A Worrisome Wednesday

At east for me and I hope alot of other Americans the loss of both John Edwards and Rudy Giuliani is a big blow ot our hopes for some positive changes come November.  I am a Republican, always have been, but as I get older I have begun sliding more towards the middle especially on social programs.  The plight of too many Americans who cannot afford healthcare, housing and even to feed their families is something that has touched me . 

So with the coming of a new president I thought, “Yes, now is the time for some change.”  I did like Rudy, and being from NY I can tell you he did a great job with NYC.  Its a better place to live, almost no one I know disputes this.  Did he step on a few liberties along the way, he sure did, but the overall effect, at least to me, was well worth it.  He took on the crime families both as DA and Mayor, he cleaned up the business districts and spurred the local economy.  No one sees homes dropping in value in NYC.  Rudy also broke away from the party line as being pro choice, and although personally I am pro life, I dont feel we should legislate my sentiments on others.  Its a shame to see Rudy go.

John Edwards had caught my eye when he was on the Democratic ticket as VP.  Its a shame Kerry was such a left wing liberal, for I feel Edwards would have done a great job and been a breathe of fresh air to the ol boys club DC has become.  His stances against lobbyists and for the plight of the poverty stricken were both admirable and in the end what caused his downfall.  Those on the poverty line you are fighting for dont donate money to campaigns and like it or not it takes money and lots of it to win.  His plan to revise Social Security and take away that absurd cap on income that is eligible for Social Security taxes was brilliant.  So simple yet possibly so effective.  John Edwards more than anyone else was ready to make changes , bring accountability and possibly make this country stronger and I for one hope we have not heard the last of him…hey Barack does an Obama-Edwards ticket make good sense??

Which leaves me with decisions on Super Tuesday and although I am not ahppy with it at least for me John McCain is the lesser of the evils that still exist,, and he could show me alot if he was to make Joe Lieberman more of an influence ot his campaign.  Looks like November for this vote will come down to choices the candidates make from here out.  Do they stay within the friendly confines of normal politics or do they try to bring change and radical change at that.  Politics make for strange bedfellows I look anxiously to see who will be sleeping with whom…but I ramble

Thoughts on Leadership

As many stuck in middle management I, at times, get wondering how my leadership style compares with others.  I know I have met many people whose style I respect but know it doesnt work for me, as well as many that baffle me as to how they were able to manage such success being complete idiots ( I will save this ramble for another day).  Last night I saw an interview with Ken Chenault from Amex done by Tisch.  I can only wish that top execs around the country took heed in what this man not only was saying but how he has lived the example.  His quote of Napoleon was so thoughtful and on point.  “Leadership is identifying reality and giving hope.”  How profound in a culture where most leaders try to hide or mask reality giving a false sense of hope, generally leading to despair shortly after.  I got the sense of a personal stake in the well being of others and not the me first, golden parachute attitude so many of todays corporate leaders take.  There is nothing more distasteful to the workers than to see the executive washroom littered with raises and bonuses while the common worker lay in fear of not being able to keep up with the cost of living or worse yet laid off as a cost reduction.  I did see last week in Fortunes list of the 50 best companies a comment where one company does not allow anyone to make more than ten times the salary of its lowest compensated employee, a step in my mind in the right direction.  During these times of uncertainty and slow growth I look to see how many of our corporate leaders realize that the base and foundation of their companies is what they can build on and that even the prettiest of penthouse cannot stand without its strength….did I ramble again?

To hire or not

Sometime in my position I need to make choices that affect the lively-hood of others, today is one of those days.  I have two candidates looking to fill a position here.  One real qualified but doesn’t seem to have the drive to move past where he has settled and one who is real green, yet shows tremendous drive and determination.  Its a tough question cause there are different answers to the question.  Short term the answer is easy one can do the job one cannot, its long term where thing becomes more complicated.  NY nowadays is not the culture where people make careers.  Its more of the quick hit type of atmosphere and then on to the next large jump.  SO many questions going on in my head…devote the time and resources to bring someone up to speed with no guarantee that they will stick around once done?  Plus what about my security how will a short term hit or chance reflect on me…yes i know selfish but still a consideration.  So I ponder what to do and frankly I haven’t made up my mind so I thought why not ramble…

Democrats squabble

Last night although I am a registered Republican I watch the debate with all the Democrat candidates.  I watched basically because I am not a John McCain fan and thought hmmm wonder how bad the other side really is.  My opinion of Hillary Clinton has not changes.  She is a self promoting, stab you if I have to, do anything to help herself politician.  I kinda knew this living in NY where she has done nothing since her carpetbagging move put her into the US Senate.  Now I do not believe Barack is electable.  I am sure there will be a big difference when Joe middle America isnt speaking to a pollster from his living room but rather pulling a lever behind a curtain.  I was however very impressed with John Edwards, not only for what I thought was a good sense of what the real issues are, but with the savvy he handled the constant bickering of the other two candidates.  In this Republicans opinion he almost has me leaning his way…too bad he wont get to an election I can vote in…but I ramble

Fluther

So over the last few days I have been obsessed with Fluther  At first I thought that this would be more of a techy geeky type site where folks would ask different coding questions and such, but it is not.  The questions range a broad spectrum of categories and the answers from what I have been able to gather are pretty good.  You get your occasional jackass but it is the exception not the rule here.  I attribute sites like this to the basic fact that so many people, especially those who are younger tend not to trust the “establishment”.  So a site that has UGC questions and answers has the ability to garner a level of trust that alot of the more commercial sites do not. 

My question is more “Why hasn’t a larger company swallowed this up”? Even if your company doesn’t span the full range of questions they cover.  I have seen Martha Stewart talk on a few shows about a Marthapedia type site, questions and answers to homekeeping etc, but that trust issue will be a big factor.  Hey you love her or hate her but few, at least in the US have not at least heard of her so how does a new way to search what she has generate traffic?  Or more than she already has…maybe allow her followers use their own voices to spread the word further?  Dont know the answer to all this just one more thing I am rambling about…..

Back in the Saddle

Seems that I am back after a while without blogging.  Some projects at work and the birth of my son took time away from writing .  Now things are settling in so back to the keyboard I go.

I have learned many things in the past few months.  The most shocking is that 2 kids under 2 are more than double the work of 1.  Now when you are alone you are outnumbered.  Who gets attention when, who can walk away versus, the oh my god is he going to roll today.  It pulls you in many directions both literally and figuratively.  I am sure that many out there have gone through the same exercise and have fared much better than I.  Kudos to all of you

Work wise Non tech exec has been given his walking papers so IT here is now down to just two levels of management.  The CIO and then the rest of us, its a very flat and at time ineffective structure since to advance you need to cut the legs out of one of your peers.  A tactic that I am really not fond of, its easier to sit back and watch them fall on their own.  Less emotional turmoil.  I see that American idol has begun again, not sure why I am addicted to all those folks making fools of themselves but I am.

So now that I have begun writing again I hope to continue at least daily rambling