The President of the United States delivered a speech to the children of America. Yes, the kids. Any sane individual, one with even half a brain, could have anticipated, even written the storyline: stay in school, learn, you are the future leaders of America. And still, some adults called for a boycott.
Why?
We have become dangerously polarized as a nation. It began with the election in 2000, and has become progressively worse. Political affiliation rather than social responsibility has seduced otherwise intelligent individuals, while partisanship has reached new heights.
Are we, as a nation, prepared for the political polarization that has plagued nascent democracies, third world countries, and even industrialized territories, such as Puerto Rico and other Latin American countries? Are we prepared to drive through city streets, in long caravans, honking horns, waving our blue or red flags, following a 1982 Toyota Celica with a bull horn on top? Are we prepared for gangs of fanatics to gather at local parks, chanting for our political favorites, challenging anyone who dares to show support for the opposition? I have been and I don't think we want to go there.
As a parent, I want my kids to hear the President speak. I want them asking questions. I want to know what they thought about the President's speech. Do they agree? What would they ask the President about education? I want my children to recognize what it means to be president, and decide for themselves whether or not they wish to become president some day.
My two kids just started kindergarten. The pre-school they attended taught them to think and to inquire. If President Obama had even tried plugging his health care plan, his political party, or views on abortion, my five year olds would have inquired about it. Then I, as the adult, would have had a chance to talk to them. Wouldn't that be better than boycotting?
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Those who can't - - become Network Marketers
As the saying goes, “Those who can -- do. Those who can't -- teach.” Given the state of the economy and the unemployment rate, the business world could adopt a more appropo phrase: “ Those who can find work – will. Those who can’t –become network marketers.”
In December 2008, in the midst of the great recession, I voluntarily left my senior level job at Dell, where among other things, I led the marketing campaign for Dell's new retail point-of-sale product, or as my fellow marketers liked to joke - a cash register. It was the right decision for me, but that is a discussion for another day. I am enjoying my time off. For one thing, I am able to spend more time with two five year olds. I get them ready for school, make the sandwiches, fill their little lunch boxes with goodies, and 3 days a week I get to drive them to pre-school and listen to their favorite book series on CD about a successful businessmouse named Geronimo Stilton, which I highly recommend - but only if you have kids.
The day after I left, I walked into a Starbucks and booted up my personal laptop. The woman next to me said, “Vince, what do you do for a living?" Hey, what’s going on here? Do I know you? How did you know my… oh, you got my name from the coffee cup.
“I’m a free agent” I told her, smiling at my lame attempt at being witty. “Just left Dell.”
“Well good for you – welcome to the first day of the rest of your life!” she said somewhat triumphantly. Boy, was this comforting to hear.
The woman knew quite a few people in that Starbucks. I later found out that she is a representative of a company that promotes and distributes health and well-being products. That’s cool, I thought. Her job is to promote the company and sign up new distributors, to further promote and sell the product.
Several weeks later, at a different coffee house, I sat across from a young, well-dressed woman. As she got up to leave she glanced over and smiled. About an hour later she returned and sat down at my table. (At this point, I still had not come to appreciate the value of a good set of earphones.) The conversation began innocently enough. However, I became increasingly uncomfortable as she began to describe who she was and what she did for a living. Yes, she was promoting an anti-aging cream and a super duper machine to go with it. No, she was not looking for clients – although she did offer to perform a demo on my wife. Instead, she was looking to grow her network of distributors. Hmmm.
“MLM – multi- level marketing” my buddy said. “It’s where you get paid based on how many people you can get to join your network. Lets say you sign up four people, then each of those four sign up four people. Now you have 20 people in your network. Each person 'pays' to get the demo stock of that particular company’s product, and you get a percentage from each demo purchased by the new distributor.” Wikipedia defines multi-level marketing this way: The structure is designed to create a marketing and sales force by compensating promoters of company products not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of other promoters they introduced to the company, creating a down line of distributors and a hierarchy of multiple levels of compensation.
