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Change starts with you

Guest post by: Patrick T. Malone

Article Overview: “Only Government can fix the mess we are in”, President Obama. “Government is the problem…”, Nate McCulloch Gwinnett Daily Post We speak of government as if it were our neighbor, pastor, teacher, friend or foe. It is none of these and yet it is all of these. Government, at any level, is simply an organizational structure and is incapable of any action or activity until people are inserted into the equation. Our founding fathers meant it when they said “of the people, by the people and for the people” So the problem and/or solution lie with us.

Change starts with you

"Only Government can fix the mess we are in", President Obama.

"Government is the problem...", Nate McCulloch Gwinnett Daily Post

We speak of government as if it were our neighbor, pastor, teacher, friend or foe. It is none of these and yet it is all of these.

Government, at any level, is simply an organizational structure and is incapable of any action or activity until people are inserted into the equation. Our founding fathers meant it when they said "of the people, by the people and for the people"

So the problem and/or solution lie with us.

A couple of years ago a man went to refinance his house. The mortgage person asked him how much he needed. He said $400,000. The banker said OK. No appraisal, no verification of employment, no verification of income. Just a cursory credit check and he was on his way with the money. Instead of red lights flashing and bells going off, he saw this transaction a sign that he had truly made it. After all, he had just walked into a bank, asked for $400,000 and they gave it to him. He and millions like him caused the mortgage mess.

The trustees of a charity were looking for an investment manager. They found a firm on Wall Street that consistently outperformed all other firms by 50% or more. They invested their entire endowment and got monthly statements showing the endowment growing by leaps and bounds. Then one day it was all gone. They and millions like them caused the financial meltdown.

We could fill this entire newspaper for a month with other examples of citizen apathy permitting federal, state and local fiascos to occur and then allowing wasteful spending to correct the consequences.

You want change?

It is not enough to show up periodically and vote for change. Real change demands that citizens get involved. Now before you run out and try to boil the ocean consider these 5 P's.

1. Pick an area you are passionate about. This is going to be hard work and unless you are passionate this will turn into a New Year's resolution that fades away by the end of January.

2. Remember to bring along your persistence. Bureaucracies resist change. Public hearings get announced in 1" X 2" ads buried in the legal sections of your newspapers. Your issue will be last on the agenda. Public officials will thank you for getting involved and then try to work around you.

3. You will need a big helping of patience. We didn't get into this mess overnight and it will not get solved as fast as you would like.

4. Don't make it personal. It's the problem that needs to be fixed not the person. It may be that person's behavior that is the problem and that is easily remedied next election cycle. Attack the problem.

5. Always be positive. Complaining is only acceptable if it is accompanied by a solution.

Our government organizations at all levels were always intended to be of the people, by the people and for the people.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

By the way, if you are trying to lead change in your company, your organization, your community or your life, the same 5 P's apply.

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Article Tags: founding fathers, organizational structure



Related Forum Posts
Re: Spellcheck? - [quote="TheAnonymousMan":2f894q6j]When discussing the majority of people I would definitely say that most people hit the "Change" or "Ignore" button without thinking too much about the correct spelling of a word. All bosses are concerned about is getting the report to the Directors meeting on time.[/quote:2f894q6j] That probably depends on what the "majority" are trying to accomplish. I have word set to alert me about misspellings and grammatical problems, so I fix most as I go. But I also add names etc to the dictionary because I get tired of seeing the red and green squiggles when I know the info is right. If you're only going to click "Change" or "Ignore" then why bother to take the time to use spell check????? Business people that I work for want the info compiled in a timely manner and they want it right - which is fine because that's the way I strive to do any project. Sending out a memo, letter, report etc with obvious spelling and grammatical mistakes makes the person and the company look bad as far as I'm concerned. Shri
Re: Moderators on vacation - Hi Everyone, I am back, for now, I see you were busy. The next holiday starts on Sunday Sep 27-28 and then the next one on Oct 4th. I have every day already planed.
Re: Your weapon for success - Very Nice post. This should be kept in mind before anyone starts a business. Thanx for sharing! Regards Ewan Fisher
Re: I am refreshed and ready - I really missed you all. It was hard to stay away at first, but then the fun starts and you forget about everything. I didn't have such a good break for a very long time.
Re: Top 10 Homebased Franchises for 2011 - GT, Nice list here! I guess 2012 franchisee knows where to invest their money and starts to grow it more even!


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