Wake up America, where is our outrage? CIA assessment says Russia intervened in election to help Trump win.

This isn't good. Secret CIA assessment says Russia intervened in election to help Trump win.


Wake up America, where is our outrage?

Where is that deep rooted patriotism that verges on nationalism? Another country has interfered with the election of the President of the United States. Not a nice democratic country that was watching over our election to make sure it was fair and democratic, but a nation led by a tyrant and former leader of the KGB. This is not ok!

If you truly love this country, regardless of who we elect for President. If you truly respect the men and women who put on a uniform and risk their lives to protect our democracy, then you must be very upset when a foreign government attempts to undermine our democracy. Any President of any party would be pretty pissed off at the moment and trying to figure out what the right response should be. Our President-elect apparently believes that the proper response is to tell the American people that it was nothing, just another conspiracy theory. This is ironic since conspiracy theories were the backbone of the Trump campaign.

But this is not a conspiracy theory. It is not a theory that our President-elect has significant economic ties to Russia. ( https://www.washingtonpost.com/…/dbdcaac8-31a6-11e6-8ff7-7b… ) It is not a theory that the Russia that Putin has created has a severely strained relationship with the USA and nothing would indicate that the relationship would improve with any other presidential candidate of any party. Donald is the exception. He has expressed respect and even liking for Putin. Trump has significant investments in Russia and as his son, Donald Jr., put it a when talking about his family empire “Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets”. A “pretty disproportionate cross-section” of Trumps assets are in Russia and/or financed with Russian money while Russia is meddling and manipulating our election in Trump’s favor. This should bother everyone who believes in democracy! This time things may have gone your way, but what about next time? If someone were to try and steal your freedom they wouldn’t do it by direct confrontation, that would be too costly, they would do it by enticing you by making you think that you are getting some great short-term advantages.

https://t.co/XB1DYpuGID

Suppose I liked venomous snakes

Suppose I liked venomous snakes.  Maybe I don’t really know why, I just really enjoy them.  I suppose I wouldn’t have anything against your common garden snake but I would just get a kick out of poisonous snakes and the more poisonous the better.  Rattlesnakes and water moccasins would be great fun but there would be nothing like a blue krait or and inland taipan to really get my juices flowing.  Suppose I had 5 of the 10 most deadly snakes in the world in my personal collection in my home.  I wouldn’t take these dangerous creatures lightly and I would be very careful with them and keep them locked up in special enclosures.

Unfortunately, there would probably be some people who were not as conscientious about their snakes as I was.  Some people would like to carry their deadly snakes in public in special holders on their belts or over their shoulders. Some people would get their snakes out when they had been drinking and end up hurting themselves or someone else. Sometimes other people’s snakes would get out by accident and kill someone. There might be incidents where people left their children alone with these venomous snakes and the kids might end up getting bitten.   There might even be cases where people with mental illness, criminals or terrorists got their hands on these snakes and used them to hurt people.  This would in all likelihood lead to demands to regulate the possession of these dangerous snakes.  There would probably not be an outright ban on the possession of poisonous snakes but it would be well regulated.  The more dangerous the snake the greater the level of control would be.  In fact, some snakes would be deemed so dangerous that only special organizations with highly trained personnel would be allowed to possess them.

Naturally, this might lead to some anger and frustration from people like me who really liked owning deadly snakes.  We might argue that we have a right to own these snakes for home protection.  But this argument would not have much effect on public opinion since venomous snakes are very hard to train and if you got them out to sick them on the bad guy they might just as often end up killing you instead.

No, I think we would all have to agree that no matter how much we enjoyed owning deadly snakes it would be better for everyone if the possession of deadly snakes was strictly regulated. 

To my surprise I just looked on-line and discovered that the possession of venomous snakes is highly regulated.  That makes me think if there might be other highly dangerous things in society that should be just as regulated.

10 Commandments for Success in 2015

Every year for the past couple years I have taken a look at my suggestions for being successful in the new year, updating them and then re-blogging them.  I hope you like this years updates. 

I remember as a child when we went on some cross country vacations in the car.  We could drive accross the USA to go to one destination or another.  My mother was a music teacher and my sister and I grew up singing.  When we would take those long car rides we would sing the scores of every broadway musical we knew and every other song we could think of. Everything was in 3 part harmony. Mom, my sister and I would sing while dad filled the role of audience (he was one of the only people I have ever met who truly couldn't sing). 