Not interested.
Within the last couple of weeks, two neighbors asked me over for coffee. “Wonder if you wouldn’t mind coming over to review something I’ve been working on….” was the message left on my voice mail. “Hey, I heard you were out of work. How would you like to have a cup of coffee, say tomorrow at 10? I’d like to introduce you to a friend of mine.” read the email from another neighbor. In both cases, they wanted me to sign up to become the newest “distributor”. All it would take was $159.
Now here’s the kicker.
I entertained every one of the conversations because as an unemployed marketer I believe in the power of networking. In every case, I thanked them for thinking of me, and politely declined. And, in each case the result was the same: crickets. As in silence, no response whatsoever. No, “thank you for time”. No, “I understand”. Not even a “…do you know of anyone else who may be interested.” If nothing else, wouldn’t this be an appropriate next question? Isn’t the goal to get new people to sign up? Don’t they teach these folks the definition of networking? Why had I been dismissed – or as my wife says – “you’ve been written off.”
At 40-something, I just completed my first full season of adult league baseball. I can still hit a fastball, leg out infield hit, and steal a base or two. Maybe MLM just isn’t my game. Maybe I’m not cut out for the whole pyramid scheme business. So if you must, go ahead and write me off. I just prefer to play a game that makes sense.
For additional discussions about mulit-level marketing, click here.
In December 2008, in the midst of the great recession, I voluntarily left my senior level job at Dell, where among other things, I led the marketing campaign for Dell's new retail point-of-sale product, or as my fellow marketers liked to joke - a cash register. It was the right decision for me, but that is a discussion for another day. I am enjoying my time off. For one thing, I am able to spend more time with two five year olds. I get them ready for school, make the sandwiches, fill their little lunch boxes with goodies, and 3 days a week I get to drive them to pre-school and listen to their favorite book series on CD about a successful businessmouse named Geronimo Stilton, which I highly recommend - but only if you have kids.
The day after I left, I walked into a Starbucks and booted up my personal laptop. The woman next to me said, “Vince, what do you do for a living?" Hey, what’s going on here? Do I know you? How did you know my… oh, you got my name from the coffee cup.
“I’m a free agent” I told her, smiling at my lame attempt at being witty. “Just left Dell.”
“Well good for you – welcome to the first day of the rest of your life!” she said somewhat triumphantly. Boy, was this comforting to hear.
The woman knew quite a few people in that Starbucks. I later found out that she is a representative of a company that promotes and distributes health and well-being products. That’s cool, I thought. Her job is to promote the company and sign up new distributors, to further promote and sell the product.
Several weeks later, at a different coffee house, I sat across from a young, well-dressed woman. As she got up to leave she glanced over and smiled. About an hour later she returned and sat down at my table. (At this point, I still had not come to appreciate the value of a good set of earphones.) The conversation began innocently enough. However, I became increasingly uncomfortable as she began to describe who she was and what she did for a living. Yes, she was promoting an anti-aging cream and a super duper machine to go with it. No, she was not looking for clients – although she did offer to perform a demo on my wife. Instead, she was looking to grow her network of distributors. Hmmm.
“MLM – multi- level marketing” my buddy said. “It’s where you get paid based on how many people you can get to join your network. Lets say you sign up four people, then each of those four sign up four people. Now you have 20 people in your network. Each person 'pays' to get the demo stock of that particular company’s product, and you get a percentage from each demo purchased by the new distributor.” Wikipedia defines multi-level marketing this way: The structure is designed to create a marketing and sales force by compensating promoters of company products not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of other promoters they introduced to the company, creating a down line of distributors and a hierarchy of multiple levels of compensation.
Not interested.
Within the last couple of weeks, two neighbors asked me over for coffee. “Wonder if you wouldn’t mind coming over to review something I’ve been working on….” was the message left on my voice mail. “Hey, I heard you were out of work. How would you like to have a cup of coffee, say tomorrow at 10? I’d like to introduce you to a friend of mine.” read the email from another neighbor. In both cases, they wanted me to sign up to become the newest “distributor”. All it would take was $159.
