Every story is influenced by personal issues. These stories add another dimension to the characters. Besides, the stories are a good break from the serious issues associated with the revolution.

#343 Lee Iacocca: a Personal Perspective (Part 1)

14 Sunday Jul 2019

Posted by Jordan Abel in Personal Stories

≈ 5 Comments

[Readers: this blog is set in the future (sometime after the year 2020). Each entry assumes there has been a 5th revolution in the US — the Revenge Revolution. More about the Revenge Revolution, a list of earlier revolutions and the author, Entry #1.

Periodically I write a “sense check” to assess whether in the next few years, a revolution in the US is still possible or whether the entire exercise is based on a statistical aberration — i.e., a roughly 50-year cycle between major upheavals in the US. Most recent sense check, Entry #332.]

Thought I would take a break for the second week in a row and write about something not linked to the Revenge Revolution. The topic for this entry, and likely a couple more, was prompted by the death of Lee Iacocca on July 2nd.

Without question, Iacocca was one of the greatest business people of the 20th century. When people talk about Iacocca’s accomplishments, two are usually mentioned: (i) being the father of the Mustang; (ii) leading the turnaround of Chrysler Corporation in the 1980’s. While each is a great accomplishment, there’s more to the story.

From my perspective, two often overlooked major accomplishments are: (i) leading the funding campaign for the restoration of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Restoring the Statue of Liberty/Ellis Island was of great personal interest to him. Iacocca’s parents passed through Ellis Island as immigrants from Italy; (ii) accelerating the implementation of airbags in cars/vans. Most comments about Iacocca and airbags center on his initial efforts to thwart the use of airbags. But he later switched and promoted the use of airbags.

Before going too far with the Iacocca story, I need to explain my relationship with him. We met in his post Chrysler days. He had moved from Michigan to Los Angeles and purchased the rights to an electric bicycle company. Longer term he wanted to expand the bicycle product line to include smallish electric neighborhood vehicles.

The electric bicycle needed a new brand name. He wanted to use “ebike.” The “ebike” name, however, was owned by a company that made electric motorcycles. I happened to be on the board of that company and an investor.

The president of the company, Scott Cronk, and I met to negotiate the rights. After the negotiations, Lee asked if I had a resume. Surprisingly I did, having just left the company that resulted in the move to Charlotte. When reviewing the resume, he ignored my career at GM, or at least never probed about it. What he did comment on was: (i) graduating from MIT, noting that “At least I know you can think,” and (ii) having been an adjunct professor at University of Michigan with the comment, “I like people who teach.”

Then he asked if I would spend two weeks at the company (EV Global Motors), analyze operations and give him an assessment. I thought it might be a fun gig, and if nothing else, great cocktail conversation.

Two weeks later we met in his office. My assessment started with a series of questions, “Why does the company do this? Why does a company own that?” At the end of the third or fourth question, I don’t remember which…and none of which he answered…he asked, “Want to be my CFO?” I said “Yes” and thus started my relationship with a truly interesting man.

There’s no question that Lee’s reputation in the business world for being hard-charging, demanding and disciplined is well-known and well-deserved. But underneath all that bluster and boisterousness — and yes the voice was very loud at times, even in casual conversation — there was the son of immigrant parents who had a rough childhood. Think about growing up as son of Italian immigrant parents in Pennsylvania Dutch country.

Just to be clear, let’s not go overboard and start thinking his personal life was like Mother Teresa’s. But we are talking about is an American hero, who like the rest of us, had a real desire for friends and loving relationships.

Fortunately for me, I was working with Lee at an early-stage company. EV Global Motors was not Ford and not Chrysler with large support staffs. As a result, I spent many hours in his office discussing and trying to solve a range of problems. Some of those discussions continued at the house over dinner, wine and, of course, a cigar.

If you want to get an idea what those conversations were like, pick up one of his books. Lee dictated most of the material for the books, which was then edited. My compliments to the editors, who did an excellent job of capturing the tone and rhythm of his comments, although a few likely expletives never made it to print.

At some point in our relationship, I asked Lee why did he think he was so successful. He became head of Ford Division at about age 35, which is a remarkable achievement in the auto industry. His answer was simple, “I made a plan for the week, the month and the calendar quarter. And then I stuck to the plan. Most guys didn’t have a plan and those who did have a plan didn’t necessarily stick with it.”

We used that approach for operating the company. Every Sunday evening we’d chat for maybe 15 minutes and outline issues for the coming week. On Mondays, after I formalized the “assignments” list, we’d have coffee and go over the plan in detail. We also had a rule. If the plan included an assignment that I or someone on the staff was supposed to complete the prior week but hadn’t, then Lee could question me. If he had an assignment that was not completed, then I could question him.

The discussions always included why the assignment hadn’t been completed and what was required to complete it successfully. A task on the list for 3 weeks with no meaningful progress toward completion was likely to be considered irrelevant and scrubbed. This method was simple but highly effective in keeping both of us and the staff on task.

A more interesting story is why Iacocca switched from engineering to the sales department. In the auto industry, that type transfer was unusual at the time, and probably still is. I also made an unusual transfer, moving from corporate finance staff in New York to marketing director at Buick HQ, Flint, MI.

The seminal “career moment” for Iacocca apparently occurred at a drafting table, probably at the River Rouge plant but I’m not certain. Imagine a very large area with a sea of drafting tables. At the very back of this sea of tables is a young Lee Iacocca. Behind his table is a walkway. If you’ve ever been in a Kahn-designed auto plant — vast open areas with large concrete support pillars — you’ll get the picture.

In the walkway behind Lee two men approached and then stopped at his table. One was Henry Ford I and the other was Harvey Firestone. Yes that Ford and that Firestone. After they left, apparently Lee looked at the number of draftsmen ahead of him and who he would have to pass to get promoted. That sea of people convinced him there was a better way to the top of Ford Motor Company. And that better way was joining the field sales staff.

So the Lehigh/Princeton-trained engineer heads off to the sales department and, voila, turns into one of the best automotive sales and marketing guys ever…and head of Ford Division at about age 35. In the next entry or two, I’ll write more about some untold or under-publicized stories. For example, stories about: (i) how Chrysler obtained the base design for the minivan; (ii) how Chrysler had so many unsold K-Cars for so long that in one major storage lot weeds had grown taller than the bumpers; (iii) the red phone on his desk; and the voice. And, oh, that voice. Could it ever carry.

#322 Artificial Intelligence Applied at the Micro Level – Personality Profiles

21 Monday Jan 2019

Posted by Jordan Abel in Personal Stories, Societal Issues, Tech Tsunami

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Readers: this blog is set in the future (sometime after the year 2020). Each entry assumes there has been a 5th revolution in the US — the Revenge Revolution. More about the Revenge Revolution and author, How the 5th US Revolution Begins and About the Author. Many entries are formatted as conversations. Characters appear in a number of entries, with many entries building on previous conversations.

Occasionally I do a “sense check” about the likelihood of a Revenge Revolution. Entry #318 is the most recent “sense check.” One more note — sometimes I write about another topic that does not quite fit the theme of the blog. Those comments are available on the page titled “JRD Thoughts and Comments.”

This entry is part of a series is about the coming “Technology Tsunami.” The series addresses what might be involved and some suggestions for mitigating and even capitalizing on the opportunity. Entries #321 and #322 are intended to describe AI in more understandable terms, using personal experiences as examples.

The examples in Entries #321 and #322 are “early stage” uses of AI and selected to demonstrate: (i) applications that are easy to understand: (ii) AI-based applications have been around for a number of years; (iii) how AI can be used to increase the effectiveness of “gut-feel” profiling.

