Sizzle Is Not Steak

There was an interesting quote in the Wall Street Journal the other day.

It was about how the stock brokers all too often hawked hot stocks to their unsuspecting and foolish clients:

You sold the sizzle, not the steak!

Wow, isn’t this all too often what happens with products and services in the marketplace?

People get you hyped up on all the excitement of something.

The latest and greatest widget or whatever. 

It’s gonna revolutionize the world!

Even when the thing itself may not be all that it’s cracked up to be.

Or in fact, it may be a complete dud!

But whatever sells goes, unfortunately, whether it’s right or wrong

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle. 

Doesn’t that sizzle really make you want to buy the steak?

The Greater Fool Theory in full blossom. 😉

(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Persuasion x 3

I liked this categorization of three types of tools of persuasion developed by Aristotle: 

– Ethos: Appeals to a sense of ethics, morals, and character. 

– Logos: Appeals to a sense of logic, reason, and rationality.

– Pathos: Appeals to a sense of emotion, empathy, and passion. 

I don’t know about most people, but I don’t get convinced easily. 

You need to show me, prove it to me, or convince me it’s right. 

Some others, and I don’t know why–it’s like you can sell them the Brooklyn Bridge, as they say.  

I think that’s dangerous!

Without critical thinking and evaluation, people can get led astray to do the wrong things…a perfect example is Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler (may his memory be forever cursed).  

Hitler appealed to the Germans people at the time:

– Emotionally to bring them back from the loss, destruction, and destitution that World War I inflicted and of course, to scapegoat the Jews, Gypsies, and political opponents and send them to the death camps. 

– Logically, that they were a strong and powerful people, the “Aryan nation,” and they therefore, deserved to conquer and rule Europe and the World.

– Ethically–let’s just say, this one didn’t really apply to Hitler, probably the most evil and destructive man this world has ever known, except that even Hitler tried to fool his people falsely proclaiming, “G-d is with us!”

It’s a war of good over evil out there, and we need to make our arguments to influence and persuade for the good, but we also have to be careful not to let others, who are not so good, manipulate us for their own selfish and depraved ends. 

Ethos, Logos, and Pathos–potent tools or weapons in the direction of mankind and civilization. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Beyond Money

Okay, I don’t impress easily, but I got to tell you somebody really did.

Tring to keep their confidentiality, let me just say this…

A couple returned some money to us, but they went truly above and beyond. 

They returned some money that technically they were entitled to, and I never would’ve imagined that they should give it back to us. 

When I saw the check and what they did, I really couldn’t stop myself saying how amazing this couple is. 

They are a religious Jewish couple, and I just feel that what they did was such a “Kiddush Hashem” (their behavior is a sanctification of G-d’s name in the world). 

Some people pretend to be religious on the outside, but inside their behaviors don’t reflect it. 

In this case, the people were generally religious not just on the outside, but on the inside as well.

Their doing righteous literally was uplifting for my soul to see that there really are such incredible people in this world. 

Yes, some people are bad–do bad–and we can get not only disappointed but depressed that they seem to thrive anyway. 

So to see the good in people–extra good–it renews my hope in mankind and in G-d Above who shows us the way and can inspire us to behave morally and ethically amazingly.  😉

(Source photo: Andy Blumenthal)

New York Times’ Credibility Is In The Toilet

Now that the election is over, a lot of people are saying that the media and polls failed us. 

They predicted one thing, but were completely wrong. 

However, it wasn’t only their predictions of a sweeping Trump loss that were incorrect, but also that their biased, schlock journalism was professionally and ethically wrong!

Over and over again, I read the harshest of criticisms of Donald Trump, especially from the New York Times–endless rantings about him week after week:

From Nicholas Kristof:

– Trump’s actions are heinous

– Trump is a misogynist and sexual predator

– Trump is a charlatan

– Trump is a crackpot

– Trump is a shallow egoist who uses people

– Trump is for pariahs like ISIS, North Korea, and KKK

– Trump is mean

– Trump is a liar

– Trump is a racist

From Frank Bruni: 

– Trump rants

– Trump makes corrosive conspiracy theories

– Trump is sickening

– Trump and his people are pathetic

– Trump is a narcissist

– Trump is irredeemably sexually perverse

– Trump is crude

– Trump is unfit

– Trump is unpatriotic

– Trump is hot-tempered 

Does the New York Times really call this journalism, and do they expect people to pay for this one-sided nonsense?

It used to be we could go to an esteemed newspaper like the New York Times and get real investigative journalism, and a real analytical and balanced approach to issues–we could learn something and be better off for it. 

But unfortunately it seems that the New York Times became exactly what it feared the most–it became biased, bigoted, and hateful. 

