Scott Dagley

Years ago I had considered myself a Republican. I spoke loudly against the commie liberals and all of their terrible ways. Back then I had heard about young people going to college as Republicans and graduating college as liberal Democrats. I, like many other conservatives at the time had conspiracy theories about the flaming liberal professors brainwashing their students into becoming liberals.
Five years ago, I was a Republican starting college. I too became a liberal Democrat. As such, I can put my previous conspiracy theory to rest. It was not professors with advanced brainwashing techniques. It was intelligence. To survive college, I had to learn to pay attention to facts. The areas of my brain responsible for problem solving, analytical thinking and learning were all becoming stronger. I paid attention to the actual facts and came up with the realization that the Republican party is in no way representative of the Christian bible and was in fact quite to the contrary. They use abortion and anti-homosexual ideals to gain Christian support (there are still homosexuals and abortion). For the most part the Republican party’s policies only manage to benefit the upper class. They gain most of their middle class support from people who do not understand the complexity and repercussions of conservative policies and how they effect them. And of course there are those who believe that by supporting the Republicans, homosexuality and abortion will be abolished and everyone in the U.S. will have to be Christian by law.(it sounds silly, but that is what the actions of many would imply). Due to the lack of actual fact and analytics involved their political decisions (including the pre college version of myself), many Republicans seem fanatical, believing in emotionally charged hot heads like Rush Limbaugh.
I wish there was a “smart pill” that would help people understand the very real effects of their political decisions. But there isn’t. So for now, we can only hope to educate those “fanatics” as much as we can while keeping our blood pressure well controlled.

Imagine you have somehow figured out the answers to the universe.  How everything is connected, where you fit in the whole scheme of things.  As a result of your recent findings, you realize you can do and be anything you want.  You have total control of “your” own destiny.  What would you do first?  

I already have a “Best Answer”  chosen.  Post your answers and see how close you were when I post the “Best Answer”  In one week.   

Best Answer: You would connect into the universe and seek the answer to the question.  (Remember, you can do this now.)  What action can you take next to begin down the path that would have the greatest positive impact on the universe around you.  By universe I don’t necessarily mean in the traditional sense of the word.  The word universe in this context and what it involves is relative to the size of the impact you can produce.  In an idea scenario, it would be ever increasing in size.  Maybe eventually having an impact on the traditional sense of the word, but it is likely you would start somewhere much smaller.  Like perhaps in your personal and/or professional life.   

     Great management ability is something a person is born with.  It is a talent that is much like that of a great athlete.  A great manager’s resume is simply an outline of how that person has decided to feed their ability thus far.  If you are a hiring manager or director who may have the opportunity to acquire one of the greats, be certain that you yourself have properly fed your ability.  The decisions you make will play a crucial role in the outcome of your organization’s success.  Great organizations are built by great talent.  Much of which has often come from the least expected places.

     When a manager/director is seeking talent for a specific role, the manager/director must possess a comprehensive understanding of the required tasks involved with fulfilling that role with utmost success.  It is equally important to understand the tasks required of those whose roles seek direction from the specific role in which you are seeking to fill.  Having and all-embracing understanding of the required tasks and abilities of every employee/manager that is under your employ is undeniably important.  Not many in who possess the authority to hire in today’s organizations would disagree.

     The challenge that I seek to disclose is this, like any other area of a successful modern day organization, the hiring and promotion processes must be subject to the idea of innovation.  The constant scrutiny of one’s own policies and procedures in regards to the organization.  To do this in a way that produces success, the abilities and tasks required of every role must be periodically examined to seek out potential areas for improvement.  To follow through, changes to the policies and procedures in regards to hiring and promoting must also be adjusted to ensure all roles are filled with the best possible candidates.  To do so would undoubtedly lead to a more efficient work force.  A more efficient workforce will increase your organization’s overall efficiency.

Scott Dagley