Entry #321 addresses how artificial intelligence (AI) could be helpful in certain business decisions – e.g., introducing new products and setting production schedules. Much of Entry #321 discusses an AI application to create clusters of people with certain tendencies — i.e., “birds of a feather flock together.” A cluster includes people more likely to buy a specific type or brand of product. The entry also discusses how over the years the size of clusters has shrunk from zip codes to neighborhoods to households.

Yet, even as the size of clusters has decreased over time, the focus has been on behavior of the group without regard to say behavior of person X or person Y. For reference, think of ads in Facebook or Google…or efforts to sway voters. All those efforts focus on behavior of groups, not individuals. In the bluntness of terms, the advertisers do not care about you as a person as long as their message persuades a certain percentage of the group.

Even though social media platforms and on-line retailers have lots of data about your purchases, the ads are still a game of percentages. Think of these efforts as macro-economics – focus on the behavior of groups and not individuals.

What about behavior of individuals? What about micro-group behavior. When focusing on the behavior of a specifically identified individual, can AI programs be useful…or harmful? The short answer is “Yes” to both.

As I noted a few entries ago and as a reminder, these write-ups are designed for general discussion and not an academic journal or graduate thesis at a university. So please read the entries accordingly. If you cannot let go of your academic bent, then stop reading and go do something else. You can rest assured the data are credible and the approach sound.

Stating the obvious – to have a successful relationship in business or personal life, the relationship must be positive. A positive personal relationship in business does not need to extend to personal life. In fact, one can argue that it is better to keep business and personal relationships separate.

So how does one develop a positive relationship? A simple first step is trying to understand what makes the other person tick. How does he or she approach issues? How does he or she interact with other people? How does he or she determine what’s important?

At the end of Entry #321, there was a lead-in to this entry. In the lead-in I noted that, in general, women seemed much better than men at understanding what’s important/unimportant to another person. With age, many men begin to realize they’ve been “manipulated” by women for many years. If you’re a man…and don’t believe women have “manipulated” you…at some point you will probably realize what’s been happening for many years. Just accept the fact and move on. Just so there is no misunderstanding, most of the “manipulation” I’ve experienced has been positive.

So how do we better understand someone else? Can AI-based programs help?

An AI-based program that I’ve found extremely useful in helping me understand others is Myers-Briggs. A person’s Myers-Briggs personality profile is developed by the respondent answering a number of seemingly simple, but quite insightful questions. Based on my understanding, the answers are then subjected to a series of regressions, which create a personality profile consisting of four (4) categories, or general attributes. The degree or amount of a category trait is noted on a continuum.

For example, one category describes an individual’s preference to be around other people. At one end of the continuum is someone who absolutely loves to be around others (and dislikes being alone) – an “Extrovert.” At the other end of the continuum is someone who strongly prefers being alone and finds being around others discomforting at best – “Introvert.”

The continuum has a mid-point. Those on the say left side of the mid-point are labeled “E” for extrovert. Those on the right side of the mid-point are labeled “I” for introvert. The scale is not binary but relative so some people are more introverted/extroverted than others. While all category scales are relative, in some categories people tend to fall toward one of the extremes. General categories are:

How people interact with others – Extrovert: Introvert
How people gather information – Sensing (more analytical approach); Intuitive (more abstract approach)
How people make decisions – Thinking (fact-based, analytical): Feeling (more emotion based decisions)
How people tend to deal with the outside world — Judging (prefer structure and firm decisions); Perceiving (more open and flexible environment)

An individual’s profile is described by using one of the pair of underlined letters noted above. For example, one person’s profile might be INTP; another’s profile might be ESFJ. (If you want to learn more about Myers-Briggs and/or see what your profile is, lots of information on the web. Good start is https://www.verywellmind.com/the-myers-briggs-type-indicator-2795583. More on the history at the Myers-Briggs Foundation.)

If my experience is representative, one’s profile can change a bit over time or in different situations. For example, in assignments where I’ve been responsible for “blank-sheet-of-paper” kind of projects, I’ve tended to view topics/problems as a set of possibilities. In assignments where I’ve been trying to provide more structure and discipline to organizations, my profile leaned more toward yes/no decisions.

How does one use Myers-Briggs profiles in real-world? A couple of examples.

#1. 1980’s, Buick Motor Division, GM. Soon after being introduced to Myers-Briggs, another manager left and I inherited his department. While I was familiar with most of the members of the staff, I had never been responsible for direct assignments to those staff members.

One staff member had undergraduate and graduate degrees from Ivy League schools. After completing an assignment the person presented a report with recommendations that were about 180^o from what I expected.

My first thought was how someone that well educated could have missed the mark so much. While going through the recommendations we were trying to figure out what went wrong. Rather than pointing fingers, the other person asked, “By the way, what’s your (Myers-Briggs) profile?”

When we compared profiles the answer to what went wrong became clearer. In that job, I was prone to paint the general picture for an assignment and not provide much detail. I was especially careful with this person given the educational background. Too much detail, or so I thought, would be an insult to the person’s intelligence.

When I conveyed my concern about too much detail as an insult, the response was, “Oh, no, I like detail.” Then the person proposed the following solution. When discussing an assignment, I would continue to provide detail until she (which you probably guessed by now) raised her hand, which meant, “I’ve got it. Stop.” We implemented the hand-raising system and it worked wonderfully.

#2. 2015, Energy company based in Houston. In the intervening 25+ years from Example #1, I’d been involved with a range of differing and challenging assignments – large companies, research organizations and start-ups. The Houston assignment was in an industry where I was familiar with the end product but not the production process.

The management team had extensive experience on the field-operations side but needed someone to help set up the financial structure and reporting systems to help the business operate without a large overhead staff. After a few weeks of learning the very basics, I suggested everyone on the management team complete a Myers-Briggs profile. To give you an idea of what I didn’t know about the industry, have you ever known a petrophysicist, let alone know what one does? Well, neither did I. But check YouTube. There’s a video titled “Petrophysics for Dummies”…and it’s very informative.

As usual, some members of the group supported the idea of comparing personality profiles, others grumbled but went along and a few refused. The CEO was probably the most supportive.

As a reminder, we you start comparing personality profiles with others, remember a different profile does not make one person superior to the other. The profile points out differences in the categories described earlier, not skill levels.

When the CEO and I compared profiles, there were marked differences in a couple of key areas. Understanding those differences helped me frame and propose solutions in a way consistent with his profile. While I continued to approach and solve problems in a way I was most comfortable, I understood that to be more effective when presenting to him, I needed to frame the recommendations in a way consistent with his profile. It worked.

These are but two examples of using Myers-Briggs. I have many others. Why Myers Briggs? Aren’t there other approaches to creating a personality profile? Yes. I used Myers-Briggs because it was the first approach I learned and one with the widest range of personal examples.

Is there a downside of knowing an individual’s profile? Yes. “Manipulation” can be either positive or negative. A widely discussed example how profiling a specific individual might be used negatively is Donald Trump. The question raised by many, “Has Donald Trump been manipulated by the Russians as well as some conservative media talking heads?” Whether one leans left or right politically, president Trump’s favorable behavior toward the Russians seems at odds with 70+ years of the post-WWII relationship between Washington and Moscow. Let’s hope the Mueller investigation makes the issue more clear.

But we should not think that Trump is the only person subject to manipulation. Over time, all of us may be targeted individually. As AI programs become more sophisticated and as people convey more answers to personality-profile like questions on their social media posts and/or continue to buy more goods on-line through say Amazon, it will become easier for AI-programs to migrate from targeting a certain percentage of a group to targeting specific individuals.