Today, forty years later, I only have vague memories of our destinations. I don't remember much of the details about Disney land or being seasick on the fishing boat in Oregon.   But my memories of singing, laughing, talking and sometimes fighting in the car on those trips are as vivid as if they happened yesterday.  If you have ever heard someone tell you that the journey is more important than the destination, believe them.  I suspect that the milestones in our lives, as important as they may be seem, with time  will fade away but the paths we took to reach those milestones stay with us forever. Enjoy the trip!

1. Decide to be happy! It’s not magic. Deciding to be happy doesn’t automatically make you happy and it can at times involve hard work. But deciding that you want to be happy and deserve to be happy is the first step that will lead you to making the necessary decisions and choosing the actions to move you in the right direction.

2. Be forgiving! Forgive others and possibly hardest of all forgive yourself.

3. Keep learning. Be curious. Ask more questions and really listen to what people say. Talk to strangers. Read more books.

4. Get involved in something outside of work that is voluntary. Your kid’s football team, a charity, a church or a scout troop, whatever it is get involved and invest some time in it

 

5. Exercise regularly. You don’t have to be a fanatic! A little physical activity done regularly can make one hell of a difference in both your physical health andyour mental wellbeing.

6. Don’t work for money. Work for stimulation and satisfaction. The money will follow. 

7. If you find yourself in a bad situation, for example at work or in a relationship, make a plan and take the necessary steps to either improve the situation or to move on to a better one. If you find yourself in a good situation invest more of yourself into it.

8. Spend more time with friends and family. Try hard to really be with them when you are with them. That means turning off whatever problem is mulling around in your head, the TV or your cellphone for just a little while and just be. Don’t avoid people you don’t like. They will help you learn a great deal about yourself.

9. Work hard! Be wary of easy answers and quick fixes. Creating anything worthwhile whether it’s a painting, a career, a relationship or a life is hard work.

10. This moment is the only moment you have and it will never come back, make the most of it! The past is the past and if you are lucky enough to have a future it will be to a large extent the result of how you spent the accumulation of all the moments just like this one.

There is no shame in thoughts; there is only shame in actions.

This is the time for compassion and understanding.  This is the place for forgiveness and acceptance. The battle between good and evil is not a battle between nations, religious or political factions, races or even between individuals.  It is a struggle within the hearts and minds of each and every one of us.  The battle is fought every single day through our words and deeds.

If ours beliefs lead us to do evil then our beliefs are evil. If our gods cause us to hate others because they are different or believe differently, then our gods are evil.  Our gods can take many shapes. We may worship Jesus, Allah, God, Buddha, money, our nation, our political party or any number of other things.  If that which is holy to us causes us to hate or harm others then we are on the side of evil.  If our beliefs encourage us to dictate who or how others should love, if our beliefs cause us to believe that our path is the only right path and to be judgmental or damning of people who choose other paths then we are the ones who are lost.

If our beliefs cause us to love and forgive then we are on the path of good. If our gods cause us to help those in need and accept those who are different from us then our gods are virtuous.  If that which is holy to us causes us to be humble and accept that what is right for one of us may not be right for all of us then good will triumph.

No good every came from evil acts.  Good comes from good.  In the end what you feel or believe is far less important than what you actually do. There is no shame in thoughts; there is only shame in actions. Do not fear your fears, fear is natural. You may fear those who are different than you or those you don’t understand and still offer them help in their time of need. Triumphing over your fears to do good displays courage, allowing your fears to dictate your behavior displays cowardice.

Kelly's original Oklahoma barbeque sauce

When I first came to Sweden 30 years ago there were many foods that we not available here.  One of them was good barbeque sauce.  So I did my homework and came up with my own recipes for some of the things I missed most.  Today there are many good barbeque sauces on the grocery store shelves here in Sweden but if you want to try something really special you can give this a shot.  This might even be a little treat for my friends back home in the USA.

Ingredients:

1 liter (about 32 oz) Heinz ketchup

1 large onion

2-3 cloves of garlic

1 package of bacon (about 8 strips). Exchange the bacon fat with a vegetable bouillon cube or 2-3 tablespoons of fond if you don’t want the bacon fat.

