HINDSIGHT - WRITE SOMETHING WORTH READING ABOUT OR DO SOMETHING WORTH WRITING ABOUT
Wednesday, June 30, 2021
Tuesday, June 29, 2021
Paul Krugman
What Underlies the G.O.P. Commitment to
Ignorance?
June 28, 2021
By Paul Krugman
Opinion Columnist
As everyone knows, leftists hate
America’s military. Recently, a prominent left-wing media figure attacked Gen.
Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, declaring, “He’s not
just a pig, he’s stupid.”
Oh, wait. That was no leftist, that was
Fox News’s Tucker Carlson. What
set Carlson off was testimony in which Milley told a congressional hearing that
he considered it important “for those of us in uniform to be open-minded and
widely read.”
The problem is obvious.
Closed-mindedness and ignorance have become core conservative values, and those
who reject these values are the enemy, no matter what they may have done to serve
the country.
The Milley hearing
was part of the orchestrated furor over “critical race theory,” which has
dominated right-wing media for the past few months, getting close to 2,000 mentions on
Fox so far this year. One often sees assertions that those attacking critical
race theory have no idea what it’s about, but I disagree; they understand that
it has something to do with assertions that America has a history of racism and
of policies that explicitly or implicitly widened racial disparities.
And such assertions are unmistakably
true. The Tulsa race massacre really happened, and it was
only one of many such incidents. The 1938 underwriting manual for
the Federal Housing Administration really did declare that
“incompatible racial groups should not be permitted to live in the same
communities.”
We can argue about the relevance of
this history to current policy, but who would argue against acknowledging
simple facts?
The modern right, that’s who. The
current obsession with critical race theory is a cynical attempt to change the
subject away from the Biden administration’s highly popular policy initiatives,
while pandering to the white rage that Republicans deny exists. But it’s only
one of multiple subjects on which willful ignorance has become a litmus test
for anyone hoping to succeed in Republican politics.
Thus, to be a Republican in good
standing one must deny the reality of man-made climate change, or at least oppose
any meaningful action to limit greenhouse gas emissions. One must reject or at
least express skepticism about the theory of evolution.
And don’t even get me started on things like the efficacy of tax cuts.
What underlies this
cross-disciplinary commitment to ignorance? On each subject, refusing to
acknowledge reality serves special interests. Climate denial caters to the
fossil fuel industry; evolution denial caters to religious fundamentalists;
tax-cut mysticism caters to billionaire donors.
But there’s also, I’d argue, a
spillover effect: Accepting evidence and logic is a sort of universal value,
and you can’t take it away in one area of inquiry without degrading it across
the board. That is, you can’t declare that honesty about America’s racial
history is unacceptable and expect to maintain intellectual standards
everywhere else. In the modern right-wing universe of ideas, everything is
political; there are no safe subjects.
This politicization of everything
inevitably creates huge tension between conservatives and institutions that try
to respect reality.
There have been many studies
documenting the strong Democratic lean of
college professors, which is often treated as prima facie evidence of political
bias in hiring. A new law in
Florida requires that each state university conduct an annual survey “which
considers the extent to which competing ideas and perspectives are presented,”
which doesn’t specifically mandate the hiring of more Republicans but clearly
gestures in that direction.
An obvious counterargument to claims of
biased hiring is self-selection: How many conservatives choose to pursue
careers in, say, sociology? Is hiring bias the reason police officers seem to
have disproportionately supported
Donald Trump in the 2016 election, or is this simply a
reflection of the kind of people who choose careers in law enforcement?
But beyond that, the modern G.O.P. is
no home for people who believe in objectivity. One striking feature of surveys
of academic partisanship is the overwhelming Democratic lean in hard sciences
like biology and chemistry; but is that really hard to understand when
Republicans reject science on so many fronts?
One recent study marvels that
even finance departments are mainly Democratic. Indeed, you might expect
finance professors, some of whom do lucrative consulting for Wall Street, to be
pretty conservative. But even they are repelled by a party committed to zombie
economics.
Which brings me back
to General Milley. The U.S. military has traditionally leaned Republican, but
the modern officer corps is highly educated, open-minded and, dare I say it,
even a bit intellectual — because those are attributes that help win wars.
Unfortunately, they are also attributes
the modern G.O.P. finds intolerable.
So something like the
attack on Milley was inevitable. Right-wingers have gone all in on ignorance,
so they were bound to come into conflict with every institution — including the
U.S. military — that is trying to cultivate knowledge.
