Thank Goodness It's Monday #325

THE WORLD IS FLAT

AND OTHER UNIVERSAL RULES TO LIVE BY

(OR NOT)

The world is flat. In your youthful grammar school days (daze?) weren’t you taught that “flat world” … you’ll sail off the edge … “there be monsters” in the uncharted ocean, were “universal rules” that Christopher Columbus didn’t accept, and by his voyages, subsequently demolished?

Did this picture of Columbus
hang in every grammar school?

If you went to my grammar school when I did (shortly after Chris made his voyages) that was the simplistic lesson that conveyed a kinda complicated --

Kid-hood Takeaway: The history lesson suggested that abiding by conventional wisdom and “universal” rules was, perhaps, not the correct path.

On the other hand: I say the message was kinda complicated because, at least in my upbringing, there were “Universal Rules” that were, no doubt, the correct path. And you defied these at your peril.

Example: The absorbed-in-childhood rule for crossing the street: “Look both ways!” No doubt a necessary bit of guidance.

Example: Or “Don’t talk to strangers” -- a cautionary kid rule which you should now disregard at every networking opportunity.

Example: Or “Do as I say, not as I do.” What’s a kid to make of an imperative like that?

Uh oh …

As good as those rules may be at some point in our growing up, clearly our adult successes are often built around or improved by other rules -- often presumed to be Universal -- which we incorporate into our lives and our philosophies and aspire to live by.

Example: The fundamental Rules of Self-Improvement –

#1: It will be difficult.
#2: It will be worth it.

Got it? Great! So a good rule for getting even more from this TGIM is to consider these –

Universal Rules To Live By

(And even if you don’t find them “Universal”

You’ll no doubt find them Useful)

The Universal/Useful Rule of …

• Time management: Make the time because you’ll never find the time.

• Happiness: Don’t seek happiness. Create it.

• Laughter: Be able to laugh at yourself.

• Winning: The will to win is not nearly as important as the will to prepare to win.

• Preparation: Dig the well before you’re thirsty.

• Sales: Stop selling and start helping.

• Overcoming adversity: The best way to forget your own problems is to help someone else with theirs.

• Getting what you want: Ask for it.

• Dealing with others: Patience.

• Goal setting: Shoot for the moon; even if you miss, you’ll end up among the stars.

• Risk taking: If you don’t take a chance, you’ll never stand a chance.

• A successful product or service: Be first, best, or different.

• Fitness (or healthful living, or weight loss): Eat less and exercise more.

• Overcoming procrastination (aka The Nike Rule): Just do it.

• Starting the day off right: Say “Good morning!” even if it isn’t.

• Being interesting: Be interested.

• Being a great student: Ask good questions.

• Being a great teacher/leader: Keep being a student.

But wait, there’s more.

(Not much more.)

But an important “more.” Although we now know that the many learned folks on the scene in 1492 or thereabouts understood the earth as a globe and other scientific truths, let’s call it --

The Columbus Day Rule

(The rest of the year it’s called The First Rule of Rules.)

There’s usually an exception to every rule

– including this one.

Were these Useful Rules for you? Did they make you smile … or say, “That’s true” … or at least bring some long “forgotten” rule you’re guided by back to top-of-mind awareness?

TGIM ACTION IDEA: Share please. Post a response. Or reach out directly at tgimguy@gmail.com.

It would be cool if your Universal/Useful Rule can be stated concisely like these.

But it’s not necessary. I’d love to read your rules and maybe even include them in future TGIMs.

Just tell your story to the best of your ability. And if you have a source or attribution, please share that. Thanks.

But wait, there’s more.
(But not much more, really.)

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Here are just two more Universal Rules that should guide our thinking:

• • The Last Rule of Rules: Reading these or any other rules is not enough. If they are to work for you, you have to use them.

• • Geoff’s personal rule: Everything Happens For The Best – For Those Who Make It Happen. (EHFTB-FTWMIH.)

Make it happen.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square
Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com   

P.S. “Rules are made up for people who aren’t willing to make up their own.” Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager -- retired major general in the United States Air Force and noted test pilot (the first pilot to travel faster than sound in1947) said that. 

Thank Goodness It's Monday #324

8 PROVEN-IN-ACTION WAYS

TO DEFUSE CONFLICT

All too often people who interact frequently are at odds with one another; particularly in today’s economically pressured workplace.

