I think one of the most amazing things that we can accomplish in life is to see a vision then a plan become a reality. Whether you are an artist, a builder of houses or businesses, successful completion of the task requires a vision. Where do these visions come from? I think the answer to this is from somewhere deep within our life experiences. For the MBE, it may have been the experience of watching a family member struggle and perhaps succeed in their own businesses. For a corporate representative it could just as easily come from childhood experiences as from academic training. I wonder if you were to close your eyes for 30 seconds, breathe deeply and ask yourself what is my vision now: What would you see?
May 17, 2010
May 10, 2010
I recently published an article in the Banner Biz section of the Boston Banner entitled the School of Hard Knocks. In this article I make the point that an entrepreneur does not have to have graduated from a top business school in order to grow a substantial business and I use the example of Wayne Huizenga, the founder of Blockbuster Video, Autonation, and Waste Management. In all three businesses Mr. Huizenga started with a plan to build a large national enterprise in an already existing industry. The question I raise is, if he can do this why can't more minority entrepreneurs also make the move to consolidate or simply build major minority enterprises in some existing industries. We now have MBEs who have the skills to manage multi-billion companies. I am a firm believer that if you can manage well a million dollar company, you can manage a billion dollar company, or at least manage a billion dollar company as well as some of the CEOs who currently do. So I implore our MBEs to manage what they have excellently, but think big.
Arizona
Arizona is a beautiful state. Arizona is one of my favorite places to spend a week in the sun and mountains. After spending a week in Sedona many years ago, I felt that this is one place that should be on everyone's "bucket list". Yet the state has an unsavory racial history. The state was the last state to recognize Martin Luther King's birthday. And now the state has passed one of the most oppressive laws since the days of Jim Crow.
According to an article in the Arizona Daily Star here is a summary of the key provisions of the law:
1. It requires police officers to determine the immigration status of everybody they arrest before that person is released.
2. During any stop, detention or arrest, a police officer must try to determine a person's immigration status if the officer has reason to suspect the person is here illegally. An exception exists if making that determination might obstruct an investigation.
3. People who officers suspect are here illegally must show one of four approved identification cards to prove they are in the county legally.
4. In a change made Thursday night by the bill's sponsors, the law prohibits police from using race to establish reasonable suspicion that someone is here illegally. The original bill prohibited using "solely" race.
5. The law makes it a state crime to transport, conceal, harbor or shield illegal immigrants. There is an exception for child-protective-services workers, first responders, ambulance attendants and emergency medical technicians.
6. The law makes it a state crime for illegal immigrants to work in Arizona.
7. The law also makes it a state crime for somebody to stop on the street and pick up somebody for work, although it may be hard to prove - and because of the way the law is written this may still be OK as long as the driver pulls off the road first.
The law is clearly a reaction to very real problem facing the citizens of Arizona who see close to 400,000 immigrants cross the border from Mexico into the state each year. Often these immigrants are only temporarily in Arizona on their way to some other state in search of work. Immigration policy has traditionally been the purview and responsibility of the federal government not state governments. It is on this basis and the racial profiling that is certain to result from the administration of the law, despite the amendment made last Thursday night, that will likely strike down the law as unconstitutional. The political optics of the law are even far worse than the flawed legal basis of the law and as a result thousands of people took to the streets this weekend in Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, DC, San Francisco and elsewhere to protest the law. Boycotts of events and activities planned in Arizona are also picking up steam. The Obama administration has also announced an expedited review of the constitutionality of the law. Congressman Luis Gutierrez of Illinois was arrested this weekend in front of the White House protesting the law. Major League Baseball is seriously considering moving the 2011 All-Star Game out of Phoenix. This law has forced America to deal with perhaps the biggest domestic policy issue that we face over the next ten years: How do we - how should we, address the issue of millions of people who want to come into the United States in search of a better life?
Arizona's attempt to answer these questions has touched a raw nerve in some political camps and does not appear to be one that comes close to a consensus position. And make no mistake, this is also an issue that will impact just about every business. There are workforce implications. How we resolve this issue will impact consumer markets, housing markets, tax policy, health care policy and the costs associated with all of these.
I suspect that because of the public backlash, the current Arizona law will be either repealed, ruled unconstitutional, or so significantly changed that this current state of affairs is temporary. There are many decisions over the coming weeks that organizations, including corporate members of the NMSDC and MBEs will have to make regarding their "Arizona policy". In many ways it is unfortunate that the citizens and businesses in Arizona have to suffer for the actions of their legislators. I am reminded of what is known as Hanlon's Razor, "Never attribute to malice what can adequately be explained by stupidity". It is unfortunate that stupidity has triumphed in Arizona for the moment.
