50 Years On Broadway, Just Down The Street

Just a block and a half apart, in the heart of New York’s theater district, two outstanding shows span 50 years and much more than time. They are In the Heights, reigning Tony winner for best musical,and a new revival of West Side Story. Named for the Manhattan neighborhoods in which they are set, Washington Heights and the West Side (Hell’s Kitchen?), they present particular views of Latino life in a city of dreams.

In the Heights offers optimism tempered with street smarts delivered with upbeat music set to literate lyrics in the form of resonant rap. It all works. The neighborhood is in the middle of a heat wave. The lights go out; they are powerless. But the real power is not the electrical current. It is in the lives of the neighborhood, a community built on caring for each other as they struggle and strive for something better, only to realize that in this little barrio they have all the important comforts of home.

West Side Story’s saga is more familiar, the Romeo and Juliet inspired forbidden love between a Puerto Rican girl and an Anglo boy. Maria and Tony fall for each other but prejudice and hate turn their attraction into tragedy.

One of the innovations of the current revival is that actors use Spanish for scenes where it would naturally be spoken, unlike previous versions where English was substituted. Translations will be available for the audience members who need it. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the music and lyrics for In the Heights—and starred in the original production—is helping out with the new West Side Story to make the English and Spanish flow seamlessly, as it does during In the Heights.

Each show, in its own way, captures the spirit of its time. For the Jets and Sharks of West Side Story, tragedy is the only means for change, the mistrust and hatred run so deeply. But 50 years later, life in Washington Heights is hard but filled with hopefulness. The barrio’s smart girl is off to Stanford, and neighborhood businesses struggle but survive; and there’s always the Lotto. All you need is paciencia y fe (patience and faith).

The music and lyrics for both shows sparkle. The styles are quite different but appropriate for the times in which they are set and the tales they tell. Bernstein and Sondheim have a worthy successor in Miranda who started writing In the Heights while a student at Wesleyan University.

During these trying times we need a lift. The movie industry thrives while much of the economy continues to crumble. I’m fortunate that I visit New York often and get to the theater regularly. Few shows I’ve seen in the last ten years rise as high as In the Heights. It is a rousing diversion during this troubled chapter in history. That its creator is helping with West Side Story’s revival, just down the street, serves as a fitting footnote to a fifty year journey of just a few blocks.

Big or Bloated?

Today's organizations push to be bigger, wider (global), and highly profitable (not just profitable). The pressures to become "too big to fail" drive failure itself. Add greed to the equation and you have the 2008 economic crisis that we are now struggling to reverse. Good is not good enough, was the mantra of many companies in the early 21st Century; good to great (the name of a best seller about business) was the rallying cry. We have lost perspective. The challenges for the organizations of the future include balancing the drive to grow with the understanding that service and leadership sometimes mean contracting in order to do a few things really well as opposed to being everything to everyone.

It is interesting to note that the banks that got in trouble during the last few years were among the biggest. Many smaller banks fared well. So, the challenge for large organizations is to maintain a sense of the personal touch. Giant corporations would be better served to look at themselves as groups of smaller companies made up of real people. Some say they do this but how does that idea compare to looking at the stock price?

While working for one of the biggest companies in the world--General Electric--it was instructive to witness how the corporate culture took hold after our station was purchased by GE. Even though we were encouraged to be a resource for our own community, we also learned that we had to do things the GE way. NBC has slowly, but steadily, declined during the decades since it was purchased by GE; some of that is a consequence of other factors, but GE/NBC is big enough to be a driver of the trend. If large corporations--or other organizations for that matter--are going to thrive, they need to have character, diversity, and consistent quality. Bigness alone may actually hurt.

As we've learned in the last few months, too big to fail sounds rather foolish.

It's always seemed a bit too facile to blame all our ills on greed, but greed plays a big role. Ultimately, capitalism, socialism, all the isms offer only partial solutions. The communication scholar, Neil Postman, offered a view I share. The idea that capitalists tend to be creative and innovative must be tempered with restraint, not on their creativity or innovation, but on their tendency to inflict damage along the way. Since we know that self restraint tends to be minimal or absent in the face of certain temptations, the larger society, through government, public opinion, and the forces of the marketplace have to set limits. While my most conservative friends like to argue that the marketplace is the most potent force for regulation (self regulation), ideas based on Adam Smith and expanded upon by the University of Chicago economists who follow Milton Friedman, we are learning that the marketplace has limits.

Now we have to regulate the market place to make it work again. President Obama reminds us that while action is painful, inaction is worse, in terms of fixing the economy. So, as is the case with much of life, the real solutions come from many places. The biggest, grandest enterprises have their place, but if we don't have small boutique centers of excellence it all becomes a boring shopping mall, with all the same stores, whether you're in Tokyo or Texas.

Seasons of Fear

Thirteen years after its opening on Broadway, the musical Rent continues to provoke controversy. Now the issue is whether it is appropriate for it to be produced as real life high school musicals. A slightly toned down version of the show is being offered to schools. Across the country, drama departments are taking advantage of the offer, but a few principals and parent groups don't want their kids doing a show about AIDS, gay relationships, and difficult problems that might make some audiences uncomfortable.

Rent was the seventh longest running show in Broadway history, a Pulitzer Prize winner for drama, and a Tony winner as best musical. The opportunity for students attending high school in 2009 to experience a play that captures a time not very long ago would seem to be an ideal learning experience. This story of recent cultural history and the evolution of the AIDS pandemic should be studied by high school students. Rent's own website says it may not be appropriate for children under 13, but very few high school kids are that young.

Good art is often controversial. Arts education--including high school drama productions--should include explorations of controversy. During my many years of covering news I was often struck by the fear and ignorance of those who wanted to ban books or limit access to material that some might find offensive. Many times the outrage was based on a lack of understanding or simply not wanting to deal with topics that made them uneasy. Certainly, there are limits. But those limits should apply to libelous falsehoods, flagrant and malicious disregard of the truth, and deliberate provocations of hatred. Rent is none of these.