Out of the frying pan: People behaving badly inevitably make matters worse, hamper the productivity of the group and can affect the well-being of everyone concerned.

Into the fire: It just takes two folks battling to create workplace-wide tension, cause bottle necks in workflow, stop projects and profits dead in their tracks.

But is it your responsibility to bring warring parties together, help them sort out their differences and create a harmonious atmosphere?

As a diligent TGIM reader you probably suspect it is.

And, if you’ve got the tools to do the job, maybe it is.

So let’s see if we can give you some of those tools.

The critical first steps: How do you determine if The Situation (No Governor Christie, not the Jersey Shore character, although …) is serious enough to warrant your intervention?

Here are some guidelines:

► Are the people involved constantly overreacting? Is their behavior disproportionate to the severity of the situation?

Case In point: If two people are having a screaming match about a document – say, a new product spec sheet -- it probably signals that the conflict goes much deeper than a disagreement about quality of printing or the graphic design.

► Have issues become inextricably entangled with the personalities involved?

Case In point: Sometimes a person will reject a proposal or refuse to back a project just to defy the person who proposed it, regardless of its merit or lack thereof.

► Is everyone hearing the same thing?

Case In point: Often when people are at odds they misconstrue everything the other says, invariably assuming the worst. Do you get two completely different stories when you talk to each person alone? That’s indicative of a communication problem. The question then becomes “How bad a problem?” Communication may be blocked by misconceptions or, at the extreme, may be nonexistent.

In situations such as these it might be beneficial to intercede and mediate between feuding parties.

Here are 8 proven-in-action steps for defusing conflict. You may fill in your own best practices at any step along the way:

1: Get to Switzerland. Get those involved to hash out the problem in neutral territory. Meet in a conference room, maybe your office, maybe off premises – but not in either party’s “territory.”

2: Come together. If possible, seat opposing parties close to each other. In most cases it’s harder to stay hostile when the opposition is close. Choose a seating arrangement that invites discussion, for example, at a round table or in a circle or semi-circle so no on appears to be in charge. Sit with them, not behind a desk or at the head of the table or such.

3: Become “Swiss.” Act as intermediary. Leave your own biases at the door. Don’t appear to take sides during the meeting even if you favor a particular point of view. Remain cool and calm, even if the discussion gets heated.

4: Get the facts. If the situation involves documents or evidence, make sure everyone knows the need to provide them in advance and put copies in hands of each opponent in advance. Listen to each side in turn. Don’t let either party interrupt the other. Record your impressions.

5: Help clarify misunderstandings. “Bob, you thought that your Marketing Department takes the lead here, is that correct? “And Sue, you believed that it was the responsibility of Sales?”

6: Act as a conciliator. Help both parties see and reach an amicable solution. “Bob, what if the next time you receive a spec list from Engineering, you schedule a three-Department sit-down including Sales to establish a priority order of the features and benefits for the promo material?” “Who do you think would best represent Sales in that meeting, Sue; you or a particular rep who you’d designate?”

7: Let them hash it out. If the solution is not immediately apparent, ask both parties to reach a middle ground themselves. Set a deadline. “We’ll meet again on Wednesday. Please come prepared with ways this issue can be resolved.”

8: Pull rank only if necessary. Be willing to arbitrate and stand firm by your judgment. If the parties can’t come up with their own solution, devise one of your own (get higher-up permission if necessary). At what seems the final impasse, announce your intent, but not your solution. “Since neither of you can see how to proceed, I’ll settle it. And I’ll expect you to abide by my decision. So before I do, please make one more try.”

TGIM ACTION STEPS ROUNDUP: If these steps and opportunities don’t get people in conflict to pull together, plan how you will enforce your #8 settlement, impose it and back up your words with action.

That’s what I’m doing now. I promised 8 guidelines at the start. And I suggested that you had the opportunity to add your own best practices. So go use them.

Now I’m backing up my words with action and ending this TGIM.

And I don’t expect to hear any grousing about it.  

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square
Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com   

P.S. “Whenever you're in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.”  William James (1842-1910) Psychologist and pragmatic leader of the philosophical movement of Pragmatism said that.      

Sound the shofar. Welcome a New Year, 5772

MAY YOU BE INSCRIBED AND SEALED

FOR A GOOD YEAR

L'shanah tovah . That’s the greeting commonly exchanged on Rosh Hashanah – commonly known as the Jewish New Year.