May 3, 2010
I frequently write about issues that may not be directly related to minority business development, but public education is not one of those issues. Several weeks ago, I wrote about the differences in the length of the school day in China and the school day in the U.S. I also have commented on the need for radical redesign of public education. Well, I guess someone is reading and listening. I was invited to join the State of Connecticut's State Board of Education Ad Hoc Committee to Study Funding for Public School Choice Programs. My first meeting is this morning. The Committee is charged by the Commissioner of Education and the Board to look into more equitable ways to fund and distribute the almost $4 billion in state money for the education of students in Connecticut's public school choice programs, including charter schools, magnet schools, regional vocational schools , open choice programs and technical high schools. I certainly would like to hear from MBEs and our corporate members on your thoughts on these subjects. This committee is scheduled to conclude its work in December 2010 with a report and hopefully legislation that will make changes that might make our public schools more effective places where our children learn.
April 26, 2010
Wow, is too weak a term to describe the feeling I had as our Gala weekend came to close late Saturday night in downtown Boston. So many things come together to make an event like this a success. So many people are involved from the musicians, to the printers, to volunteers, to the speakers and their staffs, to the venue, to the sponsors, to the simple logistics of getting people and things from one place to another. And as wonderful as this event turned out to be, it is only a step in the direction of what we want to accomplish here in New England, which is to significantly grow minority businesses and by doing that, create wealth in communities where wealth is needed. So we are back to work this week and will temporarily shut down our event planning operation and re-focus on our opportunity creation operation. Later today, I head down to Washington, DC. to meet with elected officials from the region to explain what we do and how they can help. I hope that all who attended were inspired as I was to do more to accomplish our glorious mission. Thank you.
April 19, 2010
Twenty five years of teaching allows you to develop a persona that can make students feel proud as well as guilty. It comes from too many years of being the judge, jury and executioner in the classroom. Last week in a moment of professorial frustration, I sent out an email to corporate members who had not registered for the upcoming Gala. I asked that they consider attending or identifying someone within their very large organizations that could attend to represent their organizations, since this is an event designed for their benefit and the benefit of our MBEs who want to meet new potential customers and partners. The intent of the missive was not to invoke guilt, but apparently it did in some, and for that I apologize. Not because guilt might be inappropriate, but because making people feel guilt is hazardous to the source of that guilt - that being me and the Council. I certainly do not want our organization built on feelings of guilt. Our organization is built on the premise that minority businesses can help large businesses prosper and the development of those minority businesses is good for the community at large. I believe this to my core, and I believe our supporters in the corporate world and the minority business community believe it as well. In the future I promise to remember that corporate members are not my impressionable charges who need to be smacked on their knuckles with my electronic ruler.
April 14, 2010 Special Edition
Bill Introduced to Eliminate Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities in Connecticut
The Connecticut State Assembly has introduced legislation that would eliminate one of the oldest public civil rights organizations in the United States. The Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities was founded by an act of the State Legislature in 1943, predating the U.S. Civil Rights Act by over 20 years. "The mission of the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities is to eliminate discrimination and to establish equal opportunity and justice for all persons within the state. "
House Bill 5323 would take the responsibility of contract compliance, MBE utilization monitoring and employment discrimination remediation away from the CHRO and give that authority to the Department of Administrative Services (DAS). The Department of Administrative Services is part of the executive branch of state government with responsibilities to let contracts and to manage the state's supplier diversity program. The CHRO is currently responsible for matters of contract compliance as a way to provide checks and balances to the system that historically has been unfriendly to the interest of minority businesses and minority employees. Currently the CHRO monitors the procurement by State Agencies with regards to minority spending, which has been a disaster in recent years. Minority businesses have simply not gotten a share of state contracts that would be consistent with a fair and open system.
It is not that DAS is inherently incapable of taking on these responsibilities. The issue is that this law would create and exacerbate unmanageable conflicts of interest within DAS. DAS has never represented the interest of the minority business community and it is unlikely even with the authority provided by this legislation, that it would do so under this or any administration.
