Beware the Ides of March!

15 Mar 2012 2 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized

March 15th is the “The Ides of March” in the Roman calendar.  On this day, it was foretold that Caesar would meet his doom.  His wife warned him not to go to the senate but you no doubt remember his famous reply “Cowards die many times before their death, heroes die only once.”  Alas, Caesar went bravely to the senate and to his death.  In Marc Antony’s famous eulogy speech for Caesar, Anthony said about Caesar: “The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones; so let it be with Caesar.”   Perhaps it is a coincidence that this line from Shakespeare’s play “Julius Caesar” started resonating with me in my sleep last night. “The good that men do is oft interred with their bones.”  Perhaps it has to do with my recently reading the biography of Thomas Paine.  
Thomas Paine has been called by some the Father of the American Revolution.  His short monograph Common Sense helped to spread the ideas of the revolution.  According to Wikipedia: 
“It was passed around, and often read aloud in taverns, contributing significantly to spreading the idea of republicanism, bolstering enthusiasm for separation from Britain, and encouraging recruitment for the Continental Army. Paine provided a new and convincing argument for independence by advocating a complete break with history. Common Sense is oriented to the future in a way that compels the reader to make an immediate choice. It offers a solution for Americans disgusted and alarmed at the threat of tyranny.”
Based on his contributions to the revolution, many people even consider Paine to be one of the founding fathers along with Jefferson, Adams and George Washington.  Yet did you know that all of these men had repudiated their friendship with Paine and when Paine died in 1809 only 6 people attended his funeral.  Indeed his bones were later disinterred and to this day no one knows where they are.  Instead of being feted and admired, he died hated and ignored.  Today it is probably safe to say that not only has the good that Paine did died with him but few probably know or even care what brought so much opprobrium down on him.  Let’s take another case where the good that a man did was interred with his bones.  
In 1846, the United States of America went to war with Mexico. The major cause of the war was the fact that the USA annexed the state of Texas which Mexico still regarded as her territory.  The Mexican American War was not very popular in the USA and many regarded it as a naked bid for taking territory away from Mexico.  This feeling of naked aggrandizement continues to rear its head today amidst much of the anti-immigration rhetoric that gets thrown around.  Some regard the number of illegal immigrants as a wave of revolution forming a sort of “Reconquista” of California, Texas, Arizona and New Mexico by dint of the large number of Hispanics now occupying these areas.  
Nicholas Trist (1800-1874) was an American diplomat appointed by President James Polk to negotiate a treaty with Mexico.  This treaty is known as the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and was signed on February 2nd1848.  Trist had very strong feelings that Mexico was being treated unfairly and he wanted the peace treaty to be fair.  He did not have many supporters in the USA for his position.  Polk decided that Trist would not be tough enough on the Mexicans and ordered Trist home.  Through some subterfuge Trist ignored the instructions of Polk to return home and continued to negotiate with Santa Anna.  The end result was a treaty that actually ceded less territory than Polk and the expansionists wanted but still considerably more than Trist felt was fair.  It was a clear case of “to the victors, go the spoils.”  Trist later said of the treaty:
“My feeling of shame as an American was far stronger than the Mexicans’ could be.”
Trist was immediately fired for his insubordination, and his expenses during his time in Texas were not paid. Trist never held another major government position and was blacklisted in government for most of the rest of his life.  He died in relative ignominy.  A man who bravely stood up against public opinion and the President of the United States to do what he thought was right.  “The good is oft interred with their bones.”  In this case as with Thomas Paine, the good is ignored and the man seldom discussed in any American history lessons.  
As I write this blog, I am struck with the number of “unsung” heroes and heroines throughout history who now lie obscure and forgotten.  Perhaps a blog on these individuals would be a fitting epitaph and endeavor for someone to undertake.  As you go about the “Ides of March” today, think about someone who stood up for truth and justice when it was not popular.  Think about the quote that:  “The test of tolerance comes when we are in the majority and the test of courage comes when we are in the minority.”  – Ralph Sockman.   Who do you know who should be written about in the blog?  Who do you know who fits the quote that: “The good is oft interred in their bones?”  Drop me a comment; I would love to hear from you. 