The sentiment is understood to mean "for a good year.” It’s the quickie shortening of the sentiment "L'shanah tovah tikatev v'taihatem" (or, according to the Judaism 101 website, to women, "L'shanah tovah tikatevi v'taihatemi"), which means –

"May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year."

In a Washington Post photo (Steve Jessmore - AP) 
Harel Cohen, age 6,
 blows a shofar,
typically made from a rams horn,
to commemorate Rosh Hashanah.        

In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, "head of the year" or "first of the year." The holiday is instituted in Leviticus 23:24-25, where Moses is instructed, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of sabbath rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts.’”

Of course there is little similarity between Rosh Hashanah, one of the holiest days of the year for Jews, and the December 31 midnight bash followed by a New Year’s Day of endless football “bowl” games.

There is, however, at least one important similarity between the Jewish New Year and the “traditional” non-sectarian one:

• Many of us, regardless of religious convictions, use the December-becomes-January New Year as a time to plan a better life, making "resolutions."
• Likewise, the Jewish New Year is a time to look back at the mistakes of the past year and plan the changes to make in the days ahead.

The ten days starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur are commonly known as the Days of Awe or the Days of Repentance. This is a time for serious introspection, a time to consider the sins of the previous year and repent before Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.

One of the ongoing themes of the Days of Awe is the concept that there are “books" where a supreme deity records our names, writing down who will live and who will die … who will have a good life and who will have a bad life, for the next year.

These books are written in on Rosh Hashanah, but our actions during the Days of Awe can alter the divine decree. The actions that change the decree are repentance, prayer and good deeds (usually, charity). These books are "sealed" on Yom Kippur.  

This concept of writing in books is the source of the "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year" greeting.

No matter the source or depth of your beliefs, the underlying concepts of Rosh Hashanah -- spiritual introspection, retrospection and resolve -- and/or December 31 secular “resolutions” have legitimacy and power. 

As the co-creator with my friend Eric Taylor of a very secular “How To Have Your Best Year Ever” program I’m fond of reminding folks that a “new” year begins whenever you decide to change things. 

And the start of the Jewish Year of 5772 fits that standard. 

Sound the shofar.  

Striving to be inscribed and sealed in the Book of Life. 

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373

tgimguy@gmail.com   

P.S. Another popular practice of the holiday is Tashlikh ("casting off") in which the observant walk to flowing water, such as a creek or river, on the afternoon of the first day and empty their pockets into the river, symbolically casting off their sins. Small pieces of bread are commonly put in the pocket to cast off. This practice is not discussed in the Bible, but is a long-standing custom.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #323

THE LESSON OF

THE BEST CUPCAKES IN TOWN

 I live in a town that, along with the rest of the USA of late, has been caught up in “gourmet cupcake mania.”

Cupcake array

with the not-so-subliminal

Alice in Wonderland

“Eat me” message.

More specifically, as higher-rent storefronts along the main street and around the “fashionable” downtown retail district become available, they are occupied by well-intended-but-unproven “bakers” plying their trade with offerings of high-end cupcakes and other Cake-Boss-wannabe bakery goods.

A tasty idea, certainly.

But --

Most of these enterprises don’t last the length of their leases.

Blame it on the cooking shows, lifestyle magazines and cable channels I guess. The reality of the business is --

It’s not as glamorous as it seems. Surely there are many factors contributing to the quick demise of these cupcake emporiums, starting with the naming process.

Can “KupKake Korner” really be an enduring business? House o’ Cupcakes? YumYum Cupcakes? CupCake Corral? Brownie Points?

But I digress …

Just call me The Cupcake Curmudgeon.

Catchy names aside: Any moderately successful business person might intuit some of the lack-of-longevity causes. And other troublesome factors are, no doubt, unique to the business of baking. So few outside the industry have an intimate enough understanding to discuss knowledgably.

But still –

That didn’t stop me from griping about this entrepreneurial foolhardiness at a recent breakfast gathering of “trusted advisors.”

And there a friend shared the following story of a cupcake entrepreneur who, in the search for perfection, nearly sacrificed her success.

The beginnings of the tale – apocryphal, I suspect, but instructive nonetheless – have a familiar ring.

