Featured

The Employee Impact When Private Equity Acquires Your Company

A quick definition of Private Equity

Private equity (P/E) is money raised through investment partnerships that is used to buy and manage companies before selling them. Private equity firms raise pools of capital from institutional and accredited investors (often supplemented with debt) to form a private equity fund. Once they’ve hit their fundraising goal, they close the fund and invest that capital into promising companies.

Unlike venture capital, most private equity firms and funds invest in mature companies rather than start-ups. They manage their portfolio companies to increase their worth or to extract value before exiting the investment, typically in a 5 – 7 year time frame. When a P/E firm sells one of its portfolio companies to another company or investor, the firm expects to make a profit and distributes returns to the limited partners that invested in its fund.

Private Equity is Huge!

Over the past two decades, the exponential growth of Private Equity (P/E) investments in businesses has changed how businesses operate and the job market.  American Investment Council (AIC), a private equity lobby, estimated that private equity funds invested approximately $1.3 trillion across a number of industry sectors in 2021 and $922 billion in 2022, with approximately 2/3 invested in three sectors, Information Technology, B2B, and B2C.  Additionally, the AIC PE Economic Contribution Report FINAL 04-20-2023  states that the U.S. Private Equity sector comprised approximately 6.5% of the U.S. GDP in 2022.

PRIVATE EQUITY INVESTMENTS.  American Investment Council 2022 Trends (https://www.investmentcouncil.org/research/

According to AIC, The US private equity sector provides employment and earnings for millions of workers. Overall, in 2022, the US private equity sector directly employed 12 million workers earning $1 trillion in wages and benefits.1 The average US private equity sector worker earned approximately $80,000 in wages and benefits in 2022. For a full-time worker this is approximately $41 per hour.2 The median full-time US private equity sector worker earned approximately $50,000 in 2022.3   

The trend toward expanding P/E business ownership is likely to continue based on the P/E fund raising trends shown below:

According to a 2022 US News & World Report study, these are the 5 largest PE firms and each has raised over $50 billion in the previous 5 years:

Source:  https://money.usnews.com/investing/slideshows/largest-private-equity-firms

Why is Private Equity Dominating

P/E firms use effective business strategies to minimize downside risks, guarantee steady cash flow, and potentially achieve huge returns on their investments.  A Private Equity executive once told me that if they invest in 10 businesses, they expect to break-even or make a small return across the bottom 5 businesses, achieve a 10-20% ROI on 3, and hit a home run on the top two businesses.   They can achieve these results because they have proven business models, provide business and technical expertise, leverage economies of scale, can fund acquisitions to increase market share, receive management fees from their portfolio companies to cover interest on debt, and ultimately earn a potential windfall when they sell a business, take it public, or bring in additional investors.    

Growth Equity vs. Private Equity

When Private Equity invests in a business, it’s important to know if it considered a Growth Equity  or Private Equity investment.  Growth Equity is an investment strategy oriented around acquiring minority stakes in late-stage companies exhibiting high growth with significant upside potential in expansion, in an effort to fund their plans for continued expansion.  Often referred to as “growth capital” or “expansion capital”, growth equity firms seek to invest in companies with established business models and repeatable customer acquisition strategies4.

A more traditional Private Equity investment is more like an acquisition or leveraged buyout of a company where the P/E firm acquires full ownership or majority ownership. Private Equity investments target businesses with stable profitability and cash flow, so they can support debt repayment. These are typically more mature businesses that may be undervalued, financially constrained, or mismanaged. The strategy is to implement “Command and Control” leadership to improve operational efficiency, reduce costs and improve EBITDA.

As an example of a traditional private equity investment, a P/E firm purchases majority ownership of a cloud company that has a very “sticky” product such as an ERP suite.  The P/E investors know that some cutbacks on innovation and quality of services will not impact revenue in the short term.   Even if their customers are not very satisfied with their products and services, it’s not easy for them to jump ship and it will take a long time.  Customers may have multi-year contract commitments, or a huge investment is required to purchase and implement a competitive solution. The P/E firm can cut expenses (primarily through reductions in staff), provide just the essential product enhancements and maintenance services, and do the try to retain customers as long as possible.  In 3-5 years, they expect the company will be more profitable than ever, which will drive up valuation and then they can sell out.

What to expect when Private Equity takes over your company

I’ve worked for five Cloud/SaaS businesses that were primarily owned by P/E firms.  Two companies were acquired by PE firms while I worked there and three were already P/E owned when I was hired.  I have not directly invested in any P/E funds, so this blog really is about my experiences as an employee at various levels of a business that becomes majority owned by a P/E firm(s). 

When a P/E firm purchases majority ownership, it’s generally promoted as a very positive change to the business.  And in many ways, it is.  Founders and those with equity in acquired business get a payout.  When the transaction takes place, the investment generally provides a much-needed influx of cash, new board members, new executive leadership, and a tremendous network of business, technical, financial, and market expertise that opens doors and creates new growth opportunities.  Employees will learn how the P/E team will introduce proven methodology, technology, and expertise that will bring new levels of business maturity and capability to scale for rapid growth.  It can be an exciting time. 

From an employee perspective, the hardest thing about being acquired by P/E is that there will likely be a reduction in staff (layoffs) announced with the acquisition. The magnitude of the layoff is probably tied to the financial health of the business, expectations for improved operational efficiencies, and the need to cover the management fees the P/E firms draw from the business. 

Employees at P/E owned businesses generally have very little or no opportunity to receive equity (e.g. stock options) of any significant value.  That is because P/E firms are obligated to their investors.  With the risk they take buying majority ownership of the business, their primary goal is to maximize the return for their investors. Consequently, there really is very little equity remaining to share with the workforce.  So, unless you are an executive of the acquired company, do not expect any stock options, they just aren’t available.

Business Transformation

In every P/E transaction I have experienced (all where the P/E firm was majority owner), within the first year, the majority of C-Level and V-Level leaders in the company will be replaced or move on. The CEO and key founders of the business typically are replaced very quickly, often at the time of acquisition. However, they may remain involved as advisors for a transitional period of time.  It sounds harsh, but it makes sense in many ways.  P/E firms will bring in their own proven leaders who understand their business model and who are not caught up in paradigms from the past business strategy.  New leaders often recruit proven leaders from their previous experience, and they will rapidly enforce changes that will require their staff to think and act differently.  As an employee in a P/E acquired firm, you quickly realize that past success really doesn’t matter to the new leadership.

The biggest change will be an unyielding and razor-sharp focus on Key Performance Indicators, especially top-line revenue growth and bottom-line earnings (EBITDA).  P/E firms will provide a transition period for new leadership to assimilate and re-calibrate the business model and forecast.  But, in the end, it’s all about making your numbers.  You can expect the P/E firm to have very high expectations for the business.  They will provide expertise and guidance, and other resources to help support the leadership team.   The P/E firm wants your business to be wildly successful.  All will be wonderful as long as your company is hitting the key performance targets established by the P/E firm. However, the honeymoon ends if the business falls short of their performance expectations.

If your business misses the P/E firm’s revenue goals or EBITDA targets, they will cut headcount, eliminate perks, and implement tighter controls on expenses.   In these situations, expect some Darwinism across the workforce and more extensive use of lower cost resources wherever possible, including sourcing work overseas.  There is little tolerance or patience for missing financial targets.

What it takes to survive and thrive in a P/E owned business

1.   Accept that past success guarantees nothing. 

If you are truly a highly valued employee, you might get a retention bonus for sticking around for a year after the acquisition.  Most likely, you’ll be grateful if you still have a job post-acquisition and you will need to prove your value to the business just like you are a new hire.

2.  Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Be open to change.  Sticking to “we’ve always done it this way” is generally fatal.  P/E will bring new processes, stricter controls, and different leadership styles. Focus on the skills and solutions you can provide to support the direction and goals stated by the new leadership.  You need to be perceived as a willing adopter and flexible.

I can honestly state in my past, I had trouble getting on-board with the new direction and leadership after P/E took over.  You cannot hide it and as a result, I decided to move on, or I was told to move on.

