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HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
When encouraging
input brings bad ideas
A reader contacted me,
asking about my fre
quent encouragement
that leaders solicit input
from the people doing the
work. When he tries this
approach, some of the sug
gestions are not helpful.
“Your articles focus on the
positive potentiality without
examining what a leader
does with bad input. I don’t
mean criticism, as that could
be healthy. I mean bad ideas.
Those giving an opinion
assume that the ideas will
be implemented.”
“When leadership rejects
these opinions, there is often
a backlash. People wonder
why you bothered to ask
their opinion in the first
place. ”
I appreciate this request.
I do advocate seeking ideas
from those who know the
process best. As he noted,
a leader damages his or her
credibility by asking for sug
gestions and then ignoring
or rejecting them. So how
does a leader handle bad
ideas?
My first thought is that
the leader should thank each
individual for his or her cre
ativity, regardless of the qual
ity of the suggestion. More
than anything, you want to
encourage everyone think
ing about improvement. You
want to keep those ideas
coming!
Ask the individual to
expand on the idea, consid
ering what successful imple
mentation will bring regard
ing improved reliability,
reduced variation, improved
Become aware of domestic violence
Dear Readers, October
is “Domestic Violence
Awareness Month”
an opportunity for ALL of
us to reflect on how we treat
our loved ones. Domestic
Violence is not just about
horrific murders; it is about
the almost-daily verbal or
physical abuse we exact on
others, particularly our chil
dren. It is a sick tax on
our society with typically 95
percent of survivors being
female; male survivors suf
fer silently because of social
mores and taboos.
These comments are not
mere hyperbole; studies show
domestic abuse occurs in the
U.S. once every nine sec
onds or 2-4 million instances
annually. In one study, near
ly one-third of American
women (31 percent) overall
reported surviving Domestic
Violence. Sadly, every day
nationwide three women are
murdered by a husband or
boyfriend.
This frequency is mind
numbing. Domestic abuse is
the single leading cause of
injury to women, more than
the combined annual totals
of all rapes, muggings, and
auto accidents. It is typi
cally accepted that up to 30
percent of all women with
physical injuries (15 per
cent to 25 percent of preg
nant women) report to the
emergency room because of
domestic abuse.
Societal financial costs are
astounding. Domestic vio
lence reportedly accounts for
almost 15 percent of total
crime costs - or $67 bil
lion annually. Amongst sur
vivors, 37 percent reported
a negative impact on their
work performance, e.g.,
absenteeism, tardiness, ter
mination, or lack of promo
tion, over 56 percent report
ed being late for work or
leaving early at least five
times a month, and 54 per
cent missed at least three
full days a month. According
to 74 percent of employed
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quality, reduced waste, etc.
Additionally, ask what the
suggestion might cost, not
just in dollars, but also in
required downtime, safe
ty risk,
increased
mainte
nance,
quality
reduction,
etc.
The
chances
are that
the indi
vidual will
not have
consid-
Dennis Hooper
Leaders Building
Leaders
ered all of the implications
of the proposed change. Ask
the individual to think in
more detail about the idea.
Ask him or her to make
detailed notes about the
potential benefits and the
downside risks. Close the
conversation by asking if
you can return in a week
and compare thoughts.
Make no promises other
than that you will think
about the idea, too. I sug
gest that you write down
as much about the proposal
as you can, including who
made the suggestion and
when (date and time).
Be sure to put the recon
nect in your calendar. Failing
to come back and have the
followup conversation will
significantly hurt your cred
ibility!
This situation presents far
more than just the accep
tance or rejection of an idea.
Yous job as a leader is to look
for opportunities to develop
survivors of domestic vio
lence, their abusers harasses
them at work, thus, expos
ing co-workers to their pri
vate hell.
Domestic violence is about
a mutual sickness of “power
and control.” A batterer has
low self-esteem and smoothly
romances
a survivor.
After he
feels he
owns her,
i.e., after
marriage,
child-con
ception or
childbirth,
or cohabi
tation, he
starts to
Sk
Jim Rockefeller
Columnist
doubt the survivor’s com
mitment. To ensure her alle
giance and to assert con
trol, he starts to demean
her, telling her how worth
less or incompetent she
is. Ironically, he physically
beats her down in order to
bolster his own self-worth.
