BRYCE ON RELIGION
Does it really work?

I have had many friends who have asked for prayers for a loved one, usually someone in sickness and distress, such as someone about to undergo surgery, a failing parent, or a young person fighting an addiction. My Christian and Jewish friends are quick to respond to offer their support, but I do not hear too much from agnostics. On more than one occasion I have heard from the people seeking support adamantly claim, “Prayer works!”

I have always marveled at the power of prayer. I see it as a sign of compassion, hope for the person in trouble as well as the family and friends who made the request. This says a lot about our humanity as a people.

I am not sure if praying for divine intervention actually works but it comforts us to put our faith in a Supreme Being when situations run out of our control. Back when I was about to graduate from college in Ohio, my mother and father visited Sydney, Australia on a business trip. Following one of my father’s sales seminars there, the two of them got into the back seat of a taxi to return to their hotel. A storm was howling that evening, so much so, the cab driver had trouble seeing out the windshield. The streets were slippery and the cab, unfortunately, went out of control, aimed at a telephone poll. The driver leaped out of the cab moments before it crashed into the poll. My father jumped in front of my mother to cover her and drove the front seat under the engine. He was taken to a local hospital with all of his ribs broken and abrasions on his face from the broken windshield. A piece of glass settled next to his eye nearly blinding him.

My mother called my brother with the news who, in turn, called me at school. Here I was, thousands of miles from the hospital, and feeling helpless to do anything. All I could do was turn to prayer.

Fortunately, my father survived the crash. The glass was removed from his face and eye, and his ribs were bandaged. He was eventually sent home but experienced extreme discomfort for months afterwards due to his ribs. The scars slowly disappeared over time. The surgeons evidently did a good job as you could hardly tell he was ever in an accident. Interestingly, when he woke up in the hospital, the nurse tending to him wore an interesting name badge, “Bryce,” and sure enough, she was a relative. Frankly, I looked upon her as his guardian angel, the coincidence was simply too remarkable. This led us to discover a branch of our relatives in Australia who we had lost touch with following the first World War. Nonetheless, I would like to believe my prayers had been answered.

One last footnote about my father’s stay in the hospital; ever the consummate salesman, one of the prospective buyers of our product visited him. From his hospital bed and heavily bandaged, my father gave him a sales presentation. He must have been good since the man signed a contract that afternoon. “Who-da-thunk-it.”

Prayer can be comforting to both the person praying, the victim in question, and the family and friends. However, I have learned we cannot rely on it solely, that we must go beyond prayer if possible, and help a fellow human-being. Sometimes a simple visit with the person can work wonders, or perhaps providing a meal, running an errand, taking them to an appointment, mowing the lawn, or whatever. We used to do this naturally, but I am not sure people remember to be kind to each other anymore.

I surely am not suggesting prayer should be confined to times of crisis. It is also a powerful way of expressing thanks, such as for health, well-being, and the bounties we enjoy. It can also be used as an expression of hope, such as for peace, and the safety of people and our country.

Those who do not believe in the power of prayer are typically quick to cite the “separation of church and state” (something which is NOT described in the U.S. Constitution). Personal prayer may be banned from the classroom, but it certainly can be invoked on our own, at any time and any place.

Prayers indeed have power, as many of my friends contend. It may not be foolproof, but I see nothing to suggest it is meaningless or subject to ridicule. Sometimes, it is all we’ve got.

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 30 years of experience in the management consulting field. He can be reached at timb001@phmainstreet.com

For Tim’s columns, see:  timbryce.com

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Copyright © 2015 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.

BRYCE ON LIFE
– How we become more impatient as we enter our sixties.

My daughter came home for a visit recently. During the course of our conversations, she made the observation, “Dad, you’re not as patient as you used to be.” This caught me off guard, and in reflection, she was right. Whereas I was more tolerant years ago, now I am more black and white. At first, I dismissed the subject until I happened to consider the state of some of my friends locally who are also displaying the same characteristics, and we’re all in our early sixties…

I have a doctor friend who has been practicing internal medicine for a number of years. He has always been a kind and professional doctor who genuinely cares about the patients he treats. In the last few years though he has been overwhelmed by government bureaucracy which is preventing him from practicing medicine. New government regulations pertaining to the maintenance of patient records, Medicare/Medicaid, and now the Affordable Care Act is frustrating and causing him to dislike the profession he used to love, thereby making it a tremendous burden. It has gotten so bad, he is considering taking an early retirement, as are many other doctors like him who are fed up by obnoxious government regulations.

