Don’t Call Me Sir!

Please see my new article in The Times of Israel called, “Don’t Call Me Sir!” 

In a split second, the officer zeros in on me and admonishingly says: “I’m not a Sir!” I’m taken aback, as I watch the officer speak, their face hardened and angular and their full mustache rising and falling with their words.

 

It’s Pride Month, and I learned a valuable lesson in sensitivity, respect, and diversity and that in short: 

Black Lives Matter, Blue Lives Matter, Jewish Lives Matter, All Lives Matter!  We are all children of G-d. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Me Myself and I

I thought this was really fascinating about how we interact with others.

It’s a theory by Martin Buber called the I-Thou relationship.

In every relationship, there are really 6 people in the room:

– Who I am.

– Who I want to be.

– Who I am perceived as.

———–

– Who they are.

– Who they want to be.

– Who they are perceived as. 

———-

Taking about a break between reality, fantasy, and perception. 

Is it any wonder that there are so many communication breakdowns and relationship disappointments. 

We need to coalesce around a unified persona of I and thou–and if we don’t know, perhaps we need to ask for clarification.

We don’t want to talk past each other. 

We want to talk to and work with each other. 

I am me and you are you. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Anus Protectus

So I learned this new phrase today:

“Anus Protectus”

It’s what it sounds like.

It when you communicate (or do) something in order to “cover your a*s.”

Sometimes we communicate as an FYI.

Other times as a FYSA.

And then there is the CYA. 

All of these are what we call “Purposeful communications.”

The only real difference is their purposes. 

When you open your mouth or your email make sure you know your:

– Why (intent)

– Who (audience)

– How (persuasion techniques)

These are the secret sauce of good communication. 

More blogs to come on this important topic. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

VICE News Superior

So I have started watching VICE News and you should too. 

It is on HBO and is superior to the other big news outlets in so many ways. 

The intensity and clarity of their photography and videos is unbelievable!

My daughter said to me:

“This is clearer than REAL life!”

And she was right…I don’t know how they do it. 

Also, they remove all the clutter from the news screen that CNN, MSNBC, and others use at the top and bottom of the screen–instead it’s just clean, focused, and right to the news point. 

VICE puts the key messages in callouts right on the screen in large and easy to read boxes–the impact is you see the visual and the print message dramatically together and you get it and remember it!

They do this for their photos and videos.

Finally, with all the “talk is cheap” news these days, it is nice that VICE seems to focus more on reporting and less on subjective opinion. 

With all the failing, fake, and alternative news out there, it is nice to see that someone has invented a better news program.  😉

(Source Photo: Vice News)

Check The Clock

So it should be so easy…

We manage time by the hours and minutes–and moments of life. 

This sign was hilarious though:

Breakfast 6 am – 10 am
Lunch 11 am – 2 pm
Dinner 4 pm – 7 pm
We are here to serve you any time.

Really, if you’re here to serve us any time, then isn’t that mean around the clock–24/7–and not just the total 10 hours listed?

What a ridiculous contradiction!

It reminded me of another crazy story of the person who when you ask what time it is, they tell you how to make the watch.

Yes, the point has definitely been missed by the other person.

Their explanation may be very detailed and even accurate on how to make a watch, but frankly they missed the point altogether, which was simply what time is it!

We need to pay attention to our communications and be honest and actually say what it is, and not beat around the 24-hour bush. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

G-d Bless Nikki Haley

What a gem this Nikki Haley is. 

One nation, the United States, speaking truth about the bias and hate of the UNJust, United Nations against the lone democracy in the Middle East, Israel. 

How refreshing to have clarity of foreign policy after 8 years of 

– Disastrous and secretive Iranian deals

– Bending over backwards for Radical Islamist terrorism

– Tension and military escalation with Russia, China, and North Korea

– Meltdown in Crimea, Syria, Yemen, Benghazi, and more

– Rise and proliferation of ISIS across the Middle East

– Weakening of the U.S. Military including our nuclear deterrent

– Shameful UN resolution 2334

All of these, which speaks volumes to the Obama years of foreign policy debacles, one on top of another. 

While the fake news, New York Times, again published utter nonsense about President Trump needing to clarify his foreign policy when nothing could be further from the truth.

President Trump has made absolutely clear his support for Israel, Japan, UK, and other true friends and allies of America are crystal clear. 

The President has also made it clear that he will not tolerate bad behavior towards the United States from rogue terrorist nations like Iran and North Korea. 

Further, the President has made clear that he seeks better relations with Russia and at the same time a more robust NATO that can actually contributes to it’s defense and has the muscle to show for it. 

Finally, we have a doctrine of peace through strength and the implementation that is backing it up. 

Anyone wonder why the New York Times isn’t following, let alone reporting on the real news?  

And how different could this be than the obscurity and chaos of Obama’s disappearing red lines all over the globe. 😉

The Trump Twitter Genius

President-elect Trump is a Twitter genius!

At 70-years old, he has managed to use a millennial social media tool to take on the world, and despite opponents questioning of his temperament, so far he has unequivocally won with it. 

Using Twitter, Trump defeated candidates from Cruz to Clinton in running for president of the United States and at a fraction the cost.

Using Twitter, Trump has shaped not only policy discussion, but national sentiments around healthcare, over-regulation, tax reform, and even updating our critical nuclear deterrent capability. 

