Happy Veteran's Day from President Woodrow Wilson

It is important to remember the veterans who have served our country. The day was sworn as one that helped end WWI and the great effort the country made to help their allies in Europe. During this time wars were more than financial arrangements. Entire countries needed to be mobilized to meet the agricultural and manufacturing needs of the time. We owned our own production and to send armies overseas for prolonged fighting was an extremely costly activity.

Our values were high during this era and we saw the world in a less complex but often more pure stance. We helped our allies with what we had and made great efforts to continue with a way of life. President Woodrow Wilson offered an address to the country.

ADDRESS TO FELLOW-COUNTRYMEN
The White House, November 11, 1919.

A year ago today our enemies laid down their arms in accordance with an armistice which rendered them impotent to renew hostilities, and gave to the world an assured opportunity to reconstruct its shattered order and to work out in peace a new and juster set of inter national relations. The soldiers and people of the European Allies had fought and endured for more than four years to uphold the barrier of civilization against the aggressions of armed force. We ourselves had been in the conflict something more than a year and a half. - With splendid forgetfulness of mere personal concerns, we re modeled our industries, concentrated our financial resources, increased our agricultural output, and assembled a great army, so that at the last our power was a decisive factor in the victory. We were able to bring the vast resources, material and moral, of a great and free people to the assistance of our associates in Europe who had suffered and sacrificed without limit in the cause for which we fought. Out of this victory there arose new possibilities of political freedom and economic concert. The war showed us the strength of great nations acting together for high purposes, and the victory of arms foretells the enduring conquests which can be made in peace when nations act justly and in furtherance of the common interests of men. To us in America the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with - solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service, and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of nations.

WOODROW WILSON

The Deeper Meaning of Language Choice

The words we use determine the way we think. It is reflective of how we are raised and how we see the world. Negative words are a reflection of negative thoughts. While we are not always aware of it the way in which we communicate, matched with our non-verbal cues, tells us a lot about people around us and how they see the world. If you want to know someone well then you should simply listen and ask a few questions to clarity.

Most of us never really take much effort in listening to other people or understanding what they need and want. We simply listen to the socially acceptable terms in which they express their needs. What we don't see is the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs that often make up those communication patterns.

It should be noted that all language and words are symbols that are created from other people. As we socialize with others in our youths we learn the basic meaning of certain words and our neuro thought patterns are created. We add onto that understanding throughout our lives but very few of us actually change the general patterns of what we are thinking.

The words (or better expressed as picture symbols) we choose and the way in which we construct our sentence tell us how we "envision" the world and way in which we construct those symbols to tell our own person story. Language thus has significant more depth to it then what we originally perceive.

It is also helpful to view the facial expressions, body posture, and the overall unconscious "language" people display when they think and talk about certain topics. Their emotional state determines how important the topic is to them and what they "feel" about such such topics. The emotional state becomes part of the deeply embedded history of the individual.

When we have the word (symbols) choices, the construction of how those symbols are connected together, and the emotional state associated with those symbols we may want to look at patterns of interest. Understanding what someone talks about a lot tells us where their focus is and their potential intentions toward certain objects and people (can be positive or negative).

Tempo of the language indicates how fast the brain is processing information and the overall excitement level of the person. If they are moving fast, calculating fast, and making proper associations between different concepts they are in the process of brainstorming and new discovery. Their tempo indicates an engaged mental process.

The next time you have a conversation with someone think about these language aspects to gain a better understanding of their meaning.

1. Words and their Symbols: What is the meaning of the words and how they use them to represent certain images, values, beliefs, and things.

2. Subconscious Language: The "hidden" or "honest" language that most people can't hide that shows emotions and values.

3. Construction of Sentences: The emphasis of value and the way in which symbols are connected to display larger ideas.

4. Tempo of Language: The excitability and interest of the person. It can also indicate the amount of mental engagement a person has.

Sailing Hot Rum Races with Fitness Gloves-Did they hold up?

You wouldn't believe me if I told you I tried out a pair of fitness gloves that I used for lifting at the gym during a heated Hot Rum Races on November 4th. Over 133 boats participated and San Diego Bay was packed. Having the right equipment is important but knowing what works and what doesn't can make a big difference.

I have these gloves and I was trying them out for new uses to see if they hold up against significant abuse. It just happened that one of our teammates forgot her gloves so I offered my leather pair to her and used the gloves I bike over with. Because I wasn't sure of how well the gloves would hold up if you are a "grinder" the deal was I would get them back if I need them. 

 If you are running the Jib sheet you will soon find that leather gloves slip and get worn out quickly. When the wind blows you need to pull with significant strength on the jib lines. Gloves slip which require ever more levels of effort to not only pull and grind the sheet in but also to hold onto the line so it doesn't slide back out. 

The same can be said with the spinnaker and the need to chronically adjust the lines so it doesn't collapse with wind changes. Without having strong gloves that can grip the line it is possible to make mistakes and shave off seconds that lose race. In this particular battle, we even overpowered the boat and had to let the line out in a controlled manner so we don't "wind up".

What I found out is that these "fitness" gloves worked better than the standard leather sailing gloves you pay $30 or more for. There was almost no slip and they didn't have a single market on them. Stitching was solid and the microfiber held well after 5 hours of hard core rope gripping.

1.) Durability: They lasted significant abuse after gripping the rope and grinding the jib and spinnaker sheets.

2.) Excellent Fit and Grip: The functionality of the gloves was solid. The microfiber gripped the rope better than my leather gloves and I had complete functionality of my fingers and hand.