What can we do to get more enjoyment out of our life?

14 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized

“Savor Time” like you would savor a good meal!  It is interesting that we can talk about savoring a good meal but when is the last time you heard anyone talk about savoring time? We seem to move so fast that time to savor time is practically non-existent.  So how would it feel to “savor” time?  When we savor a good meal, we linger over it, tasting every morsel very slowly and with great attention and concentration.  We let the flavors drift into our body and we enjoy the smells and texture of the food.  A steak has one aroma, roast chicken another and a good salad quite a different set of aromas and tastes.  Can you imagine trying to enjoy a good meal if there were no aromas and textures to the meal? 
If we were to do the same thing over every morsel of time and over every portion of time, would that make our appreciation of our lives any different or any better?  It just might. I think we could all gain a greater appreciation for moments of happiness, sadness and loneliness. Funerals give us a time to savor the flavor of sadness.  Funerals become healing time for the survivors.  The time to linger over the flavor of death is essential to the healing process.  Weddings are a time to taste and smell the flavor of great happiness and romance. Family holidays give us equal portions of nostalgia and joy as we reunite we those whom we have not seen for months or years. It seems like we need special events in our lives before we can take time to “smell the roses.”
What if we could learn to savor time on a regular basis?  The time you are alive and well today may someday be a great banquet that you will never be able to feast on again. Every day I wake up healthy and well fed is a day of abundance.  If I do not take the time to savor these days, I am missing out on the joy of living. When I finally learn to appreciate the days that I have to savor, it might be too late. 
A few years ago, a fish market in Seattle became famous and started a “fish” fad.  The workers there did something very novel.  They had fun at work.  They got their jobs done but they took the time to savor life while still at work. Their lives were not on hold from 9 to 5 and they were imminently absorbed with each moment of their day.  Many organizations started “fish” training and while it was well intentioned they did not really see the point. It was not just about throwing a fish or even having fun, it was about savoring each minute of life.  It was about being fully in the present and not living in the past or future.  
See if you can savor just a few morsels of time today. Which ones did you find worth lingering over? What was the experience like? How much more enjoyable would life be if you could savor time more?  If you did not find any good morsels, then ask yourself why not?  What would it take for you to find some times that were worth savoring? Do you have enough good tastes in your life? Where can you go to improve the quality of your “banquet?”

Short

13 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized

Let’s talk about “short” today.  I will not presume to give you the meaning of short.  In life, many of the best things are short.  In fact, we aspire to short some times.  For example, we almost all like:
  • Short stories
  •  Short sermons
  • Short courses
  •  Short speeches
  • Short equations
  • Short explanations
  • Short directions
  • Short naps
  • Short doctors and dentist visits
  • Short lectures
  • Short trips
  • Short sales
  • Short commutes
  • Short list of things to do
  •  Quickies
I decided to write a poem for this blog on the subject:  Here is a poem dealing with things that could fit the above list:
SHORT:  By John Persico Jr. 
Yes, sorry for the humor, but that is the poem.  I am not sure if it will qualify for the world’s shortest poem, but I would bet it is in the running.  
A long time ago, as opposed to a short time ago, I received a phone call from a potential client.  He asked me if I could do a five day course on quality improvement in one day.  I could not believe the stupidity and arrogance of the man.  To think that I would be able to, much less even want to cut all of our vital extremely important information down into one day.  This was the height of stupidity and arrogance.  I turned him down, I hope politely.  Slightly later in the day, I was talking to Jim York who was our sales manager.  I was regaling him with the story of the above client’s arrogance, naiveté and ignorance.   Jim asked who it was and would I mind if he called him.  I said of course not and give him the client’s name.  A few days later I saw Jim again and he told me he was going to do the one day class for the client. I smirked and thought to myself “well, better you fall on your face, then me.”  When I next ran into Jim, I asked him how the class went.  He said very matter of factly:  “It went very well. The client would like us to do more of these short classes for them.”  I was completely chagrined because of course I was hoping Jim would have fallen flat on his face.  Short beat long at the track. 
Years later I was at a Demontreville retreat in Lake Elmo.  I attend these 3 day retreats every year and they are a shortened version of the 30 day silent retreat fast advocated and made part of the Jesuit regime by its founder Ignatius Loyola.  I was sitting listening to a sermon briefly describing the purpose of the retreat and what we could hope to get out of it.  This was my fifteenth or sixteenth retreat and I already knew the answer to both of these questions.  However all of a sudden it struck me.  I had been attending these wonderful retreats for over 15 years and they were “shortened” versions of the original 30 day retreat.  My head filled with memories of my arrogantly telling Jim York how we could never condense our material into a short one day class and even if we did, it would be worthless.  I have since wondered if I could do a 3 hour Jesuit retreat or even a 3 minute retreat.  I suppose anything is possible if you have the desire and imagination. 
 
