great design….

Simple, easy to understand, and limitless in potential, Legos have been around since 1954.  The word Lego is shorthand Danish for “play well”.

As I look at future furniture design for our company, I spend a lot of time thinking of simplicity.  Brilliance in design, in my mind, comes not from how complex the design can be in a specific way, but how the design can serve the user in many ways.

So, why am I showing you this sofa?  It comes knocked down, much like those Legos shown above.  With only six bolts in the hardware pack, it only takes minutes to assemble, but offers all the comfort (it even has pocketed coil seating) and style to make that cozy nook….cozy.  And because it ships in a box that UPS will handle, you can live in any Podunk in and get it delivered right to your door.  

change at the post office

The post office is a $75 billion behemouth that is working itself to $50 billion at breakneck pace. A few weeks ago, the Postmaster General floated a plan to discontinue Saturday deliveries as a way to get the post office in the black, at least temporarily.

Change is happening everywhere at breakneck pace. In the last 20 years or so, the internet, Federal Express, UPS, and more have taken a bite out of the post office's proverbial rear end. And, it doesn't look like it's going to stop.

Since the post office isn't subsidized with tax dollars, it needs to think more proactively to deal with its future problems. It seems, at least to me, the post office is the deliverer of last resort, with less time sensitive material than ever before.

If the Postmaster General was making a real effort, the plan would include delivering mail three days a week, instead of six. Half the letter carriers would be removed from the street. Desk service could still stay at current levels, and mail could be received at the post office for off days. There might have to be additional help at the windows, but that would be dwarfed by the savings on the street.

This is the type of thinking the post office needs as it moves into more difficult waters. Or, they could go the route of Blockbuster and just wait until the decision is made for them.

good planning.....

If this is the first sign you see...

this one is sure to follow.

more than a game....

People who know me well know I love baseball. I love the sounds, the smells, the nuances that make the game different than any I know.

It's the one game that allows those with less talent and athletic ability to prevail over those with more of both through dedication, practice, patience, and desire. It's the one game that measures the person in a way that crosses over into real life.

I coached for a number of years. What I remember from those days isn't wins and losses, but the kids, their personal fears, their smiles, their triumphs, really everything about them.

One person in particular was Peter. He was kind of a fringe player, but did his best. During one game, he missed a fly ball. He broke down in the outfield and started crying. Quickly, I sent in a substitute and met him as he came off the field.

He needed a hug, and that's what he got, right in front of the whole world. I told him I was proud of him. I told him he was good. And, I sent him back in the game. Redemption, just like that.

In all my years as a professional, I've never had a moment like that.

I love this woman

Sandra Bullock showed up to accept her award for "Worst Picture" at the Razzies for "All About Steve".

How cool is that?

I'm a wuss...

A couple of weeks ago, I was waiting at a traffic light, when a frantic woman came to my window saying she and her family had broken down on the highway; Could I help? She needed money.

I dipped into my pocket and found a $20 bill and handed it to her and moved on, leaving her behind.

Did she break down? I don't know. Am I a wuss for giving her the cash? Probably.
But, something has happened to me over the past few years. I've learned from my failures that my successes are not that important, that it's important to stay in the mindset of failure, to be empathetic of those who are not as fortunate and to remember that success is often lucky.

So, as I looked at this, I wasn't going to judge. I was going to help.

the cost of growing old.....

In 1935, a great idea grew out of the Great Depression....Social Security. What an idea! In a bet that Las Vegas would appreciate, people who lived past 65 would receive a monthly check to help defray living expenses until death. But, statistically, death would occur at 62.

In the 75 years since its inception, Social Security has gone on to become the insurer of all, the ultimate safety net, the protector against poverty in old age. It's had several revisions, each time adding a little weight and cost.

In those 75 years, we've managed to live longer, a lot longer. What used to be a sure bet at cost containment has turned into a sucker's bet of cost

Like loading up a backpack, the load of Social Security has become too heavy to carry. It's slowing down the economy to a crawl. It's killing us.

I have a plan. It involves three elements and it will require sort of a Chapter 11 of social services. We have to reorganize the way we think.

The first part of the plan is to index the start of Social Security to our expected death, because the commitment is to the length of time to our death, not from our birth. If the index is to years of our statistically timed death, to some degree, we can control the cost of taking care of our elderly.

This will require workers to work longer, probably until the age of 70 today. The impact of these workers staying in the workforce, paying taxes and not drawing on Social Security would be approximately $300 billion.

The second element of this plan would be to recognize that any product imported and paid for with American dollars should have some responsibility to our social safety net. Last year, we imported over $1.6 trillion worth of goods, or about 11% of our gross domestic product. Suppose we place a tariff of 16% (employer plus employee portion of Social Security) against those goods to cover the Social Security portion of our economy. This would net $250 billion to our economy.

Finally, we need to stop tying years of public employment service to retirement benefits. Teachers, postal workers or any public employee retiring at 55, with arguably 30 years of life expectancy in front of them, is not the kind of economic model that lends itself to a solution.

Public service has turned into a kind of work one year, get one free program. We just can't afford it anymore. Teachers and public employees need to work under the same rules as the rest of us, and they need to provide income to our economic engine.

So, there it is; my plan to save Social Security.