reality is, the development process is defined on a project-by-project basis, thereby uniformity and interchangeability is defeated.

The reality is we live in an imperfect world. What would appear to be obvious approaches to development seldom occurs in most systems and software shops. It is simply unnatural to developers who prefer to operate independently as opposed to adopting a shop standard. This of course means development organizations tend to "reinvent the wheel" with each project.

Because of such inconsistencies, the only option for improving quality is to try to inspect the product after it has been built, not during development. Under this approach, inspection is complicated as each person has designed the product according to their own personal interpretation of development, not as a standard body of work.

BUILDING QUALITY INTO THE PRODUCT

It is obviously cheaper and more sensible to arrest a product defect early during development as opposed to trying to catch it afterwards. To do so, the development process has to be subdivided into defined units of work specifying what is to be produced (work products, aka "deliverables"), how it should be produced (using accepted tools and techniques), and its acceptance criteria (including review points). Such a work environment is in sharp contrast to "The Black Hole" approach used by most organizations today; e.g., requirements are fed into an unknown development environment and the resultant product is inspected afterwards. This approach concentrates only on the final deliverable and not on the overall process by which the product is to be developed. By the time the final product is produced, it may be unrecognizable to the user and the project may have exceeded estimated cost and schedule. Even worse, the product may have to be redesigned and rewritten over and over again. Interestingly, this is the approach advocated by today's "Agile" proponents.

In other manufacturing practices, the definition of the work environment is the responsibility of an Industrial Engineer who defines the units of work in the development of a product (assembly line), the standard tools and techniques to be used, the work products, and the acceptance criteria. Although the concept of Industrial Engineering is applicable to systems and software, few development organizations are familiar with the concept.

THE PRICE OF QUALITY

Regardless of what you call it, Industrial Engineering or Quality Assurance, quality requires a dedicated group of people to define the overall development process, monitor progress, and constantly research new ways to improve it (tools and techniques). This does not mean quality is the sole responsibility of such a group. It is not. Quality is the responsibility of every person involved in the development process. The group simply provides leadership in this regards.

In terms of costs, the truth is that quality is free (as the likes of Philip Crosby have pointed out to us). True, it requires an outlay of money upfront to embark on a quality assurance program, but this will be offset by reduced costs later on in terms of reduced development time and fewer defects requiring rework. By having everyone working according to defined processes and work products, errors are caught and corrected early in the development process. Further, work products are easier to maintain and modify later on, this specifically includes systems and software. Such a program, therefore, does not add overhead to the development process, it reduces it.

To make this work though requires commitment from management and herein lies the rub. As I mentioned earlier, we live in fast-paced times. Implementing an effective quality assurance program takes time to cultivate, it cannot be installed overnight. There is more to it than mechanics; standards have to be devised, attitudes have to be adjusted, consciousness' raised, etc. In other words, it is the people-side of quality that takes time to mature and become ingrained in the corporate culture. As such, a quality assurance program requires management vision and long-term commitment to see it come to fruition. This is difficult to sell to managers who have trouble thinking past the next financial statement, but if executives understand that a company truly runs on systems and software, then they will be more amenable to investing in industrial strength applications.

CONCLUSION

Its interesting, the systems and software industry is one of the few industries that resists standardization as opposed to embracing it. Standardization is an inherent part of any quality program. It means devising and applying craftsman-like rules in the development of a product or service. Such rules substantiates completion of work in a prescribed sequence and is measurable. Remarkably, it is this kind of accountability developers resist.

Some developers even go so far as to question the necessity of a quality assurance program since many companies rewrite their systems and software year after year. Maybe they are right, but I tend to see this as a defeatist attitude, that we can do nothing more than produce mass mediocrity. I believe we can do better, but to do so, we need to invest in ourselves and our future. Remember, you must first plant the seeds in order to harvest the crop. Unfortunately, most companies tend to eat the seeds and then there is no crop to harvest. Somehow I am reminded of the old expression, "You can pay me now or pay me later, but you're going to pay me."

First published: May 28, 2007

Keep the Faith!

Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.

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

For Tim's columns, see:   timbryce.com

Like the article? TELL A FRIEND.

Copyright © 2017 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.

Also read Tim's columns in the THE HUFFINGTON POST

NEXT UP:  ARE I.T. WORKERS BLUE COLLAR? - Good question. Do programmers act like professionals?

LAST TIME:  BEWARE OF BAITING- Do not allow yourself to be baited in debate.

Listen to Tim on WZIG-FM (104.1) in Palm Harbor,FL; KIT-AM (1280) in Yakima, Washington "The Morning News" with hosts Dave Ettl & Lance Tormey (weekdays. 6:00-9:00am Pacific). Or tune-in to Tim's channel on YouTube. Click for TIM'S LIBRARY OF AUDIO CLIPS.

