Black In Business

You have to admit, the Republicans are making fools of themselves. John” Let suspend my campaign and fly to Washington to save the day!” McCain, hates that a Black Man is running against him, he refused to look him in the eye. His running mate,Sarah “I have foreign policy experience because Russia IS OUR NEIGHBOR AND WE KEEP AN EYE ON PUTIN WHEN HE ENTERS US AIR SPACE,” Palin, could not attend the debate because she is too much of an embarrssement.
Her interview where she was alarmed by the number of foreigners at the UN and vowed that her and McCain would return those jobs to Americans, was a joke by Tina Fey, I think, wasn’t it? Or was It Palin and Tina Fey was the one interviewed by Katie Couric? Conservative columinist, Kathleen Parker, asked that Palin be replaced now! That is not the worst. I received this from my friend Daryl Gresham, with a perspective from South Africa.

What if McCain were still married to the first woman he said “I do” to?
What if Obama were the candidate who left his first wife after she no
longer measured up to his standards?

What if Michelle Obama were a wife who not only became addicted to pain
killers, but acquired them illegally through her charitable
organization?
What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard?

What if Obama were a member of the Keating-5?
What if McCain were a charismatic, eloquent speaker?

If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election
numbers would be as close as they are?

This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes
positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in
another when there is a color difference.

You are The Boss… which team would you hire?

With America facing historic debt, 2 wars, stumbling health care, a

weakened dollar, all-time high prison population, mortgage crises, bank foreclosures, etc.

Educational Background:

Obama:
Columbia University - B.A. Political Science with a Specialization in
International Relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude

Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in History and B.A. in Political Science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)

vs.

McCain:
United States Naval Academy - Class rank: 894 of 899

Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in Journalism

Now, which team are you going to hire ?

PS: What if Barack Obama had an unwed, pregnant teenage daughter….

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A part of the discussion on “Morning Joe,” during this morning’s discussion on last night’s debate was how Barack Obama looked different. Joe Scarborough, the host of the show, asked quest and Washington Post Editorial Board Member, Jonathan Capehart, if he noticed how Obama looked different. Capehart, a light brown skinned, well dressed bipartisan, mentioned, he was not sure if it was the lighting, or if Barack had gotten a tan in Florida, but Obama looked darker.
Capehart was concerned but he noticed from other angles the darkness was not as bad. I am a very dark skinned black American, I thought, wow, I would not have a chance under those conditions. Scarborough, pointed out the darkness was not as bad as the OJ, News Week covers, where OJ was made to look menacing.
The rest of the panel was very uncomfortable, but I had to wonder. Me, Michael Jordan, Clarence Thomas, and about 85% of Black Americans that are darker than Barack would not be able to run for President. Even if we had the plan to solve the financial crisis, end the war, find a cure for Aids and provide everyone’s life with bliss, we would be viewed as too black.. Is this true?
Obama is half white. His mother was a white woman. What if he had married a woman that was white? Would he still be a Presidential candidate, same man different wife? Help me out, should Barack stay out of the sun. Does his color make him more acceptable to whites, how about to blacks? If he had married a white woman, would whites support him more or less? How about blacks?
These are explosive topics and many may fear commenting, but if it is on a newscast debating the debate for President, we should be able to discuss it here. We the people who are darker than blue, have to compete in this society as well, are dark skinned blacks at an advantage or disadvantage?
Lastly, now that Sarah Palin has interviewed twice, are you sure you trust John McCain’s judgment? As John McEnroe would say, “You can’t be serious!”

I came across an article by Suzie and Jack Welch, former CEO of GE. Being in the business of recruitment, I often see candidates miss understand the job market and what it takes to compete. This article expresses very well, the sense of loss when a job unexpectedly ends, or your company is sold. Their advice is great. I hope you enjoy and have some comments to contribute. The post is in response to a question asked.

Given this week’s events, what advice would you give to the employees of Merrill Lynch and Lehman Brothers? —Courtney Ellison, Amherst, Mass.

First, we’d like to say that we’re really sorry for their sense of loss. Being acquired and getting laid off are experiences that can hit you like a death in the family. The shock, sadness, anger, and confusion can make you want to enter into a period of protracted mourning.

Such a response is only normal.

But career-wise, such a response can be disastrous.

Look, we’re not about to blithely tell Merrill’s (MER) roughly 60,000 employees and Lehman’s (LEH) 22,000 to put on a happy face and get on with life. A massive earthquake just struck Wall Street; people will be reeling for a while.

But to the employees most directly affected, we are saying that you can’t reel too long. At Merrill, people need to quickly adopt a No Resistance Mind Set. And at Lehman, they need to act fast to avoid the Vortex of Defeat.

Merrill first. For almost a century, it has been independent—and so proud that brokers were known to call themselves “the thundering herd.” Now it’s a subsidiary of the mammoth Bank of America, the result of a rescue mission.

How do you suppose Merrill’s employees will react? It’s true that BofA has demonstrated a competency for M&A integration. Even so, if Merrill’s people are like most acquired employees, some will balk. BofA’s culture, processes, leaders, and way of doing business will seem different—and wrong. Everything at BofA, basically, will seem worse than the good old days at Merrill, and many employees will say so, if not out loud then with their attitudes.