Yesterday, I met with the Black and Latino Legislative Caucus, the Executive Director of CHRO, the State President of the NAACP and others at the Capitol. The sentiment in the room was that this legislation must not be allowed to pass. In addition, there was strong feeling in the room that some of the political problems the CHRO is currently experiencing is of their own doing. The CHRO has over the years lost of some of the close connection that it once had to minority communities and those interested in promoting equal rights and opportunities in employment and in contracting. The CHRO has experienced reductions in staff and budget consistently over the past 10 years making it a less effective and relevant organization. But the need persist in the state to have an organization like the CHRO that is independent from the Executive and Legislative branches of government to monitor and oversee contract compliance and anti- discrimination laws. The CHRO also can and should provide plaintiffs and defendants a cost effective mechanism to resolve disputes. The CHRO can and should monitor and report on the utilization of MBEs and encourage a fair distribution of state contracts among all businesses in the state.
This bill could be considered as soon as this Friday by the State Assembly. We call on all MBEs, corporate members and others to call their State Representatives and State Senators and urge them to vote against Bill #5323 and to encourage them to provide the funding necessary for CHRO to do its job.
April 12, 2010
If your sales are not keeping up with plan: If phone calls to your sales team have slowed to glacial speed: If your customers seem to run for the exits when they see you coming; you might be suffering from Slow Sales Syndrome (SSS). SSS is a common condition that with medication and counseling can be overcome. The solution to SSS includes purchasing two tickets to the GNEMSDC Gala and preparing to bring your A game to the event. Results are often immediate. Call the GNEMSDC for more details on SSS and tickets to the Gala. In rare cases side effects have been reported, including frequent trips to the bank to make large deposits, desire to drive fast in 2 seater convertible sports cars, feelings of invincibility and giddiness, a desire to kiss and shake the hands of perfect strangers, and over stimulation which can last more than 4 hours. If you experience any of these symptoms call your doctor or the GNEMSDC immediately. You do not have to suffer with SSS in silence. There is a solution to SSS.
April 5, 2010
Economists, demographers and planers are at work looking at what America will look like at mid-century, in what is called America 2050. While it sounds far off into the future and chances are, I and many of you will be long gone from the scene, it really is not that distant. How many of you remember 1970, only a short 40 years ago? The America 2050 forecasters are projecting an America that will have 11 megaregions of economic and political activity. They are: the Northeast; the Piedmont Atlantic, Southern Florida, the Gulf Coast, the Texas Triangle, the Great Lakes, the Front Range (Rocky Mountains), the Arizona Sun Corridor, Southern California, Northern California, and the Pacific Cascades. These megaregions will, in the view of forecasters, be where the economic, cultural and political action is likely to be centered. Most of these megaregions will also be majority minority. The project is looking at the transportation, energy, and infrastructure needs of these megaregions and how they connect to each other. There are already signs of cohesion within several of these areas as political boundaries break down because of technology and improved infrastructure. While much of what we do is going virtual, we will still need to live somewhere in a community. These communities will get larger and our antiquated political systems will most likely lag these developments. But our businesses cannot afford to be behind the demographic and structural changes that are inexorably taking place as we speak long before we get to America 2050. Are you ready for change?
March 29, 2010
Have you noticed in the NCAA men's basketball tournament that the underdogs seemed to do very well against some of the giants of college basketball? Georgetown, Kansas, Syracuse, Villanova, to name a few teams that were ousted earlier than most thought. I heard a statistic that of the over 4.5 million people who completed brackets only 3 had a perfect bracket after the first 33 games. There are several lessons I take away from this experience of heated competition. First, it is hazardous to assume victory when confronting a motivated and prepared opponent. Leadership requires that the team be motivated and prepared. Secondly, play the game from the very start like your life depended on it. Too often losing teams did not wake up and start playing until it was too late and the deficit they faced was insurmountable. And thirdly, block out the noise. These games have been compelling because for the most part they have been played on neutral sites. However, fans love underdogs, so teams who are supposed to win often face hostile crowds. This sometimes seems to shock these teams and their coaches. Winners focus on the five players on the court and not on the thousands in the stands. For entrepreneurs, these lessons are directly applicable. I recently read the Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi. I highly recommend it for MBEs who want to learn more about competitive strategy from the perspective of a samurai warrior. Business and basketball are forms of conflict where victory is not random.