Minimizing the influence of such targeting will require considerable diligence on everyone’s part. More ideas developing such an approach in an upcoming entry.

Back to personality profiles. If you’ve never completed a Myers-Briggs (or similar) personality profile…or if it’s been a few years…I suggest you get on the web and complete one (see links earlier in this entry). If nothing else, comparing profiles is great cocktail conversation. But I think you’ll find your profile far more useful.

As far as the next AI-related blog entry? Not sure. I need to do some research before deciding. Thanks for your time.

#304 Republicans Supporting Trump Brainwashed? How One Supporter Was Cured. (Part 3)

19 Sunday Aug 2018

Posted by Jordan Abel in Back Asswards Thinking, Causes of the Revolution, Personal Stories

≈ Leave a comment

Readers: this blog is set in the future (sometime after the year 2020). Each entry assumes there has been a 5th revolution in the US — the Revenge Revolution. More about the Revenge Revolution and author, Entry #1. Most entries are formatted as conversations. Characters appear in a number of entries, with many entries building on previous conversations.

Occasionally I break from the normal formatting and do a “sense check.” Auditing one’s own work is problematic but I try to be objective. Entries #300 and #301 are the most recent “sense checks.” Your thoughts are welcomed and appreciated. Thanks for your time and interest…and comments, please.

Scene: Jordan’s office, Washington, DC. Jordan having coffee with Walt, a friend from college days. Conversation begins entry #302.

(Last comment, previous entry. Jordan: “Walt, have you ever studied how people think after they’ve been brainwashed?”)

Walt: “Are you implying that I’ve been brainwashed?”

Jordan: “Just asking a question if you knew the logic stream of people who have been brainwashed.”

Walt: “Who else is in the office? Gelly still here?”

Jordan: “No, she’s got a meeting in another building and will be out for at least an hour. Why do you ask?”

Walt: “Because I’ve never told anyone…well other than the psychiatrist. Sure Gelly’s not here? And you’re not taping this conversation, right?”

Jordan: “She’s not here. I saw here leave. And, no, the conversation is not being taped. What’s the big deal?”

Baldheaded Man Walt: “OK, you’re right. I was brainwashed by Trump. It’s embarrassing to talk about it.”

Jordan: “I can understand that. How’d you figure it out?”

Walt: “I don’t remember exactly. It’s not like I woke up one morning and said, ‘Gee, I’ve been brainwashed.’”

Jordan: “Well, what did happen?”

Walt: “The realization was gradual at first, almost like baby steps. I do remember being taken aback in late summer 2018 when Trump started to yank security clearances from former high-ranking people who’d been in the FBI, CIA and NSA.”

Jordan: “What about Trump yanking the security clearances made you take pause?”

Walt: “I remember seeing an interview with John Brennan…might have been Clapper but I think it was Brennan. Anyway, the guy said a security clearance was not for the benefit of the individual but for the benefit of the country. I’d never really thought of it that way. And here goes Trump acting like a king and taking away security clearances from people who know more about threats to national security than he does.”

Jordan: “And…”

Walt: “…and I kept asking myself ‘Why take away the clearances?’ Then I began to think it was his fragile ego was hurt when some of these guys raised questions about the Trump Administration’s policies. It began to bother me that Trump’s actions to satisfy his ego could really hurt the country.”

Jordan: “After that revelation, did you change your mind about a conspiracy among the US national security agencies to get rid of Trump?”

Walt: “Not all at once. I bounced back and forth. It was as if I was playing ping-pong by myself. One day a conspiracy theory; the next day no conspiracy.”

Jordan: “But each day you were less and less supportive?”

Walt: “Gradually I became convinced there was no conspiracy. One day I said to myself, ’Self, Trump is the problem, not the FBI or CIA.”

Jordan: “Then what”

Walt: “When I started to put claims of a conspiracy theory into a different context, then a lot of other claims Trump was making started to fall apart.”

Jordan: “How long did it take you to change your mind?”

Walt: “Once I got though the conspiracy analysis, then like the baby who now knows how to walk, the pace picked up considerably. And finally, Trump became more like Humpty Dumpty.”

Jordan: “Did you talk to anyone about your change of support for Trump?”

Walt: “How could I? For three plus years…during the campaign and then when he was in the White House…I’d tweeted about why Trump was so, so right. To admit I’d changed my mind would have been embarrassing to say the least. In fact, I still can’t talk about it. You’re the first one who knows.”

Jordan: “Well, I’m glad we’re talking about it. But go back to the time you really started to change. How’d the psychiatrist get involved?”

mirror-clipart_jpg Walt: “As I looked in the mirror, I just couldn’t believe what I’d been doing. I needed to find out why. What had made me act that way?”

Jordan: “So you found a psychiatrist?”

Walt: “I first did some research. In fact one of the experts on behavior modification was a professor who I think you took a class from at MIT. Ed somebody.”

Jordan: “Ed’s class was a seminal event for me. Very insightful and frankly, changed my life.”

Psychaitrist Walt: “Well, I poured through a couple of his books. Then I decided to see a psychiatrist.”

Jordan: “Good for you. How’d you find the right one?”

Walt: “Looked through their stated specialties and a lot about what they had studied and where they studied. Narrowed in down to a couple and then chose the one who was more familiar with Ed’s work…and who knew him professionally.”

Turtleneck Jordan: “Walk me through how you guys worked together.”

Walt: “First couple of sessions were really me laying out: (i) what attracted me to Trump, sources of information I used, what actions I took, etc.; (ii) how I felt when Trump took certain actions or made certain statements. Did I always support him? Did I have any doubts? The sessions were background information.”

Jordan: “Then what?”

Walt: “Next few sessions were trying to understand how I thought I had changed. Content was much like you and I have talked about but a lot more detail.”

Jordan: “After you laid out all the history, what was next?”

Walt: “The next sessions were fascinating, frustrating and embarrassing. Some of the time we talked about how people become brainwashed.”

Jordan: “You became your own case study.”

Walt: “I was a case study in a course I didn’t want to take. Anyway I really had no idea I was being brainwashed. For a long time, all Trump’s ideas seemed to make sense. Trump seemed so right…and everyone who didn’t support him seemed so wrong. The world was black and white.”

Jordan: “But somehow you managed to break out of the brainwashing. How did that happen?”

Walt: “Look, I’m no brainwashing expert but as was explained to me, there are ‘holes’ in most brainwashing caps. If reaction to an event or an idea goes through one of those holes, it accesses the pre-brainwashed mind. Think of it as a being on either side of a wall or maybe as separate partitions on a computer hard drive.”

Jordan: “For you the idea of Trump using security clearances for political reasons slipped through one of those holes.”

Walt: “Yep, and at least part of me was accessing a different partition of my hard drive. Part of me was back to my pre-brainwashed days.”

Coffee cup Starbucks Jordan: “This discussion is absolutely fascinating…but I need a break bad.”

Walt: “Me, too, and I could use another cup of coffee. Now that I’ve confessed, I can quit claiming Starbucks is part of a liberal conspiracy and is just a coffee shop. Even more embarrassing for me, I like their coffee.”

(Continued)

#286 Diversion: Can We Talk Evolution?

11 Sunday Mar 2018

Posted by Jordan Abel in Diversions, Personal Stories

≈ 1 Comment

Note: most entries are formatted as conversations. Characters appear in a number of entries, with many entries building on previous conversations. Profile of characters (see link at top of page). You’ll catch on quickly. Thanks for your time and interest…and comments.

Scene: Greenie, JC and Jordan having lunch near Jordan’s office in Washington, DC

Jordan: “Greenie, glad you could break away for lunch. You can protect me from your buddy here.”