Ultimately, communities make choices. Rent is a play that should not be banned from high school drama departments. For some students it may be life changing. My own daughter wrote a college application essay about seeing Rent and learning about life outside her own experience; it touched her deeply. She has since gone on to work on Broadway, as a theatrical publicist. How many other young people might be inspired by such a highly acclaimed contemporary musical?

The Buck Stops Where?

The defensive--tone-deaf--manner in which Wall Street and Washington respond to revelations of their own wrongdoing speaks volumes about what is wrong and why it is so difficult to fix. When Tom Daschle’s problems became a news story, all his friends, and even some Capitol Hill rivals, seemed ready to confirm him. That “ordinary Americans” were outraged finally turned the tide. President Obama eventually got it. To his credit, he took responsibility and responded to the voices outside the halls of Washington power, and beyond the boardrooms of the island Manhattan. When bankers enriched by bailouts made themselves bonus babies despite their bottom lines bottoming out, they claimed that they, the best and the brightest, are different and deserve everything they get.

So the president goes to Elkhart, Indiana and then Fort Myers, Florida, grounds zero for the unemployment and foreclosure crises. He should continue to get out of Washington as often as possible. And he ought to use the bully pulpit to suggest a few field trips for the executives who favor costly commodes and gilded garbage cans. Most of the Wall Street royalty and the Washington ruling class can travel incognito; they are not recognizable outside of their own kingdoms. They should be required to take these trips in order to understand the pain and suffering they have wrought or failed to mitigate.

President Obama took responsibility for the Daschle debacle. “I screwed up”, he said. Until leaders acknowledge their own mistakes, fixing problems remains somebody else’s job. Haven’t we had enough of that?

The latest “we didn’t do anything wrong” response comes from bailout recipient Wells Fargo, forced to cancel an expensive employee recognition get away after news of the trip to Las Vegas became public. The bank’s response was to take out ads in the NY Times, and Washington Post, defending the practice, and blaming the media for creating problems. This, of course, created even more outrage. Until the most powerful start to take responsibility and stop pointing fingers the recovery will continue to stagger. The “buck” has to stop somewhere, but these so-called leaders seem to think it is always someplace else.

UPDATE--Daschle Steps Down

When I wrote the blog immediately below this one, last night, and posted it this morning, I did not expect Daschle to be out so soon. Whatever his problems, his quick action to remove himself as a distraction deserves praise. Now it's time to move ahead. President Obama needs the public's confidence in his picks. This will help.

Truth Has Consequences

President Obama’s promises to do things differently and change the toxic culture of Washington won him much support and grass roots enthusiasm during the campaign. When news of Tom Daschle’s problems broke, on Friday afternoon, on Super Bowl weekend, it looked like all the forces of power and influence on the Democrats’ side of the aisle were falling in line to support their former colleague. The President, himself, pledged he would stand behind his friend.

Despite excellent reporting from The Washington Post, The New York Times, and ABC News, many missed the heart of the story. Rather than focusing on Daschle’s tax problems, the potential for conflicts of interest is equally disturbing.

As somebody who worked hard—on the local level--to help elect Barack Obama, I was particularly concerned about how the Washington establishment seemed to be getting in line to support one of its own despite many good reasons to step away. Now the Times, in Tuesday’s edition, has come out with a lead editorial asking Daschle to step down. He should do so immediately.

After a distinguished career of public service Daschle was defeated for reelection in 2004 and went for the big bucks. He made more than five million dollars during the three years after he left the Senate. Hundreds of thousands of dollars came from health related industries, including insurance companies. Daschle did nothing wrong—other than having to fix his six figure tax problem—but he made a choice. He went for the money, something I suspect many, if not most of us, would do, if we had the opportunity. But for the millions he was paid, he gave up the chance to jump right back in and set policy for the same industries that enriched him. Actions should have consequences, particularly if the boss is serious about what he says regarding the ways of Washington. True, there can be exceptions. But they should be used only for truly special cases. This is not one of those situations.

Health care is one of the most important public policy challenges facing the new president. Fixing the broken system will require clear vision. One of the major forces in the health care debate is the insurance industry. To really reform health care this important player may have to lose money, influence, and power. The person in charge should not be beholden to—or even appear to be influenced by—insurance companies. On this main point, Mr. Daschle ought to withdraw his name from consideration and spare the president and the country unnecessary strife during these challenging times.

Health Care and the DMV

With all respect to the good people who work at departments of motor vehicles (DMV) around the country, the DMV, for many, is synonymous with inefficiency and a surly approach to customer service. As a teenager, I remember going to the DMV office in Jamaica, Queens, and waiting on long lines, only to be treated poorly, with little respect for my time or needs. The stereotype seemed to have a legitimate foundation. I’m happy to report that my more recent dealings with DMVs, both in California, and also last year back in Queens, have been much improved and quite efficient.

At lunch the other day, a good friend and somebody for whom I have great respect, mentioned that he believed nationalized health care along the lines of “single payer” would make going to the doctor a lot like dealing with the DMV. His comment was a response to my mention of the way insurance companies deal with health claims, and the high cost of health care administration that goes to insurance companies. The labyrinthine system seems designed to frustrate both patients and health care providers, at great cost to all concerned. Eliminating the red tape and unnecessary paper work associated with insurance claims ought to be high on the list of health care reforms that the Obama Administration tackles.

The added problems with the frustrating manner in which insurance companies deny benefits, refuse coverage, and make patients re-submit claims, that should have been paid in the first place, drives doctors into early retirement and inflicts emotional pain on patients. It often takes lawsuits or government intervention to put a stop to these abuses. This, is a waste of time, money, and inflicts a cost on families when they are most vulnerable.