The articles over and over again were full of shameful name-calling, insinuations, and coaxing people that they needed to vote for one candidate over another. 

It wasn’t just an endorsement before the election, it was a barrage of months of superficial and venomous, hate-filled spew and characterizations by liberal journalists against a conservative party candidate–irrespective of what his true capabilities were and hope that he could bring to reinvigorate this nation. 

Of course, candidates should always be condemned for any bias or stupid things they may explicitly or implicitly do or say, but that is an opportunity to set the record and candidate straight, not unilaterally take them out back and shoot them, while giving the other candidate a free ride on corruption, collusion, and lies. 

Over time, people saw right through it, and it became clear that the media was absolutely biased, divisive, and trying to fix the election results for one candidate. 

The damage to the credibility of the media is done, and before readers renew their next subscriptions, they need to vote with their wallets with the same internal deliberation and soul searching as for their candidate. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Pro Life OR Pro Choice

I took this photo going to the doctor last week.

This guy is standing outside the office building and he goes, “Did you know that there is an abortion clinic in there?”

Sort of stating the obvious as a guy, I said, “Well I’m not going there!”

It was fascinating though watching this guy picketing with his sign, “Pray To End Abortion.”

And he’s standing in front of some spiffy signs advertising Fendi and Gucci. 

Perhaps, he’s not understanding where some people come from and what they go through getting pregnant either not by choice (rape, incest, etc.) or they are not ready to properly care for a child or there is a clear and present danger to the health of the mother. 

While late term abortions are completely anathema and in my mind really are murder, perhaps early term abortions, even if not a desired outcome by any means are at times a type of life-saving necessity for the reasons mentioned. 

Unfortunately, I really don’t think it’s a simple either/or.  

Yes, we must be pro life and protect the unborn children.

AND

Yes, we must have some element of pro choice and protect the mother and the child when it’s birth would bring more harm than good. 

The decision needs to be made case-by-case and are excruciating to decide and do the right thing for all. 

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Don’t Just Hire Another You

So the corporate cat is out of the bag…

The New York Times confirms that “more than 80% of employers worldwide named cultural fit as a top hiring priority,” where cultural fit is a sugarcoated synonym for hiring others like themselves!

Your resume influences whether you get an interview, but then “chemistry”–personality (“not qualifications”) takes over–“like you were on a date.”

Often cited reasons for hiring someone:

– Someone you would enjoy “hanging out” with, and “developing close relationships with.”

– Those with “shared experiences,” alma maters, and pedigrees–including “hobbies, hometowns, and biographies…and even “those who played the same sport.”

What about diversity?

Well apparently, it’s still an “old boys network” out there, even though diversity has been found especially important for “jobs involving complex decisions and creativity,”  and so as not to become “overconfident, ignore vital information, and make poor (and even unethical) decisions.”

No doubt, personality and values can also be important in getting along with others in the group–even a few jerks on the team, can create plenty of havoc, discord, and dysfunction. 

Maybe after meeting the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSA) requirements, one of the litmus tests should be not whether the person is the same as us, but whether they are moral and decent human beings that can act appropriately with others.  

Not an easy thing to judge from some interviews, testing, or even reference checking–even when these are done well, there are still quite a number of hiring surprises that happen.

Or as they say about marriage, you don’t really know the person until you wake up with them in the morning. 

There are also more extensive background checking that can help vet employees, such as in the Federal system, where many sensitive positions require an in-depth security clearance review process that looks at everything from criminal background, financial responsibility, psychological stability, national loyalties, and more. 

We need to know who we are dealing with, not intrusively, but responsibly for good hiring decisions. 

Honestly, you don’t just want to hire the candidate that just looks good, like the pretty girl with no personality or a hideous disposition. 

To be clear, there should never be ANY hiring biases in the workplace–conscious or unconscious. 

Hiring mangers should make sure the person they are hiring is excellent in terms of the KSAs, has a broad set of terrific references, and can reasonably act like a mensch under a broad set of circumstances–the last one is the hardest one to ensure. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

Snatched From The Jaws Of A LARGE Shark

So this was a funny photo we took in Ft. Lauderdale. 

Right in the jaws of a very large shark…

Must’ve been a little what it felt like to be Jonah swallowed up by the big whale.

“Hey let me outta here…please!”

This whole thing reminded me of something I heard from a colleague.

At one time, he had said cautioningly, “You better dip your toe in the water, because there may very well be sharks in there.”

In other words, watch out from some {unscrupulous and dangerous} people–they have their own motives, hidden agendas, sources of power, and they may be VERY intense on getting what they want, so be careful–don’t get in their way (at least not directly). 

Hey, can’t you almost see the large, strong jaws–snapping, snapping, snapping. 