Greenie: “Now, Jordan. Yes, it’s nice to see you but when did you need protection? Has JC been harassing poor little Jordie?”

JC: “See, Jordan. You’re far too sensitive…and taking yourself way too seriously. You need to get out of Washington more often. You’re starting to act like some of those people in Congress.”

Jordan: “Alright guys. Enough kvetching. What are we going to talk about over lunch? What about…”

Greenie: “…excuse me but if you were going to suggest discussing progress on my articles on the Revenge Revolution, please don’t. I need a break.”

Jordan: “OK, then what?”

JC: “You want something far out…no pun intended.”

Jordan: “Such as…and what pun?”

JC: “Evolution.”

Greenie: “Since when did you become the scientist?”

JC: “Think about it?”

Greenie: “Think about what, Ms. Einstein?”

JC: “How could species evolve from a bunch of elements? And how did the universe get started?

Jordan: “Greenie, maybe Ms. Einstein is on to something. I’ve never really bought into the Big Bang Theory. Understand the theory but what I can’t figure out is where did the matter come from?”

JC: “See, this might be interesting. Where did all that stuff come from? Nothing just doesn’t go bang. Nothing had to be something before it went bang.”

Greenie: “So, if you need something in order to have it go bang, then who or what provided the something? Little green men? ET’s friends?”

Stars Jordan: “Green is not my color. I like ET’s friends better. Seriously…if that’s possible with this group…I’ve always been fascinated by the number of stars. Now after the Hubble telescope, we know there are even more billions of stars and millions, if not billions of galaxies.”

JC: “And, if you believe in the tooth fairy, out of those billions and billions, earth is the only place where life exists. Right. Take another hit on that joint.”

Greenie: “How does all this link to evolution?”

JC: “Evolution, at least on earth, may not be so random. What if we’re a science experiment of one of ET’s buddies?”

Jordan: “If evolution is part of a science experiment, it explains a lot.”

Greenie: “How?”

Jordan: “We know…let me rephrase that…there appear to be more than three dimensions. We don’t know exactly how many but let’s say there are five dimensions.”

JC: “So ET’s buddies could be operating in all five dimensions while we’re operating only in three. And…”

Greenie: “…Let me try. We know time is relative. A billion years to us might be 10 years to ET. Like a gnat’s life is three days by our standards but maybe 100 years by gnat standards.”

Jordan: “Keep going.”

Greenie: “One of ET’s buddies has this experiment. And as part of that experiment there is a giant petri dish called earth. ET’s buddy puts of few drops of something in the dish and things start to grow.”

JC: “After a while some of the amoebas get bigger and eat other amoebas. Over more time other amoebas take on different shapes and new flavors of amoebas evolve.”

Jordan: “After who knows how long, the “generic man” amoeba evolves.”

Greenie: “All this seems sort of weird, doesn’t it? We’re an experiment in ET’s buddy’s petri dish.”

JC: “Weird, yes, but have you got a better explanation? Plus, who’s going believe this idea anyway?”

Turtleneck Jordan: “Does it really matter who believes it? Probably not. However, more people might be closer to believing it than we think. I find it very interesting that when you look at the core beliefs of a bunch of different religions, there always seems to be some ‘super-power’ of sorts at the top.”

JC: “And a belief in that ‘super-power’ makes life less complicated, right?”

Jordan: “Yes, it seems to.”

JC: “By the way, Jordan does this mean you’ve given up religion for a petri dish? Next time we have lunch are you going to order a BLT?”

Jordan: “You’re funny, JC. No, religion is still very important. At a very minimum it provides great guidelines and boundaries. And no BLT, unless its turkey bacon.”

Greenie: “Whew, beginning to wonder about you, too. C’mon, you really like turkey bacon?”

(End of discussion on evolution…at least for now.)

#275 They’re Coming to America. Well, They Used to.

23 Saturday Dec 2017

Posted by Jordan Abel in Lessons of Revolution, Personal Stories, Societal Issues

≈ Leave a comment

Scene: Jordan’s Office, Washington, DC. Typical morning with Jordan and assistant, Gelly.

Gelly: “Good morning, Jordan. Have a nice visit yesterday with Greenie and JC?”

Jordan: “Morning Gelly. The visit was fantastic. Lots of good information for Greenie’s articles about the Revenge Revolution. Anything new with you today?”

Gelly: “Nothing earth shattering. On the way in I did hear an old song that made me stop and think about how the US used to be.”

Turtleneck Jordan: “Not sure what you mean. Used to be like what?”

Gelly: “Like a place that welcomed immigrants. A place where people from all over the world wanted to come. Well, wanted to come BT…before Trump.”

Jordan: “What song sparked all this?”

Gelly: “Remember in the 1980’s Neil Diamond wrote a song called ‘America’?”

Jordan: “Yes. Really liked the song. But, haven’t heard it in a while.”

Gelly: “Neither had I. When I heard it this morning, it seemed different. Not the music, the words. The words seemed much more powerful than what I remember. In fact, I got all teary-eyed.”

Jordan: “C’mon, Gelly. Really? Why so emotional?”

Statue of Liberty Gelly: “Because, for the first time…and I don’t know why now rather than when I heard it years ago…for the first time I could picture my relatives on the boat coming to America.”

Jordan: “You’re getting teary-eyed again.”

Gelly: “Can’t help it. My father came to America from Europe when he was 13 years old. Travelled all alone. Just think about that, Jordan. You’re 13 years old, on a boat for the first time and heading to a new country where you don’t speak the language. Some of your relatives must have done the same thing.”

Jordan: “Mine came earlier…late 1800’s so not many stories about the ‘old country’. The family seemed more concerned with assimilating. Can’t blame them but a lot of history was lost.”

mortar-board Gelly: “That’s too bad. What really bothers me is how the US went from a country where people wanted to come to a country where it was nearly impossible to immigrate unless you had a bunch of money or some special high-tech skill. My father had no money and no special skill. He worked his whole life as a laborer. My mother could barely speak English. Yet look at the family now.”

Jordan: “In one generation you moved from parents with very limited education to all the siblings being college grads. Your kids are all college grads.”

Gelly: “That’s what’s so frustrating. Why did the country turn against immigration?”

Trump King Jordan: “You know why. King Trump.”

Gelly: “King Trump who would never admit his family name was changed to be more Anglicized. Maybe the Revenge Revolution will help turn around attitudes toward immigration. I hope so. Otherwise, people like me…and you too Jordan…will never be part of America.”

Jordan: “Gelly, excuse me just a minute. I’m going to get a cup of coffee.”

Gelly: “While you do, I’m going to download the words to Diamond’s ‘America’. I’ll also get a link to YouTube so you can hear it. After you get your coffee, do me a favor and, spend a few minutes listening to the song and studying the words. And think about your relatives who made that journey.”

“America”, written and sung by Neil Diamond

Far,
We’ve been traveling far
Without a home
But not without a star

Free,
Only want to be free
We huddle close
Hang on to a dream

On the boats and on the planes
They’re coming to America
Never looking back again,
They’re coming to America

Home
Don’t it seem so far away
Oh, we’re traveling light today
In the eye of the storm
In the eye of the storm

Home
To a new and a shiny place
Make our bed and we’ll say our grace
Freedom’s light burning warm
Freedom’s light burning warm

Everywhere around the world
They’re coming to America
Every time that flag’s unfurled
They’re coming to America

Got a dream to take them there
They’re coming to America
Got a dream they’ve come to share
They’re coming to America

They’re coming to America
They’re coming to America
They’re coming to America
They’re coming to America
Today, Today,Today,
Today, Today

My country ’tis of thee (today)
Sweet land of liberty (today)
Of thee I sing (today)
Of thee I sing.