So back at lunch with my friend, the other day, I had a moment of clarity when he compared the specter of nationalized health coverage to dealing with the DMV. My response was simple. The insurance companies have become the DMV.

Smile at the Small Stuff

At the preeminent moment, when Chief Justice of the United States John Roberts uttered the familiar words of the oath of office, President Barack H.Obama had the presence of mind to pause and allow the Chief Justice to correct the mistake he just made. When he failed to get it right the second time, the new president just repeated the Chief Justice's error and went on with the ceremony. NPR had the best line about this simple but glaring gaffe: How many Harvard Law Review editors does it take to screw up the oath of office? The answer is two. Both President Obama and Justice Roberts served as editors of the law review.

The otherwise near perfect spectacle of the peaceful transfer of power, in the presence of Washington's largest crowd ever, sends the sort of message we need. That there was a glaring but ultimately meaningless ceremonial error is refreshing. We will gladly accept--even acknowledge and celebrate--the fact that even these two high achievers, the heads of two out of three co-equal branches of government, can make mistakes. As for the third branch, I'm sure Congress will screw something up, too; its members seem to be pretty good at it!

My hope and prayer is that the mistakes of the future--and there will be mistakes--stay on a small scale. And because they may be more meaningful than a misplaced adverb, we, the people, need to keep our focus on demanding the best and raising our voices when it looks like the sort of large scale errors of the last eight years are about to be made. Our vigilance will serve our leaders well and is consistent with the kind of government President Obama says he wants to lead.

Allowing Miracles to Happen

US Air Flight 1549’s emergency landing in the cold waters of the Hudson River, followed by a remarkable rescue effort, sustain and affirm the notion that happy endings are the product of competence and hard work. The plane’s captain, 57 year old Chesley Sullenberger III, made quick decisions and handled his aircraft with the skill acquired flying planes for more than three decades. The first responders on the water worked swiftly and calmly to rescue the passengers and crew.

To see an airliner flying low near the George Washington Bridge, as it headed for its landing spot on the river, surely must have frightened those who saw the plane descend. Gov. David Paterson called the landing the “miracle on the Hudson”.

Miracles happen when we don’t get in their way. So many factors could have caused this plane’s short flight to end with injuries and death rather than 155 souls surviving. Under the command of Capt. Sullenberger, and the leaders and first responders on the water, the outcome was remarkable. Competence, experience, training, and hard work, allow good outcomes—or miracles, if you prefer—to prevail. All the prayers on board probably didn’t hurt, either.

As we begin a new era in American leadership let this unusual incident with a very happy ending remind us that there is no substitute for competence, no tolerance for poor or inadequate training, and hard work must be rewarded. If we honor these simple values, we allow miracles to happen.

Stars & Scoundrels--Predictions & Questions

Next week, Barack Obama finally will be sworn in, after the long campaign and transition. Our new president will enter the White House with enormous good will, but a shortened honeymoon because of the many crises he will face.

A month after we learned about the arrest of “Rod from Chicago”, he’s still in office, though now facing impeachment. He’ll go down fighting, but down he will go. How many will he take with him and at what additional cost?

“Bailouts” become “stimulus”; billions go to banks while the little guys are still waiting. Words matter but priorities need to change.

The movie awards season offers exciting entries and a rich mix of memorable characters. Sean Penn, Mickey Rourke, and Kate Winslet stand out in a field filled with great performances; don’t neglect to notice the current golden age of acting and film making that is now.

On the Broadway stage, In The Heights lifts the spirits and serves as the ideal antidote for recession and psychic fatigue of the last few years.

Netherland, by Joseph O’Neill, is a must read for anyone interested in evolving class distinctions in the urban global economy. This novel describes post 9-11 New York beyond the headlines and boundaries of Manhattan. Beautifully written, with insight and sensitivity, it tells personal stories of striving and struggle as diverse lives intersect.

The automakers’ reprieve will keep them going for months, at least. Will only the strong survive?

Corporate excess may not disappear, but moderation will intervene. At least the public spectacles of junkets while the government writes checks, flying in private jets while plants are closing, and begging for bailouts while accepting big bonuses, will be managed better for the public’s eyes.

Media will continue to become more distinct as technology makes grassroots approaches more powerful. The MSM will flail about figuring out what works today, while continuing to react to tomorrow, instead of leading the way. The tension between corporate media and personal expression will actually work to improve each other, as the balance of power tips even further to the entrepreneurial.

Global conflict will not go away. How it is managed and where war wages will change. The United States will play a more useful role toward quelling conflict and improving economic conditions.

Personal health and the way we manage the earth’s environment and food supply will be more closely linked, leading to long range benefits.

Service will become a more cherished virtue. Greed will not disappear but will be forced to change its face. Self interest will continue to motivate but align better with fulfilling, rather than trumping, the collective needs of our communities. And we will be surprised.

On a Clear Day

The desert wilderness that is the American Southwest stretches as far as the eye can see. Sand, a few mountaintops, and scattered small towns, mark the cloudless view from my window seat at six and a half miles above the earth. The strange symphony of iPod, laptop, and airliner, denotes progress and potential while the landscape below reminds us we are small. Even as we challenge—even conquer--limitations and create new ways of linking each of us to others, we need to remind ourselves that we walk in and out of the wilderness throughout our lives. The wilderness offers perspective. Timeless tales, of wandering and seeking, place the wilderness as a pathway to encounter with the ineffable.

The paradox of human destiny is that greatness comes from recognizing our place in the universe as we go from wilderness to lands of promise. Along the way we decide the existential choices that define us; true greatness can mean contracting rather than expanding. How will we use our skill, intelligence, and talents? Rich, poor, brilliant, dull, ordinary, exceptional, what ever our gifts or hardships, at some point we’ll face the wilderness whether literally or metaphorically.