3.   Avoid the “they just do not understand our business” trap.

Recognize that the new policies, process controls, and organizational changes may seem unrealistic or doomed to fail.  It can be very frustrating when new ownership doesn’t appear to understand that you had good reasons for managing aspects of your business as you did.  The new leadership may seem indifferent that their changes will have a negative impact on client satisfaction. That’s not true.  Their ultimate goal is to get the organization streamlined and thinking differently.  They want the workforce to improve operational efficiency without sacrificing quality.  If you feel it is necessary to address concerns with changes to staffing, processes, or policies that will negatively impact customer and/or employee satisfaction, be sure to support your cause with facts and data. Focus on how you can influence the best outcomes within the new constraints. 

The new leadership does not want your company to fail or for their employees to fail.  They want results!   They want you to focus on how your actions and priorities align with the ultimate end game for the P/E firm, which is maximizing the ROI for their investors. 

4.   Maintain a positive attitude.

When one of my former employers was acquired by P/E, I know I fell short in the attitude category.  I had my reasons such as having to sign a ridiculously restrictive non-compete agreement, not feeling appreciated for my past accomplishments, and especially because I did not like my new manager.  I was fortunate to find a new job and resigned, just before the posse arrived.  About 2 years after I joined another company, it was acquired by Private Equity.  My role changed (not by my choice) and I did not fit well into their new business model.  The posse did find me about 6 months after the acquisition and my position was eliminated.

A key lesson I learned is that my whining didn’t accomplish anything.  I thought I was professionally discreet dealing my dissatisfaction, but in hindsight, my attitude did not help me and I probably was a negative influence on my colleagues.

Footnotes:

1   All numbers are prorated to account for cases where private equity owns less than 100% of a company. (AIC Economic Contribution Report FINAL 4-20-2023)

2   This $80,000 is computed prior to rounding the wages and benefits and employment estimates. In particular, the $1 trillion of wages and benefits is approximately $961 billion and 12 million employees is approximately 11.957 million employees (AIC Economic Contribution Report FINAL 4-20-2023)

3   By comparison, the comparable median wage for the US economy is approximately $50,000 and comparable average wage is approximately $73,000. See report for more detail. (AIC Economic Contribution Report FINAL 4-20-2023)

4   Wall Street Prep website: https://www.wallstreetprep.com/knowledge/growth-equity-guide

Please share your feedback and suggestions

Thanks for your input!

Featured

Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right

The Silent Majority is Stuck in the Middle Again!

The Silent Majority is too Silent!

Silence is Not Golden

I think it would be very difficult to find any U.S. citizens who are even a little satisfied with our current divisive political climate.   About 49 of 435 House of Representative members (11.2%) are part of the far-right Freedom Caucus1 and according to Pew Research, the far-right represents only 6% of U.S. voters2.  About 100 U.S. Representatives (just under 23%) are members of the far-left Progressive Caucus3 advocating for more government support for economic, political, and social democracy.  Pew Research also estimated 6% of all voters align with the far left4.  Assuming these statistics are reasonably accurate, then 88% of voters are somewhere in the middle.  Richard Nixon called this grouping, “The Silent Majority!” I never liked Nixon, but I think the Silent Majority is an excellent way to categorize voters like me, who fall somewhere in the middle.

How Can the Largest Group of Voters be Silent?

In my opinion, there are five primary reasons that keep the majority silent:

  1. The two extremes are clearly the most passionate and well-funded factions of their respective political parties.  They are the most effective at getting their message out. They relentlessly bombard news and social media.   Leaders of the two extremes have the loudest (and most obnoxious) voices and effectively use fear to influence their audience.
  1. The two extremes are the most intolerant and don’t believe compromise is an acceptable option.   They would rather blame and vilify anyone with opposing views rather than collaborate and engage in respectful dialogue with opposing viewpoints.  In a closely divided congress, they hold just enough members to obstruct any legislation they don’t like. Big money has corrupted politicians and eroded trust in elections.  We are in an era of sound-bite politics with the where a small and often obnoxious group of congressional talking heads who strategically position key issues as strictly binary choices. 
  2. The two extremes have mastered manipulation of facts, deception, and outright lyng to achieve their goals. It seems when persistently telling a lie or manipulating the truth, it creates a perception that it must be true. An obvious example is all the claims that the 2020 election was stolen with massive fraud.  The extremes leverage media networks such as FOX, CNN, MSNBC, NewsMAX, etc., along with online news and social media sources that are not objective, do not adequately fact check, and play to a loyal base.

    From 1954 until 1987, the media was regulated by the Fairness Doctrine5. This was put in place when congress was concerned that the 3 major broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, & NBC) might abouse their monopoly control to promote biased agendas. The Fairness Doctrine was repealed in 1987 by the Reagan administration. It not surprising whenever Fox News has been in litigation for misrepesenting facts, they deliberately refer to themselves as “entertainment”, vs. a news station. Without the Fairness doctrine, there is no requirement for the media to be factually accurate or unbiased. Therefore, the burden is on their audience to determine where the truth lies (pun intended).
  1. Common sense isn’t so common. Stated another way, too many voters are not capable or not interested in applying critical thinking skills. The extremes effectively use innuendo, half-truths, manipulation of facts and fear-mongering to fire up their base. It is effective because their respective core voters see or hear a gripping headline from their trusted sources and/or “talking heads”, and it’s blindly accepted as fact. I think it’s effective because the loyal base of voters must be very gullable or they cannot/will not accept there are other perspectives to consider.
  2. There are no effective leaders representing the 88% of voters in the Silent Majority. This is not surprising considering the 88% represent a diversity of viewpoints on key political topics such as abortion, gun control, government services, tax policies, environmental policies, DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion), etc.

Probably, the points above are not new or surprising. I suspect most voters will agree that our political process is broken (or breaking down) and needs to change.  I am very worried about the consequences of inaction.   For example, let’s assume Trump and Biden are the candidates in the 2024 presidential election. What will happen if Biden wins another close election, or if Trump wins by a close margin?   Either outcome can easily lead to civil unrest, violence, rioting, and even more political divisiveness.

The confusion of the Silent Majority

What Can Be Done to Fix a Broken Political Process?

I wish I knew!  I do think there may be some options worth exploring which are outlined below.  I admit these are generalized examples and it’s easy to dismiss each as too simplistic, unrealistic or silly.  But, at some point, there has to be an end game, a defined goal.  Without and end in mind, we will never make any progress.   

  • Leverage a Purple Platform to Neutralize Binary Majority/Minority Parties. Can we move away from our strict red and blue two-party political system? If no party has a majority of congress, getting anything done would require cooperation and collaboration across the aisle or aisles.  What a novel idea. However, if moving away from the two party model is not feasible, then maybe we should promote a “Purple Platform.”
  • A Purple Platform – Winston Churchill famously said, “Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others.” In the political spectrum, the voices of the far-right trends towards Libertarianism, advocating for the least amount of government intervention and oversight possible.  The far-left trends towards social democracy where government services and regulations are necessary to protect individual liberties, prevent business malfeasance (corruption, pollution, unfair labor practices, etc.), and to ensure Diversity, Equity and Inclusion is used to help level the playing field, and provide accessible healthcare.

    My hope is that our elected officials will finally accept that the 88% of the population that lands somewhere in the middle are alienated by both extremes.  In my opinion, the far right and Libertarianism seems too harsh and lacks sufficient oversight & safety nets that can make us all vulnerable to financial, environmental, health, and public safety catastrophes.  At the other end, Progressive liberalism (far-left) seems too expensive and bureaucratic and can blur the line between a helping hand and a hand-out.  I’d like to see a third caucus, “The Moderate Caucus”. The Moderate Caucus can establish a platform around centralist policies, civility, and collaboration. If it can establish a large block of bi-partisan representatives, it has the power to reject blind party loyalty and can attract political support and funding. Perhaps the Moderate Caucus could help neutralize the extremes and eliminate politicians from being indebted to extreme big-dollar donors in order to get elected.
  • Establish a Credible Fact-Checking Process. Can we establish an independent fact-checking organization that goes well beyond what Snopes (www.snopes.com) or Factcheck.org can offer? I think it would be fantastic to have access to clear and concise information covering all viewpoints on key issues that is supported with validated facts and data. Ideally, the fact checking process includes active participation and an endorsement from all major political parties? Hard to imagine this happening but, maybe it’s in the art of possible.