BEWARE OF BAITING

BRYCE ON LIFE

- Do not allow yourself to be baited in debate.

Click for AUDIO VERSION.

To use this segment in a Radio broadcast or Podcast, send TIM a request.

Every once and awhile you run into a person who is determined to "get your goat," someone hell-bent on antagonizing you. It doesn't have to be over anything in particular, some people just contrarily want to pick a fight with you. You say "white," he says "black," not for any particular reason other than to just irritate you. Regardless how polite you might be or how rational your argument is, they fight you. In fact, most of the time they offer sardonic witticisms and perhaps some vulgarities to refute what you are talking about and try to bait you into a brawl in order to make you look bad, and they can be successful if you are suckered into such a confrontation.

For years I have run into such people; not too many, just enough to leave an impression on me. These types of people fall into the category of what I have been calling "Homo Sapien Ass*****" (HSA) whose perceptions of reality are distorted and there is no swaying them otherwise. In some cases, their perception of reality is fine, they are simply jealous of anyone else in the spotlight and argue just to make you look bad.

I've noticed this occurring more and more recently in Blogs and Internet discussion groups. I'll see someone write something valuable in such forums only to have someone else maliciously ridicule it, not because it is wrong, but because they simply don't like the person and want to discredit him. It's interesting, such forums offer the means to conceal your identity. People seem more inclined to criticize and ridicule when their identify is concealed, as opposed to when it isn't. They seem more apt to write a poison pen letter than to confront you face-to-face. These people are, of course, cowards. The negativity and sniping in some of these discussion groups is such that I am reminded of the old expression, "If you haven't got anything good to say, don't say anything."

Regardless, what is the best way to deal with such people? Well, having survived such attacks on the Internet perhaps I can offer some advice. First, never take the bait. Never dance to their tune. Never. Always take the high ground and maintain your dignity. Remember, other people will be watching your response. They already know there is a troublemaker trying to get to you, but do yourself a favor and don't lower yourself to their level. Remain calm and if you have to refute their arguments, due it respectfully and professionally, especially if they do not follow suit. Those watching will take note and think the better of you. Stay above the fray. Make the other person look like the idiot that he is. Inevitably, you will get more supporters than your antagonist. I am reminded of something Oscar Wilde said years ago, "Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much."

How you handle an antagonist in the public is one thing; how you handle such a person one-on-one is something else. Understand this, they are not interested in rational discourse, only making you look bad in some public forum. Always take the high ground in publicly refuting them, but for one-on-one confrontations, the kid gloves are off.

I write on a variety of topics and I'm not expecting everyone to agree with me all of the time, believe me they do not. I'm simply trying to get people to think about things they normally wouldn't. I welcome all calm and respectful discourse, but if it turns malicious, I know how to hit the delete key and filter out such people from participating in future dialogues. This brings up an important point, if you have the means to control the text entries, be sure to do so. After all, it is your story, not theirs. They may whine about you deleting their comments, but you have to do what is best for the article.

I remember one time when I was in a meeting and had an antagonist heckle me throughout the session. Despite my attempts to answer his questions, he kept badgering me to the point of irritating everyone in the room. Finally I looked at him and said, "Tell me, did your parents have any children that lived?" This resulted in a pregnant pause and gales of laughter (and finally broke the logjam).

Usually your antagonists will try to get in the last word on a subject. If you are lucky, you can get the last word in before they do, but that is uncommon. Its more likely they'll get the last word, but don't despair, if you have done your job, they are the ones who will look like the fool, not you.

Remember, don't let yourself get baited; don't let them get your goat. Defuse the situation and stay in control.

First published: September 18, 2006

Keep the Faith!

Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.

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

For Tim's columns, see:   timbryce.com

Like the article? TELL A FRIEND.

Copyright © 2017 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.

Also read Tim's columns in the THE HUFFINGTON POST

NEXT UP:  WHAT PRICE QUALITY? - And who is responsible for its implementation?

LAST TIME:  YES MEN- In reality, such people contribute nothing worthwhile.

Listen to Tim on WZIG-FM (104.1) in Palm Harbor,FL; KIT-AM (1280) in Yakima, Washington "The Morning News" with hosts Dave Ettl & Lance Tormey (weekdays. 6:00-9:00am Pacific). Or tune-in to Tim's channel on YouTube. Click for TIM'S LIBRARY OF AUDIO CLIPS.

YES MEN

BRYCE ON MANAGEMENT

- In reality, such people contribute nothing worthwhile.

Click for AUDIO VERSION.

To use this segment in a Radio broadcast or Podcast, send TIM a request.