Songwriters: NEIL DIAMOND, © Universal Music Publishing Group

#254 Who Took Out the Donald? (Part 11)

25 Sunday Jun 2017

Posted by Jordan Abel in Causes of the Revolution, Personal Stories, Societal Issues, Stupid Is as Stupid Does

≈ Leave a comment

First-time readers, the dialogue in this blog is set in the future (sometime after the year 2020). Each entry assumes there has been a 5th revolution in the US — the Revenge Revolution. More about Revenge Revolution and author, Entry #1. List and general description of entries to date. Annual assessment if Revolution plausible.

Note: most characters appear in a number of entries, with many entries building on previous conversations. Profile of characters. You’ll catch on quickly. Thanks for your time and interest…and comments.

Scene: Jordan’s office in Washington a few days after the dinner meeting with Gelly, JC and Greenie. (Lead-in. Last comment in conversation, Entry #253, JC said, “But like the movie director in the ‘Godfather,’ Trump refused, which left the FBI no choice but to take him out and save the country.” (Series “Who Took Out the Donald?’ begins Entry #244.)

Greenie: “Unfortunately, by the time the FBI took Trump out, the damage to the country was too great…and we had the Revenge Revolution.”

JC: “Agreed. And I never thought I’d be saying this, but…”

Jordan: “…can’t wait to hear this one.”

JC: “…you’re excused for interrupting. I never thought I’d be saying not all of the problems were the Donald’s fault.”

Greenie: “JC, have you gone Republican on me? Sounds to me as if you’ve been brainwashed.”

JC: “Think about it…and I know you realize this. The Donald was more of an enabler for the Revenge Revolution rather than the cause of the Revenge Revolution. For 20+ years before Trump, the Republicans had been moving farther and farther right. The Donald let the Republicans do a really hard-right turn.”

Greenie: “They also did a masterful job disguising the hard-right turn from many of their base voters. As much as I hate to give them credit, the disguised hard-right turn was brilliantly executed…at least for a while.”

Jordan: “You mean like fooling the people to vote Republican who would be most negatively affected economically by their policies.”

Greenie: “Exactly. I know you think the comment about brainwashing was tongue-in-check but I really believe many who claimed to be Republicans were brainwashed.”

JC: “Brainwashed? Brainwashing that many people seems impossible…until, of course you look at history and realize brainwashing large segments of the population was not all that unusual.”

Matt: “I agree brainwashing is possible…but it just seems so unlikely.”

Jordan: “Here’s an example of brainwashing that has baffled me for decades. It’s an example from graduate school.”

JC: “You mean that place in Cambridge that gave you remedial training?”

Jordan: “Such a charmer. The short version is this. At the beginning of the semester, class members were assigned to a group. Each week the group was given a problem to solve. The last problem for the semester was to negotiate a nuclear arms disarmament agreement with another group.”

Greenie: “Any rules? How did a team get points…or whatever was being measured.”

Jordan: “A few guidelines – for example, only 2 people could meet with the other team’s reps, time limit for each round, etc. The way points were generated was interesting. If two teams negotiated successfully, then the combined total was the most…say 1,000 points. I don’t remember exactly.”

Matt: “So the total was 1,000 but I guess each team earned 500…right?”

JC: “And what if the teams didn’t settle?”

Jordan: If one team strung along the other team, then bombed them at the end, the team that bombed would get the most points as a team…say 750 points…but the combined total would be less than the 1,000 points for those that negotiated successfully.”

JC: “So, if a team wanted to win the most points individually, they’d string along the other group and then at the end, say ‘SURPRISE, we’re bombing you.’”

Jordan: “That’s exactly what happened. One team negotiated supposedly in good faith…and then at the last allowed negotiating session told the other team they were being bombed.”

Matt: “Why do you think this was an example of brainwashing?”

Jordan: “Two reasons. #1, the professor was an expert in how people were brainwashed, including military personnel. Looking back, a number of problems we had to solve were associated with the effects of ‘group think,’ ‘peer pressure,’ ‘intimidation,’ etc. #2 reason was the members of the group that bombed did not think through the potential consequences.”

JC: “C’mon. It was a game. You think there were repercussions?”

Casino Night Jordan: “After the class found out about the bombing, people no longer trusted members of the group that bombed. The change was immediate. The entire class has a casino party on Saturday night, the day after the bombing. Some members of the group that bombed staffed the casino tables – dealing cards, for example. And guess what?”

Greenie: “People wouldn’t go to those tables.”

JC: “OK, but that was the next night. What about long-term? I still keep thinking it was only a game.”

traitor Jordan: “I can still tell you the names of the key players in the group that bombed. What’s more I can tell you their careers were not much different that their behavior in that group. I’m still friends with two of the three key guys but I would never work with them.”

Matt: “So what I’m hearing is a few members of one group…”

Jordan: “…three as best I recall…”

Matt: “…three members of one group convinced other people in the group, all of whom were highly educated, to take action that was clearly negative.”

JC: “I still come back to it was only a game. I mean really.”

Greenie: “Was this early or late in the semester? You said the last class.”

Jordan: “That’s an important point. By this time in the semester the class had been exposed to a number of problems affecting individual and group behavior.”

Greenie: “The exercise sounds more like an informal final exam than a mere exercise.”

Trump King Matt: “Alright, so you had an interesting exercise or even informal final exam. Now bring that exercise back to the Trump administration. You think there were parallels?”

Greenie: “Let me guess. The personality profiles of key members of the Trump Administration seem very similar to profiles of the bombers.”

Jordan: “Greenie, you’re good at this. The profiles not quite cookie cutters but close.”

JC: “Building on Matt’s question, if you think about it, the personality profiles of the Republicans leaders of the House and Senate have been the same since maybe the mid-1990’s. I’ll exclude Boehner, at least the last couple of years before he retired.”

Matt: “Let’s be fair. Democratic leaders were not all warm-and-fuzzy, goody two-shoes types.”

Wolf JC: “Agreed, but the Democrats didn’t seem vicious like the Republicans.”

Greenie: “Until the Donald, the White House and some key influencers seemed to hold the Republican leadership in check.”

JC: “Then comes the Donald, who has absolutely no clue how Washington, or any large organization, really works. Intentionally or not, he becomes the enabler of the crazies of the alt-right.”

Matt: “I must confess, the brainwashing idea seemed farfetched when I first heard it. The more we talk about it the more logical it becomes.”

Greenie: “I’ll give you an example that should convince the most die-hard Trump fan…well, maybe not the most die-hard but close. The health care bills drafted by the House and Senate to replace Obamacare.”

Matt: “Agreed. Those proposals decimated health-care coverage for a wide swath of Republican voters.”

Screwed-Guy JC: “Republican leaders crafted the proposals to reward the very wealthy and screw the very people who voted them into office. I recall one of the Republican senators who crafted their bill in secret making the following statement, ‘Medicaid does not pay doctors enough per visit.’ Followed by ‘The proposed bill cuts Medicaid payments by hundreds of millions of dollars.’ Duh, oh wise senator, do you understand what you just said?”

Greenie: “To use phrase from the Donald’s extensive vocabulary, ‘that’s sad, very sad.’ What really was sad is many of the Trumpsters never did realize how much they were going to get the shaft.”

Turtleneck Jordan: “Fortunately for them, Trump had so many other personal conflicts that affected the presidency, especially financial links to the Russians, the FBI had to take him out.”

