Mary's Blog
Political Ponderings in Early 2010
I have to say that I'm disappointed with Obama's presidency so far. While I likely align with his philosophical perspective and his deep regard for rigorous inquiry, I'm not thrilled with his executive leadership at this point.
Health Care reform right now is a joke and what I would expect from a good executive is for them to be direct about it. We can blame the leadership, Washington or whomever else we want but real reform isn't happening because fundamentally there isn't support by the people. What I would rather see Obama say right now about this is that congress should quit wasting their time on a bill that will be so convoluted that it creates as many issues as it attempts to solve. The responsibility of this at this point should be thrown back to the people.
I'd like to see Obama stand up in front of a microphone and say it isn't happening because you do not want it! It takes more than 20-40% of people wanting it to get it passed successfully. If this is really a public concerna and for the public good then in a true democracy we need upwards of 50-60% of people ready to demand it. So Obama should encourage us to drop the noise in congress and instead if we really want this - go talk to our neighbors. We need to get some of this resolved on the street before we try to legislate it.
In some ways it is a shame that we are not okay with the fact that sometimes we are ready to have a conversation, but we are not ready to make decisions. I think that is exactly where we are with health care albeit not legislating is also making a decision. Perhaps it will take us until it is costing us 50% or more of our income to pay for health care before we as a public are ready for significant reform. In the meantime, I think we'd be better off trying to institute some guardrails so that business does not get to continue stepping all over people. And that takes me from the healthcare conversation to the financial industry...
This latest 'fee' that is being proposed is somewhat of a joke. Yes, it is populist, but really - will it stop us from having problems in the future?
The financial industry needs some serious changes to how it is treated in law and especially tax code - why is it that we have an industry that really contributes nothing of real value to the nation receiving the best tax treatment? We allow speculators - who essentially bet on what will happen tomorrow to pay a lower tax on gains (income) than the average worker - and the speculator pays far less than we would tax that sort of activity if the person won it in a casino. From the perspective of how it benefits then nation, how is that person any different than your average gambler?
I think it is time to rethink capital gains - I'm not certain about the answers - I would have a lot of research to do on this issue, but I think one step is to begin thinking about what we really want to incent. Do we want to incent people making money for doing nothing or do we want to incent making money because you are creating something of real value in the community. Right now, we give the best tax breaks to those investing as opposed to those that are doing. I recently heard a quote attributed to Warren Buffet where he mentioned that he was actually taxed at a lower rate than his receptionist.
I'm ready for us to stop looking backwards with our minds intent on punitive actions and to begin developing the structures that are needed for true change.
Architecting Business
I love the term 'Business Architecture'. I didn't use it prior to this year when I took a new position with that title, but now that I am living it, I have realized that it is what I have always done. And in fact, it is the value added service that my consulting, my software development and my business executive work has always included.
An ongoing inquiry for me is 'does the initiative create value?' If you cannot articulate the value, you cannot begin to architect the right solution. This is true when you are talking about a remodeling effort in your home and it is true when you are launching a new product for your company.
A great example happened recently in my home - where we have nearly completed a remodeling effort. The first part of the remodel, we had discussed for quite a while. When I moved into this home, I talked about 'building my dream kitchen.' As I love to create gourmet dinners and have entertainment large and small at the house, having an efficient and inspiring kitchen to do my magic was critical. Luckily, I started out with a good foundation. There was plenty of cabinet space and counter space and the stove was just right. The major changes I initially wanted was to move the refrigerator somewhere other than behind the stove and add more bar space so that friends and visitors would be comfortable outside of the kitchen instead of inside - where I would feel crowded and get grumpy.
We talked about big projects where we would redesign the entire space and create more storage, open up the kitchen to the den and close it off from the dining room. In the end we elected to go forward with a small project. We were able to open up the space to the den, and we more than doubled the bar space so that 6 people can now sit facing into the kitchen. The only main thing we didn't do is move the refrigerator. Basically, the value could not be justified.
Over time, we realized that it was convenient to walk into the kitchen from the dining room directly and that the only time we had a conflict between the refrigerator and stove was in the winter when I baked and entertained large groups. This happens about 2-3 times per year whereas the smaller gatherings where people want the experience of being in the kitchen happens almost daily. So we spent less than $5k instead of $25-40k and we got 80% or more of the benefit.
These types of choices and decisions happen everyday in business - and because we are often dealing with new processes, products and systems, we don't alway feel capable of doing a full analysis. That is where business architecture really comes in. A product or service manager will often look to the market and to the potential revenue to decide details about how to launch. And they will often reach out to system architects to identify any system changes that are needed, estimate costs and then off they go...
The role of a business architect is to provide a holistic analysis and plan for the organization - looking at how the new product or process will impact all parts of the business. Will you be able to deliver the service product effectively, will you be able to bill for it, support it, maintain it and enhance it as needed. Are you prepared to report on it effectively - and what are the most important things to know? What are the fixed and incremental costs once you have answered all of these questions? How far out should you be looking - is this about immediate gain or long term growth? Finally, have you considered the potential for process or cultural change required to make this new offering successful?