The juice of one lemon

250-300 grams (about 1.25 cups) of butter

3 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

6 dl water (3 cups)

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

3-4 tablespoons of brown sugar or dark syrup

1 tablespoon of mustard

1-2 habanera peppers (Use a milder pepper If you don’t like it hot or skip this ingredient completely if you like it very mild)

Directions:

Fry up the package of bacon, remove the bacon and save the grease.

Finely chop the onion, garlic and peppers. I like to use a hand blender or food processer for this to get all the ingredients almost pureed. 

My original recipe used only the fat from the bacon but for an even more robust sauce you can add the bacon into the food processer with the onion and puree it too but this otherwise only use the fat.

Put all the ingredients in a large pot (3 liters or larger) and mix well. Cook the ingredients on medium heat without a lid for 20 minutes then reduce the heat and let simmer for another hour.

Enjoy!

Det är resan som är målet

Vi är på en resa tillsammans.

Det kräver hårt arbete och ibland kör vi i diket eller åker vilse, det ingår i resan, men vi kommer också att få uppleva mycket spännande.

Vi får möjlighet att växa som mäniskor, att hjälpa andra och skapa mening i tillvaron.

Vi har en riktning men ingen slutdestination.

Det är resan som är målet.

Tips for boarding an airlplane (Reflections of a frequent flyer)

1.    Respect the line. If you have a ticket they will let you get on. Don't go to the front of the line and "merge" in front of 150 people who actually are in line. We see you even if you pretend to be invisible.

2.    Have your boarding card, ID, etc. out before you get to the front of the line. If you can't find your boarding card, step to the side and let others go past while you look in your one carry-on, one large handbag, computer bag, odd little extra bag, hanger bag, a paper tube with the advertising campaign you are going to pitch to your client and the two plastic bags of stuff you bought in the airport shops.

 

3.    When the airline says one carry-on and one small handbag they don't mean one carry-on, one large handbag, computer bag, odd little extra bag, hanger bag, a paper tube with the advertising campaign you are going to pitch to your client and the two plastic bags of stuff you bought in the airport shops.

4.    If instead of one carry-on and one small handbag you actually bring one carry-on, one big handbag, a computer bag, an odd little extra bag, a hanger bag, a paper tube containing the advertising campaign you are going to pitch to your client and the two plastic bags of stuff you bought in the airport shops and if you cut into the front of the line to make sure you can get room in the overhead bin for your one carry-on, one big handbag, a computer bag, an odd little extra bag, a hanger bag, a paper tube with the advertising campaign you are going to pitch to your client and the two plastic bags of stuff you bought in the airport shops, don't be surprised and all righteous and indignant  if someone removes one or two of your "carry-on" items and places them in the aisle, especially if you aren't sitting anywhere close to the vicinity of the overhead bins where your plethora of personal belongs are stored. (Breath)

5.    Take off your coat before you actually enter the plane so you don’t have to put all your worldly possessions in the aisle so you can take off your coat while 150 of us behind you wait because you cut in line ahead of us.

6.    If despite everything I have written here you insist on entering the plane with all your junk and pile it all in the aisle while you take off your coat please don’t wear your delicate “in-threat-of-extinction-skin-of-something-you-shot-on-safari-in-Africa” coat that can’t possibly be wadded up and stuffed into whatever crevice there is amongst all your stuff in the overhead bins (like the rest of us cattle do with our outer garments) while 150 of us other passengers are waiting behind you because you cut in front of us in line.  And if you do all of this at least and don’t start a big pontification about bad service and “don’t you know who I am” with the cabin personnel because they don’t have a humidified room to hand your rare dead coat in.

10 Commandments for success in 2014

Last year I published 10 Commandments for success in 2013.  After a bit more reflection I have updated them and made some additions and substractions.  Hope you get some good out of them and have a great 2014.  For me 2014 will be an exciting time with the publication of my first book that is due out in April or May so keep your eyes open for it! :)

1. Decide to be happy!  It’s not magic.  Deciding to be happy doesn’t automatically make you happy and it can at times involve hard work.  But deciding that you want to be happy and deserve to be happy is the first step that will lead you to making the necessary decisions and choosing the actions to move you in the right direction.