I have another friend who is a restauranteur and is also burning out due to government regulations. In addition, he has problems with personnel, particularly between cooks where a rift is brewing. Even though my friend has tried to iron out the differences, a change is likely in the offing forcing one of them to leave. This will cause my friend to hire yet another person and teach him the proper way of cooking according to his standards. Feeling harassed and frustrated, my friend constantly laments it is time to “pack it in.”

Another friend, a salesman, has been with his company for over thirty years. He has been the top salesman for many years and until recently sincerely enjoyed his job and company. His trademark for success was a professional attitude, customer service, and a line of top rated products at reasonable costs. However, the company began to change its corporate culture a couple of years ago and a line of new young managers were put into authority. Suddenly, things like professionalism and customer service were considered passe and replaced by a “bean counter” approach to management. He too is ready to move on to new pastures.

As for me, I have been a management consultant in the area of information systems for nearly forty years. I am proud of our company’s accomplishments, but the Information Technology field has changed. It is no longer a matter of doing what is right, but what is expedient. They also tend to think small, not big. As someone who is hired to tell people what is wrong with their business, and offer a solution, I grow weary watching people commit the same mistakes over and over again. I see this in both commercial enterprises as well as nonprofit organizations which are run by some well meaning people who haven’t a clue as to how to run a business. I am often asked why I keep beating my head against a wall.

More than anything, the frustration factor is caused by repetition. Think about it, over the course of our professional lives we have knocked on many doors, met and talked to hundreds of people, made a few thousand pots of coffee, traveled thousands of miles, wrote a ton of letters and e-mails, and always got up at the crack of dawn even when are bodies yearned for more sleep.

We have experienced great joys in our lifetimes, such as anniversaries, watching the birth of our children and how they grew into adulthood, with graduations and weddings along the way. We’ve been pleased to win a new contract, make a sale, or solve a problem that nobody else could. However, we’ve also experienced tragedies as well, such as a firing or demotion, losing a sale, accidents, and the death of family and friends. Due to repetition, holidays have lost their novelty and are viewed as burdens as opposed to joy.

Experience teaches us what works and what doesn’t. Our strong sense of history makes it frustrating to watch others commit the same mistakes you made. Consequently, we do not like what we see in business, in politics, and society in general. From this, we are all too willing to speak out, and offer our opinion, good or bad, and whether or not it was solicited.

Some would argue we resist change as we get older. I would argue, we readily accept changes that obviously help us, but resist what appears to be change for the sake of change. In business, many such changes are implemented based on naivete or ignorance of the past, and this is what my age group stubbornly resists. We also have trouble digesting unnecessarily complicated changes. For example, producing a system of medicine whereby the doctor spends more time completing patient records as opposed to practicing medicine, restaurants which are forced to reorganize kitchens over a minor health infraction, or using an order processing system that extends delivery as opposed to shortening it.

Over time, frustration builds up. Even though you bit your tongue for many years in order to maintain harmony, you can no longer help yourself in complaining about a situation, large or small. You feel entitled to complain based on your years of experience. There is only one problem though, you tend to turn people off and label yourself a dinosaur when you begin by saying something like,“Back in the day…”

Many of the changes we are getting are due to someone else’s complaint or registered grievance. Yet, when you complain, you are considered the problem in the way of change.

You also find you have to vent your frustrations, be it with a person or an inanimate object. The sad thing is, the inanimate object always wins the argument.

Such frustration is causing people of my age group to scream, “Enough is enough!”, which explains why a lot of people are ready to pack it in. However, in our eyes, we see ourselves as the child who exclaims, “The emperor has no clothes!” We deliver advice in the hopes people will not commit a mistake, or to point out techniques and tools that have been proven effective, and are frustrated when it falls on deaf ears. Our choice is simple, register a bitch or back off which is something we dislike immensely.

