We keep hearing various politicians claim that ‘Business’ is afraid to expand because of governmental uncertainty. Yet, these same folks repeatedly threaten to shut down the government over the smallest of disagreements. In actuality, nothing is really uncertain in the real business marketplace(the marketplace is always uncertain- I mean more than normal): The tax code has not changed in years and regulatory pressures (unless operating a power plant) have not been radically changed, with the sole exception of the healthcare insurance situation. Moreover, healthcare costs have been going up reliably- and without reason- for nigh two decades now, so that’s nothing new to anyone (in or out of the business marketplace).
But, let’s see how these politicians are creating havoc. Let’s imagine our government were a business. (Forget that it is, a certain party does every day.) And, they expect- nay, they demand- it operate more efficiently. And, how do they arrange said result? By having departmental middle and upper management spend days of each month contemplating how they can eke by their day-to-day functions, as they also prepare for a shut-down of their finances. What kind of long-term planning do you think anyone would really do to improve their operations? And, how efficient can any operation be when it is uncertain of its funding and viability beyond 30 days?
I have worked (and currently still do) with ‘turnaround’ companies routinely. Companies that have either filed bankruptcy or need to file bankruptcy. Who are stymied with the little (and big) choices to be made to remain in operation. This is identical to the current psychology of the middle and upper management of our government.
As an example of uncertainty and how it affects our psyches, let’s consider what happened to the Phillies and the Cards last night (2 October). These teams were presented with a similar situation. Jerry Meals, a pygmy of an umpire (in almost every sense of the word) employed arbitrary and non-uniform standards for balls and strikes. Rendering it impossible for a batter to discern whether he should swing or pass at a ball. Rendering it difficult for two of the best pitchers in baseball to choose the proper pitch- one that would be within the strike zone and still be difficult to hit.
And, there were two separate strike zones- one for the Phillies and one for the Cardinals. Seven (7) Phillies pitches and one (1) Cardinals pitch were strikes- and called for balls (two of them would have struck out rather than walked a Card, one would not have led to the subsequent hit). One pitch was called a strike for the Phils and six for the Cards (striking out two, instead of walking two) that were really outside the zone. One of them more than 1 foot high and 1 foot wide of the zone that “struck out” my favorite player, Chase Utley.
As you can see, this is not much different than is being done with/to our government workers. And, what is NOT being done to most corporations. And, with the exception of prosecuting small companies and their executives and giving large companies a pass (like going after the bankers that started this financial crisis), all the business rules are the same for all the players- even if those rules are not what you want. Imagine how “business’ would really feel (unless, again you are a small business executive) when the rules change at the whim of ONE individual.
You shouldn’t run your company like that, either! Consistency of treatment is the best way to insure productive and consistent effort by your team. Make sure your decisions are in the strike zone!
The chart above uses the PitchFX system developed by BrooksBaseball.net, tracking the exact flight and location of each bitch. The large square box is the strike zone. Red symbols were called strikes; green symbols were called balls. The little squares were pitches thrown by the Phils; the little triangles were thrown pitches by the Cards.
Excellent points! Very well explained. I found the baseball analogy an effective way of getting the point across. Well Done! Best of luck in the challenge!
Thanks for dropping in, Dena. And, I love the title of your blog!
Hope to see you again soon!
Roy
Unfortunately I’m a little fuzzy on the details of a lot of this post, but I definitely get the baseball comparison. Yes, let’s call a strike a strike and a ball a ball consistently in baseball, government and business. Those umpires have quite a job.
I am so sorry that I wasn’t clear enough in my post. I try to avoid a lot of politics (not in real life- but on my blog) , so I hemmed and hawed (as opposed to my straight up and down conversational tone) a bit.
You hear repeatedly from prominent politicians of one party that “Business” is afraid to invest in capital items and hiring right now, because the government is sending mixed signals. That may, indeed, be true- only because they are repeatedly averring that our corporate and personal tax rates are too high and need to be cut (causing business to wait and see if that will happen). When, if you check the world, you find that our tax rates are about the middle- and dead smack among those developed nations whose economies are stymied. The one country that is doing well- Germany- has a tax rate that is so much higher than ours, that no one would suggest that here.