This and much more is the pervue of a Business Architect. If you are preparing to take on new initiatives that have the potential to fundamentally change your business, you should be working with a business architect to design the end to end solution. Technology has come a long way in the past 20+ years, but business is still business and no amount of system architecture can save you from the perils of what you may miss without business architecture.
Creating Future Again...
Wow, I cannot believe it has been over 2 months since I last posted here. Well, Matthew's work certainly has shifted. He has actually accepted a position as the .NET guru at Examiner.com. They are located downtown, so he is enjoying a bicycle commute on a regular basis and we have become a little more routinized in our activities again.
For my part, I have to say that I am thrilled that the stewardship campaign at JUC is complete. As inspiring as it was, it was also too long and by the end, I was exhausted. So much that I really had to pull back and take some time to myself for a few weeks - especially in the evenings after work.
The hibernation though is complete. Having switched to a new position at Level 3, and with life settling down a bit, we have had a lot of time to think and we are back into a 'create future' mode. What is great about that for me is that this is my most productive place to be. I typically feel better about myself and also I just enjoy life more. I will be starting classes again for my MBA in the fall and I am more clear about what I want to do professionally. Surprisingly, it will sound familiar. I still want to direct the development and delivery of technical products and services to business. I know, you say... that sounds awfully vague... but really, the products and services just need to be something that I can stand for. I am more interested in the experience of helping customers meet their needs through specific products and services - that typically are delivered via the Internet.
I am also interested in working internationally, so I am focusing my MBA on International Business.
to be continued....
A Little Uncertainty in a Sea of Fortune
So Matthew's contract ended last week and I think he is a little shocked that I am having him focus on working on a system for our church instead of hustling to get the next job. The thing is, he already has an interview set up for tomorrow, we are in conversation with a client about doing a new scope of work and the contracting firm he last worked for is having him meet with a client to make a bid on another job. So, there seems to be a wealth of opportunity and in the meantime this project not only makes my life easier, it will showcase our software development work in yet a new way to a new community.
While I am making some spending cuts to account for a week or two of lost income, I also know that we are contributing to our community with this system. What I am specifically not doing is halting our giving. I think I have a tendency to under-give based on my plans as it is, and I don't want to get behind my 'allotted' amounts.
I did that last year - such that at the end of the year I was scrambling to write checks, and some didn't go out because of that. I find it rather interesting how difficult it is sometimes to part with the money. The BolderGiving Foundation talks a little bit about this in the section of their workbook and website called 'What Holds You Back?'.
Some of the possible issues are these:
- Eyeballing the amount you give
- Assuming that a 10% tithe is more than enough
- Donating the same amount each year (effectively going down by %)
- Feel as if there is not enough time to focus on giving
- Avoiding being known as a giver (so as not to be a target of organizations)
I know that the first two certainly capture some of my issues. At least in the past, I just gave money here or there because we went to an event or because we needed to make a pledge at church. But I never really took the time to think about how much to give or why I should give - other than the fact that I was aware of a need. It is very different to look ahead at the beginning of the year to consider how much and to whom I want to give. It isn't that I won't continue to send $100 here or there, but there are much larger chunks that I am committed to planning for.
I have almost never considered giving more than 10% of income. Even now after having been reading and writing about giving - that edge is still a difficult one to consider going over. I didn't realize that the tithe concept was so profoundly instilled in me.
One of the things I'd like to come up with is a framework for giving that assumes not the extreme wealthy (in US terms) but that addresses the potential of the middle class and that also accounts for life-cycle norms as well - such as lower salaries in early adulthood, earning power increases, but adjusted for family and educational costs. Different percentages and amounts are appropriate at different points in our lives.
Watch for some drafts of a framework soon!
Questions of Good Fortune
Do you ever have the feeling that life is just too good to be true? That is how things seem to me. I feel that I have to be careful these days not to express myself sometimes - as if my life is somehow more charmed than most other people's. I feel a little guilty that fulfilling work seems to come easily to our family - that our career choices have made us eminently hireable.
Normally, this is not a big deal, but because the social conversation of the year is the economic downturn and so much focus is on how folks are not doing well, I feel a bit embarrassed to have it so good.
We hear so much about job cuts and layoffs - and I have had my share of scare there, although it has not been something I've really feared. But despite that - and in the midst of it, Matthew and I look to be getting new jobs - without any break in our employment.
I hope I didn't just jinx things because neither is a done deal, but I'm hopeful and very positive.
But the question I have is how to deal with our good fortune, when surrounded by conversations of lack. I don't want to avoid my community and I really want to share some of the great things in our life. I'm struggling to find the balance.
This issue is especially important to me at JUC where I am chairing the Stewardship Campaign. I'm very much part of determining appropriate messages regarding financial stewardship and I want to shift the cultural conversation of 'downturn and economic uncertainty' yet I'm not certain about the audience. I don't know how many people in our congregation have been impacted by the economic changes.