LOOP NORTH NEWS
 | ||
 Don’t bribe them to come back – tell them to stick it If our workplaces are safe – and they seem to be – then startups have to stop coddling employees who don’t want to be part of the team. And we’re talking about you, millennials. 29-Jun-21 – Maybe you were building a new business and well on your way to new heights and great things before COVID-19 – growing like crazy and hiring folks left and right. Now you’re faced with the new post-pandemic reality that bringing your people back to the office, or finding suitable replacements, isn’t going to be as quick and easy as you thought. I’ve got some advice for you: If you want to build a sustainable, long-term, and committed workforce, which is the foundation for every successful startup, please don’t beg or bribe your people, or any new people, to return to work or join the team. Startups are hard enough when everyone’s fully on board, pulling in the same direction, and excited about the journey. Getting good players isn’t difficult; getting them to play well together is the whole ball game. If people are going to be asked to give it their all, then it is important that they share in, and are connected to, the vision – the dream – and shown a credible path to get there together. Dreams don’t work unless everyone does.
You want the ones who are going to work with you, not for you, and most definitely not operating behind your back. If people are too wonderful in their own minds, too worried about their titles and perks, or too woke to get back to the daily grind (because that’s what it’s almost certainly going to be for a while), forget them. Because regardless of their skills, you and your company will be far better off without them. In the real world, the right attitude and a solid commitment are a lot more important than any particular talent. The very last thing you want or need at this critical juncture is to bend over backwards and plead with people to return. This is a double-edged sword. The folks who showed up quickly and willingly (or maybe never even left) and were excited to jump right into the battle are going to be very unhappy to see the divas and poseurs eventually waltz in. And those entitled assholes who think they’re doing you a big favor to drag themselves back into the office are going to be absolute poison for your company culture, which no new business can afford. I hear too many people saying (not that I understand what it means) that “millies bring their whole selves to work” and that, somehow, it’s on us as makers, managers, and leaders to meet and accommodate all of their needs – physical, emotional, and psychological. I’m convinced that those happy and perk-filled days of old are pretty much gone, except maybe in the Valley.
These are people whose ideas of what “work” means now – the concept of showing up, for example, as when and if they please – are mainly fantasies. This isn’t a time when people get to make things up as they go along. You may eventually earn the right to do things your own way, but only after you’ve paid years of dues and heard plenty of don’ts. I guess my old-fashioned answer to all these folks is that (a) this isn’t camp or checkers – there are tough times ahead; (b) startups are like families in many ways, but we’re a team, not a family, and I’m not your mom or dad, so get over it; and (c) it’s not really my job to make anyone’s life simpler or easier. Easy is getting harder by the day and our focus is on making things better, not necessarily easier. The tough work today is about trying to build something lasting, meaningful, and important to people besides ourselves and to undertake that challenging task with respect for our employees and our customers; with honesty and integrity; and with a new seriousness of purpose that hopefully this horrific pandemic has instilled in all of us. Working on the right things right now is even more important than simply working hard because, if you’re headed in the wrong direction or chasing the wrong rabbits, your diligence, effort, and speed don’t matter. Too many people all across the world have suffered unimaginable pain and loss, millions of friends and loved ones have died, and additional millions are likely to be unemployed for years. We all need some time and a great deal of patience to hear, help, and heal those around us, but honestly, I have no patience whatever for the arrogant and privileged prima donnas who seem to feel that the world owes them a living. A living which, as far as I can see, they’ve done nothing yet to earn or deserve. Do yourself and your business a big favor. Just do without them.
By Howard Tullman | Loop North News | h@g2t3v.com |
Monday, June 28, 2021
NEW INC. MAGAZINE COLUMN BY HOWARD TULLMAN
A Tip
From Jeff Bezos: No Doesn't Always Mean No
There
are a lot of ways to get to yes. Make sure you explore as many of them as
needed to reach the right decision.
BY HOWARD
TULLMAN, GENERAL MANAGING PARTNER, G2T3V AND CHICAGO HIGH TECH
INVESTORS
For many years in my various businesses, I
heard a recurring complaint about one particular aspect of my leadership style
that regularly frustrated a number of my team members. I'm sure there
were many other complaints over the years as well, but this one was so common
that I spent more time explaining my peculiar approach in this instance than I
did addressing just about anything else -- except possibly my reluctance to get
regular haircuts.