We've all seen instances where subordinates mindlessly agree with everything the boss has to say; we call these people "Yes Men." I'm not really sure why we have such people. Maybe its because the boss wants to surround himself with clods to bolster his self-esteem. Maybe its because people are afraid of disagreeing with the boss in fear of losing their job. Or maybe its as simple as people no longer know how to engage their brains and allows others to make decisions for them. I tend to think its the latter.

Let me ask you something, what is wrong with a little critical thinking? I get involved with a lot of discussion groups on the Internet, both professional and nonprofit groups and am not afraid to put in my two cents. I'm not always looking for everyone to agree with me; many do not. Instead, I thrive on the discourse and find such discussions as fruitful for bringing forth new ideas and finding solutions for problems. Some people are scared to participate in such groups and either remain quiet or simply maintain the party line. I call these types of people "cowards" or "sheep."

One of my favorite movies is "Twelve Angry Men," an old black-and-white courtroom story starring Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Jack Klugman, and others. The story centers on the dynamics of a jury who must decide the fate of a teenager in the murder of his father. At first, the jury consists of mostly "Yes Men" who simply want to prosecute the teenager and move on with their lives. Fonda wants to discuss the case in more detail before making a snap decision, and is castigated by the others for slowing them down. By discussing the evidence in more detail, the jurors, one by one, determine the teenager is not guilty. In particular, there is an interesting scene where one of the jurors changes his vote from guilty to innocent more as a whim as opposed to any specific evidence. This infuriates another jurist who challenges the other to explain why he changed his vote. This is an excellent example of how "Yes Men" can get into trouble, simply because they refuse to engage their brain.

What we need in business today are fewer "Yes Men" and more people who can use their heads, but I guess that requires work.

First published: August 21, 2006

Keep the Faith!

Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.

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

For Tim's columns, see:   timbryce.com

Like the article? TELL A FRIEND.

Copyright © 2017 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.

Also read Tim's columns in the THE HUFFINGTON POST

NEXT UP:  BEWARE OF BAITING - Do not allow yourself to be baited in debate.

LAST TIME:  THE PERILS OF NEGATIVITY - Learn to avoid the whiners.

Listen to Tim on WZIG-FM (104.1) in Palm Harbor,FL; KIT-AM (1280) in Yakima, Washington "The Morning News" with hosts Dave Ettl & Lance Tormey (weekdays. 6:00-9:00am Pacific). Or tune-in to Tim's channel on YouTube. Click for TIM'S LIBRARY OF AUDIO CLIPS.

HOW TO WRITE NEWS LIKE THE BIG BOYS

BRYCE ON POLITICS

- It's really quite easy; just fill-in the blanks.

Day after day, President Trump is under attack by the Mainstream Media with alleged leaked information from anonymous sources. Whether the sources are legitimate or not appears to be inconsequential. They have become so common, the public has become skeptical and the credibility of the press has deteriorated. It is no small wonder, people today overwhelmingly do not trust the press and prefer getting news from other sources, particularly social media.

In studying such articles in the press, I have discovered there is a pattern in terms of how they are written. So, as a public service, I am providing a template for how to write such a column. I've developed this as one of those crazy fill-in-the-blanks stories we remember from our childhood. To use it, either answer the questions as they are introduced or have someone solicit the multiple choice answers from you before you begin. This is intended to be a fun way to demonstrate an important point, the American public is being fed pablum under the guise of valid news.

DATELINE - Enter date and location:
(select)
- The White House, Washington, DC
- Capitol Hill, Washington, DC
- Albany, NY
- Chicago, IL
- Sacramento, Mars

In a stunning change of events in the nation's capitol, President Donald Trump has been accused of the heinous crime of
(select)
- Developing legislation revoking Sanctuary Cities.
- Disorderly conduct with Congressional Democrats.
- Failing to recognize CNN anchor Jim Acosta.
- Firing a government employee for leaking information to the press.
- Pulling the pigtail of a girl in 5th grade.
- Referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as "Oddjob."
- Slandering "resistance" Libtards.

The accusation, as reported in The Times and The Post, came from anonymous sources close to
(select)
- The President.
- The Vice President.
- Congress.
- The Pentagon.
- Mrs. Ferguson's Third Grade Class.

Even though there is no physical evidence to support their contention, the media stands by the statements made by their sources, who like most other people interviewed for this article spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal deliberations.

The incident has already been dubbed by the Mainstream Media as
(select)
- Fruitgate.
- Lynchgate.
- Mediagate.
- Putzgate.
- Slimegate.
- Snowflakegate.
- Tailgate.

When asked about the incident, the President responded
(select)
- "I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer; next?"
- "It's just another example of more Fake News; next?"
- "It's time to drain the Mainstream Media cesspool; next?"
- "Who is making this crap up for you, the ACLU? Next?"
- "You're kidding right? Where's the beef? Next?"

