We should leave no hiding place for negativity.  The world needs more positive thinkers, positive doers and positive results.  Creators instead of destroyers, optimists instead of pessimists, lions instead of hyenas… 

Problem solvers and decision makers are always in demand.  Recognizing a problem and not having a solution is of limited worth.  If you are better suited to this form of activity there are lots of jobs that require only that you report the problems and make them sound heinous, impossible to overcome, world ending and futile.  Jobs like journalist, reporters, end of the world cultists, politicians, etc.

Sure there are some fairly bad situations out there that can get you down.  There is no doubt there the world is dangerous.  It is dangerous for everyone.  Believe it or not, even I have moments of doubt. 

But the world is a wonderful place too.  Without challenges there would be no growth.   Without problems there would be no need for pioneers.  What about those pioneers!!!  If life wasn’t hard enough there were people who didn’t think life had enough problems and ventured off into unchartered terroritory.  Yes, terroritory.  Being a pathfinder can be scary.  Being out in front is exciting and rewarding.  And yeah, sometimes a bit frightening.

But whether you are doing something new and pioneering and have to have an optimistic outlook so you don’t go about back with a shotgun, or you are just making it through the day, find a way to look at each problem as a challenge.  Likely you were enough to get yourself into the mess and likely you are enough to get yourself out.  But do yourself and everyone else a favor…if you are going to be negative, a naysayer or a doomsayer…take a long walk.  Calm yourself down and think positive for a change.

But most will agree that soap is not ice cream.  But maybe the soap companies do not know this so we should help them out.

In reality what we are talking about is the shrinking of consumer goods in an effort to reduce costs so that the prices remain constant.  In the article on Time.com, “America’s Shrinking Groceries,” rather than increase the prices on the shelf they are quietly reducing the amount of product.  The reduction is happening store wide with products such as cereal, orange juice, soap and ice cream.  At Consumerist.com they have gone one step further and have taken pictures! 

Some of the reductions are good things.  Do we need that extra ounce of ice cream in the ‘individual serving’ container?  Come on, you know what I mean.  If there are ten ounces, eight ounces or six ounces in that container it is a single serving.  Right?  How many of us measure out 1 serving from a 2.5 serving container?  And in a 1991 article by Anthony Ramirez, “Soap Sellers’ New Credo: Less Powder, More Power,” featured in the NY Times, a trend towards smaller quantities that pack a bigger punch.  Do we really need filler powder in our laundry detergent?  If you can get the active ingredients in a smaller container with less waste then by all means.   In some cases, smaller is actually better. 

But when we are talking quantities that remain constant, such as gallons or pounds it would be a much tougher sell.  For products such as gasoline or milk, where the active ingredient is what it is, reductions in quantity to hide the price would be silly.  It would be ridiculous to change the price of gasoline to reflect .75 gallons.  A full tank would still cost the same.

I have to take a step back and point out that watering down milk had been done in the past and watering down gasoline is happening as we speak.  Ethanol only delivers about 70% of the mileage of gasoline.  You can read all about it at CleanAirTrust.org.  So if you were getting 20 miles per gallon of gasoline you would get only 14 miles per gallon with ethanol.  See the disclaimer that what you are buying at the pumps may contain up to 10% ethanol?  Since subsidized ethanol is a cheap additive that reduces your mileage you really are getting watered down gasoline.  The whole ethanol discussion is disgusting to me because people are starving…I don’t want to get started on that.  At least for now.

So back to the hot fudge sundae.   Soap is most definitely not ice cream and the active ingredients in soap are homogenous.  But when you get to the bottom of a bar of soap, you get less effectiveness and you get the tailings.  You know what I mean.  As the bar gets smaller it is harder to get a good lather.  Then it becomes a dance to see how small you can get the bar before it breaks.  Then you try to press the pieces together so it resembles a bar.  That never works.  For me, this whole process is quite frustrating.  And now my frustrations are more often because of the reduced size of the bar of soap in an effort to keep prices down.  It is causing more waste.  If you reduce the size of soap then you are going to increase frustration and get more tailings. Causing more waste is not very green.  Soap is one of those categories that it does not make sense to shrink. 

And so, although I do not use Dial®, I do use another unnamed brand that is part of Dial’s product line.  Just a note to you…I am willing to pay for bigger bars.  But for logical and preferential reasons I am against the shrinking of soap.  It may be time for me to switch.

So in the grand scheme of things, we can forgive the changes that have to be made, accept some of them even if we don’t like it and even want some of them.  But some changes fall into the other category, like New Coke, and are too much to accept.  Enjoy your sundae.

And who gets frustrated about something as little as small soap.  I mean really.  (Everyone has their soap…)

In my inaugural article I wanted to start by defining some underlying themes that guide my thinking.  They form a basis in which I try to gather information, compute, decide and execute.  I cannot say that I get it right all of the time.  But I try to get it right.  The enlightened thing to do is to make corrections when corrections are due.  I strive to keep my opinion based on facts which are reasoned through.  Yes, ultimately the result is my opinion on these subjects and people may have different opinions.  I respect that. 

Summary

First, individuals are accountable and responsible for their own actions.  Individuals cannot yield accountability to someone else.  Delegation does not relieve accountability.  Second, perception is not reality.  When someone says that perception is reality it means that they know that they can lie to everyone.  When people repeat it back it means they are receptive for the big lie. Third, decision predicates resolve.  Failure to decide predicates uncertainty.  Fourth, actions have consequences, that may be good or bad, for which someone is accountable.

Individuals are accountable…

First and foremost, I believe in personal accountability.  I believe that every person is accountable for their actions and for their inactions.  The responsibility for your perceptions, decisions, choices, actions are yours and so too are the consequences.  In some cases you are accountable for the actions of other individuals or groups based on your freely accepted duty. 