Praised as a homemaker for providing “the best tasting, most popular cookies” and cupcakes and other bake goods for all manner of grammar school birthday parties, PTA fundraisers, Scout outings, and the like -- and encouraged by her family -- she took modest steps toward making her baking into a profit-making enterprise.

And, surprise!

Her dough started making dough. (I couldn’t resist.) Her early commercial efforts were rewarded with success.

But as demand and production rose, she worried that the non-uniform shape of her output didn’t measure up to her high standards and did not reflect well on her. Despite a pretty good grip on the business basics --

The baker became so caught up with the ideal of striving for perfect, unvarying cookies that production stalled.

Sure, every cookie and cupcake delivered by the bakery was perfectly and uniformly proportioned. But to achieve this perfect output, shipments were delayed, new marketing went untended, and the new enterprise slipped back from a promising start and was barely breaking even.

Kid wisdom to the rescue. In the midst of this journey to the brink of disaster, one of the baker’s children observed –

“Gee, Mom ... 

All your cookies look just like the packaged kind.”

In that moment the baker realized that her core customers weren’t necessarily looking for or buying "perfection."

No one cared much about the uniformity of her cookies and cupcakes.

They cared about the taste. Making “the best tasting cookies in town” resumed – with each baked good having its own unique shape.

No “cookie cutter” cookies. Sales picked up, productivity kept pace easily, and the business expanded. And not one cookie in the batch looks exactly like another.

TGIM Takeaway: Striving for perfection is noble and good. But keep in mind that what’s “perfect” is often unattainable and may actually be undesirable.

As Shakespeare observed in King Lear: “Striving to be better, we oft mar what’s well.”

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: Set and aim for lofty goals. Just make sure your passion matches the desire of the world at large.

And that’s one way to insure that the cookie doesn’t crumble.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing
8 Depot Square
Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373
tgimguy@gmail.com   

P.S. Icing on the cake:

         “Ring the bells that still can ring.

          Forget your perfect offering.
         There is a crack, a crack in everything.
        That's how the light gets in.”

Singer, songwriter and poet Leonard Cohen sang that chorus in Anthem, a song he claimed took him 10 years to write. It was released around 1992. 

Thank Goodness It's Monday #322

WHAT MAKES A KING OUT OF A SLAVE?

That question was posed by Bert Lahr in his role as The Cowardly Lion in the movie classic, “The Wizard of Oz.” 

Remember it? He answers rhetorically, “Courage!” 

In the movie the bit where it appears continues:

Cowardly Lion:

Bert Lahr
as The Cowardly Lion
imagines himself
"King of the Forest"

What makes the flag on the mast to wave? Courage.

What makes the elephant charge his tusk in the misty mist or the dusky dusk?

What makes the muskrat guard his musk? Courage.

What makes the Sphinx the 7th Wonder? Courage.

What makes the dawn come up like THUNDER?! Courage.

What makes the Hottentot so hot?

What puts the "ape" in ape-ricot?

Whatta they got that I ain't got? 

Dorothy & Friends:  Courage! 

Cowardly Lion: You can say that again. 

Courage is a word that appeared often recently – and rightly, I think – relative to the 10-year anniversary of the events of 9/11. 

But I also think extraordinary events produce extraordinary behaviors and that the courageous examples exhibited by so many on that occasion are the exception, not the rule, in daily life. 

Evidence: The character of The Cowardly Lion. As with all the characters central to the Oz fable, it’s the long-term recognition of some aspect of universal human frailty in each of them that makes the story still attractive and resonant.  

• Like the Wizard, we all have a touch of humbug.
• Like the Tin Man, we all suffer from a lack of “heart” from time to time.
• Like the Scarecrow, we have moments when we neglect to use our brains.
• Like Dorothy, too often we aren’t appreciative of the good things that surround us daily.
• Like the Wicked Witch, we can be entirely self-absorbed and greedy beyond our needs.
• Even like Glinda the Good Witch – “Only bad witches are ugly,” she comments -- we can neglect to fill people in with the knowledge we possess that would make their lives dramatically less complex.

(I’ll spare Toto harsh comparisons although he doesn’t do much more than dog around after the Yellow Brick Road Quartet. But, after all, he is a “real” four-legged dog doing what comes naturally, I guess.) 

Still, setting that recap of foibles aside, let’s focus today on the trait that brought this all to mind: Courage. 