The "problem" was my custom of
occasionally assigning the same task to several people simultaneously. People
would be pissed, or disappointed and think all kinds of things -- I didn't
trust them, I was wasting their time, etc.
I'm sure there were some downsides to this
approach since it's apparently so very important for everyone
to stay in their own lane, but from my perspective it had at least two critical
benefits: (a) duplication dramatically increased the likelihood that the thing
would get done and done on time or sooner; and (b) it often
resulted in solutions that were novel, unexpected and better thought out than
the more typical and/or traditional answers.
As things happened, two heads were often
better than one even if they didn't realize that they were dealing with the
same concern and even if, very infrequently, they might step on each other's
toes. The smartest thing you can ever do in decision making is to make sure
that you have considered as many options and different choices
as possible.
Not that I ever felt bad about my strategy
(which I thought of as the CEO's prerogative) or that I regretted using
additional and sometimes redundant or scarce company talent and resources to
run some of these things to ground. But it's always good from time to time to
have some confirmation that you're not headed completely in the wrong direction
and, of course, when the "word" comes from Jeff Bezos of Amazon, it
feels especially good.
The Jeffism in question states that
"there are multiple paths to yes." Not only is he happy to have
multiple people at Amazon chasing the same rabbit, but he goes even further and
violates the cardinal Mom versus Dad rule that we all learned growing up by
suggesting that a team member who gets turned down by one manager should feel
free to go try the same request on another and another who might be smarter,
more favorably inclined, in possession of better information, or just more
flexible. When I was a kid, this was the oldest ruse in the book - if Mom or
Dad said "No", you'd just go ask your other parent about the same
thing praying for a more favorable result.
When I was a trial lawyer, we used to call
this "forum shopping," which means looking for a friendly or
sympathetic judge's courtroom in which to bring your lawsuit, hoping that you'd
get a better ruling. Today, if you're a gun nut, you file all your lawsuits
before hyper-conservative district court judges in California or elsewhere in
the South to get the initial outcomes you want. Class action lawyers all know
that Texas and Alabama judges hate insurance companies, so that's where they
file all their nationwide complaints along with their "spilled super-hot
coffee in my lap" and "found a body part in my peanuts" tort
claims.
According to Jeff, not only isn't there
anything wrong with looking for a better answer when your pitch got turned down
but carrying on and looking elsewhere is also often likely to lead to much
better end results. My experience was the same. Things got done more quickly,
there were more paths forward in front of me, and the ongoing competition
between the various choices sharpened everyone's focus.
Of course, before you drive yourself over the
cliff, or spend too much time chasing too many rabbits, you do need to think
carefully about why you're getting a negative response in the first place. It's
good to really know why the response has been a "No".
Sometimes, you're just in the wrong place
or asking the wrong people. Other times,
it's just a matter of bad timing-- a "No for now," which means your
salespeople need to keep pushing forward and asking for the order. And
finally, there are even times (perish the thought!) when your product or
service just isn't the right fit, and you just have to do yourself and the
customer a favor and take your ball and head home.
But before you bail, or bag the whole thing,
remember these three critically important rules:
(1) To succeed at anything important in
life, you're gonna have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince or
princess-- so be patient, get used to some rejection as you're pushing the
envelope, but keep pressing ahead.
(2) Never accept a "No" from
anyone who can't say "Yes," or write the check. Get thyself, by
hook or by crook, in front of the actual decision maker.
(3) Don't ever be reluctant to widen the
lens, to ask for more ideas, to look outside and all around the box, and to be
willing to occasionally appear foolish or stupid - as we all have - because
some of the very best ideas are those that start out sounding crazy and only
look smart and obvious in retrospect.
JUN 29, 2021
ANTI-VAXXERS ARE MORONS- LET THEM PAY FOR THEIR OWN COVID ILLNESSES
I just wish we lived in a country where being willfully dumb was a little more costly.
Thursday, June 24, 2021
GREAT NEWS - BUT ONLY THE BEGINNING - NEED TO GET THE ULTIMATE CROOK AND SCUMBAG TRUMP HIMSELF
Opinion: Giuliani disgraced his profession — and his country — by defending the indefensible
Opinion by
Deputy editorial page editor
June 24, 2021 at 4:53 p.m. CDT
Attorneys are supposed to — they are ethically bound to — zealously represent their clients, however unpopular. As a general matter, we should salute this zealousness, not punish it, for fear of chilling representation of those who need it most. The quintessential example of this principle is John Adams, who as a young lawyer famously defended British soldiers accused in the Boston Massacre.