My moral today is that we should never laugh at anything even if you are sure we understand it.  Perhaps short is better than long for many things.  Some of the greatest leaders in history were short people and many actors wear elevator shoes to look taller. Maybe we should try to make things shorter rather than bigger. Do we really need bigger cars, bigger homes, bigger motorcycles, and bigger portions?  Maybe we need to makes things short and simple.  
What are your favorite short things?  Do you have a list of short things that you enjoy? Are you sold on bigger is better or can you think of things that you can improve by making them shorter?  Who is your favorite short person or short story?

Monday: A new start or the same old thing?

12 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized

Monday seems to be the day of the week that people hate the most.  It is the beginning of the work week for many of us.  We mostly think about the difficulties and problems that lie before us.  Few people wake up on Monday morning feeling like they do on a weekend or vacation day.  I try to make my Mondays different.  I start out each Monday with the following reflection: “I give thanks for this new day and a new start. I give thanks for my health and for my friends and for my family and for my wife.”  Monday is special for me because it is a new opportunity.  It is a chance for a fresh start. It is my “Groundhog Day.” 
Regardless of what went wrong last week or the mistakes I made, my reflection reminds me that this is a new week and a chance to start over. I could easily succumb to the negative thoughts about Monday but my reflection reminds me what I wonderful day it really is. It reminds me of my blessings and that today is a new opportunity. Why start off the week with a down feeling?  Life is a series of opportunities that are presented to us each day.  The time I have on Monday is no different than the time I have on Saturday or Sunday.  I choose my life by the choices I make with the time I have. So do you.   
There are no Mondays or Saturdays; these are only labels that we put on time and the great cycle of life.  These labels are simply conveniences and instead we turn them into traps. We have Mondays, Hump-days, TGIF days, work-days and holidays.  Each of these days is what you make out of them.  Each one is a potential to live a new life and to have a new beginning. 
Do you see Mondays as a day to dislike or can you see Mondays as a springboard to a new beginning and a new life? Which way would you rather see Monday?  What would make your life a new beginning this Monday?  It is a choice for you to make.  What is your choice today?  
By the way, I don’t usually ask for anyone to read a specific blog or to make a specific comment, but the blog on “Progress” that I wrote last Thursday was one I was hoping to get more comments on.  I spent nearly three hours on that blog and I was disappointed that I did not receive a single comment.  If you have the extra time today would you go back and read this blog and leave me just one comment?  You will help to make my day.  THanks for the extra time.  Remember to think today “Thank God Its Monday!” A new start!

What is dead time and how can we make it productive?