So, this afternoon as we cross the desert between San Diego and Houston, the week old year is chronicled in the New York Times on my lap and the Newsweek I just placed in my briefcase. The current moment is rich with potential. New beginnings grounded in solving problems, and choosing well, put the wilderness in perspective. But the desert is there to remind us that the picture out the window remains rich, meaningful, and timeless, a more commanding view than our printed reports of world events. Wilderness diversions spawn creativity. We only need to pay attention.

All of this may seem trite, even naïve, in the face of wars, genocide, terror, and poverty. My answer is not to abandon or ignore conventional solutions to the problems that inflict pain and harm. But until we confront the spiritual dimension of our situation in ways that are more creative than in the past, no political, economic, military or cultural approach will be sufficient. So as not to be misunderstood, whether you are Jew, or Christian, Muslim, or Hindu, Buddhist, atheist, agnostic, or simply a seeker, the wilderness will find you. The point is to recognize the transformative power of the encounter and to not get stuck.

Inauguration Day

In a little more than two weeks, President Obama will give his inaugural address. Here's a sample of what I'd like to hear him say.


My Fellow Citizens and Friends Around the World: I come before you today firmly grounded by the reality of our current challenges and acutely aware of the compelling demands of these perilous times. We are prepared to meet these challenges by the strength of our history and the courage and creativity of this great country. As our founders dreamed of an exceptional future, we too must build, so our children, and their children’s children, will continue to reap the fruits of an American dream that will inspire the world.

Preserving life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness requires collective commitment and personal sacrifice. We live in times that demand nothing less. President Kennedy asked us to ask not what our country can do for us, but rather to ask what we can do for our country. Forty-eight years later his question remains relevant and urgent. So many Americans struggle to find work and to pay bills, yet there is work to do. Others avoid going to the doctor because the costs are high and insurance is out of reach, yet we have the human skill and technology to save lives that would have been lost just a few years ago. And we know brave soldiers, marines, sailors, and air force men and women who return from war with catastrophic injuries and few prospects. This must change. We commit ourselves to those challenges as top priorities for this Administration.

The United States of America remains a magnetic presence inspiring our native born citizens to achieve greatness beside our newest residents who come from every country in the world. The attraction of America abides because we draw strength from our diversity and power from the notion that it is not who you are that matters but what you can do that counts. My own story serves as a step toward realizing Martin Luther King, Jr’s great dream that men and women be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin.

So, I stand before you today, in the presence of the great American legacy, from Washington and Jefferson, Madison and Jackson, Lincoln, of course, and Susan Anthony and the nameless who struggled in cotton fields and sweatshops, and Roosevelt and Eisenhower, King and Chavez, so many giants whose names we know and whose names we will never know. They did great things, often against great odds. We must become the inspirational legacy of the next generation by rising to meet today’s challenges with clarity of purpose, a capacity for the hard work required, and the humble spirit that made the greatest generation great, and will make our generation one worthy of carrying the torch that is passed to us with such hope and anticipation.

A Spirit of Penitence

As we begin 2009, my friend, Dan Cieloha, suggests we encourage penitence and expect our leaders to approach the year ahead with contrite hearts and reflection on what went so terribly wrong. So many of this week's New Year's celebrations mentioned how hopeful we are that 2009 will be better than the last year. This is good. But repentance is appropriate because new beginnings mean coming to terms with past failures, both temporal and spiritual. It would be gratifying to see Bernard Madoff, Rod Blogojevich, and the many corporate executives who squandered our money express themselves in a way that shows their own willingness to repent. Of course, the most notorious malefactors rarely admit their own wrongdoing so it's not likely we'll see them apologize. But in some way, some of them may acknowledge their own part in the economy's collapse and seek the forgiveness of those they harmed.

We--the collective, societal "we"--also enabled the excesses and abuses that got us into trouble, not all of us, but enough to matter. The danger is only blaming others and avoiding personal responsibility. My hope is that when President-elect Obama becomes President Obama, he will encourage a national consciousness that is intolerant of arrogance, repulsed by greed, and receptive to humility. Maybe he'll even acknowledge a spirit of penitence that can only make us stronger. In the soaring rhetoric of inauguration day we will be inspired to feel good about ourselves, our country, our leaders. This will help us move ahead and rise to meet the many tough tasks that we face. I will also look forward to some acknowledgment that our predicament is predicated on failures requiring penitence. Then we can rise to new heights that raise our spirits and help heal the wounds of the world.

End of Year Thoughts on Job Searches and the News Business

With the economy going from bad to really bad, I recently applied to lead newsrooms, in several interesting markets. Despite my exhortations and long record of success, general managers can’t seem to get past the ten year interval since my last news director job. Another problem may be that the last ten years have not been well used by many of those running TV stations. Instead of building new models of storytelling and promoting approaches that appeal to the social networking culture, stations have focused on finding ways to do what they have traditionally done, only more cheaply. The result is fewer viewers and little appeal for younger audiences. Cutting costs, though necessary, will not save, or even improve, TV news.

One of the great recent changes is the advent of video journalists (VJs) who write, shoot, and edit their own stories. Also known as backpack journalists, stations and other news organizations, including newspapers, are using the new technology in different ways. Made possible by smaller cameras and desktop editing programs, the positive potential of VJs is enormous. Many stations and even international networks are using these tools reasonably effectively, and have been for some time. But there are problems. Audiences are not growing. The new tools and cost savings may help the bottom line but inevitably drive viewers away rather than draw them in. Even on the web, few of these video entries rise to the level of compelling content.

If a VJ is going to produce a news story, she, or he, can’t do it the way a three person team, a reporter-videographer-editor, would tell the same story. Competing against a team of specialists who are doing the same thing will often find the generalist (the VJ) with a story that is not as interesting, compelling, and attractive to viewers.

Before we go any further let me make it clear that I support, encourage, and embrace the use of VJs. The more personal approach the new tools make possible offers creative possibilities that prior generations could only dream about. When VJs have failed to thrive it is because of what they are being asked to do. Unless the VJ tells stories that give viewers something other than what they can get from a traditional news package, they will be destined to look like a new—but not necessarily improved--version of an old medium.