Footnotes:

1    Pew Research Center (https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/01/23/freedom-caucus-likely-to-play-a-bigger-role-in-new-gop-led-house-so-who-are-they/)

2    Fortune (https://fortune.com/2018/10/22/far-right-americans-just-six-person-study-says/)

3  Progressive Caucus Members (https://progressives.house.gov/caucus-members)

4  Beyond Red vs. Blue: The political Typology (https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/11/09/beyond-red-vs-blue-the-political-typology-2/)

5 Fairness Doctrine (https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/topic-guide/fairness-doctrine)

One response to “Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right”

  1. Jim Bowlin Avatar
    Jim Bowlin

    A good post, Dan. I found it very dis heartening to see that 34%

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment

Featured

“Pseudo Retirement” – Some Topics I Want to Write About

“Pseudo-Retired” – An individual that can retire, but does not want to stop working and has the luxury of finding meaningful work on their terms as a consultant, employee or volunteer.

I am transitioning from a full-time worker into “pseudo-retirement.”   I have a personal challenge to define a new set of personal goals and lifestyle changes for this next stage of my life.  I do not have a burning passion or hobby that could provide an easy solution for leveraging my new abundance of free time.  However, I do enjoy writing and I have decided to begin writing a journal several times per week and I’m going to risk sharing it with my network of contacts.  I don’t know what level of interest (or disinterest) my writing will create, but my hope is that I can create some connections and meaningful dialogue. 

1. Ooh La La – I wish I knew then what I know now, when I was younger.1

A benefit of being a “senior citizen” (in biological age only), is the perspective I have gained from many life experiences and especially working through adversity and facing the consequences of some poor choices.  I am still a work in progress, but I am proud of my personal development.  I think I was a late bloomer developing emotional maturity.  It took me a long time to realize that my happiness must be intrinsic (coming from inside-out) and is not based on how others may view me (outside-in).  Early in my work career, a female co-worker put a button on the cork board in my office that said, “Shallow and Superficial”.  While it was intended as friendly humor, that message still burns inside me 40 years later! 

2. Living my best life

Life isn’t easy and life isn’t fair! I have faced a lot of adversity in my life, especially in my youth. I often asked, “Why me?” or “What the hell was I thinking?” and then slipped into victim-mode. For me, victim mode meant maintaining a protective wall so no one would know how embarrassed, ashamed, insecure, or vulnerable I was feeling.

I am living my best life now, even though I am dealing with some significant adversity:

    • Adjusting to my partner Kris spending more time on the West Coast than with me at our home in Honey Brook, PA so she can help support her daughter and care for her twin granddaughters.
    • Accepting that I cannot move to the West Coast to be with Kris for quite a while.   I need to remain here to help support my father (age 97).  He and his wife recently moved to an Assisted Living community.  He’s still all-there mentally, but he is no longer ambulatory. Unfortunately, his wife is entering the latter stages of Alzheimer’s.
    • Caring for my dog Fig, who has terminal cancer.  Fig is not going to be with us much longer.  All I can do is spoil him rotten with lots of love (and treats) and ensure he doesn’t suffer. 

Why am I happier now than at any other time in my life?  There are many reasons, but for me it primarily narrows down to just two:

    1. Ihave learned to me more mindful and grateful by focusing on the abundance of good things in my life.

    2. I am learning to embrace adversity as an opportunity to learn and grow (and I’ve had many opportunities to learn and grow!).

2. Current Events

I am really frustrated and concerned about the impact of misinformation campaigns and the politics of divisiveness that dominate all forms of media communications including social media, print media and the 24×7 barrage of cable news. This media onslaught, combined with the lack of critical thinking skills, is creating fear, culture wars, social unrest, and violence. I have strong opinions and appreciate spirited (but respectful) discussions with individuals who don’t necessarily agree with my perspectives.

Footnotes:

1 “Ooh La La” is a song written by Ronnie Lane and Ronald Wood for the band, Faces. 
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ooh_La_La_(Faces_song)

My “Pseudo-Retired” Roadmap

I am now “Pseudo-Retired” – Definition: An individual that can retire, but does not want to stop working and has the luxury of finding meaningful work on their terms as a consultant, employee or volunteer.

Probably like a lot of men in my baby-boomer generation, my identity, my sense of self-worth, and my social life were very much tied to my career.   This month, I wrapped up a four-year, full time consulting engagement for Avertium, LLC., a leading cybersecurity firm.  I truly enjoyed the work. I will miss the plethora of interesting and very challenging projects they assigned to me and how my workdays flew by.  My assigned projects required me to learn a lot of new technology skills and I enjoyed working as an individual contributor vs. my previous executive roles.  Now that I am transitioning into pseudo-retirement, there is a big question that keeps swirling in my mind.   What do I do with my time now?

I am planning to take most of the summer off to spend quality time with Kris, my family and her family. I want to take some time to contemplate my activities and priorities in retirement.  To help me move forward, I have drafted My Six Retirement Goals and Expectations:

1.   Maximize My Healthspan (vs. Lifespan).

Lifespan is the number of years someone lives from birth until death, while healthspan is the number of years someone is healthy without chronic and debilitating disease. The earliest mentions of healthspan describe it as, “the maintenance of full function as nearly as possible to the end of life1.” 

My retirement goal is to make healthly lifestyle choices for my body and brain such as continuing my “pescatarian” diet consisting of primarily of organic foods, some wild-caught seafood, and limited ultra-processed foods.  I also need to enage in mental and physical activities that will enable me to live independently, competently, and happily for as long as possible.  I have work to do – especially with establishing a more rigorous and consistent exercise regimen.

2.  Spend Quality Time with My  Family and the Important People in My Life.

I want to invest time and effort to nurture and consistently improve my important relationships as a partner to Kris, a parent, family member or friend.  The other side of that equation is that I want to avoid toxic relationships or enabling others to cast their negative energy on me.

3.  Never Stop Learning and Never Be Satisfied with the Status Quo.

4.   Contribute to the Greater Good. 

I want to invest some of my time and resources to support services and causes that are important and meaningful to me.  I hope when someone provides a eulogy at my funeral, they will talk mostly about things I did to help others vs. reading my resume.

5.   Live It Up While I Can!

20 years from now, I don’t want to look back with regret about the things I could have or should have done while I was able.  I don’t want to be reckless, but I also don’t want to be overly frugal or paralized by an uncertain future.  This is the time for Kris and I to take advantage of our love for travel, get out hiking and spending time in nature, plan fun date nights and other fun adventures together and with the important people in our lives.

6.  Life My Life with Gratitude. 

I always want to take time to appreciate all the good things in my life and never, ever forget how fortunate I am.  I started really focusing on how gratitude keeps me grounded about five years ago when I wrote a Blog called Three Ways to Find Graditude in a Challenging Work Environment. 

I certainly hope and plan to live up to my Retirement Goals though I know it will not be easy and life has a way of throwing a lot of monkey wrenches at me.  Fortunately, Kris is light years ahead of me in her active commitment to emotional and physical health.  She motivates and inspires me because if I don’t live up to my Retirement Goals, I will not be able to keep up with her.

With Kris in Charlottesville, VA

Footnotes:

1 Fortune.com, April 2023.  https://fortune.com/well/2023/04/15/healthspan-may-be-more-integral-to-your-well-being-than-lifespan-how-to-lengthen-i

The Path to Wisdom is Age!

I DIDN’T KNOW THIS WOULD BE
THE BEST TIME OF MY LIFE!

age is path to wisdom

Getting older gets a bad rap! Sometimes I do wish I knew years ago, what I know now (“Ooh La La”). But, realistically, the reason I know what I know now, is from my life experiences. Looking back, I have so many wonderful experiences and memories in my life. I also had the good fortune that I never really had to worry about food insecurity, having a comfortable place to live, or feeling unloved or unsafe. That’s quite a gift and I try to keep that in perspective. Ironically, I think I’m even more grateful for the many difficult life lessons and adversity I’ve faced in my lifetime. This list is long and sometimes embarrassing. It includes my mistakes in judgment, failed relationships, career hiccups, dealing with serious illnesses & loss of family members, and knowing that the consequences of some things I did or said caused others pain and sadness.