I am clear that the market drop impacts those who are retired or close to retired much more harshly than it does someone like me. I basically just avoid looking at my portfolio and assume it will grow back to a healthy point again - and I most likely have time for that to happen. This age differential impacts my parents as well and I think it is probably time that I understand to what degree.
Experiencing Generosity
Tomorrow is my birthday. But really, today is my birthday too - at least from a celebratory perspective. Matthew made me a wonderful breakfast and has been playing board games with me (I think I like them far more than he :). We are taking a short break between games to write to good friends and I have a little extra time to post here.
To stay on some of the same topics that have been rattling around in my head, I'd like to consider generosity today. I believe listening is a generous act. I know that many people think I am generous to volunteer my time at church, in my community, etc. Bur really, my experience of generosity from others is when I am listened to - and lately, I feel as if my community has been extremely generous. My friends listen to me - Whitney even came over yesterday while I baked and I noticed that I talked her ear off and she listened so deeply I felt honored.
By the same token, I find that both coordination/working meetings as well as fellowship get togethers at JUC provide a very similar atmosphere. I feel honored by the listening. There is far more to it than that though because I also feel very inspired.
Another way that I experience generosity is because people choose to spend time with me. It is especially meaningful to me that young people choose to spend time with me. When a teen thinks it is just as fun to hang out with me as it is to go be with friends their own age I just feel blessed. I learn so much from my relationships with youth. I don't feel as if I am not young, but I'm clear that the questions I am dealing with in my life are very different that the inquiries of teens and young adults. It's a very interesting and fulfilling experience to be able to re-engage in some fo those as an adult and since I do not have children of my own, I am just grateful to have so many other young people around me who allow me to not miss out on some of the joys of parenthood.
Generosity of time, talent and treasure is a theme we talk about in my church and at other non-profits I've worked with. While time can contain so much of what I've discussed already, I think it misses some essential component - perhaps it is a generosity of spirit.
Matthew, my partner is one of the most generous people I know. What I love most about it is the joyful way that he engages. It isn't that he makes me coffee or breakfast, it is that he is thrilled to do it. Joy is the spirit of his generosity and I am eternally grateful.
Water
After writing about our relative affluence in the world the other day, Matthew and I went to see Slum Dog Millionaire which is still playing at several of the indy theatres in town. I'm not even sure what I think yet... it was certainly a very good movie, creative narrative technique and fascinating story, yet at times difficult to watch. I don't even think it was the violence that made it difficult, but the visuals of poverty and even more, the water and sanitation.
We occasionally get concerned about our water supplies here in the west - we worry about droughts and we complain about water prices and we even are bothered enough by water quality to drink bottled water or get a filter. But the movie just reminded me what a cost of living calculator can never really tell you. That what I take for granted when I turn on the tap comes nowhere near the reality for a large portion of the global population. According to the documentary 'FLOW' that came out in 2008,One sixth of the world's population does not have access to clean drinking water and, more than 2 million people, most of them children, die each year from water-borne diseases.
The cholera outbreak in Africa this past year have been another example of something that was very tough for me to listen to. This issue just seem solvable and I am regularly astonished to find it rearing it's head again in various parts of the world. I have already earmarked a portion of our giving this year for clean water projects. If you know of any great organizations doing work in this area, let me know as I'll be checking them out soon.
Generosity and Giving
I've been thinking a lot lately about generosity and giving - hence the links over to the left about it. Mostly it came up because I am chairing our annual stewardship campaign at Jefferson Unitarian Church this year. But really, it has been a topic in my house off and on for the past several years.
We do ok financially and if you look at it from a global perspective we are ridiculously affluent. Check out this cool link to see where you stack up: http://www.globalrichlist.com/
But it isn't as though we have much in the way of assets. That is difficult to do when have astronomical student loan debt. But the thing is, we are doing better every year, so it really is appropriate to think about how to give back for the priveleges we have had throughout our lives to put us in this position. Besides, I'm a closet (not any more) socialist I think. As much as I love that we live in a capitalist society, I'm much more enamored of free commerce than I am of the idea of 'extracting capital'. I am not frightened of the idea of 'sharing the wealth' but I do have my attachments to things.
I love that I can afford amazing vacations and that I consider buying a second home in Europe a reasonable idea. I love that I can buy fresh healthy food all year round - even if I occasionally feel a bit guilty for not eating local more.
Anyway, getting back to generosity and giving. Matthew and I have been making new plans around this and I think we are going to be revising our thinking over the next several years. While the boldergiving organization tends to tell stories about people who give away huge percentages of their income and assets and they are inspiring. I'm more interested in a bolder giving culture where more and more people think about it and consciously give a small but significant portion of their affluece.
It's funny, the stats show that while our giving has increased in the US over the past few 'good' years, it is still the poorest of our states that have the highest levels of giving per person. Mississippi is ranked number 1 in the country and Tennessee is ranked #4. I believe that these are in bottom 6 of states in terms of GDP. I find that curious.
Let me know what you think... write to: mc @ marycamacho . com