As Adams would write in his diary, the defense “procured me anxiety, and obloquy enough. It was, however, one of the most gallant, generous, manly and disinterested actions of my whole life, and one of the best pieces of service I ever rendered my country."
But advocacy has its limits, and Rudy Giuliani, it is safe to say, is no John Adams. One man defended the defenseless in the greater service of the rule of law; the other asserted the indefensible in the service of overturning the results of an election. And so, on Thursday, New York State Bar authorities took the extraordinary step of ordering Giuliani, once the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, immediately suspended from the practice of law as he faces the prospect of being permanently disbarred.
“We conclude that there is uncontroverted evidence that [Giuliani] communicated demonstrably false and misleading statements to courts, lawmakers and the public at large in his capacity as lawyer for former president Donald J. Trump and the Trump campaign in connection with Trump’s failed effort at reelection in 2020,” the judges overseeing the disciplinary proceedings wrote in a 33-page ruling. “These false statements were made to improperly bolster respondent’s narrative that due to widespread voter fraud, victory in the 2020 United States presidential election was stolen from his client. We conclude that respondent’s conduct immediately threatens the public interest.”
Bravo.
It ordinarily takes quite a bit — stealing client money, or obstructing justice — to get yourself disbarred, and even more to have your license to practice law suspended pending resolution of the proceedings. As a practical matter, Giuliani doesn’t have a booming legal practice; at this point, any client would be a fool to have him for a lawyer. And he has bigger problems than losing a law license he doesn’t really use, including a criminal investigation into his activities by the office he used to oversee.
Still, this is a welcome and entirely justified development. In the aftermath of the 2020 election, Giuliani wasn’t the only Trump lawyer to make unsupportable claims about voter fraud, but he was the most prominent. Both in and out of court, Giuliani made repeated false statements: That Pennsylvania received more absentee ballots than it had sent out before the election. That Trump was pursuing a claim of voter fraud in the Pennsylvania courts when in fact he was not. That dead people — sometimes 8,021, at another point as many as 30,000 — voted in Philadelphia, including heavyweight boxer Joe Frazier.
And: That Dominion Voting Systems machines manipulated the final tallies in Georgia. That thousands of underage voters, variously 65,000 or 66,000 or 165,000, cast ballots in Georgia, along with numerous felons and dead people. That security cameras showed Georgia election officials illegally counting mail-in ballots. That “illegal aliens” voted in Arizona.
The disciplinary panel found that these statements violated ethics rules that prohibit lawyers from knowingly making false claims to courts or third parties, and from engaging in conduct “involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation” or “that adversely reflects on the lawyer’s fitness as a lawyer.”
In his defense, Giuliani argues that the disciplinary proceeding itself somehow violates his First Amendment rights. Nonsense. As the panel concluded, “this disciplinary proceeding concerns the professional restrictions imposed on respondent as an attorney to not knowingly misrepresent facts and make false statements in connection with his representation of a client.” The First Amendment doesn’t protect that.
In addition, Giuliani contends, he didn’t know the statements were false when he made them. A member of his “team,” he said, “inadvertently” took “incorrect” information from the Pennsylvania state website about absentee votes. He relied on “expert” information. Come on.
Finally, Giuliani says his license shouldn’t be suspended while the proceedings continue because he poses no continuing threat — the election litigation is over and “he has and will continue to exercise personal discipline to forbear from discussing these matters in public anymore.” As the panel recognized, this is no more trustworthy than the rest of Giuliani’s false claims — “persistent and pervasive” statements that he kept making even after disciplinary proceedings were underway.
“The seriousness of [Giuliani’s] uncontroverted misconduct cannot be overstated,” it said. “False statements intended to foment a loss of confidence in our elections and resulting loss of confidence in government generally damage the proper functioning of a free society.” Coming from Giuliani, “acting with the authority of being an attorney, and using his large megaphone, the harm is magnified.”
Giuliani’s lawyers predicted that he “will be reinstated as a valued member of the legal profession that he has served so well in his many capacities for so many years.” Let’s hope not. He hasn’t suffered obloquy enough.
What should be Giuliani’s final chapter as a lawyer was a disservice to his profession. But unlike the case of John Adams, it was a disservice to his country.