While it may seem strange for me to feel grateful for my screw-ups, mistakes and the adversity in my life, that journey enabled me to grow and become more self-aware.  And as a result, this is most definitely, happiest period of my lifetime.  Getting older brings perspective.  I don’t know if I’ll be around another 30+ years or 30 days, but I intend to make my remaining time meaningful and fulfilling as much as possible.

Six things I know now
that I wish I new when I was younger

1.    I worried way too much about what others think about me. 

I sometimes laugh at my younger self, always so concerned about trying to impress others. I now realize how much I came across as pompous and arrogant. I think I needed to demonstrate how smart or successful I was to hide my own insecurities. So many times, my actions unintentionally ended up offending or alienating people who were important to me. And if someone was upset with me, I’d be a mess. Truth is, I think I am happier and a better partner, colleague, friend, co-worker, parent, sibling, etc., when I am humble, focused on listening actively and talking less, and concerned more with learning from others than demonstrating my own competence.

2.    I spent too much time and energy looking in the rear view mirror.

I constantly worried and regretted about what I could have and should have done better. And, I spent way too much time and energy (and not sleeping) worrying about what might happen in the future. I am not like a well-trained Buddhist monk who has found inner peace and always lives in the now. I struggle every day to be present and mindful. Some days are better than others. I have gained real confidence that no matter what life throws my way, I can deal with it. I used to say that when I was younger, but I realize now it was arrogance compensating for my underlying insecurities.

I spent too much of my life living with unresolved guilt. That’s not to imply that I have no regrets, no conscience, or no moral compass. It’s just that I need to accept, learn and progress through adversity and the consequences of events and actions in my life and have confidence in myself so I can stay more present and less concerned about what did happen or what might happen.

3.    Good sleep hygiene is essential.

One of many gifts that Kris has brought into my life is better sleep habits. Before Kris, I was very nocturnal and my sleep patterns were inconsistent. I generally never went to bed before midnight. My very active mind (undiagnosed ADD) made it extremely difficult for me to just shut down and fall asleep. When I climbed into bed at night, I had the TV on, my mobile phone by my bedside, cats in the bedroom disrupting sleep, and brain-chatter that just wouldn’t stop.

I’ve worked hard to address my sleep habits. Today, Kris and I are generally in bed before 10 PM. With better habits and meditation skills, most nights I can fall asleep right away – something I never thought was possible. Now, I wake up early and feeling more rested. Improved sleep habits have improved my focus, productivity, and energy level.

4.   Don’t wait until you’re over 50 to start exercising and eating healthy. 

I hate exercising! I don’t get an endorphin rush or any real pleasure when I exercise. The only positive I feel when exercising is the satisfaction when I’m done working out! I also don’t like food discipline but, as much as possible, I’m now consuming an all organic, vegetarian diet. I haven’t eaten meat in over 5 years, but I do still eat some wild caught seafood. I started eating mostly vegetarian food because that’s what Kris ate. Now my perspective has changed. I am more attuned to the cruel treatment of farm animals raised for meat. I appreciate that I can still eat delicious meals and get plenty of protein with a vegetarian diet and it’s so much better for our environment.

As a result of my relatively new lifestyle, I am in better shape, feel healthier and I have more energy than I did 20 years ago. Additionally, I feel I’m making a good investment now, so my more senior years will be “less-senior!” I’m glad that my daughter Leah, at age 21, works out diligently multiple times per week. I wish I was doing the same when I was her age.

5.   Don’t let Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) go undiagnosed. 

I always seemed to have the attention span of a gnat.  I was easily distracted, frequently interrupting conversations, unable to truly listen without my mind wandering,  or show patience.  This was my normal and I was very unaware of how it impacted my relationships, work, and comprehension.  Better late than never, I finally took action when I could see my ADD behaviors were really damaging my relationship with Kris.  The fact that Kris is probably the best, focused listener I ever met, didn’t help my cause either.   Now, with the benefit of some training in mindfulness and mediation, plus an Adderall prescription, I think I have the situation under better control.  There are still occasional squirrels that will distract me in the middle of a conversation and my racing brain can frequently get stuck in overdrive.  However, understanding my ADD and using my coping mechanisms have helped me so much.  Ooh La La, I wish I knew this I was younger.

6.    Live with gratitude! 

When I was more youthful, I invested too much time and energy worrying about what I didn’t have and believing that more wealth and status equated to more happiness.  I have learned that gratitude is my foundation for feeling happy and I feel incredibly grateful for the life I have now.   I’m so thankful for the life Kris and I share together.    I’m grateful how we’ve helped each other to be more self-aware and better partners for each other.  I am fortunate to have meaningful work and some money saved for retirement.  I am blessed to have two amazing daughters who are both smart, capable, and hard-working adults.  In fact, I have a truly amazing immediate and extended family.  Literally everyone of them are intelligent, fun, incredibly accomplished, and living purposeful lives. I’m lucky that I don’t have to worry about food, safety or shelter. As mentioned in #3 above, there are many things in my past I regret and my future has lots of risks & unknowns, age-related health issues, physical decline, and death (mine and important people in my life). But, I’m happier than ever.  The gift of getting older is that I am learning to use my gratitude as an awesome coping mechanism when bad things could happen … or do happen.

A benefit of getting older is having the maturity to embrace life changes, the confidence to know I can deal with them, and realizing that happiness comes from within me, not outside me.

leveling up

Fig the Wonder Dog and the Village that May Have Saved His Life!

MEET FIG

fig.

Fig is an 8-year old, brindle mutt with some boxer, Pitt Bull and who knows what else is in him.  He is high energy, perpetually happy, expressive, a lover, and sometimes a bit mischievous.  Fig along with his older companion Dora (15) were added benefits of having Kris Chiappa come into my life.  These two awesome dogs provided much needed emotional support (and hiking buddies) for Kris as she cared for her late husband, Dave Chiappa during the toughest times of his declining health.  There are a few characteristics everyone notices about Fig.  First, is how enthusiastically he wags his tail.  Actually, his whole back end wags when he’s happy.  He’s quite expressive and you cannot help but smile when you get a “Fig butt wag greeting.”  Secondly, when his is excited (like greeting people at the door), he always runs to a grab a toy or a nylon bone to carry in his mouth.

 

 

Fig loves to snuggle

Fig loves to snuggle!

TUESDAY JANUARY 22 – FIG GOES ON A SUICIDE MISSION

It was a Tuesday night, Kris and I were out for the evening.  Fig had a lot of pent up energy because it was incredibly cold and wet for several days and he didn’t get his advilusual walks.  While we were out, Fig dragged my work backpack into the living room, unzipped a compartment, grabbed a bottle of Advil, somehow removed the childproof cap, and consumed an unknown quantity of Advil pills (probably around 10). Kris and I realized something was wrong shortly after we got home when Fig puked up a full meal and more.  Advil tablets have a sweet coating which obviously appealed to Fig.  However, Advil is extremely toxic for dogs.  It’s also designed to absorb very quickly into the blood stream.

figcar
Fig and Dora

WEDNESDAY THRU FRIDAY – LUDWIGS CORNER VETERINARY CLINIC

Fig obviously was in distress.  We rushed him to Ludwigs Corner Veterinary Hospital (LCVH) first thing on Wednesday morning and he went into emergency care mode under the supervision of the amazing Dr. Heather Clauser.

img_0113
Blood work on Tuesday

She took baseline blood work.  Fig’s Serum Creatinine level was 1.9 (normal level is 0.3 – 1.4).  His Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) level was 17 (normal level is 7-25).  It was concerning but didn’t seem horrible.  I canceled my business trip to Texas on Wednesday to be with Fig.  Fig seemed like he’d be ok, so Kris flew on her scheduled trip to Seattle Wednesday evening to help care for her newborn twin granddaughters.

Fig was a full day resident at LCVH for 3 days.  He was mainly in a crate getting IV fluids non-stop to flush the toxins out of him.  The staff at LCVH loved Fig because despite his obvious distress, he wagged his tail and enthusiastically greeted everyone that came by his crate. He had 12 hours of IV fluids on Wednesday, 12 hours on Thursday, and 10 hours on Friday.  Each night he came home with me which helped comfort Fig.  However, he wouldn’t eat and was lethargic.  They did another blood test on Friday evening to measure Fig’s progress.

