Black In Business

The White boy pundits of politics were meek early this morning. Yesterday they called Barack a punk over Rev. Wright. They said he was non confrontational, weak or aloof. None of these adjectives are descriptions you want to see in a President. I am convinced the young pundits are jealous of Barack. Here they are, doing well for themselves but a big part of their job today is to speak about a Blackman that has passed them by. Many of these pundits were born privileged and connected. They started off on third base and thought they hit a triple. These guys had a field day when Barack showed little in bowling they said no way he was an athlete. Now that the clips of Barack driving to the hole have surfaced, they are meek over the macho stuff. Morning Joe even conceded that Barack is likely our next President.
What has this to do with business? A lot. When you decide you want to better your life or move on from your current existence, you will leave some behind. As you make your goals and speak about the life style you want in life, you may scare your friends with no goals. Some people will try to discourage you. You will hear you don’t have what it takes. The guys on the corner will want you there with them, aimlessly, playing the dozens, sipping drinks, enjoying life. You will be considered arrogant, full of yourself and worst yet, acting white!
Little good in life comes without effort. I recall in Syracuse, New York, when I was 24 years old, nice Sunday afternoons. The action was in the park, friends were playing hoops, backgammon, slipping cheap wine and some smoking weed. The sun was shining and the park of full of nice ladies. I had to spend Sunday updating my establishment profile cards to turn in on Monday. I could not hang. A real good friend told me, he did not understand why I was messing with this corporate stuff. He said I was a hustler, and hustling was in my blood. This guy was 41 but he hung with the young guys. We had a lot of fun but he would not accept my new vision. I have not be around him in decades. I made the decision when he was living in my apartment and unable to pay rent because he had no job. After I made the decision to put him out, our friendship went with my decision.
My advice is to surround yourself with winners and those that share your value. You need friends that motivate you and are not envious of your efforts. Are you prepared to lose face in the community as you chase your dream? It had to be painful for Barack to realize his mentor did not care for his goal to move pass Chicago’s Southside. He did what he had to do, will you?
Do not misunderstand this, you can keep your roots in the community and someday your friends that do not want you to grow, will speak of your accomplishments with pride. Follow your goals and never take your eye off the prize.

I hope Black business people particularly those that are young are following the Obama campaign. The road blocks coming in the way of Senator Obama’s path to the White House are there for us all to learn from. Just think, here is a brother who has done the right things. He has received a quality education from Institutions among the best in the nation. He is married and is father to 2 children; there are no whispers of womanizing, heavy drinking or arrest. Our previous President was an alleged womanizer; our current President was a drunk and a slacker. Yet our brother’s choice of Pastor has become a major campaign issue. Jimmy Carter brother was a drunk, Bill Clinton’s a drug dealer, and Reagan’s kids did not speak to him. None of this stuff mattered.
The point is, Barack had this thing wrapped upped, he won 10 states in a row. He won in white states, historically racist states, and appeared to have transcended race. It seemed as though he had it made. We never have it made and the better you do in business be aware, race can and most often become an issue for you. There are 2 sets of rules, one rule book is white and the other black.
The big corporate owned TV news coverage is ripping the Rev. Wright Issue to death. I ask you, what has this to do with 4 dollar gas prices, high food prices, credit crisis, unemployment, weak dollar, and 4000 dead soldiers over a lie, deficit spending, and dropping home prices? I do not care who Barack’s friends are. I didn’t not care Clinton was a womanizer. I did care that Bush and Chaney had arrest for drunken driving but America did not care. Why is this issue so prominent in the news? Maybe Black we have found an answer to the question? Is Barack Black enough? He is and now the establishment is trying to make him too Black.2 Sets of rules; Ronald Regan announced his quest for the Presidency in Philadelphia Mississippi. He was from California, but he choice a site where civil rights workers had been killed. That was not an issue.
I enjoyed both of Rev. Wright’s speeches; he is an brilliant man and strong orator. He spoke the truth. Having said that I have to wonder, Rev. Wright, what is going on? Rev. Wright, you had to know this would hurt Obama. You appear jealous and angry. If Barack loses, his loss will stain your legacy. What were you thinking. Somebody out there, help us understand. What do you think?

I have to tip my hat to the candidates, their supporters and the pundits. !5 months of non stop bs about our nation and the future there of. I thought about some of the silly stuff we have been subject to. I tip my hat because these are amazing people to exhibit the endurance of long days, 7 day work weeks and either giving, hearing or analyzing the same speech for this amount of time. That being said lets have some fun!
10: Ambassador Andrew Young claiming Bill Clinton is blacker than Barack Obama, and adding Clinton has slept with more Black women than Obama. Now that is dumb

9: Governor Rendell of Pennsylvania, saying a Blackman could never win a state wide election in his state. It may be true but it is certainly dumb to say it as the state’s top Politician.

8: Rev. Jeremiah Wright, “God dam America and other rants. I support and agree with most of the Rev’s stance. I do not agree with swearing from a church leader, and there is sentiment that he did not swear. If you most famous parishioner is running for President, be careful what you say.

7: Governor Huckabee, a man of the cloth, saying the confederate flag, is a southern tradition and it should be up to the state to decide. Governor, the flag represents the largest symbol of racism and hate to over 30 million Americans.

6: Senator McCain, I must admit, I do not know much about the economy. Either do I but I am not running for office to be President and by implication agreeing to fix the economy.

5: President George Bush, Gas is near $4 I did not know, I will check into that, on the economy, don’t worry, I got this I am on top of it. Don’t you feel better now? The 28% that approve of him will.

