Make the System Work for You

Stoic Quote of the Week-

A key point to bear in mind: The value of attentiveness varies in proportion to its object. You're better off not giving the small things more time than they deserve. -Marcus Aurelius

What I learned this week:

I’ve had the pleasure of working with some of the biggest bureaucracies that man has ever created, US Army, NATO, and the VA. Each of these elements’ bureaucracies has their own elements of strengths and weaknesses. In other words, the bureaucracy can work for what is needed or against it. All three of these large behemoth organizations have one thing in common, the people who want to do good. When I was working at NATO part of the mantra that I shared with my team was to not be tied to the system. In other words, don’t let the system dictate or limit our accomplishment of the goal. If the system doesn’t fit, change the system. In the end, we were able to overcome some of the biggest and most frustrating bureaucracies ever conceived by 27 nations. We did that not because of the systems but because of the people. The people in our NATO tribe were unwilling to be limited by a system that didn’t support the vision. This week I dealt with yet another bureaucracy, the Veterans Administration. The VA gets a lot of bad press and some of it very well earned because of the bureaucracy of the organization. But I found a common theme, the people that work there. Every one of the people I spoke with this week, and I spoke to a lot (some several times, ??) wanted to help. Their desire to help and not allow the system to limit progress is what enabled me to get it done. Before you cast out everyone in the bureaucracy as being assimilated, remember they are people who want to help and do good. Remember that the “impediment to action advances action,” Marcus Aurelius. There are people who want to do good everywhere.

Planning thought of the week:

When working on complex plans and problems to solve them always establish a priority of what is important. This way the entire team knows what the focus of the day should be or what should be done first. It also helps them to understand what happens second and third. Rather than sitting around waiting on results or something else for the high priority, they can be working on the next level down priorities.

Business idea I heard about or thought of:

I have a friend of mine who has developed a very cool tool that will save her and clients time and enable them to have a much more accurate process for their clients. The tool saves time but what it needs is the next step to get to an automated process that checks the requirements from the customer against the existing all encompassing list. With those items matched, the tool will have to export the requirements. This isn’t some large database, it is a fairly management list, as far as databases go. What’s missing is the automation piece. The scan, match, and export.

Veteran opportunity of the week:

The Veterans Canteen Service (VCS) is doing a giveaway to get more Vets to register for their service. VCS is the veteran equivalent of the PX/BX. This month they are doing a promotion to get more Vets registered by offering a chance to win $1000 in Fitness Gear, sign up here.

Someone I met this week:

I met Paul a couple of years ago when he did some work for me, and he seemed like an alright guy to work with. This week, I hired Paul to do some more work for me which turned out to be the right choice. Paul is one of those guys who does some highly complicated work that only the people in his field truly understand what is going on and what all the terminology and second and third order effects mean. What makes Paul different, and why I like him, is that he can translate all that high level, industry specific information so that someone like me can understand it. That is a skill set that is lost by most of his peers. When you have the skill to translate highly complicated actions to something simple and relatable to your clients, that is a skill that sets you apart. Well done Paul and thanks!

Link to current The Cam & Otis Show podcasts Ep 136 It's Non-Obvious with Rich Goldstein - Goldstein Patent Law.

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