“American liberty is premised on the accountability of free men and women for what they have done, not for what they may do.” ~Jon Newman 

Everyday we are taken to account.  At least have the courage to accept responsibility for yourself.   Be accountable for who you are, what decisions you make and what actions you take.  

In those cases where you are responsible for those who have been given over to you, for whom you have taken responsibility for…whether by duty or other obligation; have the fortitude to carry out those duties accordingly.

Relieving people of their accountability is the first step in becoming their master.

Reality is reality…

The ability to reason is what sets us apart from other animals.  The ability to cloud reason is another gift that comes with it.  Some gift we have been given wouldn’t you say?  Everything that makes us human is a double edged sword.

Being able to reason allows humans to differentiate between facts and fiction.  Being able to reason also allows humans to create all kinds of facts out of thin air.

“To treat your facts with imagination is one thing, but to imagine your facts is another.”  ~John Burroughs 

The maxim that perception is reality is the lie of all lies.  Believing it does not make it true.  Perceiving that the glass door is open does not make it so.  There are plenty of people who know how and will take advantage of this fundamental weakness of human thinking; creating illusions from which they can control people. 

Facts are facts, opinion is opinion.  Although sometimes the water is cloudy, it is our responsibility to make every effort to keep the lines between the two distinct.  The ability to recognize and process facts is fundamentally important to decisive action.  Being able to establish facts allows us to tie decisions to something concrete.  From here we may have opinions of the facts but the facts stand alone.

Collecting all the information, fact by excruciating fact, helps to build a source of knowledge.  Turning that data into useful information is crucial, critical and necessary.  Knowledge is fact, data and information made useful. 

Ignorance and untruth fed by more ignorance and untruth is not enlightening.  It is not knowledge.  If you are accountable for yourself and especially if you are accountable for someone else, you better be damn well sure you are constantly seeking knowledge. 

From the knowledge we gather we have a better understanding from which we can decide something.  Decisions should be made with the facts in mind. Decision makers have a responsibility to know and knowing doesn’t stop with what you know now.

Decision precedes action…

Decision and indecision are rampant.  They are two halves of a whole.  Even when we have the knowledge to make the decision, decision is rare. 

The decision happens in an instant.  Decisions may be just to further our thought process towards another decision. No action may result from that decision.  However, decisions result in the potential to act; or action itself. 

Execution is and executives do.  An executive who makes no decisions and effects no action is an executive in title only. 

 Actions have consequences…

Action!  The world is a stage and devoid of consequence until the director yells, ‘action!’

Leadership is the initiation and direction of endeavor in the pursuit of consequence.  Anything else is criticism from janitors. ~Royal Alcott

Action stands alone in achievement.  Our greatest revelry is when we recognize great actions.  There is no question that we revere those who take action.  Internally we all have our reasons why.  Most likely because we wish we too were taking action.

The consequences of our actions can be both good and bad; often both at the same time.  Don’t let that stop you.  Taking action gets results that have come from our decisions and not someone else’s.  

It all comes together…

As I was writhing this I kept flashing Col. John Boyd’s OODA loop, as it should be as I have had that process rounding my head for most of my adult life.  Observe, Orient, Decide, Act—rinse and repeat.  Observe is the portion where we collect information, orientation where we create knowledge from that information, decision is decision and action is action.  I cannot help to draw parallels and distinctions.  The parallels are clear, the distinctions follow…

A primary caveat, the OODA loop is heavily reliant perception.  In the instantaneous world of fighter pilots, the decision making process has to rely on perception.  In the wider world, a more methodical reasoning is possible.  Both are necessary when necessary.

Perception is reality for those who freeze in the observe stage and cannot take the facts, observations and information; and decipher, interpret or reason the information that is cascading, inundating and bombarding them. 

“Perception is reality for the faint of reason.” J. Peter Finch

Knowledge emerges from perception in the orient phase.  People who make it past observation realize that the facts they have are meant to be reasoned, interpreted, and processed.  They also realize that opening your eyes can be scary, frightening, terrifying and paralyzing.  So many people get stuck because of terror, for lack of confidence, inability to decide.  Often called analysis paralysis as a joke, it does real damage.

“Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.” ~Napoleon Bonaparte 

Decision is only valuable to those who can make a decision.  Deciding on a course of action with conviction takes great skill and great fortitude.  Knowing they have used the facts and analysis to come to a conclusion for which there was a decision is the foundation of their confidence.  The decision is internal and the outcome, good or bad, does not shake them.

Being able to make decisions is enough to make enemies.  There has to be decision and respective for each decision, there must be a decider.  Decision makers have enemies.

Failing to decide is a decision too.  Indecision kills more people and indecision results in more tragedy throughout human history than all the decisions in the world.  An unfathomed problem derives no decision.

In some cases, decisions result in a conviction, a milestone or another stepping stone, etc. and may require further facts for contemplation before the next decision.  The ultimate decisions require action.

It’s important to know that words don’t move mountains. Work, exacting work moves mountains. ~ Danilo Dolci

Action must be taken for productive result.  Failure to act, letting the decisions result in no action will not get the intended results.  And the opportunity will pass.  It is important that we take action to accomplish something.  Not all actions are positive.  It is my greatest hope that all actions will have positive action and productive consequences.  Creating something and not destroying.  But when necessary, from time to time, a negative action and productive consequences must be undertaken.

We are all human…

Finally, we are all human, with human agenda’s.  Nobody is exempt.  Have some respect for what people choose for themselves.    

I choose to rail against those who wish to choose for others.  When those who seek the power of choice over others does so not from a sense of accountability, but of entitlement.

* I had a pleasant chat with Mr. Royal Alcott in the midst of writing this article.  My hat is off to you Mr. Alcott.