Jabari Parker Decision

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uwDWBfIWDy0

Jabari Parker is going to make his decision this week.  Previously He has cut his offers down to BYU, Duke, Michigan State, Florida, and Stanford.  He has taken official visits to all of these schools except Stanford.  This helps me to believe that he will not be attending Stanford.  One of the only reasons why I think he has put BYU in his top 5 would be his religion.  Jabari is a member of the LDS Church.  He has announced that he will forgo his mission to play college basketball.  Jabari is the number one high school basketball player.  He was actually ranked number one as a Junior.  Jabari Parker goes to the same high school that NBA All-Star Derrick Rose went to.  Jabari Parker played Varsity Basketball at Simeon High School as a Freshman- something Derrick Rose could not do.

I am looking forward to seeing where He will commit to play NCAA College Basketball.

Presidential Race

We go through this every four years, selecting the president of the United States.  In 2012 like elections past there are two primary candidates to choose from.  Barack Obama is a Democrat from Chicago and has held the office for the past four years.  He is being challenged by Republican Governor Mitt Romney of Boston.  Four years ago Obama was wildly popular, earned 53% of the vote, even as he inherited a failing economy from the previous administration.  The message then was hope and change.  My hope with this paper is to change the minds of Obama supporters convince them to vote for Romney.  

First lets look at an issue.  The health of our country and the prospects for its future will be determined on our success in creating good jobs for those that want them.  The most recent jobs report by the Department of Labor showed an unemployment rate of 7.9%, basically unchanged since Obama has taken office in 2009.  Real unemployment which includes underemployment and people not satisfied with their jobs is significantly higher.  Even though that report showed a monthly increase of 177,000 jobs, many job seekers remain disillusioned with the slow rate of growth.  In this election voters are clamoring for jobs, job security, high wages, better benefits, and are looking to their President to bring that about.  Obama has had four years to address this and its not working, regulations are too stringent, small businesses are struggling, and more companies are outsourcing jobs.  Romney’s background in business is a pretty good predictor of his future behavior.  He has promised that if elected to create 12 million jobs in the next four years.  In fact he’ll even reach across the isle to help President Obama obtain a job in the private sector.

The second component which favors Romney over Obama is relevant real world experience.  For me the most effective President is a practical one, one who chooses problem solving over party politics and best interests of the country over ideology.  Since leaving Harvard Obama’s route to the White House includes time in a law firm, community organizer experience, and a partial term in the United States Senate.  Romney’s resume also includes a community organizer component.  He presided over arguably the most successful Olympic Winter Games after taking over as CEO at a time when the Games were straddled with scandal, debt, and disorganization.  Further he turned deficits into surpluses as the chief executive of a democrat-dominated, Commonwealth in Massachusetts.  Finally in a bottom-line business Romney and his partners at Bain Capital built companies, hired employees, and generated profits.  Workers receive wages of which they pay taxes which help pay for services the federal government provides in the form of aid to the elderly, much needed nutrition for new borns, infrastructure for communities, and security for our country.  Such an ROI would be welcome in the White House.

The third component in comparing candidates is personality.  We’ve seen past Presidents throw the football on the White House lawn, mountain bike through the trails of Texas, and even President Obama shoot hoops with college greats.  Likability helps voters relate and connect with their candidate.  A terrific family, a great smile, and enjoys a burger from Five Guys, Obama has done a masterful job in demonstrating he’s “one of the guys.”  Conversely Romney’s personal narrative has come about with little detail and late in the game.  While some focus on his privileged upbringing, the son of a former auto executive and governor of the state of Michigan, Romney has also raised a large family, served in his church, and been a friend to many.  While I don’t think presidents should be chosen primarily on their personality it does play a role in a day where Americans are obsessed with American Idol, America’s got Talent, and Dancing with the Stars.  This is America’s ultimate popularity contest, so for the record Romney’s good looking hair, his love of peanut butter and honey sandwiches, and his skill at navigating the waters of Lake Winnipesaukee may not get him elected President, for now.  But it shouldn’t hurt.  

To determine the ultimate Survivor on November 6th, Obama supporters will look at whether their candidate delivered on the promise of hope and change.  If you recall his record on jobs and look at his professional background, you’ll come to the conclusion its time for a new Presidential personality.  Romney is not a lifelong politician, but has a career of turning building, creating, and sustaining a better way of life.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team:

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team was written by New York Times best-selling author Patrick Lencioni. Written as a business fable, Lencioni pens 230 pages in a distant third person omniscient narrative about the struggles organizations experience on their road to success:

5D is set in Half Moon Bay, just over the hills from San Francisco.  This book is perfectly suited for a high-powered, self absorbed, inner focused workaholic and yet at the same time is equally beneficial to the stay-at-home CEO or student body president at a public high school. This book not only pertains to athletic teams, community groups but also business people and elective office holders. Lencioni wrote this book to teach and inform group members how to work successfully in such a setting. He is a great communicator. His use of descriptive words helps the reader to apply principles to a specific personal situation. The fable-like narrative keeps the reader engaged in the story.