09 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized

What does it mean when we say it is: “Dead Time?”  One definition is: “Dead time is the time on a job lost by a worker without his fault.”  A second definition deals with time that cannot be recorded between two events as measured by some type of electronic measuring device.  Dead time for us personally seems to be the time in our lives when we cannot accomplish anything due to some problem or failure that literally stops time for us.  In my life, dead time is the time just before I fall asleep or the time when I am waiting in traffic and cannot do any work.  It is the time that it takes in the morning for my mind and body to start functioning. 
Each of us has many examples of dead time in our lives. Some of us have more of it then others.  Often, we try to find ways to make such dead time productive but it is not always possible to do so. Cell phones have enabled a great many people to use the “dead time” while driving to and from work to make important business calls or transactions. Some people make this “dead time” productive by playing audio book CD’s in their tape drives and using the time to learn something or to be entertained. We have a great many instances of dead time in each of our lives.  Some of these times are foreseeable and inevitable. Some happen randomly and unexpectedly.  Like, when you are taking a short ride and get stuck in a major traffic jam.  You can easily lose an hour or so when this happens.
How much dead time do you have in your life each day?  What do you do with your dead time?  Are you able to turn it into some productive use?  Could you use it to relax or even to meditate?  Few of us do enough relaxing or meditating.   Either of these could be a very productive use of time.  Does dead time really have to be dead?  It all depends on your creativity.

Are we making progress as a nation?

08 Mar 2012 2 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized

Progress is our most important product.  I remember this line from the GE exhibit at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York.   I took myself there for my high school graduation trip.  I went by myself and stayed with my Uncle Paul and Aunt Lola in Long  Island.  I remember my Uncle Paul saying “See the exhibits that don’t cost anything, they are the best ones.”  I followed his advice and had a wonderful time for three days before going home.  I was by myself and could see and go and do anything I wanted to each day.  My only concern was money.  Now it is 48 years later and I still remember the saying “Progress is our most important product.”  The questions I would like to explore today is what is progress and are we as a nation making progress?  
The On-line Merriam Webster dictionary has the following definitions for progress:
Definition of PROGRESS
1 : a (1): a royal journey marked by pomp and pageant (2): a state procession b: a tour or circuit made by an official (as a judge) c: an expedition, journey, or march through a region
2 : a forward or onward movement (as to an objective or to a goal) : advance
3 :gradual betterment; especially: the progressivedevelopment of humankind 
Progress involves time since it implies by any of the above definitions that time is moving and things are changing as time moves.  Things change either for the better or the worse over time.   Thus progress and time cannot be separated.  However, what if things are going backwards in terms of progress?   I often ask people I know if they are happier today than they were 20 years ago and by and large most people say yes.  I think that is interesting since most of the people I know are getting older but they still say they are happier. Nevertheless, my survey would not be a very accurate measure of progress.  Not only because of the small sample size but obviously it is not very representative of the entire population.  But what if we had a measure that was more accurate?  