2. Be forgiving!  Forgive others and possibly hardest of all forgive yourself.

3. Keep learning.  Be curious. Ask more questions and really listen to what people say. Talk to strangers. Read more books.

4. Get involved in something outside of work that is voluntary.  Your kid’s football team, a charity, a church or a scout troop, whatever it is get involved and invest some time in it

5. Exercise regularly. You don’t have to be a fanatic! A little physical activity done regularly can make one hell of a difference in both your physical health and your mental wellbeing.

6. Don’t work for money. Work for stimulation and satisfaction. The money will follow. 

7. If you find yourself in a bad situation, for example  at work or in a relationship, make a plan and take the necessary steps to either improve the situation or to move on to a better one.  If you find yourself in a good situation invest more of yourself into it.

8. Spend more time with friends and family. Don’t avoid people you don’t like. They will help you learn a great deal about yourself.

9. Work hard! Be wary of easy answers and quick fixes.  Creating anything worthwhile whether it’s a painting, a career, a relationship or a life is hard work.

10. This moment is the only moment you have and it will never come back, make the most of it! The past is the past and if you are lucky enough to have a future it will be to a large extent the result of how you spent the accumulation of moments just like this one.

Rich get rich and poor get poorer and somehow thats good?

Is just me or is the debate around tax cuts for the wealthy and increasing minimum wage getting a little crazy?  Somehow many conservative politicians are trying to convince us that if wealthy people get even wealthier it will be good for the economy. At the same time they are trying to keep minimum wage as low as possible with the argument that if poor people get wealthier it will be bad for the economy.

We can't change everything but that shouldn't get in the way of changing what we can,

Of all the possible outcomes in any situation only a few are probable and only one will actually happen.

Sometimes the outcome cannot be controlled like when a meteor falls on your head.

Sometimes the outcome can only be partially controlled like when two great teams meet in a championship.

Sometimes the outcome can be controlled by us to a very great exent like just about everything else that doesn't fall into one of the previous categories.

So don't spend time and energy on things you can't do anything about and don't let anything stop you from taking care of the things you can.

We need to redefine mental-illness. Violent crimes are not normal behaviour of healthy people.

I have a hard time believing that "people without any mental-health problems at all" committ so much violent crime. More a question of redefining mental-health.
According to the National Journal "Researchers estimate that if mental illness could be eliminated as a factor in violent crime, the overall rate would be reduced by only 4 percent. That means 96 percent of violent crimes—defined by the FBI as murders, robberies, rapes, and aggravated assaults—are committed by people without any mental-health problems at all. Solutions that focus on reducing crimes by the mentally ill will make only a small dent in the nation’s rate of gun-related murders, ranging from mass killings to shootings that claim a single victim."

http://www.nationaljournal.com/magazine/why-improving-mental-health-would-do-little-to-end-gun-violence-20130124?mrefid=skybox

My "unvitation" to the White House.

 

 

This is an interesting approach to inviting people to your party. First you invite everyone you really want to come to your party. Then you make a list of all the people you don't want to come and send them an "unvitation". I received this lovely invitation to the Presidents inauguration in the mail. It was printed on beautiful paper and looked very official.  Then, just in case I had any illusion about actually being on the President’s guest list it said "This is a commemorative invitation, not an actual invitation". Thus I have invented a new word "the unvitation". :)

Jesus might say "What the hell where you thinking?"

Imagine if there really were a heaven and we all had to stand and be judged when we died.  I can just imagine many people who call themselves Christians standing before Jesus as he says:

“What the hell where you thinking?”

“ I asked you to turn the other cheek even to the point of sacrificing your own life, not to shoot all intruders with your M16”.

“I asked you to care for the sick and feed the hungry, not to sell your care and food to those who can pay and give the finger to everyone else”.

“I taught unconditional love, not hatred and bigotry”.

“I even asked you to love your enemies, not to use force to  impose your lifestyle on everyone who is different from you.”

“What really irks me is not that you behave so badly.  Human beings have been doing horrible things to each other since the beginning of time.  What really pisses me off is that you have done all this evil in my name!”