March 23, 2010
When I was a young boy, my mother thought that one day I might become a veterinarian because I would often bring home stray dogs, cats and other furry animals, only to be told in no uncertain terms that I could not keep them and to take them back to where I first encountered them. While not of the same degree, I think my daughter has developed similar instincts. This week was spring break at Princeton and she brought home some college friends who live too far to go home for a week( a Canadian, a Dominican and Chinese national). Our Chinese guest, who goes by Rebecca to her friends at Princeton, because she said she liked a book where the main character's name was Rebecca. I learned from "Rebecca" that in her province her school began at 7:30 A.M. every morning and ended at 10:00 P.M. every night except on Saturday when it ended at 3:00 and they mercifully had Sunday off. When asked to describe those seemingly long days, I learned that the school day included time to work on assignments under the supervision of teachers and accomplished students. That the day included time to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. That the curriculum was demanding and the expectations of student performance high. There are many lessons I gleaned from this short visit by Rebecca. Interestingly the Wall Street Journal ran a story this Saturday, titled "The Kase for Saterday School". Which reinforced what I learned first hand from Rebecca. The Chinese spend 41 more days per year in school than the typical American kid. Albert Einstein once said that genius is more perspiration and inspiration. If we as a nation do not address these educational deficits, our economy, our standards of living and our ability to compete will be dramatically impacted in a negative way. The fact is - it already has. Our thinking about public education is no longer just an issue for parents, children and teachers. This is an issue for us all, particularly business leaders. There is no avoiding the reality that our education system is long overdue for dramatic and radical change for the benefit of our youth, our businesses and our country.
March 8, 2010
In a few short weeks, the NMSDC leadership and the Regional Councils will be convening in Washington, D.C. for our annual NMSDC Quarterly Meeting in nation's capital (April 27-29). This will be the second year that we have chosen to come to Washington for the Spring Quarterly Meeting. The purpose of the our meeting is tied to its location. GNEMSDC staff, directors and the MBE Input Committee Chair and perhaps others will be fanning out on Capitol Hill to meet with legislators and their aides. The purpose of these meetings is to share with the Greater New England Congressional Delegation, 12 U.S. Senators and 22 Congressional Representatives, our message and mission. We also are highlighting the needs of minority businesses throughout the region. We are not lobbying for particular legislation - that would be a potential violation of our 501-c-3 charter. We are informing Congress that there is a constituency of businesses that is often overlooked in the formation of policy. We have detailed statistics on our corporate membership and the certified MBEs in our Council, but if you have a story you want to share with us, we would be happy to share that story with the Congress. Winning the hearts and minds of Congress takes more than statistics. MBEs have been particularly hard hit by this recession and many have done extraordinary things to keep their employees active and on the payroll. Congress needs to hear your stories. A little help and understanding from Washington can go a long way towards improving conditions for all Americans.
March 1, 2010
I was recently laying awake thinking of my unlikely journey to where I now sit. I started this self indulgent trip down memory lane thinking about my great grandfather, Papa Brown, who was born in Mississippi in 1864 the son of a former slaveholding white planter and a slave mother. Family legend has it that Papa Brown left Mississippi to come to Arkansas in the 1890s under some duress after having a fist fight with his white half brother. In Arkansas he married a Choctaw Indian woman who Papa Brown called Sweet Georgia Brown. Papa Brown and Georgia had 20 children. You can see why they called him Papa. One of their daughters, Mattie Christine Oma Katie Lee Barbara Brown (yes that is one person, you would think that with so many children the names would be short and sweet) married Silas Davis. Silas was a preacher and a farmer in a town called Tilla, today population 247, where my mother was born. By 1940, Silas and Mattie with my mother had moved to the big city, Pine Bluff. My mother and father met at what was then called Arkansas AM&N where they married while still in school and in their late teens. I was the second son, born in Pine Bluff in 1954. We all have phenomenal stories of overcoming incredible odds to get where we are today. Those rich histories have helped to shape us, our way of thinking and even how we look. Even today my mother calls me Papa Brown for my iconoclastic views on things that apparently are strangely similar to the thoughts and beliefs of someone who lived 150 years ago. As I stopped this historical bit of entertainment, I concluded that whatever struggles I face, and probably this is true for you as well, they are miniscule compared to the struggles of generations past. So suck it up and get it done.