FRIDAY EVENING – HORRIBLE NEWS

I went to get Fig Friday evening (I brought Dora with me), the staff at LCVH all had sad faces and brought me into a private room and informed me that Dr. Clauser will be in to see me in a minute.  I knew that was not good.

Dr. Clauser walked in to the exam room with a very solemn face. She tactfully informed me that the lastest blood test was not good, in fact, really bad.  Fig’s Serum Creatinine level was 4.4 (4x the normal range) and his BUN was 63 (4x the normal range).   Basically, Fig was in kidney failure with less than 25% kidney function and he was probably going to die sooner than later.  Devasting news.

img_0113
The CRE and BUN are off the charts, indicating Fig is in kidney failure

I was numb at first, in disbelief.  I wave of sadness came over me as the horrible news sunk in.  Plus, the prognosis was that Fig will probably need to be put down pretty soon.  Dr. Clauser shared some tears with me.  She reminded me how she and the staff at LCVH just love Fig and his awesome personality.  She said, it’s not likely he will recover, but there’s always hope.  She’s seen some amazing recoveries on rare occasions.  She said I should try to continue Fig’s care at home for as long as he is comfortable.  Dr. Clauser then showed me how to administer Bolus fluids by inserting a needle into Fig every day.  She sent me home with several Bolus bags plus some medications to help with nausea, stomach pain, and acid reflux.    I knew I could not let him suffer and I figured this is the start of Fig’s hospice care.   I was still in shock as I paid my bill.  Then the grief hit me like a tidal wave as Fig and Dora jumped into the back of our SUV.  Plus, I knew I had to make a really difficult call.

I got in the car and called Kris in Seattle informing her that Fig is dying.  One of the hardest things I ever had to do.  We cried together and just tried to process what this all meant and how in an instant, our world was rocked.  Not only was I grieving, but I also felt guilty for leaving my backpack accessible to the dogs.  Kris was considering flying back home, but we agreed that there’s not much she could do and until Fig’s condition really changed for the worse, she was needed in Seattle to help care for the granddaughters.  I sent messages to friends and family informing them of our devasting news.  I was home alone with the two dogs; Fig was dying and wouldn’t eat and Dora was wondering why Fig was getting all the attention.

FRIDAY NIGHT – HOME CARE / HOSPICE BEGINS FOR FIG

Friday night was rough.  Fig, Dora, and I came home to our empty house and cuddled on the couch.  I was grieving. Fig was not eating and lethargic.  My daughter Laura and her husband Ray stopped by late in the evening to check on me and to see Fig.   I might have slept 2 hours, I mostly cried.  I felt bad, I felt even worse for Fig and for Kris.  Fig unfortunately seemed to be getting incontinent because he wet his bed overnight.

img_0064
Fig on Wednesday night. He has a catheter on his leg so LCVH can continue getting his  IV on Thursday. Fig was still wagging his tail but not himself.

SATURDAY – THE VILLAGE ARRIVES!

I was overwhelmed with the amount of compassion, offers to help and outright love from my circle of friends and family.  I was getting calls, emails, text messages, and house visits from so many people.   My sister, Jodi Floyd mentioned the BEMER Therapy Mat has shown to be helpful with kidney issues.  She also informed me that my ex-wife, Christa Saltzman has a BEMER mat (more on that to follow).  I called Christa and she was happy to try the BEMER with Fig.  I called Dr. Clauser and she encouraged me to try it too.  Linda Helmbrecht, owner of the Dog Walking business I use to walk my dogs when I’m at work called and said she and her staff love Fig and wanted to volunteer their time if I ever need a break or some pet care coverage.  My awesome neighbors and good friends Linda Kinsley and MJ Dougherty were there for me and willing to help in any way possible. Kris and I talked and texted continuously which helped too.

Saturday morning was a blur as I was sad and exhausted.  Fig didn’t want to eat much of anything (despite trying all sorts of things).  I made some boiled organic chicken breast (recommended by vet) and he ate some of that.  I had a good wrestling match with Fig, trying to get his meds consumed.  I eventually won and Fig quickly forgave me.  Kris and her daughter Joanna did research on holistic treatments.  So the dogs and I took a ride to visit Lionville Holistic Pharmacy.  Mike the Pharmacist was so helpful.  After discussing the situation, he recommended a supplement for kidney health that I bought and then he gave me an open bottle of Sonne’s Detoxificant #7 to try.  It’s a thick liquid that when consumed is supposed to help absorb toxins.  I had a healthy collection of prescription and holistic meds to administer at home:

 

 

Anti-nausea medicine
Anti-nausea medicine
Stomach protection
Stomach protection
Reflux medicine
Reflux medicine
IV administered at home
IV administered at home
Kidney Supplement
Kidney Supplement
Donated to me by Lionville Holistic Pharmacy
Donated to me by Lionville Holistic Pharmacy

After spending a lot of time talking and reviewing research with Mike, the dogs and I went to Christa’s house to see if the BEMER might help Fig.  I read about it on the Internet and a few sites indicated good results, but nothing scientific.  The following links provide some information on the BEMER Therapy Matt:

Christa set the BEMER to the lowest setting (1 out of 10) and we had Fig lay on it.  He must have felt something good, because he just wagged his tail the entire 8 minutes that BEMER was running.  Protocol is two treatments per day.   We came home after the first treatment.  Fig had good energy but didn’t eat much or was finicky.  On the way home, I went to PetSmart to buy doggie diapers and I picked up some more boneless organic chicken breasts at Wegmans.    I boiled the breasts and made white rice.  Much to shock, Fig was really hungry and ate two whole chicken breasts, plus a little bit of rice.  Christa let Fig try a few samples of the dry food her dog, Bruce eats, Eukanuba Senior.  Fig loved it and wanted as much as she would give him.  She also sent me home with a few servings of the food that I could use for treats.  Fig seemed more energetic.  I gave him Bolus fluids when we got home.  Turns out, Fig is a great patient.  He just sat on the couch leaning against me as I stuck the needle in his back and wagged his tail until ½ the bag was under his skin. It ends up in collecting in a big pouch under his chest – looks pretty funny.

img_0120
Fig laying on the BEMER mat – on a blanket to keep the dog hairs off it.

Fig was now drinking filtered water non-stop, peeing hourly, and had chronic diarrhea. Saturday for dinner, Fig had an appetite – a good sign.  He ate a whole chicken breast and ½ serving of his usual dry food.  Later Saturday night we made the 30-minute drive back to Christa’s for another BEMER treatment (Level 2).  Fig still loved it.  Then we drove home to settle in for the night.  Fig was happy and a little more energetic.  We went to bed about 10pm.  I put a diaper on Fig but he is like Houdini and got out of it without me knowing or hearing him.  He woke me up at 2am and then again at 4:15AM to go pee.   At the 4:15 wake-up, I noticed he did leave a pee spot on his bed.

SUNDAY – THINGS ARE LOOKING A LITTLE BETTER

Fig had some appetite and ate 4 scrambled eggs!  A good sign. Plus, I could hide his meds in the eggs and avoid the battles.  He was still peeing every few hours and had more chronic diarrhea. Sunday morning, I drove Fig and Dora for 30 minutes to Christa’s so Fig could get his 3rd BEMER treatment.  Christa increased the BEMER level to 3.  Fig still seemed to love it.   Dora decided to lay on the mat too, and she seemed to like it.

I came home in the early afternoon. Fig seemed more energetic but his bodily functions had not improved.  I gave him his Bolus fluids.

Dr. Clauser called me to check on Fig and because I needed more Bolus bags and meds for Fig.  She was absolutely delighted and amazed at Fig’s progress and arranged to have everything ready for me to pick up that afternoon.  The dogs and I drove back to LCVH to get the meds for Fig.  I made an appointment for the following week to bring Fig back for a checkup and new blood work.  I am so hoping it will show dramatic improvement!  We stopped at Acme on the way home to buy more organic chicken and eggs.  When I got home, we all crashed on the couch until dinner time.

