A Time magazine article "The New Greatest Generation" recently pointed out the US Army's operation order structure works well in many situations. The acronym SMESC or the Sergeant Major Eats Sugar Cookies stands for Situation, Mission, Execution, Support, Command
If you are giving a presentation that lays out an action plan, you can use the same structure. It has 5 parts:
Situation: What’s the problem?
Mission: What’s our strategy for solving the problem?
Execution: What tactics are we going to use?
Support: What are the logistics? (What people and equipment do we need?)
Command: What other organizations (teams, suppliers, etc.) have to be involved?
It's not a stretch to understand that a good outline goes a long way to breaking any task into much more simple tasks. It's also an example of deductive reasoning. Whether one uses the Army method or not the key is breaking down major tasks into digestible small tasks that can be done in minutes, hours, days or weeks instead of being overwhelmed by the whole. This is really the key to success.
Americans love football. And what's even better is a hard fought struggle where the underdog with a severe disadvantage... but with heart, courage and determination inches past the favored team to victory. Football fans have always loved the underdog because of those displays of personal fortitude and teamwork. The Jets winning Superbowl III is one many remember. I recall a game last year... Jacksonville State, a team on the brink of being disbanded beats Ole Miss 49-48 on an unbelievable performance by their quarterback and the equally courageous call to go for two to win by the coach. I was watching the game in a room of people as it happened... and having no idea of who Jacksonville State was, who played on the team or even where they were located... spontaneously everyone became Jacksonville State fans and then everyone in the room started jumping up for joy at the amazing effort. It truly was a golden moment in football and no one had to be told... they knew.
But would Americans love football very much if every year the same team won? Would anyone even care? Would we see innovations like the Wishbone, the forward pass, the hurry up offense, or the 46 if the winner of every game was already determined before the game was played? There's no doubt about it. HELL NO!!
More over, if the team that won the championship every year was ...say... Ohio State as an example. Would it also then be justified to declare Ohio St. the master of all sports... and then all college academics? Would we put Ohio St. in charge of University building design, book approval, college loans, dress codes and even what cheers people could utter? After all, they are supreme!
Football wouldn't be very exciting and in fact, as Ohio St. crept into every aspect of college life, college life would probably start becoming more sad and depressing. Even being a Ohio St. fan wouldn't be all that exciting because more than likely, people would stop coming.
So, seeing the declining attendance and morale... what if Ohio St. forced people to show up... to buy tickets to the games... to cheer for the home team... even though they would know Ohio St. would eventually always prevail. Would you think the crowd would be any more excited? Would the players be very motivated? Would they even care? I doubt the players would be spending nights and weekends on the game plan, practicing or working out in the weight room. More than likely, the players would end up being very lazy and the fans would probably start getting testy!
And that in a bottle is exactly the problem with our government. They've taken all the fun out because they allowed one group to always be the winner. No, it's not Ohio St., it's called the Federal Reserve. They are the only ones who can counterfeit money legally. Print money out of thin air. And they're the one's who ultimately control the credit to do anything. Got a great idea? Without financing... that idea won't go very far. There are no Joe Namath's winning the Superbowl and no Jacksonville State stories in the American economy anymore.
Is it any wonder why the economy is headed in the direction it's going? It's boring us all to tears! Shear drudgery! We know who wins every time! We've been prisoners to this for nearly 100 years now.
So it's up to you America... Do you love football? ...Yes! Do you love nail biting competition? ... Yes! Do you love seeing heart, skills, innovation, creativity, courage, determination put to the test every time a team steps on the field? ... Absolutely! Then the solution is right in front of you! .... it's time to End the Fed!!!
It is certainly true that an education system is the engine that drives an economy in innovation and technology. But for more than 100 years... the majority of the "educated" have been indoctrinated into being good worker bees. This is the Prussian model. It's been in the US for over 100 years and promoted by the government as well as the globalists behind the scenes.
Another method, that dates far back is called the "Trivium". It uses the natural method of learning and building upon knowledge to logic and wisdom. Rather than attempt to explain it more I'll just refer you to notes that do a much better job. Trivium and Quadrivium Cliff Notes by Gene Odening
Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen.