Matt: “Well, you got me convinced about the FBI and the Donald. And I also need to go. Greenie, OK if I call you with some other questions about the Revenge Revolution? You’ve written more articles than anyone.”

Greenie: “Of course, Matt. Call any time.”

(Continued)

#222 Rioters in Charlotte. Drive Looking through the Windshield or the Rearview Mirror? (Part 4)

16 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by Jordan Abel in Innovative Thinking: Ideas and Products, Personal Stories, Possible Solutions, Societal Issues

≈ Leave a comment

First-time readers, this blog is set in the future (sometime after the year 2020). Each entry assumes there has been a 5th revolution in the US — the Revenge Revolution. More about Revenge Revolution and author, Entry #1. List and general description of entries to date. Annual assessment whether Revolution plausible.

Scene: Jordan’s office in Washington, DC. Conversation for this series starts Entry #219.

Matt: “I agree the conversation about the black community should be frank with no sugar-coating. But where should the conversation start? I mean, lots of issues.”

Jordan: “Why not start at the end and work backwards? What should the black community look like? An even better start would be to describe the characteristics of people the black community can look up to.”

Matt: “You mean describe characteristics of some role models?”

Jordan: “Role models as long they are not sports figures…no Michael Jordan’s, for example. Nothing against the Michael Jordan’s of the world but the black community cannot solve its problems through the NBA and NFL.”

Matt: “Then what kind of role models?”

Jordan: “My recommendation would be individuals most people haven’t heard of but who exemplify what I think the black community would like to become.”

Matt: “Who’s on your list?”

Jordan: “Three people. #1 is someone I know reasonably well; #2 is someone I’ve met a few times in business; #3, never met but awestruck with his accomplishments.”

Matt: “Let me guess, Rock Man is #1 on the list.

Jordan: “Good guess.”

Matt: “I remember meeting Rock Man and was very impressed…but I don’t know the whole story.”

Jordan: “Rock Man comes from a family of 6-8 children…I don’t remember the exact number but a lot. Eastern North Carolina. Parents are tenant cotton farmers with maybe an 8^th-grade education.”

Matt: “But Rock Man is a college grad, right?”

Jordan: “As are all 6-8 children. Everyone graduated from college and a few have graduate degrees.”

Matt: “I admit that’s very impressive for the family, but what else about Rock Man?”

Jordan: “After graduation he starts a climbing gym in Charlotte. Apparently he’s got the only black-owned climbing gym in the country…at least east of the Mississippi.”

Matt: “Mostly black clientele?”

Jordan: “Mostly white.”

Matt: “Well, how’d you meet Rock Man?”

Jordan: “Through a business colleague. I then started helping Rock Man with managing his business.”

Matt: “Still interesting but nothing too special about this.”

Jordan: “Within a few months, Rock Man meets a young lady who seems to be the perfect match – outgoing, high energy and smart.”

Matt: “They get married?”

Jordan: “He was balking until I beat him over the head. I kept telling him she was perfect for him.”

Matt: “So, they get married…then what?”

Jordan: “Short version. She gets a job at the local branch of an international insurance company. Performs well and gets on a fast track. In less than 15 years, she goes from glorified clerk in a branch to head of one of the company’s major international operations.”

Matt: “Wow, that’s impressive. Any kids?”

Jordan: “Two. Girl and boy. The girl is old enough to have college on her mind. She’s torn between Harvard and Yale. I keep pushing MIT but to no avail. The son is not yet on a hunt for college.”

Matt: “So what did Rock Man do while the wife is playing Ms. Corporate Executive?”

Jordan: “Rock Man becomes Mr. Mom.”

Matt: “Mmm, isn’t being Mr. Mom a bit unusual in the black community?”

Jordan: “I think it is unusual…likely highly unusual. Aside from migrating from poor cotton farmers…now I’ll use Rock Man’s terms…who were too poor to have a pot to piss in…to college graduate, what really impresses me about Rock Man is the willingness to change roles. Being Mr. Mom and supporting the kids seems so out of character for most black men that I thought he’d be an ideal role model.”

Matt: “Agreed. Who’s #2 on the list?”

Jordan: “Ever use one of those super squirt guns?”

Matt: “They’re a blast. We used to have water fights with those. Why?”

Jordan: “Know who invented the super squirt gun?”

Matt: “I confess. I have no idea.”

Jordan: “His name is Lonnie Johnson. Worked at NASA before the squirt gun became wildly popular. As I understand, he used the proceeds from the squirt gun to start a technology company.”

Matt: “What was the business?”

Jordan: “Advanced batteries. For the record, lithium air batteries. Trust me, a tough task.”

Matt: “Again, interesting story but why is this guy a role model for the black community…and I assume this guy’s black?”

Jordan: “Yes. In addition to starting a high-tech battery company, which is impressive by itself, he locates the company in a very rough part of Atlanta. Then he tries to hire as many neighborhood people as possible. He also recruits as many black engineers as possible. 15-20 years from now, I might question his bias toward black engineers. But today he should be applauded for making an effort to employ as many blacks as possible in his high-tech company.”

Matt: “Who’s the 3^rd guy?” (Continued)

#210 The Blame Game (Part 2)

24 Sunday Jul 2016

Posted by Jordan Abel in Personal Stories, Possible Solutions, Societal Issues

≈ Leave a comment

Scene: Jordan’s office, Washington, DC. (Conversation begins #209)

Gelly: “OK, I watched O’Reilly’s video.”

Jordan: “…and?”

Gelly: “No surprise that I didn’t agree with everything he said but his points were well taken. We’ve got to start a conversation with the black community in order to start solving problems.”

Jordan: “What do we do next?”

Gelly: “I was going to ask you the same question. Big set of problems. Who’s going to take the lead?”

Jordan: “Let’s make a list of people who might be good candidates. Who comes to mind first?”

Gelly: “For me, president Obama. He’s been out of office a few years and stayed away from politics.”

Jordan: “Great choice, but I think he still might be considered too controversial. You know who would be a good person to bounce ideas off of…and maybe lead the discussion before it gets too high-profile?”

Gelly: “Someone who really understands the black community…like Rock Man?”

Jordan: “Like Rock Man. Been a while since we talked to him.”

Gelly: “Want me to try to track him down?”

Jordan: “Please. If you find him, see if he can Skype. In the meantime, I’ll make a few phone calls.”

(15 minute break in conversation)

Gelly: “Found Rock Man. He’s waiting for us to Skype.” (Jordan’s makes Skype connection.)

Rock Man: “Hey guys. Long time, no talk to. Gelly said you need some advice. A big dog like you needs advice from me?”

Jordan: “Yes, from you. And who says I’m a big dog. More like a fire hydrant. Anyway, the challenge is two-fold: (i) how to get groups to take personal responsibility for fixing their problems; (ii) how to get groups to quit blaming someone else for their problems.”

Rock Man: “And you’re calling me about…let me guess…about getting the black community to take more personal responsibility.”

Jordan: “Gelly, he’s so perceptive.”

Rock Man: “What do you want me to do? I’m just one guy.”

Gelly: “From my perspective, you’re an ideal role model for taking personal responsibility.”

Rock Man: “In what way?”

Gelly: “I don’t know the whole story but I understand you grew up in Eastern North Carolina, dirt poor with parents who had very limited education…”

Rock Man: “…8^th grade at best…”

Gelly: “…and yet all the children, what 6 or 7 of you, earned college degrees and several earned graduate degrees. That just didn’t happen by accident.”

Jordan: “Gelly, Rock Man won’t tell you this part. He started out in Charlotte at Johnson C. Smith, but after his sophomore year transferred to University of North Carolina-Charlotte in order to get tougher classes.”