Instead, TV news departments must properly engage new technologies by encouraging formats that are conducive to the tools. That means exercising judgment in figuring out which stories are right for VJs and having options—including traditional crews--available. The challenges and safety concerns in covering the news demand that sometimes one person cannot cover a story alone. On the other hand, certain stories can be better covered with smaller, less intrusive equipment, and storytellers who are personally engaged and know how to use technology to create meaning out of the events, people, and issues that make up news. It also matters on what device the story will be viewed.

Because there is a fear of failure—understandable but ultimately destructive—station leaders tend to resist new approaches. The result, as stated earlier, is slow, steady decline. Reversing this trend means welcoming experimentation. Start small. Choose one newscast to try new ways of using technology to tell stories differently. But be smart. I have seen too many failed experiments. One station placed a good looking anchor on a big map to give a traffic report, sort of going low tech to highlight the personality. Such gimmicky approaches add nothing of value. They are being different just for the sake of being different.

Making this work also involves structuring news departments differently. Command and control must be replaced with a well articulated hierarchy of goals that are dynamic and news driven. Self directed teams that understand their assignments will be creatively challenged to deliver content that matters using technology that supports each particular approach.

So what will this all look like? Story tellers must connect and insert themselves in the stories they capture with small cameras. It is an approach that requires engagement and social awareness but must be supported by a foundation of good journalism. Ultimately, it is walking a thin line but being able to maintain a fair minded approach while presenting—even embracing--different sides of an issue. It is not a traditional 1:30 news package.

These are not wild dreams. On the contrary, I understand the daily demands of running a successful and profitable news organization, which is precisely why I am eager to work again in news at this critically important turning point. So, I will continue to dream and work toward making things better. Others’ reluctance, based on their fear of failure, will continue to be an obstacle. Finding ways to effectively overcome obstacles is the pathway to success.

A Poorly Chosen Word

I got a note from a mortgage company the other day that made me laugh and then it made me angry. The note was touting lower interest rates available now and urging me, and other readers of the E-newsletter, to take advantage of the just over 5% fixed rate loans currently available. The sentence that followed is what got my attention. It mentioned—and I’m paraphrasing, but the word in quotes is a direct quote—that the “greed” involved in waiting for an even lower rate should not stop us from refinancing right now. Unbelievable! A bank, a mortgage bank, admonishing customers not to be greedy.

As we know, the mortgage crisis is at the heart of our current economic troubles. We also know that the Treasury Department is working to bring mortgage rates even lower, a good idea that will stimulate the economy. So, for a mortgage banker to suggest that “greed” would motivate a potential customer to wait shows a disconnection from reality, at worst, or a loose use of words, at best. For somebody to try and get an additional ¼ to a ½ percent better rate on a mortgage could mean the difference between keeping a home and losing it. It could mean sending a kid to college with little or no debt, or saddling the next generation with the fruits of the current folly. No, trying to wait it out for a better rate is not greed at all; it is thrift, something that has been in too short supply lately. Could waiting backfire? Certainly, and that was the well-meaning point of the banker’s admonition. But “greed” was clearly the wrong word.

On the other hand, greed is when somebody who has enough, or much more than enough, wants even more. And we have had too many examples of real greed in the last few weeks. The bankers who took bonuses while accepting taxpayer funded bailouts, the governor accused of trying to personally profit from abusing the public trust, or the investment adviser with several multi-million dollar homes who runs a high level Ponzi scheme, all represent greed in its true meaning.

So please, if you’re trying to sell mortgages, don’t abuse the language and insult your potential customers.

There, I feel better now.

Choices for Changing Times

Without doubt or hesitation, I can say with certainty, the toughest thing for me to do as a news executive was firing an employee. I bring this up now because so many people are facing lay-offs and dismissals as the economy struggles. We had an unwritten rule that if somebody had to be laid off or fired, we would not do it during the holiday season. As I write those words this simple courtesy seems almost quaint. Every day we learn of more people losing their jobs with much of the tough news being delivered right now, just a little more than a week before Christmas. And that is strangely emblematic of how things have changed.

The backdrop to the real stories of workers at every level struggling because of lack of work is stark and filled with greed. When we read about a governor trying to sell the public trust to the highest bidder, and elite financial managers ripping off billions, as highly paid corporate executives use private jets while they beg for even more billions, it’s hard not to become angry. The problem with anger is that it’s most useful when it motivates profound strategic change, as opposed to revenge and justification for even more bad behavior.

Economists like to talk about corrections. The idea being that the market will adjust to changes and move ahead after down cycles. But even Alan Greenspan admits that he made a mistake in relying too much on this process. So now our only recourse is bailouts that cost billions and eventually may be in the trillions.

There is a spiritual dimension to our current situation that doesn’t get enough attention. We have to change the way we regard each other and the idea of public service and what we value. I’m reminded of this notion by Anna Quindlen’s current column in Newsweek. Being close in age to Ms. Quindlen, I, too, remember saving for something we wanted and not relying on credit. I also remember the first time my parents received a Master Charge (that’s what it was called then) card in the mail; they cut it up, immediately. If we can't pay for it, we shouldn't buy it. The point is that when we start to value things, more than people and ideas, we wind up where we are.

So as we collectively struggle through these economically tough times we need to take stock of what is really valuable to us and how we can add even more value in ways that matter, in contrast to acquiring more things. Perhaps the anger we feel at the excesses exposed by our current crisis can be directed toward positive purposes that celebrate our common concerns. The media might help if we demand more than the current menu that passes for entertainment. A little mind numbing crap—as I call it in our household—has its place; in small doses, escapism can help us get through the day or night. But a steady diet will lead to psychic disease and death of the spirit. And for the media business that’s the real problem. With all the cutting and layoffs, the efficiencies that save money, we are missing opportunities to build and innovate. Good programming, and well-produced content, still draw an audience. Fortunately, there are still some excellent programs and movies. The challenge is to constantly improve and use the new technologies to inspire and lead. The real value in presenting quality content will be rewarded and help more than the “bottom line”. By being a positive force we become part of the solution to our own and larger problems. But if it's just about cutting the payroll, media companies will wind up in the same situation as the banks and car makers.