4 Senator Hillary Clinton, I was ducking sniper fire!

3 Senator Hillary Clinton, Her 3 am advertisement, if Hillary is on the phone at 3 am, it is to tell Bill to bring his ass home.

2: CNBC’s Anderson Cooper, Barack’s wife is hurting his campaign, She is more elitist than he is. Anderson’s mom, Gloria Vanderbilt, “The Poor Little Rich Girl,” At one time the Vanderbilt’s of New York were among the nations richest families. Michele Obama, grew up on Chicago’s Southside.:

1: A Tie, Anyone whom said, Barack transcends race, and Senator Obama, There is no white America, no Black America but one America.

How about you guys, Have you heard dumb crap, if so comment and add to my list. Keep Hope Alive.

Business People, there is a lot we can learn from this years Presidential Democratic Primary Season. If you own a business or work for a large company, the campaign of Barack Obama provides hope. I love politics but this year has been like none other. In 1984 and 88, we were excited and proud of Rev. Jackson’s historic run for President. With out the precedent being established by Rev. Jackson that led to changes in how delegates are awarded, Barack would not be ahead today.
Having said that, we knew Jesse could not win. Barack can and will win the nomination and remains a solid choice in the general election. For that reason, more democrats than ever are involved in the primary, providing campaign funds, and following the daily pundits.
After the Potomac Primary, I boldly predicted, Barack would be our next President. My 25 year old son, who has a more positive outlook on race relations than I, reminded me, I said America would never elect a black President in my life time.Barack is different, he was able to transcend race. That is until recently. He has become the black canidate, a black elitist, which up until now, I thought in white America, was an oxymoron.
The race for President is all about power, and the access to it. White folk may be able to handle an Ivy League educated half white non treating Black President. What has happened, Bill Clinton brilliantly began in South Carolina to make Barack the Black canidate.
After the distinguished Rev. Wright episode, Barack is seen as a treat. People like Rev. Wright and other blacks could have access to power. The small donors that average 90 dollars a donation have prove more important to this campaign than the traditional fat cats. This means they could lose their all important access to power.
If you are left to wonder, why the coverage suddenly seems so bias in reporting against Obama, it is about power. His campaign of change represents a change in power brokers. For some reason, this morning my understanding of the pundit’s message is the tide has changed and Hillary may be the nominee. I finaly had to put ESPN on for some sanity.
Business people of color, if you ascend to a position of power, and have to interface with whites in business, they may accept your color. The potential they will become angry when they witness others of color having access to your power is real. It will make you a treat to their normal lives.
Now the train has left the station. The transcending race thing is of the past, I saw on Morning Joe this morning, 17 % percent of Pa voters said race matters. Why, Catholics appear to have a problem supporting Barack, why, the case is being made Barack can not win. This is no accident. If you are black in America, unless you know your place, or be a Tom, race always matters. It is the only chance Hillary has.
Wake up America, we need Barrack’s leadership. He is the only chance we have for this nation to return to greatness. Keep Hope alive.!

The thing shocking about being an adult is how little free time you have. In the states we spend an incredible amount of time earning a living. Let’s do the math. The average adult sleeps 6 hours a night. Work, and related aspects there of; commute, getting ready, etc, takes 10 hours a day. That leaves 8 hours of so called free time. Many business owners and business people work 12 hours plus per day.
I recently heard 70% of people hate their jobs. That could mean they hate 35% of their day. I have had positions where I hated the work, sometimes the boss, sometime the hours of work. I was young and needed the money. Most of the jobs were summer jobs or part time. I was raised in a very blue collar environment, and most of the adults I was around had very little positive to say about their work except it paid the bills.
As an adult I have been a strong majority of my career one of the 30% of happy workers. Do you love your work? Why? What would cause you to love it more? Before you say money, consider this; money is way down the list of why people leave jobs. Here are some other considerations. Poor boss or leader, lacking tools needed to do job well, lack of empowerment, and little or no recognition.
I am thinking about this stuff because I was reminded of why some people love their work. As a recruiter, I speak with business people all day on the phone. I speak with employers and people looking for a new job.
The CEO of a 50 million dollar business in health care I spoke with use to report directly to me for a period of several years. He is a very talented and compassionate person. He smiles a lot, is very bright and is a people person He is fun to be around! The senior VP of sales for this company is another former staff member of mine. He is quieter than his boss but shares many of the same traits, nice smile, compassionate and a great leader.
The CEO told me a compelling story about his vision for this company and a promise he made to his grandmother. The vision is to place information in the hands of a family doctor so a serious and potential deadly disease can be treated by the trusted doctor. Often times the vision of leadership contributes to how well the team feels about their work. This team had a vision that was important, easy to remember and everyone knew their role.
As a part of my looking for some business for my firm, I needed to speak with the regional director of the West Coast sales. I speak with business people all day. Nothing prepared me for the energy that leaped off the phone when I spoke to the sales manager. He was enthusiastic, happy, and professional and spoke glowing about his company. It was like he won the super bowl and was headed to Disney World. It reminded me of my career and the tremendous energy and fun we all had for a period of close to 20 years.
In 18 months of doing this, this was a stand out call in terms of the energy exhibited by the sales director.
Here is why;
1A clear vision
2 great leaders
3 the team is treated with respect
4 very little ego
5 great recognition
6 excellent support from leadership
7 The company does what they say they will
8 Inspiring leadership, the senior VP of sales leaves a group message every day at 4:30 am for the whole team by voice mail.
9 They are winning
10 They are having fun and making money.
It sounds simple, right? Why do so many not do these things. Energy and excitement are contagious, if you want to love your work, look for a place where the employees have it.

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