All of this conditions the
survivor to believe that she
is “unlovable” and, once she
accepts this false premise,
she is trapped. Every time
the batterer crosses the line,
she accepts him back as he
promises to treat her like
a queen, starting a cycle of
violence that repeats itself
over and over. Her self
esteem plummets, driving
her away from family and
friends and into a hellish
financial and social isolation.
Often, only when her chil
dren are injured, or authori
ties threaten to take them
away, does the survivor stir
from her self-immolation.
Indeed, the biggest trag
edy of Domestic Violence
is the physical and psychic
damaged visited upon our
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your team members.
Though this particular
suggestion may not play out,
your larger responsibility
is to nurture creativity and
stretch the individual’s will
ingness to assume responsi
bility. So, go away and do the
same thinking you’ve asked
the individual to do. Make
detailed notes on both the
advantages and disadvan
tages. When you come back a
week later, let the individual
share her or his additional
thoughts first. Listen closely,
making notes.
Then it’s your turn to
share. Offer the positive ben
efits you’ve identified first.
If your conclusion, however,
is that the idea won’t work,
tell the truth and be specif
ic. Be gentle, as the person
likely will be disappointed.
Nothing is gained, however,
by pretending the proposal
has value if it doesn’t.
Close the conversation
by thanking the individual
again for the initiative and
willingness to offer the idea.
Encourage future improve
ment suggestions.
Place your notes in a file
for this individual. When
future initiatives are offered,
you’ll want to remind your
self of the idea history.
Further, this suggestion
might be more relevant at
some future time.
Dennis Hooper is a cer
tified leadership develop
ment coach, helping you
build future leaders and
organizations of excellence.
You can contact him at
dhooper2@juno.com.
children; adults may choose
violent relationships, but
exposing innocent children to
violence is despicable. Child
abuse is 15 times more likely
to occur in families where a
parent is battered. As adults,
children who grew up with a
twisted sense of familial love,
become adult drug-abusers,
criminals, high-school drop
outs, victims (or batterers)
of abuse, rape and other sex
ual crimes, in percentages
between 50 percent and 300
percent greater than chil
dren who grew up in “safe”
families. Some experts feel
that the existence of child
hood Domestic Violence is a
prime predictor of success as
an adult.
What do we do? Report
Domestic Violence and talk
to a survivor walking away
from it, ending her isolation
and hopelessness. Help the
batterer recognize the evils
of his anger, instead of rein
forcing his sense of entitle
ment. But, most of all, sup
port our local Safe House at
923-6294 and HODAC 953-
5675, and stop the violence!
Warner Robins attorney
Jim Rockefeller is the for
mer Chief Assistant District
Attorney for Houston County,
and a former Assistant State
Attorney in Miami. Owner
of Rockefeller Law Center,
Jim has been in private
practice since 2000. E-mail
your comments or confi
dential legal questions to
ajr@rockefellerlawcenter.
com.
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Heel pain has many causes
People of all ages are
troubled by heel
pain. Heel pain can
be caused by the way your
feet move or by the way
your legs and feet are built.
It also can result from an
iryury or a medical prob
lem that affects your entire
body.
For many people, heel
pain is part of aging.
Through years of daily
wear and tear heel pain
appears. Your heel pain may
have started days, weeks,
or even months ago. It may
have started as a dull ache
that didn’t last but now
you feel intense pain every
day. For some people as the
days goes on the heel pain
worsens. For others, it’s a
sharp jab that strikes every
time the heel touches the
ground.
Heel pain may be the
worst when you get out of
bed in the morning causing
you to hobble for a few steps
or a few minutes. Heel pain
can make standing or walk
Strategic lunch with
A Pentagon press lunch
with the secretary of
defense is a rare priv
ilege, especially for a colum
nist from fly-over country.
I’ve watched Don
Rumsfeld perform on tele
vision. He treats stand-up
press conferences as spar
ring rings, where he’s the
heavyweight champ and
reporters are lightweight
chumps with glass jaws.
Maybe lettuce and toma
toes mellow Big Don.
Rumsfeld seems much less
combative with a salad
plate plopped in front of
him.
As the lunch and conver
sation progressed, I noticed
he never picked up a knife,
but I’ve no doubt the man
can wield sharp cutlery.
The glint in the eye is the
clue. Sgt. Ist Class Bowen
- the Korean War vet who
taught Cadet Bay how to
use a garrote - had the
same steely gleam.
I left it to the Beltway
journalists to ask those per
sonality-juiced queries that
generate sensational gossip.
Here’s an example: “Mr.
Rumsfeld, are you going to
resign after the election?”