Tuesday, June 22, 2021
NEW INC. ARTICLE FROM HOWARD TULLMAN
Don't
Bribe Them to Come Back--Tell Them to Stick It
If our
workplaces are safe--and they seem to be-- then startups have to stop coddling
employees who don't want to be part of the team. And we're talking about you,
millennials.
Maybe you were building a new business and
well on your way to new heights and great things before COVID-19 -- growing
like crazy and hiring folks left and right. Now you're faced with the new
post-pandemic reality that bringing your people back to the office, or finding
suitable replacements, isn't going to be as quick and easy as you thought.
I've got some advice for you: If you want to
build a sustainable, long-term and committed workforce, which is the foundation
for every successful startup, please don't beg or bribe your people, or any new
people, to return to work or join the team.
Startups are hard enough when everyone's fully
on board, pulling in the same direction, and excited about the journey. Getting
good players isn't difficult; getting them to play well together is the whole
ball game. If people are going to be asked to give it their all, then it is
important that they share in, and are connected to, the vision - the dream -
and shown a credible path to get there together. Dreams don't work unless
everyone does.
Half-hearted helpers, people just phoning it
in for a paycheck until something better comes along, or lip service sycophants
whose actions don't live up to their words are exactly the ones your company
doesn't need. You want the ones who are going to work with you,
not for you, and most definitely not operating behind your
back.
If people are too wonderful in their own
minds, too worried about their titles and perks or too woke to get back to the
daily grind (because that's what it's almost certainly going to be for a
while), forget them. Because regardless of their skills, you and your company
will be far better off without them. In the real world, the right attitude and
a solid commitment are a lot more important than any particular talent.
The very last thing you want or need at this
critical juncture is to bend over backwards and plead with people to return.
This is a double-edged sword. The folks who showed up quickly and willingly (or
maybe never even left) and were excited to jump right into the battle are going
to be very unhappy to see the divas and poseurs eventually waltz in. And those
entitled assholes who think they're doing you a big favor to drag themselves
back into the office are going to be absolute poison for your company culture,
which no new business can afford.
I hear too many people saying (not that I
understand what it means) that "millies bring their whole selves to
work" and that, somehow, it's on us as makers, managers and leaders to
meet and accommodate all of their needs - physical, emotional and
psychological. I'm convinced that those happy and perk-filled days of old are
pretty much gone, except maybe in the Valley.
Even there, companies
like Apple are trying without much success to figure out how to
please a bunch of unhappy and deluded employees who resist returning to 1
Infinite Loop. These are people whose ideas of what "work" means now
- the concept of showing up, for example, as, when and if they please - are
mainly fantasies. This isn't a time when people get to make things up as they
go along. You may eventually earn the right to do things "your" own
way, but only after you've paid years of dues and heard plenty of
"don'ts".
I guess my old-fashioned answer to all these
folks is that (a) this isn't camp or checkers - there are tough times ahead;
(b) startups are like families in many ways, but we're a team, not a family,
and I'm not your mom or dad, so get over it; and (c) it's not really my job to
make anyone's life simpler or easier. Easy is getting harder by the day and our
focus is on making things better, not necessarily easier.
The tough work today is about trying to build
something lasting, meaningful, and important to people besides ourselves and to
undertake that challenging task with respect for our employees and our
customers; with honesty and integrity; and with a new seriousness of purpose
that hopefully this horrific pandemic has instilled in all of us. Working on
the right things right now is even more important than simply
working hard because, if you're headed in the wrong direction or chasing the
wrong rabbits, your diligence, effort, and speed don't matter.
Too many people all across the world have
suffered unimaginable pain and loss, millions of friends and loved ones have
died, and additional millions are likely to be unemployed for years. We all
need some time and a great deal of patience to hear, help and heal those around
us, but honestly, I have no patience whatever for the arrogant and privileged
prima donnas who seem to feel that the world owes them a living. A living
which, as far as I can see, they've done nothing yet to earn or deserve.
Do yourself and your business a big favor.
Just do without them.
Sunday, June 20, 2021
FATHER'S DAY
In honor of Father's Day, I wanted to share an excerpt from a piece my dad wrote for Inc. Magazine several years ago because its message has helped shape my life and the lives of countless people he has mentored over the years.
"The bottom line: work hard and be proud of the work you do; love what you do or do something else; try to make a difference in this world every day in large and small ways; and use all of your talents, energy and resources to help others to better their lives. And lastly, hug your kids much too much, far too often, and until they squeal."
I love you and am so proud of you, Howard Tullman!