From victim to champion

I met someone the other day who told me about her work situation. This woman is in a management position in a company and is part of the companies management team.  She told me that she was not happy with her situation because she didn't feel appreciated. She felt that her superiors and colleagues only criticized her work and didn't appreciate her talent.  She continued on for some time telling me in some detail about the incompetence of her superiors.  Listening to her I could not help but think that their may well be two sides to this story but I was not in a position to investigate the other side.  When she was finished describing the situation I asked her what she intended to do about it?  She then looked at me rather confused and said "I can't do anything about it!".  They are the ones who are all messed up.  I explained that it may well be that she was in a company full of incompetent under-achievers but if that was so they were not likely to have the knowledge or initiative to improve the situation, at least not without help.  So again the question was what she was goind to do about this situation. 

I told her that in most situations in life you only have three real alternatives:
1. Accept your environment as it is.
2. Change your environment.
3. Change environments.

If she was willing to accept things as they are then she should also accept that she is a part of the problem and that "bitching and complaining" wasn't going to help much.

If she was willing to try and improve things then bitching and complaining was ok since it helped her to understand and define the problem or problems as long as she didn't just get stuck there.  I have always said that "bitching and complaining" is a necessary phase in the creative process but it is a dangerous phase because if you get stuck there it can become destructive to you and your enviroment. 

If she was not willing to accept things as they are and did not feel willing or capable to change things for the better then she should move on to another job that suited her better.

We so often find ourselves in the role of the victim and in fairness sometimes we are victimized by other people or life events.  But when that happens we still have the power to steer our fate. We control the situation through our choice of thoughts and deeds.You are the champion of your fate!

Can guns really protect you from harm?

 The desire to defend yourself and your loved ones is a strong and healthy drive but like most of our survival instincts they have a tendency to become more emotional than rational.  The notion that a stranger enters our home, our school or our shopping center and injures or kills our families strikes real fear into our hearts making us feel as though we are not really safe anywhere.  I can identify with anyone’s urge to protect themself with all possible force in a situation like that.  But is the best solution that we all carry around firearms? If our intentions are to do everything we can to prevent our loved ones or ourselves from getting hurt or killed the answer is clearly no.

If we look at the source of violence that occurs in our society we can see that a significant portion of this violence is between criminals.  So the best thing we could do to protect ourselves is to not become a criminal and try not to associate with criminals. 

That being said bad guys do enter people’s homes and threaten, injure and/or kill them.  Wouldn’t my chances of survival or of protecting my family increase greatly if I had a gun?  To answer that question we need to think through the likely scenarios.  Generally these attackers do not give warning.  So in order to protect myself I would need to have my weapon easily accessible, never more than arms reach away and always loaded.  I would also need to be very skilled with my weapon and trained to keep a level head in highly stressful situations so I don’t accidently shoot the guy from FedEx or the neighbor kid. If in order to avoid accidents I kept my weapon locked up in a gun safe I would probably not have time to get it out and protect myself in the event of a real attack. 

Most people who are not themselves criminals and who are victims of violence are not attacked by strangers.  The vast majority of us who are or have ever been victims of violence were attacked by people we know, more often than not by someone in our own family.  The most likely threat of violence for children comes from their fathers and mothers not from strangers carrying guns into the schools. The chances that a child will be beaten, sexually abused or even killed by a family member are much higher than by a total stranger.  The risk for women of being beaten, raped or killed by someone close to them are significantly higher than the risk of becoming the victim of a total stranger. Sometimes moms, dads, husbands, wives and lovers flip out and when they do I hope for everyone’s sake that they don’t have an assault rifle in the closet.  I do not believe any of us want to have a pistol in our bathrobe just in case our spouse might want to kill us.

If you are not a criminal and you don’t abuse your wife and children then why not have a gun at home just in case?  I could suggest about 16,000 reasons.  That is the approximate number of accidental shootings in the USA every year.  If you are not shot by someone close to you on purpose you are still at greater risk of being shot by accident than of being shot by a stranger.    

I am not against guns. I enjoy hunting.  I even understand if some people enjoy recreational shooting.  I am against guns as a form of protection. I am against people carrying guns on their hips at the grocery store or sleeping with a gun on their nightstands.  I am also against civilians owning assault rifles with clips holding 30 rounds.