By failing to answer the question properly, news media insiders took this as an admission of guilt by the president.

Learning of the news, Democrats were incensed. "This is clearly a violation of Constitutional Law. I am appalled with the conduct of the president. Here is another example of why he is unfit to lead the country. This is grounds for impeachment and certainly would not happen under our watch," said
(select)
- Cong. Nancy "We have to pass it to see what is in it" Pelosi (CA).
- Sen. Chuck "The Schill" Schumer (NY).
- Fmr. Pres. Barack Obama.
- Fmr. Pres. Bill Clinton.
- Fmr. Sec. of State Hillary Clinton.
- Gov. Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown.
- NYC Mayor Bill "Boom Boom" de Blasio.
- Filmmaker Michael Moore.
- The Wicked Witch of the West (aka "Pocahontas").

As a result of the unsubstantiated accusation, the Democrats are demanding
(select)
- an independent counsel costing millions of dollars.
- a Congressional Investigation costing millions of dollars.
- a session in "The People's Court" with Judge Marilyn.
- a Russian Tribunal headed by Vladimir Putin (no charge).
- the president be sent to the principal's office.

All of which will produce nothing.

Progressive insiders fear Chief Supreme Court Justice John Roberts will intervene, drop the charges, and order corporal punishment for the Mainstream Media accuser. A good paddling, caning, or lashing with a cat o' nine tails is suggested.

EPILOGUE

"What I find to be amazing is how narratives are set and a lot of it is not true. ... The most breathtaking thing for me has been the difference between what the truth is and what often gets reported. ... (Fake news) has become an epidemic."
- former White House Chief-of-Staff Reince Priebus, July 28, 2017

Keep the Faith!

Note: All trademarks both marked and unmarked belong to their respective companies.

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

For Tim's columns, see:   timbryce.com

Like the article? TELL A FRIEND.

Copyright © 2017 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.

Also read Tim's columns in the THE HUFFINGTON POST

NEXT UP:  BEWARE OF BAITING - Do not allow yourself to be baited in debate.

LAST TIME:  THE PERILS OF NEGATIVITY - Learn to avoid the whiners.

Listen to Tim on WZIG-FM (104.1) in Palm Harbor,FL; KIT-AM (1280) in Yakima, Washington "The Morning News" with hosts Dave Ettl & Lance Tormey (weekdays. 6:00-9:00am Pacific). Or tune-in to Tim's channel on YouTube. Click for TIM'S LIBRARY OF AUDIO CLIPS.

THE PERILS OF NEGATIVITY

BRYCE ON MANAGEMENT

- Learn to avoid the whiners.

Click for AUDIO VERSION.

To use this segment in a Radio broadcast or Podcast, send TIM a request.

Like many of you, I belong to several civic and industrial nonprofit organizations. I always find it amusing to see the elders of such organizations criticize the current slate of officers. Inevitably, you hear, "That's not how we did things in my day." They then go on to berate the officers on their performance. Well, sometimes they're right, but most of the time they are wrong. Dead wrong. If left unchecked, their negativity can consume an organization like a plague of locusts, to the point where the officers get frustrated and ultimately do nothing.

I can't remember ever attending a nonprofit group where everybody was happy with everything and everybody. In fact, I think its a myth. If such an organization exists, I sure would like to see it. These nonprofit organizations are typically run by well meaning people with some time on their hands; and let us not forget it is a VOLUNTEER type of organization. Rarely, if ever, are the officers paid for their services. True, people will make mistakes and need guidance, but not at the price of having their name besmirched. As Winston Churchill wisely observed, "Any idiot can see what is wrong with something, but can you see what's right?"

At a recent meeting of a nonprofit group I belong to, I heard one of the elder's grouse, "Well, this is a rotten year and next year will be worse." I looked at him and said, "No, it has been a good year and next year will be better." I reminded him that the group had plenty of money in the bank and membership was on the rise. This caught him off guard and he recognized that I had the right attitude; that the glass was half-full, not half-empty.

No, the officers of such groups will not always be perfect, but then again, Who is? Its up to the group overall to pull things together, not just one or two officers.

The problem with negativity is that it can become infectious, and in the process, quite damaging. Fortunately, so can optimism, and people tend to gravitate to the positive as opposed to the negative.

For those who insist on whining about everything, I say, "Get over it." I learned a long time ago in business not to complain unless I was prepared to suggest an alternative. However, to bitch simply for the sake of bitching is counterproductive and disrupts the harmony of such groups. If I have any suggestion in this regard, I would ask the members of such groups to turn something negative into something positive.

First published: June 5, 2006

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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