Business

The American Left’s Descent into Gestapo Tactics

The Left is already asserting itself in highly un-American ways.

Published

1 year ago

January 19, 2021

Jeff Davidson

For having the temerity and legal right to challenge the election of Joe Biden on the senate floor, on behalf of major concerns of his constituents, Senator Josh Hawley’s book with Simon & Schuster was canceled. The book was slated for publication this spring. Simon & Schuster said: “After witnessing the disturbing, deadly insurrection that took place on Wednesday in Washington, D.C., Simon & Schuster has decided to cancel publication of Senator Josh Hawley’s forthcoming Book, the Tyranny of Big Tech.”

“We did not come to this decision lightly. As a publisher it will always be our mission to amplify a variety of voices and viewpoints: At the same time we take seriously our larger public responsibility as citizens, and cannot support Senator Hawley after his role in what became a dangerous threat to our democracy and freedom.”

Senator Hawley responded, “Simon & Schuster is canceling my contract because I was representing my constituents, leading a debate on the Senate floor on voter integrity, which they have now decided to redefine as sedition.” He then said, “See you in court.”

Silencing the Right

The Left’s attempt to squelch views by anyone deemed to be a Republican or conservative is picking up steam. Randall Lane, the chief content officer of Forbes Media and editor of Forbes Magazine, which most people don’t realize was sold by the Forbes Family years ago, has called for destroying the careers of anyone who work for Trump, particularly his press secretaries including Sean Spicer, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, and Kayleigh McEnany.

“Let it be known to the business world: Hire any of Trump’s fellow fabulists above, and Forbes will assume that everything your company or firm talks about is a lie,” Lane wrote. “We’re going to scrutinize, double-check, investigate with the same skepticism we’d approach a Trump tweet. Want to ensure the world’s biggest business media brand approaches you as a potential funnel of disinformation? Then hire away.”

Can you imagine the unmitigated gall of a major business magazine editor, once considered “a capitalist tool,” seeking to diminish the livelihood, reputation, and indeed quality of life of those who served in the administration of our 45th president?

Wait, There’s More

If only the blatant social, civic, and financial attempts at ostracism we’re confined to American publishers. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, perhaps the least intelligent person ever elected twice to congress, has repeatedly called for the re-education, reprogramming, or indoctrination of anyone who voted for Trump. She is joined by legions of others calling for the same.

To get this straight, that means 75 to 80 million people, in her view, require some kind of intervention for the deep and desperate crime of having voted Republican. Log on to any alternative news site today – not the mainstream press – including Politicrossing, Townhall, Rantingly, The Liberty Daily, Whatfinger News, Red State, and so on, and each day you will see articles of those on the left calling for drastic measures to silence those on the right.

Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia, supposedly a moderate, has openly called for removing both Senators Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz Manchin via the 14th Amendment, over their objections to Electoral College votes. Where was Sen. Manchin in November, 2017 when Nancy Pelosi did exactly the same thing?

Ideological Litmus Tests

On the heels of the Left’s attempt to squelch the freedom of speech and livelihood of those on the Right comes perhaps the most egregious development thus far. National Guard troops assembled in Washington, D.C. to insure domestic tranquility during the transfer of power on January 20th are now looked upon by the Left in a new light. They want to know who voted for Trump, versus who voted for Biden, and send the Trump voters to far ends, away from Biden.

This ideological litmus test is much more than the start of a slippery slope, it virtually guarantees that the nation will be fractured, and in record time.

Suppose that hereafter, within the professions, you must declare whether or not you voted for Trump. No more buying real estate using a broker who leans right. Don’t even consider getting insurance from an agent who voted for Trump. What about your doctor? Can he or she be trusted if a GOP member? Do you want to retain an attorney who voted for Republicans?

As absurd as this seems, major voices on the Left prefer this path. NBA basketball players have complained to the press that they don’t want to play for a team whose owner is a Republican.

Disaster on the Horizon

Where will all this lead? Your guess is as good as mine. Perhaps, more reasoned voices will prevail, and point out the absurdity of asking people for their “official papers,” much like was done throughout Europe in the lead up to and during World War II.

However, at the rate that the Left is already asserting itself in highly un-American ways, acting like the East German Stasi, and usurping the U.S. Constitution, there’s no real reason to hold out hope.