One potential model that comes to my mind is based on the Consumer Price index.   This metric is a composite of items that we often buy (called a bread basket).  Their average value or prices are used to calculate the Consumer Price index.  Generally things get more expensive from year to year. However, overall well-being can be somewhat determined by looking at prices versus wages. If wages go up faster than prices, we are better off.  On the other hand, if prices go up faster than wages we are worse off.  This latter situation leaves most of us very unhappy.  I hate to think that the upcoming presidential election will be based on the price of gasoline, but it is a distinct possibility.  
So what if we had a composite measure of progress?   I suggest that such a metric could be used and it would indicate whether or not we are making progress as a nation.   I would call this index “The National Progress” index and I would include the following.  I will give a brief explanation of each metric and the latest data on it for over the past 10 – 100 years or so.  If the metric is green then we are making progress.   If it red, then we are going backwards.  One problem that still remains is a good way to combine the data from each measure into an overall metric.  Perhaps some of you can suggest a way that this could be done.  I am going to cite results for the USA but this could also be used in other countries.  I am going to base my basket of measures on six indices that I think should be used to measure progress.  
Infant Birth Mortality:  This measures the mortality rate for newborn children and is one measure of the health and well-being of a nation.  This level has steadily decreased until the average for the USA is 6.8.  Minorities are higher and as a nation we have slipped in the overall country rankings to 40 in the world. However rates for all groups in the USA have decreased and many would argue that decrease is the most important factor. We are dropping in world standings but there is little doubt that we have improved dramatically in this area.   I give this metric a green.  
Homicides Per Capita:  This is a measure of the violence and respective fear in a society from personal harm.  The Homicide rate in 1950 for the USA was 4.6, it has fluctuated from a low of 4.0 (1957) to a high of 10.2 (1980).  The rate for 2010 was 4.7.  State by state and city by city these rates vary from a low of 1.2 to a high of 52.  Rates also vary by ethnic group.  Longer term trends going back to the 16th century suggest a continuing decline but looking rates since 1950 the outlook is not as positive.  Furthermore, one can argue that overall crime statistics are more important then any single statistic but again the question arises as how do you combine these to create one overall crime index.  Another problem is the rate of incarceration in the USA.  We have one of the highest rates in the world for prison inmates, not to mention our rate for capital punishment.  Overall, I have to rate us in the red for this statistic due to the variability of the data and the problem we have with prisons and capital punishment.  By the way, I am not against capital punishment but it has not solved the problem or made our neighborhoods any safer.  It also costs us a great deal of money with little apparent results.  
Longevity:  This is the length of time we live.  I will not even bother going into historical data on this statistic.  We all know that longevity has increased dramatically over the past hundred years due to increases in medicines, sanitation, education, research and hospital procedures.  Average life span in 2009 is 78.2 and the death rates for 10 of the 15 leading causes of death decreased significantly between 2008 and 2009, including for heart disease, cancer and stroke.  While there is a difference by ethnicity for life spans as well as by gender, all groups in the USA have improved dramatically since 1900.  I give this one a strong green. 
 
