Illusion of Choice

The Best Article Every Day posted this last week. While divestment and investment may change the configurations, it does show how choice is NOT between companies as often as it is just between different brands within a company. Follow link to a larger version of the chart.

Might There Be a Connection?

I talked briefly about TV preacher Pat Robertson yesterday. I also recently saw a report that religious leaders are no longer among the most trusted in leadership positions. LiveScience posted an article from the international PR firm, Ketcham. In their "Ketchum Leadership Communication Monitor," they found that business executives lead the pack when it comes to lead and communicate well. Clergy were not as well respected and, in the posting got included with politicians, non-profits and celebrities.

According to the report, LiveScience says:

people think business leaders do the best job of providing leadership, with 36 percent of respondents saying business leaders are doing an "excellent" job of leading. They are also most confident in business leaders.

At the bottom of the leadership list were celebrities. Only 19 percent of those surveyed felt celebrities were good leaders and 22 percent said they were poor leaders.

Leadership skills among various groups ranked as follows:
·         Business
·         Nonprofit organizations
·         Politicians
·         Religious leaders
·         Sports figures
·         Local community members
·         Celebrities
--Link

It would appear that the main reason for this is "poor communication skills."

Somehow I have a hunch that there is something about this has been the result of TV preachers, the problems of abuse in the church, and generally the decline of religion in many people's eyes as an "honest" profession. To be in the same league as "politicians" is pretty humbling.

Which may be what many of us need.

This is obviously not a well-thought out idea for me, but it is a start that has made me think- or in reality the "survey" may reflect other biases that are unclear in the report.

In any case, it raises the issue. What does each of us fit in this?

Let me think about it awhile.

A Yearly Reflection

I think of this a number of times a year, but none as much as on Black Friday. I listen to the run-up to the "holiday shopping" season and find myself in the same place, year-in and year-out. Now, in this continuing time of a "recession" or whatever it is now, it is all the more worrisome.

It boils down to one huge and overwhelming thought:

Unless you go out and spend lots of money our economy is going to be in trouble. Unless you plan on being A Consumer, you will not be doing your All-American Patriotic duty.

It scares me with that every year. We get castigated for saving too much or not spending enough. No one ever tells me that I need to save more and spend less- except for the debt relief agencies. No one tells me that it might be a good idea to give fewer gifts this Christmas, or at least more meaningful ones.

There is something off-balance with a system that needs to push more and more products on more and more people every year in order to do more business and make more profit than last year. No, I am not being a Scrooge. I like giving gifts for Christmas; I like receiving gifts for Christmas. But as a civic duty? Buy a car and put it in the living room with a cute BIG bow on it? Diamonds and big screen TVs?

I don't know for sure what I am going to do this season this year. As I get closer to retirement age I am more and more aware that the day will be coming when I will not have the resources I do today. I won't need as much, either. So I won't buy as much superfluous stuff. I am sure Target and Wal-Mart and Best Buy and all the others who kept the newspapers alive for another week with their ads yesterday will think I am not really being caring and helpful. How can I truly celebrate Christmas if I am spending less than before?

And I haven't even mentioned the Baby Jesus in a bare stable.

We've Done This For Years

Seth Godin, guru-extraordinaire, posted this the other day:

I had to smile. That has been the rule around our house for years- in fact as long as I can remember. It didn't matter whether it was a piece of cake or a piece of steak- the one who cuts doesn't choose the first piece.

The ultimate in fairness.

Anything But Temptation

Back in August I bookmarked a release from Eureka Alert that at one and the same time

• states the obvious and
• makes us stop to realize that we aren't as strong as we think we are.

The release was titled:

Research shows temptation more powerful than individuals realize.

The research underlines why people often fall prey to addictions, obesity or Ponzi schemes. The study was led by Loran Nordgren, senior lecturer of management and organizations at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern. Here's money quote #1:

People are not good at anticipating the power of their urges, and those who are the most confident about their self-control are the most likely to give into temptation. The key is simply to avoid any situations where vices and other weaknesses thrive and, most importantly, for individuals to keep a humble view of their willpower.

To most of us who work in the addictions field, this comes as no surprise. Our lives our filled with the clients who walk out of treatment absolutely, positively convinced that they will never drink again. They got it. They understand it. They won't make that mistake again. They have found strength.

But it is not about strength. It is about underestimating how strong temptation is and overestimating the human capacity to overcome it. The truth is found in the old quote from Oscar Wilde:

I can resist anything but temptation.

But if it were only about addictions and drugs or gambling this would not be nearly as important to realize as it is.

Here's money quote #2 which takes it beyond what I do for a living to a much greater world.

A system which assumes people will control themselves is going to fall prey to ... restraint bias; we expose ourselves to more temptation than is wise... And, while our study focused on personal behaviors like smoking and eating, it is easy to apply our findings to a broader context. Understanding the power of temptation, you might also ask about the extent to which we need oversight or regulatory guidelines for business and political leaders.

Think:

• The market will always temper the extremes (will-power!)
• I'm hiking on the Appalachian Trail.
• How much is that Senate seat worth to you?
• It all depends on what your definition of "is" is.
• Send in your $$$ and we will pray for you.

I know, now I'm one of them meddling preachers. I guess this research shouldn't come as a surprise to those in the religion business either.