February 22, 2010
One thing I remember from my college psychology class was the concept of cognitive dissonance. If I recall correctly, it is when there is a contradiction between what a person believes or desires their behavior to be, and what their actual behavior is. This dissonance results in frustration and stress. Last week, I spoke about the common question I hear from MBEs who are seeking to do business with corporate members. I also know that there is cognitive dissonance when it comes to our corporate community. Corporation members by their nature are large organizations with diverse goals made up of individuals with diverse agendas. Well run corporations have alignment of the organization's goals and those of the people who manage them. Supplier diversity in well managed companies is aligned with the primary goal of shareholder wealth maximization. But at the tactical level, buyers who are judged on their ability to buy at the lowest possible cost given a quality constraint tend to be extremely risk adverse decision makers and sometimes view increasing opportunities as increasing the probability of a problem of one type or another. This creates the potential for organizational cognitive dissonance. I hear this complaint from MBEs who ask does XYZ corporation walk the walk as well as talk the talk. I am convinced that our best companies and our best supplier diversity managers work tirelessly and often without appreciation, inside or outside their companies, pushing their companies in ways that the goals and aspirations of minority suppliers are in sync with the primary goal of shareholder wealth maximization. So as frustrating as corporate members get with our MBEs on the issue of their value proposition; MBEs get similarly frustrated with corporations in their struggle to resolve their internal cognitive dissonance. I believe the solution to the corporate dissonance problem is for corporations to communicate as clearly as possible to MBEs what, if any, are the real opportunities are for MBEs. To communicate clearly with MBEs in a timely fashion when they call or request information about opportunities. For corporations to encourage MBEs to get larger in order to meet their requirements, by acquisition, merger or through joint ventures. And, for corporations to educate their large suppliers to also participate by increasing opportunities for MBEs. Only by doing these things can we bring corporate members' actions closer to their ideals. I have a couch in my office and welcome new patients.
February 16, 2010
There are a few questions that I hear regularly from MBEs. Questions like: Which corporate members are most committed to supplier diversity? Or, Who do I know at so and so corporation? But the one question I most hear from MBEs is: How do I become a supplier to XYZ corporation? I most often admit that there is no simple answer to this important question, but that there are some things that a prospective MBE must do in order to become a supplier to one of our corporate members. First, the MBE must have a concise statement of their value proposition for that particular company. This is different from a general statement about what you can do for every corporate member. A client, a customer is not all that interested in what you can do for other customers. A customer is interested in what you can do for them. This specificity requires understanding who that customer is and what they are trying to accomplish and how your company can provide a solution to that particular customer's problems or support that customer's goals. Secondly, the MBE must have identified a range of opportunities that match their capacity and capabilities, and where there are gaps in those, the MBE must have an identified solution for the corporate customer. Thirdly, the MBE must have a game plan, a strategy, for marketing to the corporate member. This game plan must be realistic in terms of time, energy and resources that are necessary to complete the mission of securing contracts with that corporate member. And finally, the MBE must have the patience, perseverance and confidence to see this through. If the MBE is at the point of blaming the corporate member for not doing business with them, this is an indication of failure not on the corporation's part, but in one or more of the areas identified above. Could our corporate members do more? Absolutely, they can. But this is business for them. The value of your minority certification is that it gets you an audience and the opportunity to make your case when thousands of other companies would go to extreme measures for this opportunity. We can help you with honing your presentation to the corporate member. We can offer our support and recommendation based on your past performance. We can direct you to companies that based on our knowledge might make the best candidates for your company's goods and services. But ultimately the ball is in your court once the opportunity is created. Successful entrepreneurs answer the questions.
February 8, 2010
Sometimes I feel like an old geezer when I recall those early days before the PC or the internet. I hate to admit it, but my Yale dissertation was actually typed using an IBM Selectric typewriter. This was not because I was a Luddite. (Luddites were early 19th century English workers who smashed labor saving machines in an effort to save their jobs.) That Selectric typewriter was state of the art at that time. It had a cool feature that allowed you to backspace and erase a typo. In the early days of the internet and websites, companies compared the hits to their site like some macho geek thing. I recently looked at some internet statistics on the GNEMSDC and was, I have to admit, pleasantly surprised to learn that we recorded over 116,000 hits to the www.gnemsdc.org site in January of this year! If we keep that up, we will record over 1 million hits a year! Now I also have to admit, I have no idea what this means relative to other similar sites, but I take some soothing comfort and confidence in my ignorance on this matter because 116,000 hits in a month seems like a lot to me. So, if it seems like a lot to you as well, maybe you want to consider being an Annual Sponsor, becoming a new corporate member or a newly certified MBE, becoming an advertiser on our website, or being featured in our weekly e-newsletter. Just think of the movers and shakers you could reach. Even if you are not an old-timer like myself, you might be still be impressed with these numbers. If you are not impressed and determine that neither should I be impressed, break it to me gently, being nice to seniors is good.