Real Disposable Income Per Capita:  This metric measures the money we have left after subtracting the principal, interest, taxes and insurance and all other obligations from a workers monthly net income. It is sometimes called discretionary income or net disposable income.  In a way, you could say that this metric determines how much fun you can have in life or at least how much you can spend on nonessentials such as movies, vacations, casinos, concerts, golf, fishing etc.   The data here (http://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/DPI-Monthly-Update.php) shows that for the past 20 months there has been no growth in disposable income. Looking back to 2000, the data shows an overall 14. 6 percent increase in disposable income.  I would have to give us a red in this metric.  Bear in mind, this metric does not show income growth by wage levels or any other socio-economic divisions. I would suggest that the strong growth in upper 1percent income levels over the past twenty years may seriously skew this metric.  I find it very difficult to hear anyone who has more disposable income now than they had ten years ago. On the other hand, concerts, casinos and restaurants still seem to be doing a flourishing business. 
Average National Intelligence:  A book (IQ and the Wealth of Nations) by Robert Lynn and Tau Vanhanen argues that differences in national income (in the form of per capita gross domestic product) correlatewith differences in the average national intelligence quotient (IQ). The authors further argue that differences in average national IQs is one important factor, but not the only one, contributing to differences in national wealth and rates of economic growth.  The USA ranks 19thout of 82 nations.  There is considerable controversy over the concept of IQ as a measure for anything since it is very problematic in terms of providing a valid metric for intelligence. Many would argue that IQ measures nothing but cultural differences in terms of what the test makers think is valuable to know.  
The Flynn Effect deals with the issue of how the general IQ scores of a population change over time.  In his study of IQ tests scores for different populations over the past sixty years, James R. Flynn discovered that IQ scores increased from one generation to the next for all of the countries for which data existed (Flynn, 1994). This interesting phenomenon has been called “the Flynn Effect.”  The reasons for these increases in IQ are still being debated.  As it stands, these increases in IQ would indicate that each generation in the USA and elsewhere is smarter than the preceding generation.  Without a firm explanation of the Flynn Effect, we are shaky grounds trying to answer the key question here “Are people getting smarter are dumber.”   My own bias as a teacher for the past 40 years is that students are indeed much smarter than they were when I was in school.  They have much more of a sense of politics, economics and street sense than my generation ever had.  On the other hand, tests show the USA to be falling behind in science and math scores compared to other nations.  I would have to give a green here to the metric for Average National Intelligence.  I would give a red score to our schools though if I had a way to give them a report card.  
Human Respect:  How do we measure respect for each other as people?  Do we measure hate crimes or the rise in hate organizations over the past twenty years.  (See the Southern Poverty Law Center for data here (http://www.splcenter.org/).  Do we measure the increased role of women and minorities in government and the labor force?  Do we measure the rise in lawsuits for workforce discrimination or the increase in women and minority CEOs?  Depending on where you look and your perspective, you might see less respect for people or more. I will use for a metric here the number of women and minorities that now hold government jobs in the US and the number of women and minority CEOs in the Fortune 500.   I think these might be the best indicators of how much progress we have made as a nation in respecting people.  I could also add Gay people here but I suspect that the numbers would not really reflect the total number of Gay people.  Religious preference might also be an indicator of respect but I will forego this for now since the data is not as readily available.  An interesting resource for those of you who want to make world comparisons on this issue is the following by Karen Bird (The Political Representation of Women and Ethnic Minorities in Established Democracies)
The most recent data for women and minorities in government shows the number of women and minorities in senior-level jobs increased in fiscal 2010, according to a new report from the Office of Personnel Management. Women represented 31.2 percent of senior-level positions in fiscal 2010, up from 30.4 percent in fiscal 2009; blacks made up 6.7 percent of the top government jobs in 2010, an increase from 6.4 percent in 2009. The proportion of women and minorities in General Schedule grades 13 through 15 increased by 7.9 percent and 9.4 percent, respectively.
Currently, 12 FORTUNE 500 companies are run by women, down from 15 last year, as three left their posts and were succeeded by men. In 1995, not one Fortune 500 CEO was a person of color. Today, 19 Fortune 500 companies are run by people of color. Seven are Latinos, five are African American and seven are Asian American. I think the data shows that although the Fortune 500 does not reflect anywhere near a gender or ethnic profile of the general USA population; there have been increases for both women and minorities in this rarified atmosphere of corporate America.  I would have to put a weak green in this metric for human respect. We still have a long way to go.  
So there you have it, my six metrics of progress.  I am going to be criticized for not including technology and science metrics.  There is little doubt that we have made great strides in technology and scientific explanations of the world.  I would include a metric for these if I could find a good one and I am open to suggestions.  What metrics do you think I am missing? What metrics would you add to my basket?  Do you think we are making progress as a nation?  Why or why not? What do you think it would take to make progress?  How could you help?