Yet, I suspect this phenomenon is not unique, that it has been going on since time immemorial. Being in our early sixties, we still have a dance or two left in us. It is not that we are physically tired, all my friends are still capable of performing their jobs. Instead, we grow mentally exhausted watching the world commit the same mistakes. Maybe this is nothing more than the passing of the torch.

So, yes, my peers are tired of the BS and are willing to tell people so. This leads me back to my daughter’s original observation; Yes, I am not as patient as I used to be, and for good reason!

“When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.” – Mark Twain

Keep the Faith!

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Copyright © 2015 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.

BRYCE ON SOCIETY
– Making the work environment unbearable.

One of the reasons Scott Adams’ cartoon, “Dilbert,” is so successful is because it hits close to home in depicting office life. Corporate management is one of Adams’ favorite targets in which they are shown as bumbling idiots. They are very determined in controlling all activities of the business. Their approach is predictably wrong, and they embrace every management fad that comes along. Because of their strong sense of authority and control, perhaps “goons” is a more appropriate label. This is essentially no different than Hitler’s goon squads during World War II where they harassed people, and practiced thuggery to implement the Führer’s policies. Under this approach, management’s policies are implemented top-down with no bottom-up input being tolerated.

Earlier this year, I wrote a column entitled, “Beware of the MBA’s,” whereby I made the observation today’s management tends to manage people more from a numbers point of view as opposed to a results perspective and their ability to work with others. I recently saw this first hand in a company with a national chain of outlets for manufacturing products. After several years at the helm, the founder and president stepped aside and retired. Shortly thereafter, the board of directors appointed a new CEO, someone with experience in the company but who was much younger and ambitious. The first thing he did was replace all of the regional sales managers with younger people (late twenties), and office managers in their early twenties. The more experienced sales and office managers were demoted and pushed aside. Instead of sales volume, the sales force was managed by a series of spreadsheets which considered the number of sales calls made, both in person and on the telephone. Instead of worrying about customer care and satisfaction, the numbers were of paramount importance. To make matters worse, whereas salesmen had previously been managed by the local sales manager, who was there to review their progress and solve their problems, the sales force now reported to a goon squad of regional sales managers, who were located out of state, and local office managers who acted as the eyes and ears of the regional managers.

This resulted in a serious morale problem. Since people were managed primarily by numbers, they became apathetic in the company’s business. They quickly realized concepts such as customer service and quality assurance were considered passé. They also knew they could easily outfox the young office managers who lacked experience. Over time, the office units started to experience delays in shipments to customers, lost revenue, sloppy inventory, and a general disregard for the company overall. Since they realized fighting the goon squad was futile, they undermined the company instead. Conditions became so bad, the employees began to resign, the key ones first (sales and customer service), then the clerical workers. Today, approximately 40% of the people in the local office have resigned and moved on. At first, the goon squad believed it would be easy to find replacements, but after realizing what the corporate culture entailed, the company can only afford mediocre workers. Maybe that is how management wants it.

Businesses certainly do not have a monopoly on goon squads. Nonprofit organizations typically have more than commercial enterprises. When the goons have captured the leadership of such groups, they recruit assistants and deputies not because they are intelligent or hard workers, but because they know how to follow orders with gusto, regardless if they know them to be harmful.

To the goons, it is not about offering inspired leadership, it is all about maintaining control over the organization and stifling resistance. It is no small wonder we live in an age of autocratic rule (Theory X). Goon squads are not interested in listening to the input of the workers. You either play ball or be prepared to be turned out. Such a management philosophy is dangerous in my opinion. It means spreadsheets take precedence over customer service, sales calls over sales volume, and in the case of nonprofits, suffocating rules over flourishing membership.

I am certainly not suggesting all companies operate in this fashion, but the reality is Scott Adams has a lot of material to work with for a long time. If we cannot relate to it, it wouldn’t exist. Unfortunately, goon squads are very much alive and well in this country.

Keep the Faith!

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

For Tim’s columns, see:
timbryce.com

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Copyright © 2014 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.