A Ninja was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations. The ninja, using covert methods of waging war, were contrasted with the samurai, who had strict rules about honor and combat. In his Buke Myōmokushō, military historian Hanawa Hokinoichi writes of the ninja:
“
They travelled in disguise to other territories to judge the situation of the enemy, they would inveigle their way into the midst of the enemy to discover gaps, and enter enemy castles to set them on fire, and carried out assassinations, arriving in secret.
Sun Tzu's The Art of War
Chapter 1: Laying Plans Point 18: "All Warfare is based on Deception."
Chapter 2: Waging War Point 6 and 19 "There is no instance of a country having benefited from prolonged warfare." "In war, then, let your great object be victory, not lengthy campaigns." (Strike swiftly and decisively)
Chapter 5: Energy Point 15: "Energy may be likened to the bending of a crossbow; decision, to the releasing of a trigger."
"Chapter 7: Maneuvering Point 19: "Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt."
What one sees isn't necessarily what is reality. But many times people are easily lead to see what they want to believe.
Barings Security and Nick Leeson in the 1990s. Creating the illusion that everybody wants to believe. Today a billion isn't that substantial with the likes of AIG and Bernie Madoff but this is a story of how one man lost $1 billion.
A free market alternative to trash disposal... this is cleverly referred to as a Muffin Monster (check out the case studies)
A new source of energy... the energy catalyzer The energy catalyzer was demonstrated publicly for first time on the 14th January 2011. According to its inventor Andrea Rossi it has a closed reactor of steel that is loaded with nickel powder plus secret catalysts and pressurized with hydrogen.
It’s ‘ignited’ by heating from two electrical resistances. In a copper tube around the reactor, water heated by the reactor is flowing.
The heat is generated from an unknown reaction, according to Rossi himself, and according to Professor Sven Kullander and Associate Professor Hanno Essén probably a nuclear reaction.
The author of the article might not think the United States need a safe house... but with the growing police state. This house just might be perfect for the next 10-20 years. I doubt it could withstand more than a few Hellfire missiles from those harmless airborne drones being given to the local police forces..
Sometimes the neatest things are revealed by the most unlikely people and this is one of those, a refrigerator for the third world... and just in time for America's entry into the third world! Now we just need a version big enough to fit 18 cu. ft. worth of stuff!
What makes this story particularly funny is the young lady who invented it. Was refused from a engineering course because she wasn't "qualified".
In December I pointed out Silver was the Best Investment of 2011. At the time Silver was around $28. In January it dropped a bit... into the $26s and then began to launch. So, if you bought in the $26-28 range is it time to run? Is Silver a bubble about to pop?
Check out these charts... the Dow vs. Silver
If you look at the chart to the right. Silver hit a 27 year support in 2007... and yet the biggest gains have been since.
And if you look at this chart you'll see after 2007 the ratio continued to drop.
These charts would suggest it might be time to start diversifying. And if you do believe in these charts I'd say you may want to take some off the table and stick it into something else that has tangible value (non-dollar denominated). But I'm not convinced because I believe in another chart much more.
The chart on the right shows the value of gold vs. the Dow since 1900.
Economics is getting fashionable thanks to Econ Stories. Keynes advocates War to boost the economy and Hayek counters with bottom up entrepreneurship! I'd say Hayek's logic wins hands down!
This past week a popular restaurant in town that had just opened up not six months before... and was very popular, closed it's doors. Restaurants seem to be popping up and disappearing faster than ever... and older establishments are just disappearing. The restaurant business is getting extremely difficult and with the rising commodity prices and inflation starting to rear it's ugly head, restaurants, who typically operate on very tight margins find themselves in a bind. And when one looks at the ingredients of the typical corporate restaurant there is indeed room for entrepreneurs. Here are some interesting new free market ideas popping up to meet the needs of the food consumer of 2011.
Street vendors using twitter to keep people aware of where they are... Food raves or "Craves"... and the Food Truck all suggest that America remains entrepreneurial. And that's a good sign!
Comment: This is a reprint from another blog post which I linked at the bottom. But a story that needs to be told in regard to how the medical industry has been corrupted by rules and regulation to the point that it has become a crisis.