Then came dinner and OMG – Fig ate two whole chicken breasts, rice, cucumber, red pepper, and some of his dry food.  Then he tried to steal Dora’s food.  I figured that was encouraging, but his incessant peeing and diarrhea were still indications of kidney problems.  We took a two-mile night time walk around the neighborhood.  I was crying for a lot of the walk thinking about how much I’d miss Fig and our daily walks.  We then took an 8pm ride to Christa’s for his 4th BEMER treatment.  Fig just lays on the mat, wags his tail and leans his head against me for the entire 8-minute treatment.  Then in an incredible gesture of kindness, Christa taught me to use the BEMER and let me bring it home with me.  I’m so very grateful.

Sunday night, we went to bed around 10:15.  Fig woke me up at 1:15AM to pee.  We went right back to sleep right after and he slept (without a diaper) until 4:15 and had no accidents.

img_0077
Fig getting his home Bolus fluids. He was very cooperative, unlike trying to get him to take his other meds (unless hidden in a piece of chicken or cheese)

MONDAY – PROGRESS SEEMS TO BE CONTINUING

I gave Fig a BEMER treatment at 6AM.  At 6:30, I fed Fig breakfast.  He was ravenous.  He ate 4 scrambled eggs and ½ a chicken breast and wanted more food.  I appreciate it, because I continue to hide his meds in the food.  I gave him his morning fluids and worked from home.  Laurie Curl, our dog sitter when I’m out of town, came over and watched the dogs, walked them, and let Fig out to go pee and poop hourly so I could focus on work.  I gave Fig a 2nd BEMER treatment around 2PM and went back to work.  Laurie was his personal doorperson and walker.  It started snowing so Fig left quite a few slightly yellow marks in the back yard.

Monday for dinner, Fig ate a chicken breast plus his normal dry food meal, some cucumbers and some rice.  He still was peeing and pooping nonstop.  He isn’t showing the other common symptoms of kidney failure (vomiting, loss of appetite, fatigue, depression) so I have hope.   He had his 3rd BEMER treatment of the day at 9:30PM.  We went to bed at 10:30PM.  Fig woke me up at 2:30AM.  No accidents!  He peed and we went back to sleep until 6AM when my alarm went off. No accidents!  3.5 hours without peeing…PROGRESS!

TUESDAY

Fig ate his normal breakfast plus two scrambled eggs.  I gave him a BEMER treatment and his IV and by 8AM I was ready to go to work at my office in Conshohocken.  I actually felt ok going to work in since Laurie Curl was caring for the dogs at the house.  Fig still peed frequently and had diarrhea, but he sustained his amazing appetite.  I continued to give him his meds and BEMER.

WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY

Fig is eating like a champ.  Both nights, he slept almost 4 hours without peeing which is his best performance since the incident.  On Thursday, his chronic diarrhea also ended 🙂  PROGRESS!!!!!

SUMMARY – NEXT MILESTONE IS FEBRUARY 7TH

I am cautiously optimistic that Fig will recover and regain more kidney function. Time will tell.  I don’t know if his improvement is due to the BEMER, the meds, the holistic supplements, Fig’s spunk, or some combination of all these factors.  On Thursday, February 7th, Fig visits Dr. Clauser for a checkup and new blood work.

Last Friday, I seriously thought Fig would not even be with us on February 7th.  Keep it up Fig!   I am so grateful for all the love, support, and help that has come my way.  So are Kris and especially Fig!

FINAL UPDATE – APRIL (It’s all good!)

I am pleased to update everyone that Fig has fully recovered and is back to his usual, highly energetic ways.  His blood tests all came back normal though he is a little low on electrolytes.  He is sleeping through the night with no accidents and can last 5-6 hours during the day without needing to pee.  Probably the only obvious lingering symptom is he has more grey on his face.  Our vet was absolutely amazed and delighted that Fig pulled through so well.  So am I.

 

Better Brain Health to Find Inner Peace

FINDING INNER PEACE

Have you ever been around certain people that just seem to have inner peace?  Those with Inner Peace (IP) exude good energy.  IP’ers are the kind of people you just want to be around because they just have a way of making those in their presence feel better.  They live their life with  purpose, humility, grace, and gratitude.  IP’ers always seem to be content in the moment, not overly concerned about what happened or what might happen.  They efficiently work through each day and have a way of bringing out the best in those around them. They own their happiness and won’t let the actions of others or negative circumstances change how they feel about themselves.  They treat everyone with kindness and respect.   IP’ers are strong in their convictions, but respectful of other opinions.   Perhaps I cannot really explain it well, but I know it when I see it in certain people and I feel lucky when I can be in their presence.

I’m not sure if I’ll ever achieve that level of Inner Peace.  I know I cannot achieve Inner Peace until I learn to calm my very overactive brain.  I’m grateful for what I am learning on my journey.

SHIFTING PERSPECTIVE
BY CALMING MY OVERACTIVE BRAIN

busy brain wide
Brain at 3AM: “I can see you’re trying to sleep, so I would like to offer you a selection of every memory, unresolved issue, or things you should have said or done today as well as in the past 40 years!”

I have a long way to go, but I am working on finding greater Inner Peace.  I think Inner Peace can be achieved when you choose not to allow another person or event to control your emotions (not even Donald Trump!).  That’s not easy with my very active, borderline ADD brain that’s constantly running on overdrive, or what I refer to as my “Brain Swirl”.  I’m working on a mind shift to circumvent the stress, agitation, and anxiety that feed my Brain Swirl. Inner Peace requires a change in how I think and process challenging situations and generally cope with everyday life. I’ve always felt that once I achieve some specific goal, then I’ll find some inner peace. Now I’m realizing I had it backwards. If I can find inner peace first, I can shed myself of the brain swirl and not be dependent upon outside factors to find contentment. I recently read the book,  The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer. In his book, he explains how you can learn to be comfortable with observing, but not participating in the brain swirl. A common analogy is thinking of all that brain swirl like a raging river. If caught up in your thoughts, it’s like trying to swim in the raging river or struggling to stay above water. Now, imagine you are standing beside the river and can observe what going on. The swirl is still there, but you are separated from it. One paragraph cannot explain this concept, so please go read the book. Learning to observe and not swim in the river is a Herculean task for me and I am a total neophyte. But, I know it’s possible.

raging river
It’s better to observe the rapids when you are not in the water!

As a person dealing with ADD tendencies, my mind is constantly swirling. Staying mindfully focused and present is not a natural skill for me. It requires a very cognitive effort on my part. In conversations, I can be easily distracted or I may unintentionally interrupt someone. I don’t mean to be rude. What happens is that my own seemingly brilliant thoughts continuously pop into my head and then miraculously jump out of my mouth in the middle of a conversation. LOOK A SQUIRREL!

squirrel1
Inner Peace also means not wasting energy on past mistakes or circumstances (things I cannot change) or fearing the future. I’m working on it and I’m actually really proud of my progress, but even with the best of intentions, I fail often.

Busy Brain 3
Often I think there are too many tabs open in my brain!

Over the past few months, I’ve been focusing on improving myself physically and mentally. I am grateful to have Kris in my life. She and I encourage and push each other to exercise our bodies and minds.  We go to the gym 2-3 times per week.  We also take “gentle” yoga classes a few times per week and we each meditate daily.  This shift in lifestyle has been transformational for me personally.  Not only am I getting into better shape physically, I am also getting into better shape mentally. I am improving my ability to calm my overactive brain and to be more mindful and present.  I’ve seen and felt what’s possible. I cherish those glorious moments when I am able to step outside of the swirl, observe it, but not participate in it.  In those moments, I find perspective, gratitude, and a wonderful taste of what it would feel like to truly achieve inner peace.

I welcome your thoughts and feedback.

 

 

 

 

Ooh La La – Life Lessons from Nick Foles

Ooh La La – “I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was younger.” Actually, I wish I knew what Nick Foles already knows when I was his age (29).  A month after the Philadelphia Eagles won the 2018 Super Bowl, I still am amazed by his insights in a press conference the day after the Super Bowl.

Foles2
Nick was the Eagle’s backup quarterback and had not played all season. Carson Wentz, the Eagle’s starting quarterback and likely league MVP, finally gave Philly fans reason to believe a championship was possible…until he had a devastating, season-ending injury.  Pretty much everyone figured the Eagle’s season was doomed without Wentz. All the “pundits” and most of us diehard fans felt the Eagles had no chance of even winning a playoff game and forget about getting to the Super Bowl.  But Foles was absolutely amazing!  The Eagles were underdogs in all 3 playoff games, but Foles was pretty much perfect.  The season ended with an amazing Super Bowl victory over the New England Patriots.  Foles’ postseason was one of the greatest in NFL history. He completed 72.6 percent of his passes (2nd highest ever) and was the Super Bowl MVP.