Is today the day you get lucky? No not winning the lottery!

07 Mar 2012 Leave a comment

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized

Downtime!  How that one word strikes joy in our hearts.  Historically, it is derived from a machine or system that is no longer up and running.  Today, it means that your computer system at work has crashed and you cannot get anything done.  When IT systems crash today, we are all in a quandary with what to do during downtime.  Nevertheless, there is real joy during periods of enforced downtime.  The opposite of downtime is uptime. When was the last time you heard anybody excited about uptime?  As in, “boy, I hope we can have more uptime today!”  Not very likely!  Uptime is taken for granted since uptime is when things are running normal and we are expected to be creative, productive and industrious. We cannot goof off during uptime since the machines and computers are running and all systems are set on go. Thus, we go, go, go. We become like machines ourselves except we cannot turn off between 9-5 unless we have lunch or a scheduled break.  Downtime gives us a brief but unexpected break from our daily tedium. 
We may all need more downtime in our lives. However, downtime is not promoted as a value or as something to aspire to.  Have you ever heard of anyone negotiating downtime in their contract?  Have you ever heard of a Union arguing for more downtime?  Even the time honored sabbatical that many universities used to have for study and renewal seems to be declining in the face of budget cuts.  I always wondered why the same idea was not used in business as well as academia.  It would be a mute issue now though as few organizations could afford to let their employees take a year off and pay for it. 
Downtime is regarded as the enemy of productivity.  Vacations, holidays, time off, sick days are all a form of “planned downtime.”  However, many of us are too busy to take “planned downtime.”  Some of us run and run until stress or illness forces downtime. The body takes over and says “enough is enough.”  We all know people who never take breaks or who seem to always be on the go.  Then the day comes when their system crashes and illness or stress puts them in bed or the hospital.  Many of us do not take good care of ourselves to prevent stress and thus avoid “system downtime.”  I have had many friends who have survived heart attacks and thankfully changed their lifestyles to allow more time off and more fun in life. Many of us think we are too important to our organizations and so cannot take time off. Many get a wake up call when they get their layoff notices. I had an early boss who said “John, you are invaluable, but not indispensable.”  I always keep Mr. Boetcher’s comment in mind when I start to feel important. 
Do you ever plan your own downtime or do you wait until either you or your computer crashes?  What stops you from taking a needed rest or unenforced period of downtime? Are you really so essential to the job or activity that you cannot take a break?  Can the world live without you for a day or so?  Stress is a major cause of illness and most of us have too much in our lives.  Perhaps if you plan your own downtime today you can look forward to your uptime tomorrow.   

How about a little obsession with time?

06 Mar 2012 6 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized

Late-Late-Late!  We all know people who are late for everything.  Late to events, late to work, and some would joke, even late to their own funerals.  It is easy to find excuses for being late and we could each name a dozen “excuses.” People who are chronically late would call these reasons and not excuses. To those of us who make a point or habit of being on time, it is very difficult to tolerate the lateness of others. We see it as inconsiderate, rude and thoughtless.  We see it as preventable with some advance planning and foresight.  Nevertheless, we don’t seem to be decreasing incidents of lateness in the world or changing those who are chronically late. 
Maybe, those of us who are chronically on time are the real problem.  Was the world really meant to be run by a clock?  Maybe the punctual have capitulated to a crazy obsession with time while the “latecomers” are the real rebels.  Rebels who are willing to fight against the dictates of the almighty clock and a culture of promptness ushered in by our advanced industrial and digital society.   Perhaps, the “latecomers’ are living time in a more natural manner where life is based on cycles and not on a clock.  The punctual person is driven by the time of day and the time designated by a tacit contract. The meeting will start at 8 AM.   Be there or be late.  The latecomer is driven by their own necessities and by an inner clock: “It is still dark out;”  “I am too tired to get up yet;”  “So what if I come late, it’s not the end of the world;”  “I have more important priorities;” or “I don’t feel like rushing.”  The punctual person is horrified by these excuses: “What, I broke my neck to get here on time and the meeting was cancelled.”  
I once remember a major snow storm that happened when I was going to school at Rhode Island College. These were not too common but it happened on a school day.  I was working nights at the time but made it home and changed up.  It never even occurred to me to check school closings as we all know that colleges never close.  Well, I somehow managed to get to school amid the blowing storm.  Any reasonable person would have stayed home, official closing or not.  Instead, I proudly parked my car and found my way to my classroom.  I even managed to get there on time.  It would not have made a difference though, since I was the only one on the entire campus.  The school was of course closed, but stupid me still felt vindicated that I was on time.  This meant I was right and the world was wrong. 
Life is not fair to the punctual person.  But what do we tell our kids about the fairness of life?  Do you suppose hell is a place where everyone must be on time or suffer severe punishments?  Hard to imagine what could already be worse than hell.  What happens to the late comers in hell then?  What about the punctual?  Are the places in heaven guaranteed only for the punctual?  Can you be punctual and still go to hell? 
How obsessed are you with being on time?  Is there a place in your life for “time cycles” and not clock time?  What if you are late?  What difference will it make?  Can you be late and not feel guilty?  What does it mean to walk a line between obsessive punctuality and perpetual lateness?  Does anyone really care if you are late or on time?