Today, we are constantly being told, the United States faces a health care crisis. Medical costs are too high, and health insurance is out of reach of the poor. The cause of this crisis is never made very clear, but the cure is obvious to nearly everybody: government must step in to solve the problem. Eighty years ago, Americans were also told that their nation was facing a health care crisis. Then, however, the complaint was that medical costs were too low, and that health insurance was too accessible. But in that era, too, government stepped forward to solve the problem. And boy, did it solve it! In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, one of the primary sources of health care and health insurance for the working poor in Britain, Australia, and the United States was the fraternal society. Fraternal societies (called "friendly societies" in Britain and Australia) were voluntary mutual-aid associations. Their descendants survive among us today in the form of the Shriners, Elks, Masons, and similar organizations, but these no longer play the central role in American life they formerly did. As recently as 1920, over one-quarter of all adult Americans were members of fraternal societies. (The figure was still higher in Britain and Australia.) Fraternal societies were particularly popular among blacks and immigrants. (Indeed, Teddy Roosevelt's famous attack on "hyphenated Americans" was motivated in part by hostility to the immigrants' fraternal societies; he and other Progressives sought to "Americanize" immigrants by making them dependent for support on the democratic state, rather than on their own independent ethnic communities.) The principle behind the fraternal societies was simple. A group of working-class people would form an association (or join a local branch, or "lodge," of an existing association) and pay monthly fees into the association's treasury; individual members would then be able to draw on the pooled resources in time of need. The fraternal societies thus operated as a form of self-help insurance company.
Just to let everyone know that every wonderful idea isn't always as wonderful as it might first appear... especially if there are politicians promoting it.
A recent article on GM's Volt pointed out it isn't so efficient after all... and may in fact be less efficient than a gasoline powered car.
And then there is Top Gear's experience with a Tesla. At about 5 minutes in we find that this car isn't one for long distance trips because it takes 16 hours to charge... and the range isn't quite what is claimed.
To be fair... Tesla is apparently suing the BBC in regard to some of the claims in the show.
Another inspiring story to pay attention to... I think this offers more than just hope... it's the solution. People taking things into their own hands and making it better in every direction.
Detroit used to be the shinning city on the hill. The most brilliant and bright shinning star of the free market and capitalism (the free market definition) in the USA. When you looked at Detroit in those days Freedom really did mean Prosperity. However, it's downfall is also the warning of everything that has happen since... the loss of freedom through government intervention, regulation, taxes, market manipulation, greed and corruption which should be a warning to every city and person in America. This is where we are headed if we don't change.
What this story shows though... is there is always hope... and there is always opportunity. Although government can bring us down, it rarely lifts us up...Success has nothing to do with government... but what we ourselves choose to do. If we want to succeed... we can succeed. And for those who have the same mindset... Detroit just might be the place to go. We have to work together... and when we do, we succeed. But we have to have the freedom to dream... and that's what America is supposed to be all about. It's time we make it so.
A recent interview with Scott McNealy of Sun Microsystems fame. He discusses something called "Curriki"
This idea may change everything in education these days, not only for home-schoolers but especially cash strapped schools. With the price of books in the $100s have web free access to learning materials could revolutionize the cost and maintenance generally associated with yearly turnover of books.
The power of twitter explained... this is one bit of information to pay attention to. Businesspeople better wrap their brain around this concept because it could be a serious way to affect business... positively or negatively.
What if I met everyone with my same name?
What if I said "Yes!" to everything?
What if everyone in Seattle read the same book?
Now these are just three, but the stories behind these questions reveal how just taking a few moments to consider a unique question is enough to generate a whole new way to make a living. The mind is a terrible thing to waste... yet we spend most of our time running on the proverbial treadmill chasing fiat paper money to turn around and give it right back and start the process over again... endlessly.
My challenge to you is to stop running and start thinking. And the best way to start is to ask a question that really makes you think or wonder. That gets you excited to find out! There are so many things to question. Sometimes the treasure you've been seeking might be right under your own nose.
The only real natural resource we can't do without is the mind. Although we hear of threats of scarcity all the time it's really just another opportunity for us to recognize someone's bright idea.
Here's just a few I've found in a quick search... on a whim.