As I type and right-click the word, my computer gives synonyms like bravery, guts, nerve, valor, daring, audacity, fearlessness, fortitude, spirit. 

But those are just words that might replace the word “courage” in a sentence. 

What concerns us daily in the real world when we’re trying to get past our Cowardly Lion mode is, I feel, the concept of “having the courage of one’s convictions.”  

TGIM ACTION IDEA: More than “having courage” we want to be courageous; to act in accordance with what we believe, in spite of fear of danger -- or criticism. 

We seldom need to prepare ourselves for the bravery required of first-responders or soldiers in combat. But we do need to summon courage to face individual fears that, at some level, are their equal. And we must face choices that, for a similar reason, are difficult for us and so require an extra level of courage and conviction to make without conforming or compromising. 

Worse: We go up against many of these situations armed only with the school-yard axiom – “Be brave … but not stupid.” 

Thanks a lot!  

So maybe there’s a clue about “how to be courageous” in the little speech the Wizard makes before he grants the Cowardly Lion’s request for “Courage.”  

The Wizard speechifies: 

“As for you my fine friend, you are a victim or disorganized thinking.

You are under the unfortunate delusion that simply because you run away from danger you have no courage!

You are confusing courage with wisdom.

The Cowardly Lion
receives his
Triple Cross
Legion of Courage

Back where I come from we have men who are called heroes.

Once a year they take their fortitude out of mothballs and parade it down the main street of the city.

And they have no more courage than you have.

But, they have one thing that you haven't got!

A medal!!

Therefore, for meritorious conduct, extraordinary valor, conspicuous bravery against wicked witches, I award you the Triple Cross.

You are now a member of the Legion of Courage!” 

Better, perhaps. But still not very actionable.  So let’s conjure up some --  

TGIM IDEAS IN ACTION: Here are a handful of proven-in-action courage-fortifying steps: 

►Believe in yourself. Find yourself and your values and define yourself on your terms. Find the time to contemplate and challenge your ideals and take time to consider what makes up the essence of who you are. As part of this, reflect on your life and choices. Try to think about what kinds of things you would or wouldn't like to do, and prepare in advance to act accordingly. 

►Surround yourself with people who understand and believe in you. Just like the Oz foursome. A courageous sense of self-value can be enhanced if you give yourself the opportunity to be part of a group that thinks it must do something. Believing in the worth of the skills and abilities you contribute is key to using them well and this is bolstered by the acknowledgement and compliments of those who care about you. 

►Have a good attitude. When faced with something frightening, think of it as a challenge that can be changed into an opportunity. It’s clichéd in part because there’s great truth underlying it. 

Even stronger, adjust your mindset and –  

►Turn the challenge into a duty that you have to do. That’s the lesson of the mindset of first responders. When you have the courage of that level of conviction, you can just deal with situations that appear to call for extraordinary courage. When you do not have to question the circumstances … when you must face them, you suddenly find yourself reaching on reserves inside yourself that you probably didn't realize were there.  

►Start with small things to gain confidence. Take less consequential, small steps and accept the challenge (opportunity/duty) of small choices to gain confidence in your ability to be courageous. Trust your instincts, skills and judgment and face the challenge head on. 

►Don't hesitate. As you become secure in your ability to make good choices and thereby accomplish brave things, you can gain confidence in yourself and be more secure about your abilities in general. If you can swim and dive from the low board, taking too much of a pause before “taking the plunge” from a higher board doesn’t help. Climb up, quickly assess the situation for the simplest, safest option and go for it. Then build from there. 

That’s about it for today’s TGIM. I’m going to be courageous and stop now so we all have the opportunity to test our newly enhanced skills.  

Now everyone join with me and The Cowardly Lion and say in your best Bert Lahr voice -- 

“Read what my medal says: ‘Courage’. Ain't it the truth? Ain't it the truth?” 

Claiming a place as King of the Forest. 

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373

tgimguy@gmail.com     

P.S.  “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” Courageous, limit-pushing author and diarist Anaïs Nin (1903-1977) said that.

Thank Goodness It's Monday #321

 SHARING A LIFE LESSON FROM 9/11

Did the world change a decade ago on September 11, 2001?

Yes – but …

Even a decade (plus a day if you’re here on Monday) later, I can’t adequately explain it, not even to myself.

And, no offense, but you can’t fully and convincingly explain it to me, either.