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Jeff Davidson

Jeff Davidson is the world's only holder of the title "The Work-Life Balance Expert®" as awarded by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He is the premier thought leader on work-life balance, integration, and harmony. Jeff speaks to organizations that seek to enhance their overall productivity by improving the effectiveness of their people. He is the author of Breathing Space, Simpler Living, Dial it Down, and Everyday Project Management. Visit www.BreathingSpace.com for more information on Jeff's keynote speeches and seminars, including: Managing the Pace with Grace® * Achieving Work-Life Balance™ * Managing Information and Communication Overload®

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Business

Delegation: An Ongoing Phenomena

Failure to delegate effectively often happens because team leader don’t trust the people with whom they’re working

Published

3 hours ago

June 29, 2022

Jeff Davidson

For most of your career, you’ve read or heard that one of the key approaches to getting things done is to delegate effectively. This presumes that you have others to whom you can delegate. In my contact with more than 950 organizations over the last two and a half decades, I’ve found increasingly that people have fewer resources, a lower budget, and less staff people. If they want to get something done, often they have to do it themselves!

Assuming you have others to whom you can delegate, the first or second time you personally tackle a particular task yields useful information. You learn more about the nature of the task, how long it takes, and whether or not you enjoy doing it.

By the third time, a task of the same ilk as those you’ve handled before often becomes best handled by someone reporting to you. Such tasks could involve updating a database, completing an interim report, or assembling meeting notes.

All that You Can

On the path to getting things done, your quest is to identify all those things that you can possibly delegate to others and then prepare those others so that they have a high probability of succeeding. In the course of your workday there may be only a handful of things that you alone need to do because of your experience, insight or specialized knowledge. Everything else that can be delegated should be.

Some people feel they have to take care of everything themselves and to this day haven’t been able to break the habit of “doing it all.” If this someone is in your seat right now, recognize that as a category of one, you can only get so much done.

Many managers and supervisors fail to delegate effectively because either they don’t fully trust the people with whom they’re working, or they’ve always been get-it-all-done-by-myself types.

Take Time before You Assign

Prior to delegating anything to anyone, take the time to actually prepare your staff for delegation. This would involve assessing an employee’s skills, interests, and needs. You could even ask people what new tasks and responsibilities they would like to assume. You might be surprised at the wide variety of responses you receive. There may be people on your staff right now who can help you with tasks you’ve been dying to hand off to someone but didn’t see how or when you could put them into play.

While you want to delegate to staff people who show enthusiasm, initiative and interest, or have otherwise previously demonstrated the ability to handle and balance several tasks at once, sometimes you have to delegate to someone who has not exhibited any of the above. In that case, delegate on a piece-meal basis.

Ensure that the staff person is able to effectively handle the small task or tasks he’s been assigned and does not feel swamped or overloaded. When the staff person demonstrates competence, you can increase the complexity of assignments and even the frequency with which you delegate.

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Business

Multi-tasking: More Harm than Good

In this day and age, where so much competes for our attention, it is easy to stray!

Published

2 weeks ago

June 16, 2022

Jeff Davidson

I belong to a local health club, and while I was there one day, I saw a woman get on the Stairmaster. I watched as she whipped out an mp3 player and started listening to music. Then, to my surprise, she reached into her gym bag, pulled out a book, and placed it on that ledge to read. I almost asked her if she would like a piece of gum!

Today, when so much competes for our attention, it is easy to stray! More often than we care to pretend, in the office and at home, we invite more than we can handle, and then act as though we didn’t. As individuals, throughout society, we are trained to believe that the ability to multi-task is a great attribute. Unfortunately, that’s a big mistake. Here’s why, and how to avoid multi-tasking in the future.

First Things First

What’s the fastest and easiest way to handle six tasks competing for our attention? Identify the most important task, second most important, third most important, and so on, then tackle the first and finish it all the way, move on to the second and complete it, then move all the way down the list.

Any other way of tackling those items, whether they are tasks for home or work, is simply not as efficient. The catch is, any other way is more psychologically satisfying. Why? It’s almost as if juggling projects, switching gears unnecessarily or abruptly, or leaving a job unfinished to start a new project gives you the opportunity to say to other people, “Hey, look at me! Look how involved I am! Look at how busy I am! I’m great at multi-tasking.” A multi-tasker, however, can’t compete with others who tackle their to-do list, one item at a time.

What about doubling up as a procedure for tackling a number of routine items or very simple tasks? You can eat dinner and read a book at the same time. Eating and reading at the same time is relatively harmless.

How about driving and talking on the cell phone at the same time? Driving requires your sharp attention, as does carrying on an intelligent conversation with someone else who is not present; doing both at the same time spreads your attention too thin, with often disastrous results. The same is true for projects you’re working on that require your best thinking.

Tips:
* give yourself 5 to 10 minute intervals to focus on the task at hand
* safe-guard your immediate environment to avoid interruptions
* acknowledge yourself whenever you stick to one task and finish it
* repeat all the above, often, knowing that ‘more often’ is better!

Your Undivided Attention

When you’re working on a new task, brainstorming, engaging in first-time thinking, or doing creative work, it’s vital to offer your complete and undivided attention to that one task before you. To dissipate your attention or otherwise stray means you are not going to do your best work.

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