How does perception affect your reality of time?

05 Mar 2012 3 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized

Perceived time is what time feels like for us on a personal level.  It has nothing to do with what the clock says.  My “Perceived Flow of Time” changes depending on what I am going to do and when I do it.  It is a mental state regarding the flow of time in our individual lives.  Perceived time can be slow or fast depending on our circumstances and what we are doing.  For example, I seem to need at least eight hours of sleep during the workweek, however on the weekends, I am up about two hours earlier than during the workweek and I am anxious and ready to go.  I don’t need as much time to sleep and I feel full of energy on less sleep. This is a mental message being sent by my brain to my body.  I perceive my world of time differently on the weekends than I do during the week. This perception enables me to do more with less.  I know that it is due to my expectations but it is interesting to see the extra energy I have when the time is all mine and I do not have one commitment and appointment after another.  Weekends can fly by while weeks pass much more slowly.
My flow of time during the week is also very different from event to event.  Time seems to drag by during some tasks and fly by during others. When I had to go out and run during a cold Minnesota winter, the minutes and miles seemed to take much more effort and time then during the late spring and early fall.  When I am starting a new project and unsure about what to do, the time seems to flow by very slowly. Conversely, when I am really having fun with a task or really enjoying myself, time seems to pass in a flicker of thought.  Now that I am in Arizona for the winter, it would seem like it would be easier to go out for a run.  However, the differences down here in where and when I can run have combined to change my running schedule and somehow it still does not seem any easier to get out for my daily run.  I wonder if my age has anything to do with it, but I think it is more my attitude.  After over 37 years of being on a running schedule, I am getting a little lazy.  Lazy is of course a mental attitude.  I suspect it is what happens to many of us when after many years of discipline we just “chuck” it in. 
Have you ever noticed how your perception of time changes depending on what you are doing and whom you are doing it with?  Watch your time today.  Don’t judge it or criticize it but just observe it. How does your flow of time seem to change for you?  How is it different for you during the workweek and during the weekend?  Does it change much?  What do you think changes the flow of time for you?  Are you satisfied with how time flows in your life?  What would you like to change about it?  What would you like to remain the same?  Change your thoughts about time and you change the flow of time.

Speed it up and create a competitive advantage!

02 Mar 2012 3 Comments

by Dr. John Persico Jr. in Uncategorized

Time is one of the most important aspects of competitive advantage.  Innovating new ways to use time and to deploy time as a strategy has often led to success in the market and on the battlefield.  FedEx has become one of the largest corporations in the world by expediting the packages that we send and receive. Overnight delivery is a term we associate with FedEx.  The United States Postal Service (USPS) left a wide open gap in the market by being more hum drum about the time it takes to send and receive packages. The Postal Service did not realize the increased priority that people were placing on time!  This created an incredible opportunity that was fulfilled by both FedEx and United Parcel Service; and of course, email, text messaging and cellphones all helped to erode the once iconic place that the US Post Office held.  In today’s market place, someone will always jump into an opportunity and fulfill it.  Products and services can always be: better, faster and cheaper.  Faster is one of the three prime factors that can confer a competitive advantage. Time is money and money is time. Speed and more speed will always be worth money to many people. 
How many opportunities do you think are still out there in respect to time?  If you could think about it differently, do you think you might find a great opportunity?  I believe there are hundreds if not millions of opportunities still waiting for the wise entrepreneur in the area of time.  Time is the most important item that anyone has and yet while we measure the Gross National Product (GNP) in terms of products and services, there are no measures for “GNT” or Gross National Time. We measure Per Capital Income but there are no measures of PCT (Per Capita Time).  PCT could tell us how well as a nation we are doing in respect to managing time.  Time is one of our most valuable assets but we can continue to act like it is of less importance than capital or products.
How much per capital time do you have each week left over after all your “chores” and work is done?  Are you a rich person or a poor person in regards to time? Do you have more time than you need or do you have less?  How could you find more time in your life for the things you really want to do?

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