If you happen to come across Malcolm Gladwell's first book Tipping Point, you will find it an excellent introspective into why things go from a great idea among a very few people into a movement of the masses. The second chapter in the book is called Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen. It's about the people that make it happen. If you haven't read it, your in luck, I'm going to give you a brief overview along with some practical applications to turning the group of people around you into something much more effective. A way tip the scales in your favor. Now I'm not one to put people into boxes and I most certainly put myself at the top of that list but I think what Malcolm has uncovered is important.
Although I read the book, I derived most of my information from the following blogs.
“These people who link us up with the world, who bridge Omaha and Sharon, who introduce us to our social circles – these people on whom we rely on more heavily than we realize – are Connectors, people with a very special gift of bringing people together.”
Connectors are fantastic at expanding your network. They say things like:
It certainly has worked for politicians! They've been using it for a long time... in 1913 it sure worked to get the 16th Amendment passed. It worked in the 30's, the 40's and the 50's... and here we are again... only lets take a little closer look at what actually happen.
In 1913, there was no income taxes. People were told they would tax only the richest 1% income. That one didn't turn out so well. Somehow the rich survived... yet today we all are subordinate to the IRS.
During the 30s, 40's, 50's and 60's the "rich" were taxed up to 90%. They somehow survived that too. In fact the gap between rich and poor has only continued to widen. How could it be possible the rich actually got richer? The short story is... they understand how to play the game.
The fact of the matter is... this is just a smoke screen. And the people that proclaim it are either ignorant or deceptive. The rich understand how the system works... they really pay little to no taxes. The taxes they do pay are passed through into the cost of goods and services. With corporations, trusts, and off shore accounts they can shuffle money around to make it look like the government owes them money. General Electric, for example, made $10 billion worldwide in 2009, but when they filed their IRS form, it showed up as a $600 million loss... and they didn't pay any taxes at all! Not to mention all the government contracts they profited from... most of that $10 billion probably came right from the US government. How ironic aye...
This is certainly political theater at it's finest. And the people who actually believe it should be ashamed at being so stupid. Falling for this is like being burnt at three-card monte every day of the week... and yet, showing up on Saturday morning with one's paycheck in hand ready to try one more time!
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere" was something Martin Luther King Jr. famously said... he was right and it's time people stop trying to stick it to somebody else and realize... when they do, their only really sticking it to themselves. The income tax is a failure. It was never what they promised and it never will be. For the average folks it's just slavery by another name and needs to be abolished.
Update: A recent article from the Wall Street Journal on the perils of taxing the rich. It's been the downfall of many of the most "progressive" states.
With the coming of 2011, the battered small business sector has even more to contend with. Thousands of new laws and requirements have been concocted mainly by lobbyists paid for by larger corporations to corner the market and raise the barriers of competition. Just like on January 1st 2010, thousands of new laws are on the books. It sure pays to be politically "well connected"! The good news is there is a solution! And it's already on the books!
In 2008 we saw this scheme in action with the debacle created by the "toy bill", the Consumer Improved Product Safety Act of 2008. Which was spurred primarily by Walmart's importation of defective and dangerous Chinese toys. The company that benefited the most from the bill was Walmart. Surprisingly or not, this was at the cost of many smaller toy businesses, craftsmen and entrepreneurs who simply had to leave the marketplace because of the inability to raise enough money to comply with the new rules and of course the threats of fines and jail time if they didn't. With this kind of success, more large businesses and corporations send lobbyist to continue this in their field. This is the trend in industry after industry. And not surprisingly, with the number of lobbyist at an all time high... the number of laws continue to increase proportionately.
Unfortunately, with over 70% of the employees in the US being employed by small business, this development doesn't bode well for future job opportunities.
As government has become more and more corrupted by this it is becoming increasingly easy for large businesses to prey upon smaller segments simply by calling up their pals in government, passing new laws and raising the barriers to competition. Then sicking which ever police force has jurisdiction on the competition. From haircuts, to cheese, to coffin making government has been used to restrict competition and in particular squeeze out the little guy. Boy, the mafia would be proud of these tactics!
Believe it or not our forefathers foresaw this. The US Constitution had certain built in features that restricted this kind of law making. But more importantly, they adamantly opposed a "Democracy" in favor of a Republic. Democracy was opposed because it represented "mob rule" which ultimately leads to tyranny, while a Republic representing an adherence to the Rule of Law of which the ultimate law being the US Constitution.