And the very important lesson here is that if you dare dip more than your toe in the shark-infested water, rest assured that you can lose a lot more than a foot. 

(Source Photo: The Blumenthals)

Might Does Not Make Right

I heard from someone the other day…

“Do what is right–the others be damned!”

And this is right on the money.

You should always follow the dictates of your conscience.

Do not worry about pressure from others or what others will do that you cannot control. 

My dad (A”H) used to say:

“YOU do what is right–YOU be the example!”

He was my example, and I will always follow in his footsteps. 😉

(Source photo: here with attribution to cursedthing)

How You Treat Animals

This little bird is singing pretty with his Coronoa.

But this isn’t always how we treat animals. 

Some absolutely revere their animals as integral parts of their family or faith–as pets, they may be loved and cared in nice homes, and as source for milk, dung, and tilling, they may even considered sacred as in Hindu India, or for sacrifices on the holy Temple alter in Jerusalem. 

I’ve seen dogs picked up after and wheeled around in baby strollers, while in the Movies like “Meet The Fockers,” Jinx the cat is exalted for doing her deed in the toilet, the same one used by the family.

One colleague told me how she had to run after her dog cleaning up all over her house, when it was sick and had a bleed out of its butt–yeah, ick!

And I remember learning about how in Nazi Germany, dogs would walk on the sidewalk, while Jews were forced into the gutters. 

On the other side of the animal coin…

We have animals sickeningly and inhumanly confined and caged in tiny spaces; starved or fattened; pepped up on antibiotics, and clubbed, electrocuted, given lethal injections, shot and cut up.

Animals are used for food, fur, and even so-called fun from cock fighting to bull runs.

Further, animals are used for research in everything from new medications to abusive studies in mind control and even punishment.

Animals have also been used for horrific torture of POWs where masks were attached to victims faces and a fire would heat the other side and force the rodent locked inside to burrow into the faces of their victims.

Similarly, in Nazi Germany, gruesome studies were conducted on humans by sewing live cats into the stomach of victims.

In more positive ways, animals have been used to locate everything from disease to the implements of war–from dogs being used in identifying human diseases like cancer and tuberculosis to giant rats used to locate land mines. 

Also, animal products are used in many life-saving medications. 

I found the remorse of an animal experimenter today in the New York Times to be refreshing, and those who choose to become vegan or disavow the use of fur and other animal products to be noble, as long as they accept that others may feel different. 

When the experimenter in his guilt thinks about the tables being turned, he imagines aliens coming to Earth and abducting and conducting experiments on us humans…oh, he seems to go, now I know how it must feel. 

Guess he didn’t think to walk in that chicken’s shoes before…

While to carnivorous animals, we are just another piece of beef in the food chain, other domesticated animals can be “man’s best friend.”

Killing an animal for survival is one thing, and where people draw that line can vary quite some–for example, how badly does Kim Kardashian need another fur to keep her warm?

But pure abusive and sick treatment of animals for amusement, profiteering, or psychotic ends is wrong, period. 

Animals are not people, but they are G-d’s creatures and sentient, and they should not be harmed or pained just because some of us like to act like animals too. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)

The Wrong Way To Test

As educators are pushed to improve students’ test scores, sometimes they run afoul.

In Atlanta, 8 former public school educators were sentenced to prison–three were sentenced to as long as seven years–for a conspiracy inflating student scores by “changing answers” to the tests. 

Interestingly, in another article today, we see that not only are students put to the test, but so are job applicants. 

In fact, “Eight of the top 10 U.S. private employers now administrator pre-hire tests in their job applications.”

While testing can certainly show some things, they can also miss the point completely. 

I know some people that test wonderfully–straight A students, 100+ on all exams, 4.0 GPAs–and for the most part, they are wonderful at memorizing and prepping for the test…but sometimes, not much else. 

Some of them have no practical knowledge, little critical thinking or creativity, and are even sort of jerky. 

And others who test poorly may be well thought, articulate, hands-on, and good with people–I’d take a million of them. 

“Failing the test” is not necessarily getting it wrong…it may just be errant to the current prevailing educational and professional testing system that values memorization and spitting back over insight, innovation, and practical skills. 

The challenge is how do we compare and contrast students and professionals competing for schools and career advancement, if we don’t easily have something standardized like a test to rally around. 

Maybe there is no getting away from more holistic assessments–where we look at bona fide life and career experience, a wide range of recommendations from teachers, coaches, and supervisors, hard and soft skills (including communications and interpersonal), professional and personal ethics, genuine interest in the pursuit, and the motivation to work hard and contribute.  

Tests–students cheat, educators game the system, memorization and robotic answers are the name of the game to get the A, and boring homogeneity–but it’s often the easy way out to evaluating candidates for a phony success. 😉

(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)