This book describes a prestigious company, DecisionTech, Inc., which hires a new chief executive officer lacking experience in a specific industry but is very skilled at bringing people together to work as a team. 5D contains the thoughts of the new hire, Kathryn Peterson, as well as several other employees. Over a period of several weeks, Peterson observes formal meetings and less formal office interaction.  When she has collected the information she needs informs the staff, or “team” about an offsite activity to take place in Napa and the entire group is expected to attend. Throughout this group experience, staff members grow close together by learning why they were not being successful. The five reasons Peterson shared (in no particular order):

Absence of trust

A fear of conflict

A lack of commitment

Avoidance of accountability

Not paying attention to results

One reason distrust was demonstrated at DecisionTech was the search for familiarity and comfort when it came to daily assignments. A desire to be safe, predictable precluded them from allowing co-workers to see their vulnerabilities. This is a primary driver of group think. Being safe reminds me of the large ship that was tied to the dock. It may look good tied up to the shore but that is not what ships were made for. Cut it loose and let it navigate the great oceans. To the second dysfunction, everyone, or at least a majority did not want to think outside the box to find new solutions and more effective ways of providing customer service. Number three, the fear of conflict is an issue because it makes you feel like you have harmony while it’s more accurately described as avoiding constructive discussion. Another factor that Peterson pointed out in dysfunctional teams is a lack of commitment. All staff members need to buy-in, and put all their chips on the table. This is probably the most common challenge manifest in unsuccessful teams, accountability.  And lastly will be the ego of the employees. Personal ego can corrode team success quicker than anything. Peterson talks in detail about all these issues and offers group solutions which make DecisionTech one of the most successful companies in America.  

The Code By: Ross Bernstein

The Code 

By: Ross Bernstein

Sunday Night Football is the most watched sport on television.  There are people around the world following the NFL.  Fans delight in seeing hits that cause a fumble.  They love seeing a long touchdown pass to a wide open receiver sprinting down field.  People enjoy watching football.  Some fans argue the officiating is not the greatest.  Every NFL official is given a little book, so small it will fit in your pocket.  This book is updated every year.  It contains all the rules of NFL football.  While officials try to enforce all these rules, there are unwritten rules known only by the players.  The Code by Ross Bernstein, details these unofficial rules.  If a player breaks one of these rules, he probably won’t get a flag thrown, or get fined by the league office, but he might face consequences enforced by his fellow players.  This book contains the point of view of the players and coaches about the “Code Of Honor.”

The point of view presented in this book is not one typical of the average NFL fan watching at home.  This unique perspective is a large reason why I thought this was a great book.  Overall I would give it 5 of 5 stars.  I enjoyed the book because of the insightful opinions of NFL greats, past and present, coaches, and NFL officials that were included in it.  Reading this book has changed the way I watch football.  The Code is an indispensable guide to the inner workings of football’s internal system of justice and sportsmanship, as described by the players who enforce it.

I connected with this book in several different ways.  Perhaps an obvious first, is because I consider myself to be a football player with hopes of playing at a higher level some day.  I know that when you lace up your cleats and buckle up your chinstrap the referee isn’t the only rule enforcer you have to worry about.  Some people think football players are thugs and only play football to get away with things that would put them in jail if they were on the streets.  On the field, things can get heated.  In a close game against the cross town rival, a little trash talking, some cheap shots, and things are bound to get out of control.  The officials try to keep things calm by throwing flags, but at the end of the day an old man is not going to be able to stop a six foot two hundred and twenty pound linebacker.  In a game, it’s really the players that decide what happens and what doesn’t.  Another connection would be the feeling expressed by the players.  In the book there are chapters written by the players describing how they feel about referees.  Sometimes the referees are helpful, but there are times where they just get in the way.  There are situations where the game should be run by the ins and outs of “The Code”.  As a football player I think the game should be run on an honor system.  

The game of football is a lot like politics.  Football players have to overcome the politics of playing the game.  Athletes have several stereotypes attached to them, that they need to overcome.  Most of the general public assume that all football players are the traditional dumb jock.  Football players are punks, the football teams consist of criminals that play football because they can’t do anything deeming acceptable and productive by society.  While some of this is accurate, the conclusion is made without all the facts.  When one player gets arrested or acts out in public they label the whole team and eventually the sport as a whole.  The Code, talks about the repercussions of decisions made on the field.  Reading this book has made me more conscious of what happens on the field, in the scrums, and confrontations throughout the game.  I believe that there are officials that make correct calls based on what actually happens on the field.  Also, the assumptions and preconceptions that referees come into the game with can really effect the way the game turns out.  

Some of the NFL officials think they can utilize their power to control the game.  While the referees can make an impact, it is the players who play and the coaches who coach.  Today some players are trying to enforce the unwritten law off the field by sending thugs after rule-breakers or personally beating up opponents.  This way they can enforce the rules they think need to be enforced.  This book described what could happen off the football field. I enjoyed this book due to the fact that it connects to me personally.  Overall The Code by Ross Bernstein was an amazing sports book that gives an inside scoop of the NFL rulebook, written and unwritten.