THE WISDOM OF NICK FOLES:

Reuben Frank (reporter) asked Nick, “What he wants people to take from his journey, … from being unwanted by three teams to standing there with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell posing for pictures with the Super Bowl MVP trophy.”  Foles’ responded, “I think the big thing is don’t be afraid to fail.  I think in our society today, Instagram, Twitter, it’s a highlight reel, it’s all the good things. And then when you look at it, when you think like, wow, when you have a rough day, ‘My life’s not as good as that,’ (you think) you’re failing.  Failure is a part of life. It’s a part of building character and growing. Without failure, who would you be? I wouldn’t be up here if I hadn’t fallen thousands of times.  I’ve made mistakes. We all are human, we all have weaknesses, and I think throughout this, (it’s been important) to be able to share that and be transparent. I know when I listen to people speak and they share their weaknesses, I’m listening. Because (it) resonates. So I’m not perfect. I’m not Superman. I might be in the NFL, I might have just won a Super Bowl, but, hey, we still have daily struggles, I still have daily struggles. And that’s where my faith comes in, that’s where my family comes in. I think when you look at a struggle in your life, just know that’s just an opportunity for your character to grow. And that’s just been the message. Simple. If something’s going on in your life and you’re struggling, embrace it, because you’re growing.” WOW!!! [Watch Nick Foles respond: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZeAcWhCrls].  I think that is pretty amazing insight and very meaningful to me.  I sure wish I had that wisdom when I was 29.

DOVE
Even in the most difficult situations, you can find gratitude (See related blog).  This message keeps popping up in my life, like the universe is talking to me.  Even a Dove chocolate candy wrapper was speaking to me recently.

JUST BECAUSE LIFE ISN’T FAIR DOESN’T MEAN IT ISN’T GOOD!

delusion.jpg

Adversity provides an opportunity to build character, to grow, to learn, and to have pride when you work through it.  We all know, life isn’t fair and some people have many more hardships and daily struggles than others.  Using the wisdom of Foles, “Embrace your adversity!”  That is not always easy when you are feeling like your life is a sh&t storm. The key is to take ownership for your circumstances rather than choosing to feel like a victim.  Your situation may not be your fault, but it’s up to you to find your way out of it.  And working through adversity is where we gain insight, perspective and meaning in life.

So, making myself a little vulnerable, I’m dealing with some adversity now.  Several months ago, my work situation changed.  I was in a very challenging role as a VP of Professional Services at a software company.  However, for a variety of reasons, it was time to move on.  I had a great run, met some wonderful colleagues, learned, grew and I’m truly grateful for the time I spent there.  But, I was also happy and ready to move on and quite confident I would land a great new permanent position fairly quickly.  I am taking on contract work for now, but I would prefer to find a leadership role at a good company.  I haven’t lost my confidence or optimism, but finding the right opportunity is taking longer than I expected.  However, per the advice of Nick Foles, I am “embracing” this situation. During this journey, I’ve learned a lot. In addition to patience (not my best virtue), I’ve learned that I have so many reasons to be grateful, including:

combinew.png

  • I have a wonderful network of friends and former colleagues who have been supportive and helpful.
  • I’ve made time to exercise, practice yoga, and meditate. I’m in great health, probably the best shape I’ve been in since my 30’s.
  • Regular exercise, yoga and meditation have given me tools to help calm my very active mind, be more present and mindful.
  • I have a fantastic family that gives me great pride.
  • I live with Kris Chiappa – she rocks my world.
  • I am happy and feeling very confident.
  • I know it will be ok in the end, and if it’s not ok, it’s not the end!

When I do land my next awesome career position, I will benefit from this journey and be even more motivated, insightful and positive than ever, and probably a little more humble too. This experience has helped me better understand what’s important to me in my next job.  My priorities are as follows:

  1. The company must be a good cultural fit. For me, that implies a highly collaborative environment, smart & friendly colleagues, ethical business practices, and products & services I believe in.  I want to work where everyone has an opportunity to shine.  I don’t care who gets credit, I want the company to win!
  2. I need to be in a role that is challenging and interesting where I can continue to learn and grow.
  3. I need to be in a role where I am tangibly adding value for my company by effectively serving my customers and colleagues.  I also desire a role where my skills and experience are appreciated and I can contribute to the success of the company in ways not strictly confined to my job description.
  4. I need to feel appreciated for my contributions to the growth and success of the company.
  5. I expect to be compensated fairly.

I welcome your feedback.

Dan

https://www.linkedin.com/in/dgsaltzman/

POLITICS OR “AS THE PROCESS TICKS?”

How the philosophy of W. Edwards Deming can be applicable to the current political climate in the United States?

Please bear with me as I need to provide a little context to make my point…

Earlier in my career, I got involved in the Total Quality Management (TQM) movement and had the privilege to attend a W. Edwards Deming seminar (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming) just a few years before he passed away.  One message he constantly reinforced was, “the system that people work in and the interaction with people may account for 90 or 95 percent of performance.”  The basic premise is that performance is only as good as the process enables and a lot of organizational inefficiency is because managers don’t understand the capabilities of key business processes and how they impact organizational performance.

What went wrong with the process and what can be done to improve it?  

Per Deming, leaders should start addressing issues by asking the above question when things go wrong (e.g., service failures).  Too often, the first question is, “Who screwed up?”.    Let’s explore an example of how not understanding process capabilities can lead to inefficient management:

Two Level Expense Report Approval – One company I worked for instituted a new policy that all expense reports must have two levels of management approval before they can be submitted to Accounting for reimbursement. The policy was created because an employee was caught cheating and too many expense reports had mistakes. Perhaps the policy did improve scrutiny and provided a deterrent for cheaters, but the primary impact was that it significantly lengthened the time for employees to get expenses reimbursed and distracted senior managers from more important tasks. I met with the CEO who instituted that policy and asked him, “What percentage of employees do you think cheat or make mistakes on an expense report that their primary manager or Accounting would not catch?”  We both agreed it was less than 5%.  Then I asked, “What’s the cost of all the time 2nd level managers must spend reviewing expense reports?  What’s the cost of employee frustration due to delays in reimbursement?  How do the additional costs compare to the potential savings that may be realized by eliminating 2nd level approval?”  We agreed to do some analysis of rejected exdemingpense reports at the 2nd level of approval. The data showed it was minimal, mostly honest mistakes and likely to be caught by Accounting.  Eventually, the 2nd level approval policy was eliminated (though it required a promise of publicly flogging anyone caught cheating!).

With this example, a special cause (mistakes or deliberate cheating) was treated like common cause.  Essentially, 95% of the organization was being penalized for the mistakes or deliberate cheating of 5%.

WHAT DOES DEMING’S PHILOSOPHY HAVE TO DO WITH POLITICS?

One of the prominent political issues getting a lot of attention is the cost of entitlements, like Medicaid.  Recently, elected officials from many states have pushed for tighter restrictions on Medicaid eligibility.  For example, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a State Medicaid Director Letter providing new guidance for Section 1115 waiver proposals that would impose work requirements (referred to as community engagement) in Medicaid as a condition of eligibility (https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/medicaid-and-work-requirements-new-guidance-state-waiver-details-and-key-issues/). HungryThe guidance asserts that such provisions would promote program objectives by helping states “in their efforts to improve Medicaid enrollee health and well-being through incentivizing work and community engagement.”  That’s a very noble intent, but the message in between the lines is that many people are using Medicaid entitlement programs because they don’t want to work.  And no doubt, some probably are.

So, let’s go back to the expense report approval scenario where 95% of the people were penalized for the sins of a few and implementing the 2-level approval actually added cost and inconvenience.  I think this same scenario can apply to Medicaid eligibility.  It would be helpful to analyze some data, but my hypothesis is that implementing new eligibility restrictions will actually cost the government much more money and cause more inconvenience to innocent people.  Systems would need to be built to track if/how Medicaid recipients are looking for work and remain compliant.  Medicaid clients will have more inconvenience and potential delays receiving much needed benefits.  Oversight and compliance reporting will be additional cost.  Innocent people will be denied benefits due to unintended system defects.

inconvenient

Do we really know what percentage of the Medicaid population really does try to cheat the system?  My guess (no hard evidence) is that it’s probably in the 5-10% range.