No, no, no! If you’re a Merrill employee—or work for any acquired company—understand one thing. Your new owner has limited patience for pouters. They know M&A resisters slow work down and that their cynicism poisons the waters. That’s why, when it comes to sorting out their new roster, the vast majority of acquirers choose buy-in over brains. Superstars may get a free pass, but if you’re a “regular” type—say, a middle manager with a good track record—you may now be one of two people fighting for your job. Your margin for error, as BofA seeks to realize $7 billion in “synergies,” is smaller than ever.

So to Merrill employees, we say: Honor your past, but put it away. Rescind your claim on victimhood, join the BofA team heart and soul, and work hard for its future. It’s your best chance that BofA’s future will include you.

Lehman employees face a harder challenge. They’re looking for jobs in a shrinking industry flooded with experienced applicants, the kind of stymieing situation that can easily put people into a downward spiral of self-doubt.

The best antidote to this Vortex of Defeat is immediate action. You may want a breather to take stock of your life, but any delay on your part only allows other job seekers a head start on the opportunities available. You need to draw on your reservoir of self-confidence and start chasing leads today.

If you’re thinking, “Fine, but Wall Street isn’t hiring,” we hear you. Which is why our next piece of advice is to broaden your search, on both the job content and geography fronts. A few years back, we encountered a group of laid-off engineers in a medium-sized Midwestern city who had spent a year in vain looking for work. Their industry had largely left the region, but they all wanted jobs like their old ones. Worse, they’d put relocation off the table.

Sometimes, of course, “downsized” people can pick up where they left off, but rarely does that happen after disruptions on this scale. To move forward, Lehman employees will need to think expansively and creatively about starting anew. That’s scary, yes. But so is the option of waiting around for a “good fit” that may never come along.

Now, we don’t expect Merrill or Lehman employees to readily embrace our message. Who wants to be told to let go of their understandable anger? But uncommon times call for uncommon solutions. Very reasonably, this week’s tumultuous events may have you hungry for the past. We urge you to thirst for the future instead.

In football it is all about angles. I witnessed the Bears running back Forte outrun the Colt’s all pro safety Bob Sander for a touchdown. It was said Bob had a bad angle. I say, well then change your angle. In sales you need the right questions to find business. My hope here is to start a dialog on questions and ask help from fellow bloggers that may know some worthy probes.
When I began a sales career, selling blood analyzers to medical centers. There were 3 questions, I was sure to ask each institution.
Have you been looking for new blood chemistry analyers? Have you budgeted, how much did you budget?What month is the money available? OK, that may have been 4 questions but the one was a 2 part question. I would ask these questions to build my prospect bank and to find out who had money, and when they could buy. These are great questions but you find prospects that are in the market and thus there will be much competition. Not a bad thing but no guarantee of success.
Another prospect could be developed from a concept that you uncover by asking the right questions.Here is an example of a question and a better question. I see you use analyzer XYZ, how do you like it? Answer, we love it. better question, I see you use analyzer XYZ, please describe for me how this analyzer helps you the most? This question gets your prospect talking. Here is another example of bad and good questions. Does analyzer XYZ ever cause you problems? Answer no not much. A better question is, I can tell analyzer XYZ is a good instrument, if you could change any thing to make it perfect for you what would it be and how would that make your job easier?
If your prospect explains to you how a change in the analyzer could make her job easier, a door may open for you to walk through and conduct business. You say you wish analyzer had a faster stat time, so the ER doctors would would have a higher opinion of the lab. I know the doctors opinion would mean a lot and if I could show you how the additional speed our system provide your important stat samples, you would have a sincere interest wouldn’t you?
Pretty good but I need help, I am asking the following bloggers for help in formatting good questions to use in business.
Ben Means Business.

The 2008, best business blog, black weblog awards, young black professional guide.

Brainbased business

Chris Baggott

brainbased biz

Esq Holland

I am asking these business leaders for their comments on questions. Click on their sites to see some great blogs!

This insight is making its way around the internet. I am confused too but not surprised. I saw so much of this type of BS in the corporate world. Read and share your thoughts.

THIS IS YOUR NATION ON WHITE PRIVILEGE

By Tim Wise

For those who still can’t grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.

White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because “every family has challenges,” even as black and Latino families with similar “challenges” are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.

White privilege is when you can call yourself a “fuckin’ redneck,” like Bristol Palin’s boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you’ll “kick their fuckin’ ass,” and talk about how you like to “shoot shit” for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.

White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.

White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don’t all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S.
Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you’re “untested.”?

White privilege is being able to say that you support the words “under God” in the pledge of allegiance because “if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it’s good enough for me,” and not be immediately disqualified from holding office–since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the “under God” part wasn’t added until the 1950s–while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.?

White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you.?

White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto was “Alaska first,” and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you’re black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she’s being disrespectful. ?

White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do–like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor–and people think you’re being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college–you’ re somehow being mean, or even sexist.?

White privilege is being able to convince white women who don’t even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because all of a sudden your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a “second look.”?

White privilege is being able to fire people who didn’t support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.?

White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God’s punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you’re just a good church-going Christian, but if you’re black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of
Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you’re an extremist who probably hates America.?

White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a “trick question,” while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O’Reilly means you’re dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.?

White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism is, as Sarah Palin has referred to it a “light” burden.?

And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren’t sure about that whole “change” thing. Ya know, it’s just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain.?

White privilege is, in short, the problem.