February 1, 2010
January 25, 2010
I recently heard an interesting story on how the late scholar John Hope Franklin was having lunch at an exclusive Washington club the day he was to receive the Medal of Freedom from the President Bill Clinton in 1995, the nation's highest civilian honor. As Dr. Franklin was waiting for his party another guest came up to Dr. Franklin and asked him to take his coat, assuming Dr. Franklin was on the staff of the club. Gracious and erudite, Dr. Franklin informed his fellow guest that he was also a diner and that he was about to visit the White House to receive the Medal of Freedom. The man quietly and embarrassed took his coat and hung it up himself. I tell this story because something very similar happened to me this weekend while visiting a Lexus dealership in Westport, CT. While I was out on the lot looking at vehicles a man drives up and asks me if he should leave his car here and attempts to give me his keys. I thought about Dr. Franklin and I informed the man that I did not work at the establishment and that I too was a customer, but if he wanted to give me his keys and his car as a gift, I would take them. We sometimes make many assumptions based on how people look without ever thinking of engaging them in conversation with an open mind. I am sometimes guilty of this as I am sure we all are. But presumptions such as these can be devastating to MBEs or to persons whose self perceptions are fragile. These experiences are cautionary tales of our need to be aware and in the moment and not on automatic cruise control when interacting with real people.
January 19, 2010
Haiti is on our minds. It has moved us to tears and to compassion. It has reminded us of our tenuous hold on life and what passes for civilization. It has forced us to confront our priorities, our families our very existence. Haiti has made us question our connectedness to each other. Haiti's suffering compels us to respond with the generosity that makes us human. Give, give and give more. Haiti not only needs us; we need Haiti. Haiti is not your fault, or for that matter anyone's fault, least of all the Haitian people, like some ignorant antediluvian sociopaths (Pat Robertson and Rush Limbaugh) want us to believe. Haiti gives us an opportunity for redemption where there is no guilt. Haiti allows us to feel natural again. Haiti gives us something to contrast the unmitigated greed of Wall Street bankers to. Haiti reminds us that we have work to do now here as well as there.. This is 9/11 and Katrina all over again with a chance to get it right this time. So give, give and give more, and as you do you will find that you are also living more.
January 11, 2010
There is a commercial out now that has two young girls and an adult man sitting at a child's table. The man asks one girl if she would like a pony. He then reaches in his pocket and gives her a toy pony about 6 inches high. The little girl smiles at her new toy. He then asks the other little girl if she would like a pony. She says yes and from around the corner comes a real pony. This little girl is completely and totally overwhelmed with joy. The first girl, the recipient of the toy pony then confronts the man and says, "you did not say I could have a real pony." To which the man responds, "you did not ask for one". The incredulous look on the little girl's face at being scammed by the adult is priceless. Now you could argue that the recipient of the toy pony was not aware of all of the options. Economists and psychologists have long theorized on how seeing what others have impacts your own happiness. But the second lesson here is in the response of the man, "you did not ask for one". If there is anything I have learned in business (and life) it is that you have to ask for what you want, you just might get it.
January 4, 2010
I have never put much stock in New Year's resolutions for myself, or for that matter for the ones that others make, consequently I stopped making them. The ability to control behavior that is oppositionally counter to sensory delights is asking for far too much of my mortal existence. This is not to admit to or to condone anti-social behavior, or behavior harmful to oneself. Perhaps I have been overly influenced by my recent study of evolutionary biology, which suggests most behavior if not beneficial to survival will lead to destruction. However, if I were able to come up with a resolution to change the most aberrant aspects of my behavior, I would resolve to be far less critical of the imperfections in others. Although I tolerate and sometimes even relish in my own imperfections, they are afterall what make us unique and sometimes interesting. Others may have not reached the same level of shall we say - "enlightenment". I therefore resolve to be less judgemental of others and do that fully understanding and acknowledging that others are under no reciprocal obligation with regards to my own actions and behavior. The answer to the question of whether this resolution hinders my ability to lead, to manage people or processes I believe is a resounding - no. We have a mission to accomplish economic growth and viability for minority owned companies and to promote relationships between these companies and our corporate members. That mission is not personal, it is business and this certainly requires my critical assessment and judgement of performance and alternative courses of action, but righteousness is not requred. So let us collectively resolve to accomplish that mission, and have fun doing it!
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