Two Guys from the Neighborhood, Sort of

So now comes the sordid saga of Rod from Chicago. I’ve never met the soon to be ex-governor of Illinois, but I’ve known people like him my whole life. Growing up in Queens, wannabe tough guys—whether physical or political—were around. Their profanity-laden tirades are part of the package. In every sense, these guys are bullies, unattractive, despicable. Often, they have a charming demeanor or other pseudo redeeming qualities that disguise the greedy motives that drive their egocentric behavior. In the end, though, it’s all about them. Service to others fuels their rhetoric but any collateral good that may come from their actions is merely a coincidence. If others benefit from their activities those “good works” become a shield for the more shady revelations that inevitably follow. So whether Rod is like those guys or not will be decided by history and the legal process, but the images resonate as we watch this latest melodrama unfold

During our current recession, greed and self-interest will continue to be in the spotlight. We can rail at CEOs who take millions while their companies crumble, unions that demand inflated wages for a few while others lose everything, and politicians who forget the meaning of the oaths they solemnly swear. But two ideas must move to the forefront and stay there in this season of goodwill.

First, we have to be vigilant and demand that our “watchdogs” in the mainstream media along with bloggers and community journalists expand their efforts in holding those in power accountable. Speaking truth to power must be even more highly valued during these difficult days.

Second, we need to honor those who serve, and service as a value. Our spiritual traditions teach us about service—even love--for our fellow humans, and demand fidelity to higher values, whether called God or something more secular. Service, after all, is the essence of good leadership.

Finally, a look back at the old neighborhood would reveal many characters categorically more noble than Rod from Chicago. For every Rod another name in the news comes to mind, General Eric Shinseki. Men and women like Shinseki are the real tough guys, the good ones. Most didn’t go to West Point and earn four-star commissions, but they go to work every day and make important differences in the lives of others. They work as first responders and teachers, nurses and doctors, aides who change bed pans and entrepreneurs who fix everything from computers to toilets. Of course, the list goes on; they are honest people who care.

Gen. Shinseki spoke truth to power as army chief of staff. He told his bosses what they didn’t want to hear. He lost his job over it. But he demonstrated integrity. So for every Rod from Chicago we have brave women and men who simply speak the truth, because the greater good trumps their own interests. So wherever you grew up, whether a big city like New York or Chicago, or someplace smaller, reflect about those you know and whom you would really trust. Those like Gen. Shinseki are tough guys in the best sense; the wannabes, like Rod, are nothing more than sad tragedies who hurt themselves, their families, and the rest of us.

A View from the Edge

On a bench near the beach,
On the edge of the ocean.

We saw the pacific Pacific,
The sun slowly sinking,
Looking west through the clouds.


December's short daylight,
Making room for the night,
On the lower left corner,
Of California's long coast.

The country behind us,
As we look to the west,
A few moments of wonder,
Then back toward the rest,
Because restless we are,
We turn around to progress.

Creative Leadership Great and Small

Our friend, Rolland Smith, blogged recently about people who emerge in every age and make a difference (Who I Am, December 1, 2008). They are writers and scientists, politicians and composers, athletes and actors, physicians and philosophers, leaders who influence from every field and direction; and they are you and me. I'm also reminded of a musical written for, and performed by, children called The Role Model. The show's writer and director is Cara Freedman, a talented artist from San Diego. The point of her play is that everyday heroes, our next door neighbors, local teachers and emergency workers, and many other people we encounter daily, all can make an important difference in the lives of so many. Both Rolland and Cara, in their own ways, capture the spiritual dimension of how men and women of every generation influence the world that is now, whenever now happens to be. They are the great and near great and those unheralded heroes who go about their business but make us remember something important or even motivate us to act in ways that matter.

A few years ago, I wrote about John Lennon's efforts to end the Vietnam War (last on the page so scroll down after clicking this link), and mentioned that today we have celebrities who lead, too, in consequential ways that do make a difference. I've also spent the last two years engaged in academic leadership studies through the online graduate program at Gonzaga University. So the idea of leadership resonates as a very real and practical pursuit for me and should for you, during these difficult days we face.

Most troubling during the perilous times is that for every leader who represents growth and goodness we have those who promote hatred and horror. The biblical exhortation to choose life over death, and blessing over curses, reminds us that existential choices we make and influence others to make, may seem solitary or inconsequential but can ripple or even cascade far from ourselves.

President-elect Obama introduced his national security team, yesterday, and his economic team, last week. Much has been written and said about the so called "Team of Rivals" he's assembled. More important, of course, are the abilities of each team member. Each of us, including the advisers chosen by the president-elect, must serve as a follower and also as a servant to those we lead. Our next president has not chosen an easy path for himself but it is the right path. And it can set the tone for the country, accepting difficult challenges, as each of us leads, follows, and serves.

As a business, news media outlets continue to struggle. The leadership challenge is especially relevant for newsrooms of all kinds. With the technological possibilities available today, the industry ought to be thriving. Instead, the great media companies are suffering along with banks and auto makers for many of the same reasons. Aversion to innovation and a fear of failure, along with the quick fixes of easy money with no long range plans, have wreaked havoc on these businesses. With this reckoning now a reality, opportunities will emerge. The challenge will be well served if new and creative leadership is not only accepted but is also sought. Those who run our newspapers, TV stations, networks, and online enterprises, will succeed if change is not only embraced but created, before the bottom line demands more destructive solutions. More cuts and more of the same--the old "more with less" thinking-- are band aids that will not heal the wounds.