10 Commandments for Success in 2013

Many of you know that I sometimes come up with Ten Commandments as a base for speeches I make like “Ten Commandments for Leaders” or “Ten Commandments for Change”.  I thought I would put together "Ten Commandments for success in 2013". Don’t worry they aren’t really commandments just thoughts.  I imagine I am the one who is most in need of these commandments.  I hope you enjoy them.

I would like to thank everyone for their support, friendship and cooperation during 2012 and wish all of you a great 2013.

1. Don’t worry what other people think of you. The only person you have to justify yourself to is you.

2. Keep learning. Look around. Ask more questions and really listen to what people say. Read more books.

3. Get involved in something outside of work that is voluntary.  Your kid’s football team, a charity, a church or a scout troop, whatever it is get involved and invest some time in it.

4. Exercise regularly. You don’t have to be a fanatic! A little physical activity done regularly can make one hell of a difference in both your physical health and your mental wellbeing.

5. Don’t work for money. Work for stimulation and satisfaction. The money will follow. 

6. If you find yourself in a bad situation, for example  at work or in a relationship, make a plan and take the necessary steps to either improve the situation or to move on to a better one. 

7. If you find yourself in a good situation invest more of yourself into it.

8. Spend more time with friends and family. Don’t avoid people you don’t like. They will help you learn a great deal about yourself.

9. Work hard! Be wary of easy answers and quick fixes.  Creating anything worthwhile whether it’s a painting, a career, a relationship or a life is hard work.

10. This moment is the only moment you have and it will never come back, make the most of it! The past is the past and if you are lucky enough to have a future it will be to a large extent the result of how you spent the accumulation of moments just like this one.

Many republicans keep talking about Romney being able to run the USA like a company as if that were something good. America is not a company. America is a country. Companies are generally run as autocracies or dictatorships. America is a deomocracy. In companies employees don't choose their leaders but leaders choose their employees. In democracies the people choose their leaders. In companies the the elite leaders decide and implement what they think is best. In democracies the people decide. The reality is most companies have more similarity with communist dictactorships than with democracies. I have spent most of my life working in big companies and I don't want my country to be run like a company.

TeliaSonera och Svenska Staten: Money Talks, human rights walks.

Respons till TeliaSoneras CEO debatt artikel i DN Debatt
Bankrånare använder mobiltelefoner när de rånar bankar och pedofiler använder internet för att sprida sina filmer. Detta gör inte en telekom operatör medskyldig till dessa brott lika lite som Coca-Cola är skyldig om någon gör en bomb av en colaflaska eller Volvo skyldig om någon kör ihjäl någon med bilen. Men, om Coca-Cola eller Volvo skulle anpassa sina bilar och flaskor för att göra de mer effektiva som vapen för brottslingarna, jo då skulle Coca-Cola och Volvo vara medskyldiga. Detta är precis vad TeliaSonera gör! Det är inte TeliaSoneras fel om KGB eller andra använder telefonerna i sitt arbete hur hemsk arbetet må vare. När, däremot, TeliaSonera tillåter anpassningar till sin utrustning och till och med tillhandahåller lokaler till underrättelsetjänster som har till syfte att bl.a. identifiera och straffa oliktänkande, då är TeliaSonera medskyldig.


Det är inte heller sant att företaget måste blint rätta sig efter lokallagstiftning. På min tid som marknadsdirektör på TeliaSonera införde vi strängare krav på innehåll som vi skapade eller aggregerade själva än vad lagen krävde när det gällde t.ex. sexuellt innehåll. TeliaSonera har aktivt arbetet för att påverka lagstiftningen när det gäller införande FRA och tom fällts i domstol för att inte följa LEK lagen. Jag misstänker att TeliaSonera inte har varit lika modig att strida emot lagstiftningen i Vitryssland, Kazakstan och Azerbajdzan som bryter mot mänskliga rättigheter men jag kan ha fel.

Jag skulle vara förvånad om svenskvapentillverkare fick sälja vapen till dessa diktaturer. Varför får då TeliaSonera sälja tjänster som kan bli precis lika farliga.