Using Twitter, Trump has strengthened alliances and friendships with nation and states from Israel to Taiwan and decreased escalating tensions with Russia. 

Using Twitter, Trump has put competitors and adversaries on notice about bad behavior from China to North Korea.

Using Twitter, Trump is setting the stage for correcting economic problems and imbalances from unfair trade practices to shipping jobs overseas.

Using Twitter, Trump gets around media bias and messages and connects directly with the people of the world. 

Of course, it is critical to vet important communications and ensure they are accomplishing the goal, but this needs to be weighed with the ability to reach out and get the message out quickly and effectively to the masses…and it’s a most fascinating and delicate balance that needs to be achieved. 

So far though, we are no longer working at the speed of government, but at the speed of the Internet. 

This is an incredible awakening in politics, but also for everyone on the incredible power of social media tools to communicate directly, unvarnished, and with impact, and no one has done it better than Donald Trump. 

The mastery of social media will continue to depend on messaging with speed, significance, and effect balanced with the vigilance as to exactly when to hit that crucial send button to the Twitterverse and the world. 

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Words Have Meaning

People can be so careless and callous with their words. 

They say stupid and hurtful things. 

Sometimes, they may try to couch or sugarcoat what they are saying, so you need to put 2 and 2 together. 

Yes, that’s four…bang!

Whether it’s transparent or hiding behind a veil of political correctness or mischievousness, you get the messaging. 

Everyone has an angle, as they say in Hollywood. 

Is it benevolent or malevolent or perhaps just dopey does. 

Either way, words are very important.

It’s called communications and you send out messages verbally and non-verbally. 

Rule of thumb:

“Clarity, conciseness, and coherence.”

Often, the messaging can be confused…like the old game of telephone or just in-coherency of words or thinking. 

So which it it–there is no return policy to speak of or there are no returns allowed.

Tell me damn it! 

Why can’t the English learn to speak english? 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Is There Anyone Out There To Lead

Interesting editorial in the Wall Street Journal today titled, “These Five Are the Best We Can Do?” referring to the current slate of Presidential candidates. 

According to the author, Joseph Epstein: “Viewing the candidates of both parties during the debates, one felt that nearly everyone of the participants was in the business for him- or herself.”

Yes, so many people are getting turned off by the selfishness, obscurity and outright deceit, vulgarity, and off-the-chart impractical and impolitic views of the candidates.

Yet the editorial mistakenly attributes the presumed dearth of good-to-great candidates is due to no one impressive wanting to run in the age when “media and Internet are the major instruments of contemporary political degradation.”

In other words, no normal person wants to be put under a microscope for their person, rather than their personal views of where to take this country. 

However, this doesn’t ring true to me. 

I think that true leaders are and would be willing to endure the scrutiny of the traditional media and social media in order to take us into a meaningful, righteous, and better future–it’s simply part of the job like Moses having to endure the gripes against him when he led the Children of Israel out of Egypt and to the Promised Land. 

Maybe the real reason that we don’t think we have the quality of leadership that we expect is that there is a perception of a genuine dearth of sincere, unadulterated, whole-package leadership out there. 

Think about it–with a virtually unlimited supply of false messiahs across the leadership spectrum from politics to corporate and religious life–we have been let down by fraudsters, liars, thieves, and sex abusers. 

Like with the Israelites in Egypt who waited hundreds of years for G-d to bring a Moses to lead his people, perhaps we are looking with eyes heavenward for an appropriate gifted leader to take us into the future…and this is more than just what an education or pedigree can provide, but rather a person inspired by a purity of heart and a clarity of vision. 

For that, we need a leader that will not just talk the scripted talk or walk the overconfident boisterous walk, but we need to see the person whose promising words match their deeds and whose heart is aligned with the people and the nation for a truly greater future and not just for the political donations, superdelegate counts, their party nomination and the electoral college votes to land them the coveted Oval Office. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Talking It Cryptic

So for a while when I received weirdly worded communications from others, I thought “Gee, this person doesn’t know how to communicate!”

They aren’t saying what they mean or aren’t saying it clearly, and I am having to decipher it, read between the lines (more than usual) and certainly not always getting it right. 

I seriously thought some of these people needed to go for remedial communications and project management training, and was more than willing to send them.

Then, I started to see the bigger picture and context and it was beginning to all make sense.

The terse messages, the cryptic language, the dancing around the topic…these were not (necessarily) because the person couldn’t communicate well, but it was intentional!

No, they weren’t trying to mess with me.

They were afraid to say what they really wanted to say–not to me, but generally speaking.  

Why?

Conjecture, but perhaps they didn’t want “it” so explicit, they didn’t want a flagrant (unnecessary) trail, they didn’t want to potentially get in any trouble. 

So they truncate, obfuscate, used “code” words (not real code, symbolic) and otherwise made the communications so vague that they had plausible deniability or could interpret it just about any which way they wanted.

Ah, sort of a “get out of jail free card”–self made, signed, sealed, and delivered.

This is the art of being cryptic!

Fear and overly strict political correctness is not a good thing when what you really need is clear and honest communications from folks.

We do ourselves a disservice by “playing games,” keeping hidden agendas, and protecting ourselves over the necessity to get the mission accomplished and done well.

Perhaps when people are caught between competing masters and agendas, they are “forced” to do this to get the job done, stay alive, and in the important game we all must play in life.

Ink a dink a bottle of ink the cap fell off and you stink…got that?  😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)