Times to Remember

I could tell by the look on his face, something was terribly wrong. It was just after lunch at Russell Sage Junior High School, in Forest Hills, NY. We were heading to Mrs. DeBarcza’s art class when I locked eyes with Mr. Heitner, our usually cheerful science teacher. He had a look I had never seen before. As a 12 year old I could see that he was concerned for us, his students, but it was not the usual sort of student-teacher attention; it was much bigger. When I asked if everything was okay, he answered, “Just go to class. There will be an announcement in a few minutes”.

A few minutes later, our principal, Dr. Charles Tanzer, got on the PA system and told us that

President Kennedy had been shot, in Dallas, and was being rushed to the hospital. Not long after that announcement, the school dismissed us and we all went home. JFK was dead. The date was November 22, 1963.

If you are a certain age, it is a day you will never forget. Forty five years later, the memory is vivid, indelibly etched and still painful. After the assassination, television news became our national focal point. Continuous coverage replaced regular programming. We watched as a tall Texas lawman, in a white Stetson hat, recoiled helplessly as Jack Ruby shot Lee Harvey Oswald on live TV. And we followed the new president, LBJ, as he took charge of a nation in mourning.

A few days later, we heard Senator Mike Mansfield describe the First Lady’s reaction at Parkland Hospital, where President Kennedy was taken, mortally wounded. He told us that Jackie Kennedy, “took a ring from her finger, and placed it in his hands”. And we watched young John Kennedy Jr. snap a salute to his father’s flag draped casket.

As we approach Thanksgiving, these memories remind us that our resilience as a nation honors those who do great things. As we remember JFK, those old enough to remember December 7, 1941 inform our lives with recollections of that time and the war that followed. And for the current generation, we will remember September 11, 2001, decades from now.

Thanksgiving is a time to reflect, to give thanks and look ahead. Our current moment is perilous, even though we are not experiencing a single cataclysmic event with a specific date to recall some day. We’ve elected new leadership to guide us through our economic crisis. The trials of the months ahead will test us and require perseverance and sacrifice. The consequences of unemployment, diminished savings, and collapsing credit, profoundly affect the lives of many.

For those who gather and present the news, opportunities to tell compelling stories with real substance form the foundation of history and can rise to the level of literature. Those who are up to the challenge can serve an important role in bringing about a turnaround by informing the public and holding officials and business leaders to high standards. When news organizations do their best work they help us through difficult situations; they draw us closer as a country when we are most vulnerable. This is such a time, even if nobody is attacked, nobody is shot, and planes keep flying without interruption.

Update from August

Back on August 14th (third one down, after you click), we mentioned a young man we know, who tried to get a political piece published in a major newspaper, before the primaries began. Despite his vision and analysis, recognizing early who the eventual presidential candidates would be, no paper picked up his entry. Well, today's Wall Street Journal includes a piece by him. Well done, Robbie!

This highlighted link will take you to his article. Robbie and I disagree on who was the right choice in this election; I was for Obama. But I'm encouraged by Robbie's commitment and so many other young people who got involved.

A Way to Grow

The economic collapse that affects nearly all of us bears particular burdens for me and those like me. I am self-employed but also looking for work. During the six years that my one man consulting business was thriving, I put aside enough to get through the occasional downturns of any business cycle. As the international economic crisis grows longer and deeper, our best laid plans face new challenges. But that is how we grow, individually and as a society.

I am encouraged by Obama's election and new ways of thinking that his victory represents. Last Saturday, the group I worked with on the Obama campaign, from California's 53rd Congressional District (Central San Diego County), gathered for a victory party and celebration. This group did extraordinary work. Between dozens of phone banks and canvassing trips to battleground states, our group made a real difference.

Our group leaders gave each member of the team a gift. It is a book by Daniel Pink, called A Whole New Mind. The sub title is: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future.
This resonates with a blog I wrote, months ago, about Apollo being better than Jupiter as a leadership model for the future.

Of course, life and business, relationships and commerce, present complex challenges that are seldom solved by one extreme or another. The point, though, is to allow new ways of thinking to shift to the more sensitive and enabling models, away from the winner take all, top down, command and control way of doing things. Command and control still has a place in certain situations but for many organizations it is increasingly inappropriate.

Servant Leadership is at the heart of these new approaches. In a previous blog, Fixing TV News from The Inside Out, (it's third down on the page, after you click this link) we explained this approach. My own business of TV news and internet news is suffering deep cuts and dark days of revenue challenges that displace thousands of workers. Some of it is a consequence of the overall economic situation. But it is also a reflection of doing business in old ways for far too long.

Our challenging times invite positive outcomes and offer new possibilities. With today's technology we can all be producers. Each of us can create blogs, stories, movies, and news content. The exhilarating possibilities of these moments in time encourage real growth and creativity. If Mr. Pink is correct--and I believe he is with a few caveats--the right brain future is ours to embrace.

Media Missing on Story that Matters

With Boomers and their parents aging, the media is MIA on a story that should strike fear in, and may impose financial consequences for, everyone but the very rich and the most needy.

We live in an age where aging in America creates costs that can destroy a life’s savings even when the economy is thriving. Living longer means having enough money—or assistance—to insure a safe and secure existence in our “Golden Years”. I use that gilded term because somebody I met recently derisively referred to “seniority” this way, “Golden Years, what a joke,” she said. This woman, in her late 60s or early 70s, was caring for her husband, the victim of a massive stroke. We met during the dinner hour in a nursing home in Queens. I was there because my mother was recuperating from a short illness. My mother’s stay was only a week and was covered by Medicare. But if she had required longer term care, Medicare would eventually stop.