Now here’s the kicker.
I entertained every one of the conversations because as an unemployed marketer I believe in the power of networking. In every case, I thanked them for thinking of me, and politely declined. And, in each case the result was the same: crickets. As in silence, no response whatsoever. No, “thank you for time”. No, “I understand”. Not even a “…do you know of anyone else who may be interested.” If nothing else, wouldn’t this be an appropriate next question? Isn’t the goal to get new people to sign up? Don’t they teach these folks the definition of networking? Why had I been dismissed – or as my wife says – “you’ve been written off.”
At 40-something, I just completed my first full season of adult league baseball. I can still hit a fastball, leg out infield hit, and steal a base or two. Maybe MLM just isn’t my game. Maybe I’m not cut out for the whole pyramid scheme business. So if you must, go ahead and write me off. I just prefer to play a game that makes sense.
For additional discussions about mulit-level marketing, click here.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Sotomayor is wise...but is she really Puerto Rican?
My father once gave me this piece of advice: “Never discuss politics, religion, or sports with friends.” I was seven or eight at the time, and I am not sure why this sticks in my mind.
This brings me to Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s nominee for Supreme Court justice.
While vacationing over the Memorial Day weekend at our little cottage in Banco, Virginia, my sister-in-law asked me what I thought of the Puerto Rican Supreme Court nominee.
What? She’s Puerto Rican? How could I have missed that? Why hadn’t anyone told me? Sure, I knew she was from New York and a “wise” Latina. But Puerto Rican? Where was that e-mail alert – the one from the super-secret society of Hispanics? Had I forgotten to pay my annual dues? Why had I only received a “Say ‘No’ to Sotomayor, because-she- is- an- evil- liberal- and- please-forward- this- to- all- your- friends- and- family” email – from a relative?
A Puerto Rican on the Supreme Court means relatively little to me and everything in the world. You see, I have bigger issues to deal with regarding my Puerto Rican-ness. I recently found out, from a favorite uncle, that unless I was born in Puerto Rico I was not a true Puerto Rican. (I was born on Long Island, to Puerto Rican parents, then moved to the homeland at the ripe old age of 3). Born in New York, he argued, I was categorically and undeniably a Newyorrican. Egad!
So, I wondered – would a Puerto Rican born in Florida be a Florican and those in Boston, Bostorican? (Try this with some of your own favorite cities/states).
Troubled by all of this, I turned to my happy hour buds. To them, I am 'the Puerto Rican'. I ordered my usual, a Cuba Libre and began wondering to myself, if I am not Puerto Rican then who is the bigger liar, my drink or me. (Cuba Libre translates to "a free Cuba" and the drink is often referred to as “la mentirita” or “the little lie” since Cuba is anything but free.) Anyway, we talked about work, downsizing, re-orgs, and such. I told them I was taking a trip back to Puerto Rico and was finally introducing my wife and kids to the beautiful island. One of the guys had actually worked in Puerto Rico many years ago and loved it.
By most accounts, Sonia Sotomayor will fly through the confirmation process, barring any major missteps. Extremists – in this case paranoid conservatives - will continue to raise the “wise latina” comment and her ruling on reverse discrimination. Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky announced early on that he would vote against her nomination. (Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Orin Hatch of Utah have since joined him). Meanwhile, other GOP Senators - Richard Lugar of Indiana, the Senate's most senior Republican, Mel Martinez of Florida, the lone Hispanic Republican, and Olympia Snowe of Maine - announced they would vote for Judge Sotomayor, either because they are satisfied with her qualifications, or they are simply being cautious not to upset their Hispanic base. As far as Kentucky, there must only be a few Hispanics in the state– and even fewer are Kentuckoricans so his vote is understandable. Same for Senator Hatch. As for the Senator from Texas, I can never speculate as to why he votes the way he does.
