Glenn Shepard’s Personal Blog

NBC Nightly News reported last night that the most competitive sport today is parenting, and sports coaches are cashing in. “Sports Performance Training Centers” are training kids as young as nine year olds, up to two hours a day, up to five days a week. Sessions are about $35 each, and former trainers for professional athletes now train kids in everything from hockey to lacrosse. One child psychologist described it as robbing these kids of their childhood, while one Dad openly confessed that he’s walking a thin line between motivator and intimidator.

Guess I was lucky. The only two things my Dad ever pushed me to do was make Eagle Scout, and to hang in there at my first job at K-mart when I wanted to quit after two weeks. (I honored his wishes in both cases, and have benefited ever since).

It amazes me how many Americans are still clamoring for the government to provide them with free healthcare. Yes, it would be nice in theory. It would also be nice if we had free gas, electricity, water, food, and retirement. Just two “small” 800 pound elephants in the room that these people keep ignoring. First, we can’t afford it. We’re going broke, and it’s about to get a LOT worse. In 60 days, the first wave of a generation of 75 million Baby Boomers will begin qualifying for Social Security, and there’s only 19 million Generation X’ers behind us. Second, socialized medicine does not work. Yesterday Paul Harvey reported that in Great Britain where they have socialized medicine, their citizens are traveling to 48 other countries to get healthcare on their own.

Look at the scorecard for the parts of our lives Americans have entrusted to the government and see how we’re doing. First, both Republicans and Democrats were falling all over themselves about the security breaches at airports when private firms were responsible for passenger screening, and swore the government would make it all better when they took over. Well, they took over, but I’m still waiting for that promise to be fulfilled.

Second, parents are pulling their kids out of public schools and home schooling them at a record rate. They believe they can do a better job than “the system”, and the statistics I’ve seen seem to prove them right.

And then there’s that little thing I call “Social Insecurity”. I can throw a dart at the investment section of the Wall Street Journal and choose mutual funds that will triple the return the feds have gotten on the SS taxes they’ve taken out of my paychecks over the years and “invested” for me.

Yet some people out there still want the government to take responsibility for their healthcare. Noooooooooooooo thank you. I beleive in taking personable responsibility in every area of my life, especially when it comes to my health.

I’ve written about this before, but last week it made the national news. But what I found really interesting was one article I found from the AP (associated Press) that read ‘…there are questions about the ethics of this”. You’ve GOT to be kidding me! Questions? Hardly. This IS unethical. It’s defrauding employers out of money, and it does an injustice to good coworkers who have to cover for the slacker who’s playing hooky. If you haven’t seen what I’m talking about, go to www.MyExcusedAbsence.com.

P.S. You’ll have to ignore the banner at the top and bottom of the page. Just illustrates who put this webpage up.

I fully agree with Glenn about birthdays. I used to do time and attendance and have been given a larger piece of the HR pie to attend to. One thing I noticed at my company is that no one really acknowledged individual employees so two years ago, I started giving each and every employee a card (I just used Printshop to make one up to keep costs down since I didn’t clear it with any of my bosses and got envelopes that fit) and much to everyone’s delight (?) I would go to wherever they were working, hand them the card and sing a loud and probably off key version of Happy Birthday. There hasn’t been a case where any of them were not surprised and happy to be remembered for their big day. (The only bad thing is – no one sings to me!) I’ve had a couple of employees tell me later that this was the only card and wishes they received and it made a difference to them. So keep on celebrating – I still am. I’m a person who is proud to say I made it to 55 and intend to keep on  going strong.
Christine Sisson
Apple Rubber Products
www.applerubber.com
Lancaster, New York

I recently read an article in USA Today about how many “Helicopter Parents” (they hover over every aspect of their kids’ lives) are now showing up for job interviews with them. Yesterday a body shop owner who attended my seminar told me he’s got employees in their twenties whose mothers are coming in to “discuss” health insurance coverage, fill out W-4’s, and so on. No wonder so many younger employees can’t make decisions at work when they need to. They’ve had all their decisions made for them their whole life.

I didn’t get her photo, but I’d like you to meet Tata. She’s a cashier at a Wal-Mart north of Des Moines. She was getting off work as she rung me up, and mentioned to her coworker that she was off to her second job. I asked how long she’d be at that one, and she said until 10:00 pm. She began her day at Wal-Mart at 9:00 AM, and I complimented her on her drive. She said, “You’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do for a while”. She has apparently opened a cleaning business on the side, and is building it. The great thing about the business that Tata has chosen is that it’s not at all uncommon to make $50,000 a year or more in that business IF someone is willing to do the hard work required and be reliable. Tata had a thick accent and I couldn’t tell where she was from,  but I know where she’s going to be in a year or so… making a better income for herself and providing a better life for her family than the people who are too busy whining about how there are “no opportunities” for them to make that kind of money.

A woman who attended my seminar yesterday worked for the federal government, and I thought she told me that her agency requires employees to call in two hours before their shift if they are going to use a sick day. Just as I was about to applaud her employer for this good management practice, she corrected me. They only require that employees call in within two hours after the shift starts, to let their supervisor know they’ll be out sick.

So let’s get this straight. If I’m supposed to be at work at 8:00, as long as I call in by 10:00, I’m not in trouble. Hmmmmm. I wonder what brilliant bureaucrats conceived this hair brain idea. Probably the same ones that swore the problems with airport security would be fixed once it was taken away from the private sector and given to the feds.

Funny how people can get so consumed by our own reality that we forget how different other people’s are. My home state of Tennessee is suffering from the worst drought on record, and we need rain badly. Today on my way to Iowa, I called Amy Henderson (www.hendersontraining.com) in Los Angeles. She and I met briefly while speaking at the University of Chicago last week. She quickly said, “Interesting you should call. I had your name on my list to call today, but I can’t talk now. We’re evacuating!” Turns out she lives in the L.A. suburb of Santa Clarita, which was consumed today by wildfire and 50 mph winds. By comparison, that Tennessee drought sure seems like much ado about nothing now. Good luck to Amy and all of you in Southern California.

If you’re a football fan, you know that my hometown football team, the Tennessee Titans, won a thriller in Houston yesterday. The Titans blew a 29 point lead in the fourth quarter and allowed Houston to pull ahead 36 to 35 with a minute left in the game. But then the Titans moved the ball down the field perfectly, and won 38 to 36 on the last play of the game. While the victory was sweet, the underlying plot lines and lessons for success may be even sweeter.

For starters, our all star quarterback Vince Young was sidelined with an injury for the entire game. It was veteran Kerry Collins, our second stringer, who lead the victory.

Then there was 29-year-old Rob Bironas, our field goal kicker who set an NFL record with eight field goals in one game. But Rob was far from an NFL hero just a few years ago. After graduating from Auburn University, he tried unsuccessfully to get a spot with the  Green Bay Packers in 2002, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2003, and the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2004. Meanwhile, he played with some minor league teams you’ve probably never heard of, while working at Best Buy electronics chain. But Rob never gave up his dream, and in 2005 made the team with the Titans.

And let’s not forget that Adam Pacman Jones, the NFL’s top punt returner, is unable to play for the Titans right now because of his off-the-field shenanigans.

Yet despite being without the league’s leading punt returner and our superstar quarterback, we won against all odds because of one word – TEAMWORK.

When any well managed organizations, from the Titans to Microsoft to REO Speedwagon, lose top talent, they still find ways to succeed.