Still, of this I am certain: While we all share the experience and/or its aftermath in our collective psyche, no one version of it aligns directly with any other.

That’s the oddity of our human experience.

Granted, to most of our minds the events of 9/11 are without precedent, at least in the modern age.

from Remembering 9/11
Photographs and Words
by Martha Cooper
ISBN: 978-1-9356130-9-1

But, at the decade mark, has any event been remembered … commemorated … analyzed … dissected … memorialized … venerated and lamented as this one has?

The sheer quantity of public “cultural” endeavors centered on this anniversary is staggering as is their tone and substance. They range from political posturing to argument, sentimentality, reflection, criticism, pride, patriotism, anger, sadness, mourning ….

Pick your state and any combination of feelings.

No doubt about it: The evolved technology of these earliest days of the 21^st Century presented the opportunity for literally millions to communicate the images and sounds of the experience as well as their impressions, memories and biases with, well, anyone with a digital connection.

So how has all this changed things? What I thought and felt a decade ago has evolved. And it continues to. As it should.  For me; and, I think, for you.

What 9/11 means to me, and the thinking and behavior that’s come about over 3650+ days that have passed since the day’s events, is certainly informed by what others experienced and have shared.

But still, any one individual’s experience is not the same as any other’s. 

It’s the parallax view. Parallax is an apparent displacement or difference in the position of an object viewed from along different lines of sight.

Parallax illustration
from Wikipedia

So, for example, the driver of a car sees something slightly different from the person riding in the passenger seat. (And in the days when car speedometers had a rising “needle” to indicate accelerating speed, the difference between the driver’s eye and passenger parallax view would invariably lead to cautionary comments to “Watch how fast you’re going!”)

And so it goes with “viewers” of 9/11. No matter what, our views are slightly different. Because I was not and am not now standing where you were/are standing, our views won’t align exactly. No matter what, our views are slightly different.

Of course, we may “share” our thinking. So your perception of the experience – 9/11 or any experience-in-common – might be influenced by mine as mine might be by yours. But even then, the outcome is still uniquely – and rightly – individual.

So I wonder if all the ambiguous and ambivalent “looking back” that’s has been and will be going on around this anniversary date is adding significantly to the collective wisdom?

And since “coverage” seems somewhat unavoidable, I wonder if it’s of any value to comment on it.

Or is the correct thing to do, especially for those of us who are of an age and in such a proximate location to the World Trade site to be more deeply involved, to remain observers only?

TGIM ACTION IDEA: My decision has been to write this blog and share it with you.

Why? Because, as I continually maintain:

Writing focuses your thinking. And I find focused thinking is beneficial to the process of coping, learning and understanding.

TGIM IDEA IN ACTION: If the info and opinion and reminiscence overload of this year’s commemoration of 9/11 has you feeling ambiguous and ambivalent, perhaps ‘writing your thoughts down” can be cathartic and useful for you, too.

And in the process perhaps we – each and all – will begin to better understand the “Why?” of our 9/11 feelings.

• Asking, “Why?”
• Trying to focus my thinking.
• Seeking wisdom and understanding.

 And hoping you’re able to successfully do the same.

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373

tgimguy@gmail.com   

P.S.  “For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others. The true test of our devotion to freedom is just beginning.” These are among the closing words in A Long Walk To Freedom, the 1994 autobiography of Nelson Mandela.

And he continues, evoking the message of Dr. Martin Luther King: “I have walked that long road to freedom. I have tried not to falter; I have made missteps along the way. But I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come.”

Finally the Nobel Peace Prize winner concludes – as befits the commemoration of an event on the scale of 9/11: “But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.”

For more on Martha Cooper's book, connect to Amazon Remembering 9/11 or Mark Batty Publisher.

For more on Nelson Mandela's autobiography, connect to Amazon Long Walk to Freedom: With Connections (HRW Library)

Thank Goodness It's Monday #320

“WE MEAN TO UPHOLD THE DIGNITY OF LABOR”

It was another Jersey Boy – born-in-Caldwell, NJ (1837) President Grover Cleveland – who, in 1894, signed the legislation that made Labor Day a federal holiday.

Jersey Boy
Grover Cleveland
(1837-1908)

Of course, as “Thank Goodness It’s Monday” has clicked over 320 times in 6+ years,  we get to address Monday holidays repeatedly. So, not to “belabor” the point (yes, an intentional pun; I was “working” up to it), here’s a quick look back before getting to a Labor Day 2011 TGIM Takeaway or two.