So you see, having Sotomayor as a Supreme Court justice might just help clarify what it means to be Puerto Rican. On the other hand, maybe not. And while we are at it, is she really a Latina or is she Hispanic?
During the 1994 – 95 baseball strike, Sotomayor issued a ruling against baseball owners, effectively forcing both parties back to the negotiating table and she is credited with saving baseball. While that alone does not seal things for me, it is more of a reason to feel good about her nomination than worrying about whether or not she Puerto Rican or just another evil-doing liberal.
Oh, no. I have just mixed politics with sports. Lord, I should have listened to my father.
This brings me to Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s nominee for Supreme Court justice.
While vacationing over the Memorial Day weekend at our little cottage in Banco, Virginia, my sister-in-law asked me what I thought of the Puerto Rican Supreme Court nominee.
What? She’s Puerto Rican? How could I have missed that? Why hadn’t anyone told me? Sure, I knew she was from New York and a “wise” Latina. But Puerto Rican? Where was that e-mail alert – the one from the super-secret society of Hispanics? Had I forgotten to pay my annual dues? Why had I only received a “Say ‘No’ to Sotomayor, because-she- is- an- evil- liberal- and- please-forward- this- to- all- your- friends- and- family” email – from a relative?
A Puerto Rican on the Supreme Court means relatively little to me and everything in the world. You see, I have bigger issues to deal with regarding my Puerto Rican-ness. I recently found out, from a favorite uncle, that unless I was born in Puerto Rico I was not a true Puerto Rican. (I was born on Long Island, to Puerto Rican parents, then moved to the homeland at the ripe old age of 3). Born in New York, he argued, I was categorically and undeniably a Newyorrican. Egad!
So, I wondered – would a Puerto Rican born in Florida be a Florican and those in Boston, Bostorican? (Try this with some of your own favorite cities/states).
Troubled by all of this, I turned to my happy hour buds. To them, I am 'the Puerto Rican'. I ordered my usual, a Cuba Libre and began wondering to myself, if I am not Puerto Rican then who is the bigger liar, my drink or me. (Cuba Libre translates to "a free Cuba" and the drink is often referred to as “la mentirita” or “the little lie” since Cuba is anything but free.) Anyway, we talked about work, downsizing, re-orgs, and such. I told them I was taking a trip back to Puerto Rico and was finally introducing my wife and kids to the beautiful island. One of the guys had actually worked in Puerto Rico many years ago and loved it.
By most accounts, Sonia Sotomayor will fly through the confirmation process, barring any major missteps. Extremists – in this case paranoid conservatives - will continue to raise the “wise latina” comment and her ruling on reverse discrimination. Republican Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky announced early on that he would vote against her nomination. (Senators John Cornyn of Texas and Orin Hatch of Utah have since joined him). Meanwhile, other GOP Senators - Richard Lugar of Indiana, the Senate's most senior Republican, Mel Martinez of Florida, the lone Hispanic Republican, and Olympia Snowe of Maine - announced they would vote for Judge Sotomayor, either because they are satisfied with her qualifications, or they are simply being cautious not to upset their Hispanic base. As far as Kentucky, there must only be a few Hispanics in the state– and even fewer are Kentuckoricans so his vote is understandable. Same for Senator Hatch. As for the Senator from Texas, I can never speculate as to why he votes the way he does.
So you see, having Sotomayor as a Supreme Court justice might just help clarify what it means to be Puerto Rican. On the other hand, maybe not. And while we are at it, is she really a Latina or is she Hispanic?
During the 1994 – 95 baseball strike, Sotomayor issued a ruling against baseball owners, effectively forcing both parties back to the negotiating table and she is credited with saving baseball. While that alone does not seal things for me, it is more of a reason to feel good about her nomination than worrying about whether or not she Puerto Rican or just another evil-doing liberal.
Oh, no. I have just mixed politics with sports. Lord, I should have listened to my father.
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