And, over the past 18 months- between the debt ceiling fiasco (which is a result of laws passed by Congress for funding they appropriated) would not be raised. That scared every business. And, it threatened a shutdown- twice- of our government. Which meant that the directors and middle managers had to create triage situations- how to keep doing the essentials, who to let go, who to pay, which bills can wait- all with no planning for the future (even for mandated spending approved by Congress). Followed by the passing of the tax bills, followed by a shutdown of the FAA (which generates a PROFIT for the US compared to its costs- and let the airlines KEEP the taxes they collected for 14- 18 days and not refund them to the passengers OR remit them to the US Treasury), followed by a threatened shutdown of the FHA (the highways), followed by a near shutdown (averted by sleight of hand- 4 congressman approved a financial bill by acclimation, while the body [the rest of the House] was on vacation) over disaster relief (incurred due to a G0d caused event- Hurricane Irene). That’s the business and government uncertainty.
And, many of us who have employees do the same dealing with them. We act capriciously, favoring employees regardless of their merit. Our employees see upswings in demand- or downswings- with no comment from management. They worry about their jobs, they have to work more hours without extra compensation, etc. We need to be fair with them; their morale improves and our business does better. Even little things in morale (even if unintentional) can be detected by customers with whom we come in contact….
Let’s aim for the strike zone- with clear and consistent borders.
Roy
I like your thinking on this. Great analogy!
Thanks, Melinda!
So nice to meet you here.
Roy
Roy – one day business will actually tell government where to stick it. I fail to understand why do-gooders who have either academic or legal backgrounds think they understand what generates wealth. Love him or hate him, John Key understands that here in NZ and while he is not making a lot of friends, sometimes he does things that keep us afloat down here.
Roberta:
I have a post in the queue that will deal specifically with the issue of government-assisted entrepreneurial programs. And, the difference between entrepreneurs and other small businesses. Facts most (I dare say all) governments clearly misunderstand.
Roy
Really great analogy and it helps to understand the “game” better. I agree consistency counts and also creates security and trust.
Tambre:
it’s amazing, but true, we can live with bad rules if they are consistent. We love good rules- but only if they are consistent.
Think what’s happening under various governments around the world. These folks were living under rules that sound absolutely perfect- if they were truly applied. But, capriciousness and greed render the system repulsive.
Roy
Very interesting baseball analogy, Roy. I like what you said, “Let’s aim for the strike zone – with clear and consistent borders.”
People are so confused with the government, taxes, bailouts, healthcare plans, etc.
I am totally stymied when I listen to the presidential hopefuls on TV… I have no idea who I will vote for…I just know who I will NOT vote for.
Janette:
The Supreme Court did the entire country a dis-service with its Citizen United case. Now, everyone spends money to spread disinformation, to discredit others, using innuendo and half-truths. The result is that you are correct- folks are confused, because they can’t discern what is a fact, what is an opinion, and what is an outright lie.
Roy
Another great read Roy! Interesting enough, I believe what you are sharing with us is some of the reasons why we have folks picketing and protesting Wall Street. I would love to see decisions and things done that are ‘close’ to a strike zone. But it seems each and every day we are getting further away from making any decisions or seeing any ‘change’ that we were promised.
I do believe the government(s) should be run as if it were a corporation. Put people in Congress that do know about doing business, making the hard decisions just like any other corporation has been doing for decades. It seems that we are paralyzed from any decision at all which is not forward thinking or forward moving. It is frustrating to say the least!
And, BTW Roy…. sorry but, GO TIGERS!!! 🙂
Lynn- last things first— I want the Tigers to win the AL. I started out as a Tiger fan- until they traded their star pitcher to the Phils- who pitched a perfect game on Father’s Day, 1964. I’ve been a Philly Phanatic ever since.
And, yes, we, the people, are sick and tired of being provided half truths and outright lies. And, what we don’t recall- since most of us were not around then- it took about three years AFTER the 1929 crash for the people to begin demonstrating and demanding change. The 99%-ers may, indeed, be that replicant effort.
Roy