Friday, July 26, 2013

To Apologize with Meaning


To Apologize with Meaning

•Admit you’ve done something wrong and you need to make up for it.
•Take full responsibility for your actions and sincerely apologize to anyone you’ve harmed.
•Apologize with urgency.
•Tell anyone you’ve harmed specifically what you did wrong and how you feel about what you did.
•Recognize that what you did is inconsistent with who you want to be.
•Make amends and demonstrate your commitment to not repeat the act by changing your behavior.

As far as public apologies go, San Diego Mayor Bob Filner did pretty well, however his effort to make amends are not commensurate with his offense and there is not enough trust to believe his sincerity in changing his behavior.

Lesson:
•He waited too long.
•His "fix it" gesture is too small.
•He's trust bank account is overdrawn.

Only way to salvage position: 
1. Overcompensate with making amends, personally and publicly.
2. Borrow trust from loyal surrogates who have enough public trust to vouch for him. (Extremely unlikely)

Monday, July 22, 2013

The Rambling Part

It's been awhile since I've posted here. I've had a lot on my mind. Usually when I have a lot on my mind I write it out, so that's weird.

The focus of this space is supposed to be on my insights, rambling and sneak peeks of new projects I'm working on. Today, I'm blogging real time, unedited so it's safe to say this one is going to lean a little heavy on the rambling part.

So let's catch up.

My Company - Since 2009 I've been self employed. This has been liberating, freeing, horrendously frightful, humbling, inspiring, stressful ... and every other adjective you can conjure. My focus has been gradually shifting to where I'm currently specializing in helping to encourage professional women to maximize their potential. There are a lot of reasons for this. You can catch up on Karl Bimshas Consulting things here: http://www.bimshasconsulting.com

My Writing - Most of my writing has been focused on non-fiction. Ghost-writing, inspiration, business communication, programs and marketing. Important stuff, though it doesn't feed the soul. Earlier in the year I published my second novel,  He Loves It When She Smiles a bittersweet and humorous romance set in 1980s Boston. I had hoped to get my next one out before summer's end, but numerous  distractions are slowing that prospect down considerably. That is a crappy excuse I would chide any writer for making, but there you have it. The cobbler's kids have no shoes.

Insights - That's a pretty arrogant heading isn't it. The belief that I have some special insight into something that you, gentle reader could glean something from. At the end of the day, that is what we all have. A point of view, colored by our values and beliefs articulated in some form or fashion provide insight. You can agree with them or not, that's your prerogative. My prerogative is sharing them or not.
So here's one.

I don't think we're trying hard enough. 

Okay Yoda freaks, I agree, there is "do or do not, there is no try" ... so, I don't think we are doing enough -- and we sure as hell can do better. In what? Everything. And you know it.

Look, I don't mind political correctness to a certain extent. There's value in being respectful and at least attempting to tolerate someone with an opposing point of view, experience, etc. It would be even better to hear them out and try to understand and then, perhaps amend or enhance your current thinking. That would be progress, show signs of intellectual curiosity, which is crucial for effective leadership, and I believe a better way to live. You don't have to agree with everything, but you don't have to be a dick either.

Let's stop deluding ourselves. Race, Gender and Class remain major problems in this country. Has there been progress? Of course. Have we regressed? Absolutely. I'm an optimist, (actually a pragmatist) I know we can fix our ills. I also know we have enough intellectual capacity and will to fix them quickly. That's more than hyperbole. We have the capacity to solve every problem we imagine. Why then, do we insist in creating future problems before we solve the ones already before us?

It is ludicrous to me, those who think we have moved beyond race, gender or class issues. I know it's not easy and today's premise could be wrong tomorrow, but do were really still need to entertain members of the flat Earth society. We have allowed our LCD to reach sub-terrarium levels. This is our own fault, but we can fix it.

First, We must stop giving air to those who refuse to acknowledge today. They are not even a funny sideshow anymore. We've allowed them into the center ring and honestly they shouldn't even be selling peanuts.

Second, after we acknowledge a problem we need to address it, not celebrate it. It's not enough to moan and groan about the way things are. Those who do that are just as bad those newly hired peanut sellers above. On and on they drone about our ills and injustices. You're preaching to the choir. Go outside and lead, dammit.

Third, as a nation we have incentives to keep growing our problems. People make money off society's ills .... a lot of money. Stop feeding them. Pick something you can fix and go fix it. Raise your own standards. Stop putting up with crap,

Okay, maybe more of a rant than a rambling. Do with it what you will.