Gelly: “See, Rock Man, that’s exactly what I’m talking about. You took personal responsibility for getting a better education. Would have been easier to stay at JC Smith but you didn’t. You are the perfect role model.”

Rock Man: “C’mon, my shoes are getting brown. There are much better role models than I am. What about Michael Jordan or LeBron James or a bunch of other athletes as role models?”

Jordan: “You and I have talked about this before. I think professional athletes are exactly the wrong role model for young black males. How many black professional athletes, or for that matter all professional athletes, have a college degree? Not just attend college but graduate?”

Rock Man: “I don’t know but not many have degrees. The problem among black teens is education isn’t sexy like athletics. Plus education doesn’t guarantee big bucks.”

Jordan: “What percent of college athletes make it to the pros? As small as that number is, what percent of high school students eventually end up in the pros? Its miniscule — a thimble full at best.”

Gelly: “Rock Man, your parents pushed education over athletics. My parents were 1^st-generation immigrants. My mother was barely literate. But you know what their goal was? What they made significant sacrifices for?”

Rock Man: “Same as mine? Getting the kids through college?”

Gelly: “The goals of my parents and your parents were no different from goals of most immigrant families. Achieving those goals might take 2 or 3 generations and many will be grandparents or great grandparents before it happens. But the goals of the parents were clear – get the kids through college or a comparable technical school. So if families from Europe, Asia, wherever follow the same model, why shouldn’t black families? Your parents did…and look how the family turned out.”

Jordan: “Seems like the best person to start talking to the black community is someone who understands the hardships of the black community and the cultural norms.”

Gelly: “Like I keep saying, someone like you Rock Man.”

Rock Man: “Ok, you guys are persuasive. How do I get started?”

Jordan: “My view is the black community needs to: (i) take the lead in this effort; (ii) ask for help from other groups, even the police.”

Rock Man: “Let me ask again, ‘how do we get started?’”

Jordan: “Since the Revenge Revolution, the political environment is less toxic that a few years ago…”

Rock Man: “…you mean like the toxic environment when Donald the bomb thrower was running for president?”

Jordan: “Yes. Make no mistake, the atmosphere is still tense. If I were you, Rock Man, I’d reach way across the aisle and ask for help from a perceived adversary to the black community. Someone, who if you worked with, would cause everyone to turn their head.”

Rock Man: “Like who?”

Gelly: “Earlier today I looked at a short video from 2016 made by Bill O’Reilly.”

Rock Man: “Like the Bill O’Reilly?”

Gelly: “I said exactly the same thing when Jordan asked me to look at it. Let me tell you, O’Reilly listed some very good questions that would help start a meaningful dialogue.”

Jordan: “So, why not reach out to O’Reilly and get his opinion?”

Rock Man: “Can you send me the link to the video, please?”

Jordan: “Take a look and then ask yourself, what’s really the downside of talking to him about the issues he listed? You might be surprised. He might be very helpful.”

Rock Man: “Alright, I’ll review and get back.”

(Continued)

#190 Big Bang Theory at a Bottling Plant? (Part #2)

27 Sunday Mar 2016

Posted by Jordan Abel in Diversions, Personal Stories

≈ Leave a comment

Scene: Jordan invited to dinner at the White House. POTUS’ family is away and he and Jordan are having dinner in the living quarters. POTUS asked the conversation not be about politics and suggested discussing a more fun topic such as the formation of the universe. Conversation begins #189.

Jordan: “By the way, what’s for dinner?”

POTUS: “For you, North Carolina pork BBQ. Just kidding. But we are having beef BBQ – Texas style.”

Jordan: “What a pleasant surprise. But I never think of BBQ and White House dinners in the same sentence.”

POTUS: “Usually not. In the living quarters, life is different. We try to eat like real people.”

Jordan: “Funny you mention that.”

POTUS: “You mean real people or food?”

Jordan: “Both. The other day someone asked me about the most fun time I could remember when food was involved.”

POTUS: “…and?”

Jordan: “I could remember the occasion but not what food was involved. What stuck with me was the fun with friends, not what we ate.”

POTUS: “So food doesn’t really matter?”

Jordan: “I’m no one’s connoisseur of food or wine. But I’ve eaten all over the world — in some great restaurants and not so great restaurants.”

POTUS: “So the food doesn’t really matter to you.”

Jordan: “The food can’t be awful. For me, though, the best part is being with friends.”

POTUS: “You told me one time about a group of friends that got together for dinner once a month. Some or all of the group met during the week for pizza. You had a funny name for those pizza dinners.”

Jordan: “We’d meet on Tuesday and the dinners were known as Crappy Pizza Tuesday.”

POTUS: “That’s it, Crappy Pizza Tuesday. Was the pizza that bad?”

Jordan: “Not really. We needed a name for the evening and Crappy Pizza Tuesday seemed to stick.”

POTUS: “Give me another example where you ate out, but food didn’t matter.”

Jordan: “When I worked in Manhattan and we lived in Connecticut, a group of guys used to meet Saturday mornings at the Driftwood Diner in Darien.”

POTUS: “Sounds like fun.”

Jordan: “It was great. We still see each other periodically but also all miss kibitzing at the diner.”

Waiter: “Mr. Abel, another glass of wine?”

Jordan: “Yes, Andrew, please. And where did that wine come from?”

Andrew: “Another one of your spots, sir. Sonoma County.”

Jordan: “It’s very good. Do either of you know what they make in Napa?”

Andrew: “Wine, sir?”

Jordan: “Nope. They make auto parts. An old Sonoma County joke.”

POTUS: “On that note, let’s eat and get back to our earlier conversation about the universe.”

Jordan: “Alright, back to using my brain again.”

POTUS: “Your question about where the matter for the Big Bang came from – when did you first think about that? Some physics class?”

Jordan: “Want the truth?”

POTUS: “Please.”

Jordan: “During summers when I was in undergrad, I worked in a Pepsi bottling plant.”

POTUS: “A real mentally taxing job.”

Jordan: “With one year of college I had more education than everyone on the floor except the plant manager. But I liked the guys and we had great fun.”

POTUS: “What’d you do at the plant?”

Jordan: “I moved up from loading trucks by hand to lift-truck operator. We worked lots of overtime so I would switch jobs occasionally. One night I was monitoring bottles coming out of the giant washer…”

POTUS: “…sounds really boring.”

Jordan: “It was boring. So I used the time to think about different things.”

POTUS: “That’s when the question about the Big Bang hit?”

Jordan: “Sort of an odd place to think about how the universe was formed, but, yes, that’s when the question hit me.”

POTUS: “You’re not the first guy to ask the question.”

Jordan: “Of course not. So far no one seems to have a credible answer.”

POTUS: “Some people might argue a higher being as responsible.”

Jordan: “I agree with that idea. Still the question remains, where did the higher being get the stuff for the Big Bang?”

POTUS: “If I interpret you correctly, you think earth could be part of an experiment in some being’s laboratory?”

Jordan: “Think about it. The universe is, in many ways, structured like a bunch of atoms and sub-atomic particles. The primary difference is size.”

POTUS: “Interesting point. We think sub-atomic particles are small and the universe as large. To someone else the universe could be small.”

Jordan: “Ever look through a microscope at say water from a murky pond?”

POTUS: “I did in biology class. Amazing all the little creatures that live in a few drops of water.”

Jordan: “To those little guys, how big does the pond seem…let alone a lake or ocean?”

POTUS: “Huge. To an amoeba, the distance from one side of a pond to another must measure billions of something.”

Jordan: “Distance is a relative measure. To the amoeba, the pond might as well be the Milky Way, maybe larger.”