Since my scribbled notes
include a splotch of aspara
gus soup, I’ll have to para
phrase the SecDefs snarl,
“I certainly wouldn’t tell
you if I were.”
Undeterred, I decided to
ask a question that goes
to the heart of America’s
ability (or inability) to win
long-term, multidimension
al 21st century wars.
My question: “Mr.
Secretary, based on our
experience in Operation
Iraqi Freedom, and the
limited interagency and
non-governmental orga
nization (NGO) partici
pation in that operation,
how do you see ‘Unified
Action’ evolving for future
conflicts?”
Forgive the military jar
gon - at one time I was
Col. Bay - but the ques
tion is essential.
» mkstmm w
■ % H
Glenda is a life insurance specialist with 19
years experience. Glenda has been living in
Warner Robins for 30 years and recently
retired from Liberty National
Insurance Company. Call
Glenda at the office at
988-7960 or 954-5403 (cell) for a
Use insurance analysis.
ing unbearable.
Anatomy of a foot step
Your foot is made of many
parts to support your body
and carry its weight. The
intersection of the ankle
and foot is where many of
these parts come together at
the heel.
Each part
of your
foot plays
a role in
support
ing you.
Together
these
parts
form a
work
ing sys
tem that
1L V
y mm
Dr. Jokhai
Columnist
The Foot Doctor
results in movement. When
your heel guides the move
ment of these parts correct
ly, you can stand, walk, run
and jump without pain.
Your heel guides each
step
The tension on ligaments
and tendons are changed as
you walk and heel moves.
It also altered the lun
cheon ambiance. As I asked
it, I saw our very steady
chairman of the joint chiefs,
Gen. Peter Pace, pass
Rumsfeld a careful stare.
“I’ll tell you we’re bet
ter at it now than we were
five years ago,” Rumsfeld
replied. He acknowledged
that “challenges remain”
in achieving Unified Action
and that effective Unified
Action is
critical
«' 4 He’s
/■ right-we
> ore better
■n. JK at it than
Austin Bay we were.
Military Affairs However,
Creators Syndicate j knQW w 0
aren’t as
good at it as we need to be.
The politically deft Sec Def
finessed the question _ and
it was finesse, not dodge.
The military jargon masked
a heavy political hand gre
nade I was rolling toward
the Beltway. You think
Harry Reid’s land deal or
Mark Foley’s messages are
big stories?
How about a stinging pre
election turf battle between
Defense and the depart
ments of State, Treasury,
Justice, Commerce and
Agriculture, complete with
zinger accusations of who
is or isn’t contributing to
the war effort?
I know, that’s quite a
claim, which is why I need
to translate the mil-speak:
Unified Action means coor-
F. Dennis Hooper
Assessing Your
Leadership Skills
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ISmI
Certified
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Jackie Whitley
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26, 2006 ♦
With the proper heel move
ment, walking is easy.
Tissues are relaxed an
absorb impact as your foot
hits the ground.
As tissues tighten they
pull on bones and joints,
locking the working parts
of your feet into the heel off
position.
This allows you to pull off
the ground.
Heel strike
The only edge of your
heel hits the ground first.
The ligaments and tendons
are relaxed, so your foot can
adapt to uneven surfaces.
Midstance
Your weight is transferred
from the heel to the center
of your foot. Tension on
the ligaments and tendons
increase.
Heel off
The heels lifts and swing
slightly to the inside. The
ligaments and tendons are
rigid, helpingyour toes push
your body off the ground.
Next: Ligament and ten
don problems.
Rumsfeld
dinating and synchronizing
every “tool of power”
America possesses to
achieve a political end - like
winning a global war for
national survival against
terrorists who hijack eco
nomically and politically
fragile nations and prov
inces.
We are in a long, global
war, where economic and
political development pro
grams must reinforce secu
rity and intelligence opera
tions - and vice versa.
We’ve been improvising
“joint development and
security operations,” and
we’ve learned from our
improvisation (Rumsfeld’s
“we’re better than we
were”).
But it’s time to quit
improvising. Effective
“Unified Action” requires
re-engineering 20th cen
tury Beltway bureaucracies
- which means thought
ful, sophisticated coopera
tion between the executive
branch and Congress.
That means getting past
the sensational gossip and
confronting an essential
issue.
To find out more about
Austin Bay, and read fea
tures by other Creators
Syndicate writers and car
toonists, visit the Creators
Syndicate Web page at www.
creators.com.
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