Friday, June 18, 2021
Tuesday, June 15, 2021
NEW INC. MAGAZINE COLUMN BY HOWARD TULLMAN
The
Right Way to Raise Prices
All
this talk about inflation offers ample cover to charge more for your products.
But give careful consideration to your customers and employees before you start
repricing. Then, make your case using these three messages.
Every day we're hearing more noise and concern
in the media about rising inflation and the prospect of further dramatic
cost-of-living increases across the economy. Whether these changes turn out to
be temporary blips (based on pent-up demand, inventory and material shortfalls,
and other scarcity factors) or longer term and more permanent structural
adjustments is almost irrelevant, interestingly enough. In some ways, much like
the last few years as the shares and market caps of tech stocks exploded and
folks on the sideline were left in the dust, fear of missing out (FOMO) is once
again top of mind for many business builders and owners.
No one really wants to miss the opportunity to
get while the gettin's good by not jumping on the price hike bandwagon and
goosing their prices -- if they can get away with it. I'm not
talking about the crooks and price-gouging a-holes who ripped off people by
charging excessive prices for masks and other PPE. I'm also not talking about
the greed heads who added COVID-19 add-ons and charged extra for the packaging
for carryout food you couldn't eat in their places even if you wanted to during
the pandemic.
I'm talking about the tantalizing desire, and
even the peer and investor pressure, to raise your prices as things start to
return to the new normal. More to the point, what should you
be thinking about as you make your own pricing decisions. I'm also trying to
separate what you might think of as the morality of price hikes right now when
millions of people are still unemployed and struggling financially from the
more practical business and economic considerations relating to your own
company's needs and financial stability.
It's easy, when the press would have you
believe that everyone else is doing it, to feel like the smartest and simplest
decision is to simply go along with the crowd. When Chipotle raises prices 4%
and blames it on higher employee wage costs,
which they claim they are simply passing on to their customers, it's not that
hard to convince yourself that you should be taking some similar action.
But, for all kinds of reasons, what's
"good" for others (and maybe even smart for some of them given the
likely short duration of their particular offerings - such as COVID-19 testing
or vaccine administration) doesn't necessarily make sense for you. The last
thing you want to do right now is sacrifice years-long customer loyalty and
relationships for some modest short-term gains in margin. Customers who think
you're taking advantage of them, or the current situation, aren't coming back.
People never forget how you make them feel. If anything, now might be the very
best time to give your regulars a break on prices to welcome them back.
Don't think for a minute that your customers
aren't paying attention to the portions and perks that used to be part of the
standard package in the "old" days. Trying to save money and avoid
raising your prices thru aggressive portion control and other cutbacks is a
great way to lose that precious little thing called trust. Anyone
who is stupid enough to think that customers don't catch on to
"shrinkflation" deserves to lose their customers' confidence and
eventually their business. And, by the way, don't forget that your own
employees are also "consumers", and they may not be that pleased to
be "shorting" the folks they've served and befriended for years.
Bottom line: if you're going to raise your
prices, you're also going to need to have a solid basis, an easy way to
demonstrate your rationale, and an effective way to get the message out to all
of the stakeholders - customers, employees, regulators, and the media. People
don't want to be marketed to; they want to be communicated with. If you do it
right, carefully and thoughtfully, you can make everyone part of the effort
and partners in the solution. Otherwise,
things can blow up in your face pretty quickly.
So, as you make your case inside and outside
your business, focus on three main messages:
(1) Our business has always been about value,
not price. Price is what you pay, but solid value is what you get. To continue
to give you the quality, service and value you deserve, we have to continue to
make the necessary (and more costly) investments in raw materials, supplies,
resources, and other component parts of our products and services that you have
come to expect.
(2) Every business is a people business, and
our people are the most essential element in our operations and our success. If
we don't treat and compensate them fairly and fully - not because it's a
requirement, but because it's the right thing to do - we won't be able to
attract, train and retain the high-quality dedicated and committed team that we
have built, or be able to deliver the products and services to you that you
desire and need.
(3) The proof is always in the pudding. Ask our people if they're pleased to be back, eager to get to work, and have been treated and paid equitably throughout this long and painful journey. There's no better way to see if we're living up to our side of the bargain and taking care of business than to ask the team members who make our business possible every day just how we're doing. We're glad they're back; we're glad you're back, and we're all seeing a little light at the end of this very dark and lengthy tunnel. Tough times don't last; tough people do.
JUN 15, 2021
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