It’s generally accepted that the first major Labor Day observance in the United States was September 5, 1882, by the Central Labor Union of New York (a branch of the Noble Order of the Knights of Labor, a secretive labor union founded in 1869 by a clique of Philadelphia tailors. The initiation oath: “We mean to uphold the dignity of labor.”)

It became a Federal holiday in 1894.

Here’s why: Following the deaths of a number of workers at the hands of the U.S. military and U.S. Marshals during the Pullman Strike, legislation making Labor Day a national holiday was rushed through Congress unanimously and signed into law.

Cleveland and other politicians put reconciliation with the labor movement as a top political priority. The September date was originally chosen by the CLU of New York.

Unlike more strident May Day Socialist/Communist “Labour” observances around the world on May 1, the form for the September celebration of Labor Day in the US was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday: A street parade to exhibit to the public "the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations," followed by a festival for the workers and their families.

And now, we all celebrate. Whether you are part of an organized labor group or not, Labor Day marks the traditional “end of summer” … back-to-school signal … beginning of football/NASCAR season … last day to wear white and still be thought “fashionable.” (More on that last bit later.)

TGIM TAKEAWAY: While these days we seldom relate to fairly valuing the sort of “sweat of your brow” physical effort that labor organizing in the 1880s was about, we still have strong views on the value of the individual’s contribution to the world of commerce and the disparity between wealth classes, real or imagined, in our democracy.

LABOR DAY 2011 ACTION IDEA: Assuming this is a day you have the good fortune to be able to celebrate, sometime between the checking out your local Labor Day parade or similar civic celebration and the last official beer and burger before someone winterizes that pool, appreciate what we all have gained since the first Labor Day.

Here’s a thumbnail roundup:

• Child-labor laws
• The 8-hour day/40-hour week
• Requisite time off or compensation
• Public education
• Minimum wages & other compensatory assurances
• Occupational safety & health protections
• Medical benefits
• Birth & dependent care allowances
• Unemployment safety nets
• Social Security
• Name your own favorite (Equal Pay Act, Civil Rights Act, National Labor Relations Act, ERISA pension standards, all have a connection to the labor movement.)

More than a century since Labor Day #1. This Labor Day let us remember the sacrifices endured and the challenges faced by organizing and organized workers, and acknowledge our indebtedness to this group who have played a significant role in making the American workplace what it is today for all working people, unionized or not.

LABOR DAY 2011 IDEA IN ACTION: In the spirit of Labor Day, rather than looking for scapegoats to blame for the nation’s profound economic problems, let’s resolve, starting tomorrow, to insist our politicians work – not just blather about – on helping get people back to work.

“Uphold the dignity of labor.” Real working people know the most straightforward way to get our economy moving as it should is to put more money back in the hands of working families, who will in turn spend their money locally.

Be bold! Speak up. Act on your ideals.

“A government for the people must depend for its success on the intelligence, the morality, the justice, and the interest of the people themselves.” Grover Cleveland (1837-1908) said that.

And finally –

About wearing white: Fashion rules are made to be broken by those who can pull it off.

Hoping to pull off wearing white year 'round as well as Uphold and Be Bold!

Geoff Steck
Chief Catalyst
Alexander Publishing & Marketing

8 Depot Square

Englewood, NJ 07631
201-569-5373

tgimguy@gmail.com   

P.S.  A few more notes about "Jersey Boy" Stephen Grover Cleveland:

Not often ranked in the pantheon of presidential “greats,” he’s still a pretty interesting study. Cleveland was the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents – 22nd and 24th. And he was the winner of the popular vote for president three times—in 1884, 1888, and 1892.

Grover was also the only Democrat (the leader of the pro-business Bourbon Democrats and an icon for American fiscal conservatives) elected to the presidency in the era of Republican political domination that lasted from 1860 to 1912.Despite his Labor Day attempt to curry favor with the working man, Cleveland lost his 4^th bid for the Democratic Party's 1896 presidential nomination to William Jennings Bryan (who received barely 100,000 votes in the general election).

Cleveland retired to his estate in Princeton, NJ, died and is buried in the Princeton Cemetery of the Nassau Presbyterian Church. His last words were "I have tried so hard to do right."