Why are Small Business Having Such a Hard Time?

The answer to the question of why small business having such a hard time is dependent on whether you are looking at it from the perspective of the small business owner or the legislation processes that hampers their growth. Small business struggle from many facets that range from skill all the way to financing. This article discusses some of their biggest problems.

Business Owner Perspective:

-Finance: Unable to find needed capital to grow the business.
-Skills and Wages: It is difficult to find wages and labor that will improve the business at a price the establishment can afford.
-Skill: It takes years to build a business and gather the knowledge and ability. There is a need for very specific education and certificates.

From a Macro Perspective:

-Legislation: Legislation is designed to cater to big political donors and big businesses but neglects small business and their ability to compete. They simply can't pay enough or have their voices heard through lack of budget and brand.
-Local Regulations: Many local regulations are not small business friendly. Instead of supporting small business they often block them and discourage the development of clusters and innovative communities.
-Small Business Tax: While large companies often get tax breaks small businesses pay a high percentage. They do try and deduct as much as they can but at the end of the day taxes impact them. Simpler and pro-business tax can help.

La Jolla Community Center Opera

Opera is still alive and kicking among the blue blooded class. It thrives because of donations and contributors. I had the pleasure of going to this Opera a few times in the past year. Trust me when I say I am not of the means that would put me into this class but when it is Free I like to go and enjoy the music. That is right, the La Jolla Community Center Opera is free a certain nights so you may want to check out their website!

You may want to view their Calendar. 

Mostly I like to just listen because the singers are amazing and have practiced their craft for some time. Their voices are loud and boom over the room. As you sit and listen you begin to understand the passion and the stories that are created from such music. This includes love, hate, betrayal, and bliss.

If you let your thoughts wonder you will come to realize the beauty of this music and its powerful message about life. Life and death with everything in between is present. Starting in the 16th century by Florine musicians and intellectuals as a return to simple tragedy so no doubt it is emotional.

In some ways Opera is slowly dying but may experience a renaissance much like polo did after the movie "Pretty Woman". While the general crowd is older there were enough young people around to show that it is not a dead art form and has a new generation following. Amazingly, the middle ages, didn't seem to be present.   As a supporter of the arts I hope such activities become more common in orientation.

Is There Still a Need for Family Business Education?

Business education is focused on larger and bigger things but sometimes skips over the needs to educate on small family business affairs. While global business is the name of the game today there is still a need to provide curriculum for small business. Most people in developing countries run family businesses but may not be maximizing their applied learning if curriculum isn't focused on their needs as well.

It should be remembered that the beginning of all business education was through family and apprentice training. Apprenticeships existed for hundreds, if not thousands, of years without the need for formal education. However, as business became more complex family business eventually needed to move to formal education and business schools were launched. 

While many schools have changed their core missions much of the world is still family business oriented. Many American small businesses were killed off by large corporations and poor legislation. The rest of world functions off of family business economics. The education is still as valuable today as it was 100 years ago. 

The family system is based on family orientation: tradition, stability, loyalty, trust, and interdependency (Lumpkin et al., 2008). These values are different than what would  be experienced from the perspective of someone expecting to work in a corporation. The perspective changes how they view business and its essential function. 

Let us look at a quick example. A family business ultimate goal is to maintain the family and has the need to produce wealth and opportunity for that family. One might hire relatives, make business deals based on family connections, and mix up their personal assets. A corporation seeks to make money for hedge fund investors, business deals are subject to a bid process, and personal assets are almost never mixed. 

This fundamental difference is important and it is argued that a family business curriculum should be created that focuses beyond systems (Burch, et. al., 2015). The authors suggest that while hard skills are needed additional soft skills need to be created to deal with the complexity of family-business socio-economic structures. 

It isn't likely feasible for every university to develop programs directly related to family business in the U.S.. Such family-business degrees are likely to have a greater impact in Europe and Asia. However, it would be wise to offer a specialization in such programs at the undergraduate level. There are still enough demand that the specialization will be helpful for small business entrepreneurs. 

Burch, et. al. (2015). Rethinking family business education.  Journal of Family Business Management, 5, (2), pp.277-293. Retrived https://doi.org/10.1108/JFBM-02-2015-0007

Lumpkin, G., Martin, W. & Vaughn, M. (2008). Family orientation: Individual-level influences on family firm outcomes. Family Business Review, 21 (2), pp. 127-138.

Creative Art and Expression in Science-Stem and Stream

Art and sciences are two facets of understand the world in which we live. I would like to call this Stem and Stream. Stem offers us the opportunity to think about science from a methodological viewpoint while Stream is more of an unconscious process. Recently, I engaged in a free art class at one of the local dining establishments as both enjoyment and a "Stream" process.

Of course there is nothing like a glass of wine to get the creative juices flowing.

While I cannot say that I am much of an artists, or ever will be, I can say that the process of art does help me think more scientifically. In this case such classes offer an opportunity to socialize in a non-stressful environment that allows you to see new forms in images and people.

In this case, it was a live model that held poses for about 5 minutes for a few hours. You don't get an opportunity to go into specific detail but just enough time to outline and put in a few features.

An important benefit of attending these events is that science is nothing without creativity. Drawing, painting, and other forms of artistic endeavors leads to greater scientific discovery. If you looked into the smallest and smallest components you would still discover nothing without the creative ability to think about things in a new and interesting way.

Isn't that the point of art? Art is a process of creativity which is one of the highest forms of expression according to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs but also a fundamentally important part of being a scientific thinker.