I volunteer at our local Food Pantry (https://www.honeybrookfoodpantry.org/).  The Honey Brook Food Pantry provides a 3-4 day supply of various food items on a monthly basis to neighbors in need within the Honey Brook community. Their mission is to serve them with respect while empowering them toward food security and independence. To be eligible, the families must reside in our township and earn less than 150% of the federal poverty level for their family size.  Many of the clients have serious disabilities and require home deliveries.  I noticed that most of the clients at the Honey Brook Food Pantry that can work, do work.  Unfortunately, it seems they have very low-paying jobs and often, many mouths to feed. They simply cannot afford good food, housing, transportation, and family care with such low wages.  Plus, it’s a difficult process for anyone to figure out how to obtain the benefits for which they are eligible and truly need.  I believe more eligibility restrictions would make it even more difficult to obtain needed benefits, penalizing those who need the most help.

Please don’t see this as a political statement. I’m not aligning with a Democratic or Republican platform.   It’s an economic viewpoint.  We need to be addressing the root causes of failures and inefficiencies in our government programs, not simply treating the symptoms.   I think we should be looking to continuously improve the process to provide benefits to those with legitimate needs.  In my opinion, adding new restrictions and qualification requirements to key government programs will negatively impact the vast majority of people who need support.  It will also add cost and inefficiencies.

I view this issue much like the drug crisis.  We are wasting way too much money and public safety by trying to control the supply of drugs.  I think the root cause solution is to reduce the demand for drugs.  Treat drug use as a medical issue, not a criminal one.  As an example, we’ve made great progress over the past years reducing the consumption of cigarettes and the frequency of drinking and driving through awareness campaigns and changing social norms. We will not eliminate all demand (that’s human nature), but we learned from prohibition that trying to control the supply only creates more crime.  That’s why prohibition failed.

What do you think?  Please share your comments.

 

 

 

 

Three Ways to Find Gratitude in a Challenging Work Environment

Strategy 1: Gratitude is an Attitude!

When my daughter was 10, we tried an experiment at the mall. First, we pretended we were miserable on a bench, grimacing at people walking by. The result: People looked away, ignored us, some even rolled their eyes. Then, we flipped the script, acting happy, smiling at the people passing us. The result: People smiled back. They said hello, they engaged in conversation, they complimented us. The difference was dramatic.

Embrace the “Law of Attraction”
The Law of Attraction is the belief that by focusing on positive or negative thoughts, a person brings positive or negative experiences into their life. If you smile throughout the day and focus on positive outcomes, you’re more likely to be surrounded by smiling faces, collaboration, and good energy. It’s difficult to avoid getting sucked into the vortex of negatively that is often at the heart of toxic organizations. Embracing an “Attitude of Gratitude,” which is feeling and expressing appreciation, even when it may not seem obvious, is a game changer. Gratitude is the opposite of being discontented or feeling like a victim. We have a choice on how we face each new day at work. It’s very easy to focus on what’s wrong, such as feeling:

  • Overwhelmed: I have too much to do, not enough time. I hate going to work.
  • Frustrated: My company has many conflicting/unaligned objectives and I cannot get the collaboration needed to be successful.
  • Bored, unmotivated: I cannot get inspired at work; the days seem to never end.
  • Unappreciated: My manager doesn’t recognize or appreciate all I do or the     complexities of my job.
  • Demoralized: I have “Customers from Hell” that suck the energy right out of me.
  • Anxious: I am losing sleep worrying that I might fail. “No one can possibly do this job.”
  • Defeated: It doesn’t matter what I do or how hard I try, it’s just going to be more of the same crap.
  • Sad: I’m miserable and I don’t want to be here.
  • Fear: I might lose my job.

And the list could go on and on. But, what if we choose each day focusing on the positive, such as feeling:

  • snoopyFortunate: I am grateful to have a decent job in a tough economy
  • Social:  I have an opportunity to work with some
    incredible people
  • Valued: I will make a difference today; I will add value.
  • Helpful: I will help others at work and that makes me feel good.
  • Successful: I have a list of tasks I will complete today; it will be important and appreciated.
  • Happy: I’m going to have fun at work and bring a smile to people around me.
  • Confident: My happiness will not be impacted by the challenging circumstances or negative people.
  • Optimistic: I will conquer the adversity and appreciate that I worked through it.
  • Intelligent: I learn by working through adversity, which will help me in the future.
  • Motivated: I am in control of my own happiness and I can thrive working through
    difficult situations.

The first and second set of bullets reflect the mall experiment with my daughter. Feeling happy and grateful is a choice. I’ve learned that going to work with a smile, bring smiles to others, and focusing on the positives is liberating. I often fall back into spurts of negativity. When I do, I try to carve out time to be mindful and reflect on the positives.

Strategy 2: Finding Gratitude by keeping things in perspective
One day after a long day at work, I was feeling overwhelmed and angry. My workload was impossible, I disappointed my colleagues and no matter how hard I tried, it wasn’t good enough or soon enough. I was venting to my partner Kris. Her feedback was profound. “I’m a pediatric respiratory therapist. I deal with very sick children, many of whom are severely disabled or terminally ill. If my co-workers or I make a mistake, someone could die. I know you feel overwhelmed and frustrated. I understand that you cannot get done everything expected of you when needed. I see it bothers you when your colleagues or customers are upset. But, who’s going to die because you didn’t get everything done today?” When under duress at work, I often remind myself, “no one is going to die.” That doesn’t mean I don’t care or it’s not important, but that little reminder sure helps me in the moment. It also helps me appreciate that in the scheme of things, my job doesn’t have some of the challenges of healthcare, public safety, or military workers who must deal with life and death scenarios regularly.

Even in the difficult situations, you can find gratitude
I’ve been in horrible jobs. I’ve had hot-headed, narcissistic bosses. I’ve been with companies that were slowly toothbrushdying and painfully downsizing. I have worked in jobs where I felt like I was the only who cared. I’ve been laid off and struggled to find a new job. What I have learned through a lot of tough life lessons, is that an attitude of gratitude provides a mental shift from feeling like a victim to feeling responsible and in control of my own happiness. That’s not easy when ingrained in difficult situations. Persevering and getting through the tough times are among my proudest accomplishments. A more simplistic example is when I go to the gym. I don’t look forward to working out and I cannot wait until I’m done. But when it’s over, I am glad I did it and I feel better. Any knowing that’s how I will feel in the end, makes it worth it!

Strategy 3: You don’t have to own the negative emotions of others
A brutal reality of being in a demanding, high stress job, is that there can be many situations where I may disappoint my colleagues, customers and/or suppliers. I try to prioritize my work and manage expectations accordingly. Sometimes I just cannot satisfy all my internal and external customers. I know some will get very angry because it’s impacting their jobs.

Don’t take things personally
I don’t have to own the anger or disappointment of others, especially when I know I’m trying my best. In Don Miguel Ruiz’ book, The Four Agreements, his second Agreement states, “Don’t take things personally.” Ruiz states, “Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering…Taking things personally is the maximum expression of selfishness because we make the assumption everything is about me.” Not taking things personally doesn’t mean I don’t care. Quite the contrary, I do care. I want to do a good job and I need to listen to the individuals I impact. But, I don’t have to own their negative emotions. In the end, all I can do is try my best (Agreement #4 of The Four Agreements) and hope no one is going to die!

Maintaining Gratitude
not personalI’ve come up with three daily rituals that seem to help me find my happier place. First, when I wake up in the morning, I ask myself, “What can I look forward to today? What good deeds do I hope to accomplish?” Second, at the end of my work day, I ask, “How did I add value today? What did I do to make a difference?” I love feeling great about what I accomplished at work. Feeling pride in my accomplishments is a form of gratitude. Finally, when I climb into bed at night, I ask, “What do I have to be grateful for?” Fortunately, I have a very long list in both my personal and work life. One thing I know for sure, life is much more pleasant when I feel like smiling with gratitude.