For the victims of Alzheimer’s Disease, or a massive stroke, or debilitating cancer or heart disease, long-term care costs can wipe out a life of savings in months or a year or two. Long-term care insurance is one option but it, too, is fraught with pitfalls, problems and misunderstanding; it’s also quite expensive and doesn’t always cover what policyholders expect it to include.

The long-term care dilemma is going to be—in many cases already is—a massive problem for our society. Typically, what happens is that at some point Medicaid kicks in and takes over the payments for nursing homes or homecare. Medicaid—MediCal in California—is government insurance for those with limited income and assets. Elder law attorneys and social workers can help with “Medicaid Planning”. That nice euphemism is code for sheltering ones assets before they run out and you, or your heirs, are left with nothing. Until you have to deal with these issues, usually because of a loved one’s illness, you just hope you never have to deal with these issues. As life is extended, often well into the 80s, and not uncommonly the 90s, these issues will become more burdensome for individuals and society.

As a news story, the impending long-term care crisis barely registers. More immediate stories of this ilk include Medicare costs and Social Security problems, and the need for some form of national health care policy. Government and politicians will not tackle long-term care without more public awareness and pressure. Eventually enough people will suffer because of this lack of a clear-cut long-term care policy. In the meantime, news organizations are missing an important story that if told properly can inform and influence public policy before too many families suffer. A serious illness takes the gleam off the Golden Years but a good understanding of these issues and proper attention can salvage some of the luster.

For an editor, news executive, or reporter, this is a great story. It has real people; it mostly affects the middle class because the poor get Medicaid and the rich can afford the care; it is a story that matters and can make a difference. So instead of doing another story about dollar bills being tainted with cocaine, or genital plastic surgery and grooming, let’s cover something that really matters and can make a difference.

Covering the economics of health care requires good story-telling skills and finding engaging, human, examples to illustrate the issues. It is more difficult than police scanner news, but readers, viewers, and web surfers will pay attention if the stories are interesting and well presented, whatever the medium. During my years as a news director, whenever we covered health from the economic perspective we got a ratings spike. Properly produced and promoted you’ll get ratings (or readers or users); you will be doing a service for your community and country; and you’ll feel good about the work you’ve chosen to make your living.

A Visitor's View from Greenwich Village

So Barack closed the deal and did so in convincing fashion. Not only did he win, as we now know, it was a landslide. It seems that the politics of fear and division did not work this time. The Rove style scare game just didn't have enough traction. And the Palin gambit served only as a momentary lift once the voters discerned that she represented little more than an attractive package disguising a nearly empty bag.

As we stood in Greenwich Village the other night, all the rhetoric about real Americans vs. the urban elites seemed more surreal than ridiculous. On a beautiful autumn evening, the corner of Sixth Avenue and Bleecker Street was alive, well, and calmly going about its business, real Americans beginning the first weekend after electing the next president. Surely this sophisticated neighborhood known for tolerance and open mindedness, in a most sophisticated city, would be the sort of not so real America that the McCain campaign tried to separate from its supporters. But a rural resident with conservative values would probably be more amused than threatened on this street corner on this night.

So we go on. The red states are a bit fewer and bluer and President-Elect Obama is about to inherit the daunting task of turning around the economy and fulfilling his promise of uniting the red and blue into something I would describe as a beautiful purple. Close up, Greenwich Village will still be blue and rural Georgia will still be red. But as we pull back and attempt to soar high and see with eagles' eyes, the view below must start to blend into a united hue where we enrich each other under the leadership of the man whose white mother from Kansas and black father from Kenya gave us the gift of hope and promise.

Election Day, Finally!

The campaign of a lifetime is almost over. Walking to our local polling station this morning I noticed an interesting bumper sticker. Where I live—Coronado, CA—is mostly Republican with a large number of retired and active military. The bumper sticker on an older SUV across the street from our polling place was one of those oval shaped stickers that said: W 04. Neatly placed over the sticker was a round Obama-Biden sticker, placed so it was clear that this was a Bush voter who was not voting for McCain. We’ve also noticed that our usually Republican little town has as many—probably more--Obama lawn signs than those for McCain-Palin. This is based strictly on our own observations, clearly unscientific. It will be interesting to see how close the presidential numbers are in Coronado.

Coronado has hosted several well attended phone banks for Obama, drawing people from all of San Diego but with strong participation from Coronado itself. If Obama wins, the most interesting thing may be the number of Republicans who crossed over to vote for him. The Reagan Democrat phenomenon of the 1980s may have a 2008 version in Obama Republicans. The reasons will be different, of course. But the damage done to the GOP by W and his team clearly stings and will help re-define what that party must do in order to be relevant, again.

As stated last week, the challenge for Obama, if he makes it, will be to unite all of us. As he eloquently stated: We are not red states and blue states, we are the United States.

Whatever happens today, I will welcome the end of the campaign. Yes, it has been exhilarating and engaging. But there is so much work ahead, for whoever is elected; beginning that work cannot happen quickly enough.

The elusive idea of the great man or woman evokes a combination of hope and skepticism. The last political figure who I personally felt had the potential for greatness was Robert F. Kennedy. My initial response to him, as a much younger man, was more skeptical than hopeful. But as we watched him grow and define the late 60s in clear and eloquent fashion we saw the vision he defined as achievable and inspiring.

At this point in his career, Barack Obama is a long way from greatness. What is exciting, however, is his enormous potential. More than any other political leader since RFK, Barack has the skills, temperament, intelligence, and coalition, to become a great leader. The numbers look good for him, but we know—too well—the only numbers that really count are the votes—specifically, electoral votes. As we await the outcome of today’s election we are at one of those historic moments where everything is about to change.

Perhaps Obama’s great contribution, thus far, is that for many voters, hope is more real and deserved with this man than the normal skepticism that for too long has defined the political process. If those many voters are numerous enough to give Barack Obama and Joe Biden an electoral majority, our hope for great leadership may finally be realized. We’ll try to keep our journalist’s skepticism in balance, at least right now.