POTUS: “Never thought about it before but what if humans are amoebas to some other set of beings?”

Jordan: “That’s my point. We don’t know. A lot of people on earth think humans are the highest level in the food chain – and the smartest.”

POTUS: “They also believe no human-like creatures exist anywhere else in the universe.”

Jordan: “To those who believe humans are unique, I have two questions: (i) what do you think the probability is that life exists only on one planet out of how many universes – millions, if not billions?”

POTUS: “Chances are just about zero. What’s the second question?”

Jordan: “Why should earthlings be the most advanced?”

POTUS: “You’re saying if there are 100 planets in the various universes that have life — 100 is probably low number but stick with it — then earth would have 1 in 100 chance of being the most advanced.”

Jordan: “Now you got it.”

POTUS: “All this while watching Pepsi bottles coming out of a washer?”

Jordan: “Strange, huh? Andrew, could you please…”

#185 One Person Can Make a Difference (Part #9)

17 Wednesday Feb 2016

Posted by Jordan Abel in Corporate Policy, General Motors, Personal Stories, Societal Issues

≈ Leave a comment

Scene: Jordan still in Charlotte and on limited work schedule while recovering from prostate surgery. Jordan calls his office and talks to Gelly, his assistant. Earlier Jordan and POTUS began conversation about rebuilding US manufacturing and the middle class. Series starts #177; conversation with POTUS, #179.

Jordan: “Gelly, could you do me a favor, please?”

Gelly: “Yes, but only because you are so helpless.”

Jordan: “C’mon. I’m not helpless. I’m just a little slow getting around that’s all.”

Gelly: “I must say. Your recovery seems to be progressing more quickly than I anticipated. You pleased with progress?”

Jordan: “I’m pleased with progress and so is the doctor. I just need to make sure my expectations don’t race too far ahead.”

Gelly: “OK, so what do you want me to do?”

Jordan: “POTUS called me at home. By the way, did you tell him about my surgery?”

Gelly: “I’ll never tell. And he certainly doesn’t need me to tell him what’s going on in your life. Isn’t that what those agencies are for?”

Jordan: “We had a nice chat about the technology used in surgery.”

Gelly: “Only guys would talk about the machines and software used to cut them open and remove parts. OK, I’ll stop and listen.”

Jordan: “What we never got around to was a story I had promised to tell him. He said to call when I was feeling better.”

Gelly: “So, now you’re feeling better and want me to find out a good time for him to chat, right?”

Jordan: “Yes, please. Earlier in the day is better for me. Thanks.”

Gelly: “I’ll make sure Little Jordan is not in his jammies when POTUS calls.”

Jordan: “You’re tough, Gelly.”

Gelly: “I harass you because I like you Jordan. When I stop harassing you is when you should be concerned.”

Next day Jordan receives call at home.

Jordan: “Jordan Abel, may I help you.”

POTUS: “He doesn’t get it. Relax dude.”

Jordan: “Alright, Mr. President, I’ll relax. I’m just so programmed to answer the phone a certain way.”

POTUS: “I hear you. Gelly said you were ready to tell me the second story, which is about how one person can make a difference. If you have time, I’m ready. Is this another Buick story?”

Jordan: “Yes. Here’s the background. Buick spends lots of money modernizing an old assembly plant. Production then resumes but quality lags.”

POTUS: “How bad was it?”

Jordan: “Second worst plant in North America.”

POTUS: “You mean 2^nd worst for Buick?”

Jordan: “No, 2^nd worst of any assembly plant in the industry. That’s all domestic plants and all foreign-owned plants.”

POTUS: “Quality was that bad after all the money was spent modernizing the plant?”

Jordan: “Yes.”

POTUS: “Big problem.”

Jordan: “The main character in this story works in the Buick service department. Mid-level salary guy but his family is…”

POTUS: “…Let me guess. This is Flint and he’s the first of his family not working on the assembly line? How’d I do?”

Jordan: “Dead on. The family is 3^rd or 4^th generation hourly worker and 2^nd generation UAW.”

POTUS: “What happens next?”

Jordan: “He comes to my office and borrows a report with all kinds of quality data and consumer rankings. Like a JD Power report but it’s developed internally and has much more detail.”

POTUS: “Is he supposed to have the info in the report?”

Jordan: “No reason he can’t. But unbeknownst to me and any other department head, he takes the report and meets with the UAW.”

POTUS: “The same UAW guy you talked to. You know, the one whose son you mentored? Wasn’t he president of the UAW local?”

Jordan: “Probably but the same guy but I’m not 100% sure. Whoever he talked to, he reminded them his family had worked in the plant since Buick was founded in 1903. He also told them the ratings were not Buick’s but from customers. Finally, he told them that if quality did not improve, the company was likely to close the plant and move production elsewhere.”

POTUS: “Close it, even though they’d spent all the money modernizing the plant?”

Jordan: “His analysis was spot on.”

POTUS: “What happened?”

Jordan: “I’ll tell you the results. How the idea was communicated with the rank-and-file, I have no idea…nor frankly, do I want to know. But what happened is quality started to improve quickly.”

POTUS: “Then what?”

Jordan: “Within 18 months, the quality of the plant went from 2^nd worst in the industry to 2^nd best…and within a whisker of being first.”

POTUS: “in just 18 months? Really?”

Jordan: “Really.”

POTUS: “This guy get some kind of award?”

Jordan: “No one even knew about it or talked about until a few years later. Management knew that quality turned around but no other exec I talked to knew exactly what happened.”

POTUS: “So one guy did all this on his own?”

Jordan: “One guy started the ball rolling. But when you step back and think about, this guy had more credibility with the UAW than the entire management team. They trusted him. He wasn’t a suit. He wasn’t out for some political gain…or some promotion. In fact, he risked getting demoted for going outside the system. But he didn’t worry about personal consequences. And he had credibility because of his family history.”

POTUS: “Quite a story. I keep shaking my head. Just one guy who did this on his own. Wow.”

Jordan: “One guy. No committee. No incentive other than trying to do the right thing and save jobs for his family and other members of the community. And he’s not from central casting. He’s overweight and low-key — in some ways reminds you of a Guernsey cow. I mean that in a positive way…but you get the idea.”

POTUS: “Interesting profile for guy that made such an impact. Did GM keep the plant open?”

Jordan: “The plant stayed open for another probably 20 years. They shut it as part of the bankruptcy, and then demolished it. 100 years of automotive assembly history turned into a pile of rubble.”

POTUS: “As a country we’ve got to change. Stories like this one make me inspired by the effort of one individual. The story also makes me sick because 100 years of effort by a lot of people got tuned into a heap.”

Jordan: “I still get upset with the ending to the story.”

POTUS: “What are we going to do, Jordan, to help rebuild US manufacturing? And get those middle class jobs back to Flint and many other locations.”

Jordan: “You want to talk now or later?”

POTUS: “I’ve got to run. And you probably need some rest. Let’s chat some more soon.”

usrevolution5

~ USA Headed for a 5th Revolution! Why?

Category Archives: Personal Stories

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#322 Artificial Intelligence Applied at the Micro Level – Personality Profiles

#304 Republicans Supporting Trump Brainwashed? How One Supporter Was Cured. (Part 3)

#286 Diversion: Can We Talk Evolution?

#275 They’re Coming to America. Well, They Used to.

#254 Who Took Out the Donald? (Part 11)

#222 Rioters in Charlotte. Drive Looking through the Windshield or the Rearview Mirror? (Part 4)

#210 The Blame Game (Part 2)

#190 Big Bang Theory at a Bottling Plant? (Part #2)

#185 One Person Can Make a Difference (Part #9)