Ytterst är det en ägarfråga som staten som störste ägare måste ta ansvar för. Tjänstemännen på TeliaSonera kan inte på eget bevåg fatta ett beslut som skulle sabotera verksamhetens vinst med många miljarder. Min gissning är att om detta pågick i länder där TeliaSonera gick med förlust eller inte hade så mycket vinst skulle regeringen kräva att man avstod från dessa marknader. Eftersom dessa marknader står både för betydande vinster och hela tillväxten inom TeliaSonera kommer inte regeringen eller TeliaSoneras ledning att ge se lätt. Money talks, human rights walks!

Burning books in Whoville

In the debate around whether or not to punish the soldier who burnt the Qurans some argue that the freedom of speech is a constitutional right.  I think those who argue this point have missed a couple of key issues.  First of all, although I am not a lawyer I bet that the rights of a soldier in a war zone are not the same as a civilian in peace time USA.  Secondly, the United States constitution is not valid in other countries.  If for example it were illegal to burn Dr. Seuss books in Whoville then someone visiting Whoville could not claim protection under the constitution of their home country.  Right or wrong, Whoville has the right to determine its own laws.

Att skapa en Kick-off

Svar på en fråga från en nybliven VD om vad han ska göra på sin första kickoff. Han hade redan fått några svar från konsulter och jag kände att det behövdes lite nyansering.------------------


Det är svårt att ge några generiska råd till en ny VD. Det är så många faktorer att väga in som tex hur organisationen och individerna i organisationen mår, vad finns det för kultur i organisationen och din personlig stil och talanger.

Jag skulle vilja nyansera Kjell-Åkes budskap till dig. Det finns faktiskt inga garantier om att din Kick-off blir fantastisk. Den enkla sanningen är att många människor kommer hem ifrån Kick-Offs och känner sig mindre motiverad än när de kom ditt. (läs gärna Why We Do What We Do av Edward Deci)

Om jag var dig skulle jag inte övertolka Kjell-Åkes råd om "din energi, vilja och engagemang". Om du vill ha en lyckad Kick-off är nyckeln för dig i din nya roll som VD närvaro. Närvaro innebär mer att du lyssnar än att du pratar. Om man har barn är det lättare att förstå närvaro. Man måste se de i ögonen, lyssna på deras idéer och svara på oändliga frågor men man behöver inte alltid ge ett svar när man svarar. Med vuxna människor och barn kan man ofta svara med en fråga som "vad tycker du?". Din energi, vilja och engagemang måste vara synlig året runt inte bara på kick-offen.

Om du är genuint intresserad av att genomföra en lyckad start för ditt ledarskap se till att denna Kick-off handlar om personalen och inte om dig. Många chefer tror att det hänger på de men det hänger på din förmåga att frigöra krafterna i din organisation, frigöra inte skapa. Krafterna finns där men kommer inte alltid fram.

Du antyder i din fråga att det finns redan en del problem med murar och annat i verksamheten. Visa att du inte är räd för dessa problem och ta medarbetarnas oro på allvar. Jag har många gångar lagt en punkt först på agendan som jag kallar "Bitching and Complaining" eller "Gnälla och Klaga". Lägg 15-30 minuter på att ta fram alla "negativa" synpunkter som finns i organisationen. Låt personalen dela upp sig i mindre grupper och diskutera dessa punkter. Vilka kan vi göra något åt och vilka kan vi inte göra något åt. Var ärlig. Om t.ex. det är mycket gnäll över konjunkturen kan man ärligt säga att det kan inte vi påverka. Men vi kan diskutera hur vi gör för att göra det bästa av situationen. När man sedan har listan över "problem" som vi kan på verka kan man rösta fram de 3-5 saker som har mest effekt på verksamheten. Lova att ledningsgruppen ska ta sig an dessa och skapa handlingsplaner. Om det finns spänningar och oro i organisationen och du tar dig an de som första punkt kan man då också bordlagt "gnället" för resten av konferensen. Skulle lite gnäll trots allt poppa upp under konferensen kan du helt enkelt lägga till det på listan för att återkomma till det vid ett senare tillfälle.

Sist vill jag bara varna för ”gurus” med alltför lättsamma råd och hurtiga rop. Ledarskap är svår och alla gör misstag. Framgång kommer till dig i det vardagliga arbetet genom din förmåga att kommunicera en riktning och sedan att skapa goda förutsättningar för medarbetarna att göra det de är bra på.

Lycka till

Kelly