Oops...they did it again!

 It was less than 4 years ago that a second Boeing Max 8 aircraft crashed, killing all on board.  At that time, it was the second crash of that model in only a few months.  The resulting investigation found an issue related to both software and hardware that grounded all similar models.  It also led to the termination of the Boeing CEO for failures that occurred during his watch.

Last week another Boeing 737 being flown by Alaska Airlines experienced a near catastrophic incident when a cabin door suddenly decided to make a premature opening during mid-flight.

Boeing's current CEO, David Calhoun, was quoted as follows:

Boeing CEO David Calhoun acknowledged the company’s “mistake” in the wake of the Alaska Airlines incident at a staff-wide “safety meeting” Tuesday. “We’re going to approach this number one acknowledging our mistake,” Calhoun told staff, according to a video of the meeting provided to CNN by Boeing. “We’re going to approach it with 100% and complete transparency every step of the way. We are going to work with the NTSB who is investigating the accident itself to find out what the cause is”

A company source told CNN that Boeing believes “the mistake in question” was introduced in the aircraft’s manufacturing supply chain, however it is not immediately clear if Calhoun identified any specific error during the presentation.

Oops, they did it again!  

A mistake is sitting in the wrong seat.  A mistake is showing up an hour late for your flight.

A mistake is NOT designing a door that might fly open in flight!!!  And while I am on this point, how did Calhoun know that Boeing had made a mistake before the investigation had even begun...

Boeing's problem is not in its engineering, though there may be fault there.  Boeing's problem is having created an environment where something like this might happen.  Boeing's problem is a lack of accountability.  Boeing's problem is a lack of leadership that permeates their boardroom, and which resonates throughout the organization.

Boeing will find and fix the problem on the 737.  That's an engineering issue.  Boeing itself won't be fixed unless and until they address the systemic problems of leadership that continue to plague their executive branch. 

A fish stinks from the head down...

Don't let a recession become a self-fulfilling prophesy!

 

 

 

Since 1980 we have experienced six recessions, each averaging about ten months in duration.  Only one of these had anything to do with classic economics.  The other 5 were the result of activities beyond the control of the general populace.  These include the Iranian Oil embargo in 1980; the Gulf War in 1990; the Dot Com bubble in 2001; the housing collapse of 2008 (leading to zero prosecutions of any bankers); and the Covid 19 2020 recession.

 

The reality is that, left to its own devices, the economy has a way of balancing itself and correcting swings in either direction.  It is only when excessive greed or tragedy intervenes that we experience an upset…a brief upset…and then the ship rights itself and we carry on.

 

We don’t need layoffs.  We don’t need government intervention.  We just need the laws to be properly enforced and legitimate prosecutions to be initiated.  We can figure out the rest.

 

People will continue to purchase food and other necessities of life.  We will travel.  We will save and we will spend because we are resilient and despite government assertions to the contrary, we generally do know what is best for us.

 

Consumers consume…duh!  And while there may be short term interruptions from time to time we don’t need economists who are better labeled as historians trying to crystal ball a future because frankly they suck at it.  We also don’t need knee-jerk reactions by executives to enact layoffs so they appear to be ‘reacting to current economic conditions’ when the reality is they are simply trying to protect their collective behinds and their stock options.

 

In 2008 I was commanded to reduce my headcount (sorry SA).  The short straw fell to someone who really didn’t deserve it but his severance of many, many months allowed him to transition to a competitor and kick my butt while I lost out on the sales that he would have generated had he remained in place.  It was a losing proposition for my company but a God send to my competitor and the individual that I ‘out placed’.

 

I understand that there will still be some caught in the cross fire of changing economic conditions but we will care for them and work to ensure that they are not the ‘collateral damage’ of change.

 

The next year will be filled with opportunities and challenges.  We will welcome the former and overcome the latter.  Both will pass and likely more quickly than we expect.  Remain resilient, remain realistic, and remain positive.  Our best has always seen us through whatever situation confronts us…and our best will continue to serve us in the future.

I am fed up with the hypocrisy!

 

 

It is well past time for members of the Christian faith to disavow Christian Nationalism and the impact it hopes to have on the politics of North America. 

The church is supposed to be salt and light, not judge and jury! Stay out of the bedrooms of those who do not share your faith...or rather your interpretation of same. Your hypocrisy is overwhelming and detrimental. 

Remember the adage of removing the log in your eyes before looking for specks in others? Why do you act as though sin has a hierarchy that you can pick and choose to support or ignore? Where is your outrage at the abundance of sexual sin in your leadership? Where is your anger at the treatment of women in your pews? Where is your sorrow that there are more divorces than abortions? How do you claim to love Jesus while ignoring His command to love others, even your enemies?  

I write as a Christian who is appalled at the lack of leadership in the broader Christian community. This is not a call to faith. It is a call to tolerance and abiding by truth. 

I am speaking out and speaking up because I do not want to see both our politics and our faith hijacked by a vocal minority whose selective group of intolerant and judgmental ‘believers’ seek to tip the balance while others sit asleep at the switch. 

This is my call to action. Shut the hell up and let the rest of us make our choices as we see fit. 

See: 

 How the Southern Baptist Convention covered up its widespread sexual abuse scandal : NPR 

 

Ravi Zacharias Hid Hundreds of Pictures of Women, Abuse Du...... | News & Reporting | Christianity Today  

 

Southern Baptists uphold expulsion of churches with women pastors – but the debate’s not just about gender (religionnews.com) 

Participation Medals

 

 

In this era when everyone’s ‘participation’ needs to be acknowledged, let us never forget those whose efforts granted us the rights and freedoms we enjoy. 

Here is a picture of true Participation Medals. Earned for service in WWII by my father, Cecil T. Brown. His childhood friend, Barclay Newsome, died on October 7, 1944, during a flight over occupied Holland. These two, and the millions of others who served deserve our unqualified admiration and recognition. They enlisted with no anticipation of a medal, or even of a return. On November 11th, pause long enough to say ‘thanks’, not because you must, but because you can! 

Can you say '...out of touch...'

 

 

In a recent interview, Mary Barra, CEO at GM, justified her almost $30 million in compensation for 2022 by claiming that almost 92% was a bonus based on company performance, aka, doing her job. By implication, her $2.4 million salary should be considered a retention bonus to stick around and make some real money! Her income was 362 times the median income for all GM employees. And she doesn’t understand why the UAW workers will not consider the ‘generous offer’ the company has made. Can you say ‘...out of touch...’ 

And it’s not as though Barra is out there alone. The CEO’s at Ford and Stellantis earned $21 million and $25 million respectively, 281 times and 365 times their median employee incomes. 

This is a uniquely North American situation. By comparison, look at the CEO compensation of their competitors. 

Toyota - $6.7 million 

Honda - $2.3 million 

Nissan - $4.5 million 

BMW - $5.6 million 

Porche - $7.9 million 

Mercedes - $7.5 million 

The corporate feeding trough in North America is stunningly out of touch with reality. Since the late 1970’s average CEO compensation has risen 1322%! This is unparalleled greed. 

It's not like all CEOs are geniuses. Both GM and Stellantis were effectively bankrupt in 2008 requiring massive government intervention to stay afloat.  

Most of these ‘leaders’ are anything but unicorns. Ask this question ‘...what would happen to Company X if the CEO was hit by a bus...’ If the answer is that the company would fail, then the CEO has failed to do one of their primary tasks in ensuring a chain of continuity. If the answer is that the company would carry on and replace the individual, then my point is proven. 

Executive compensation has become outrageous and inconsistent with the actual contributions made by the individual. When average employees ask for fairness in wage negotiations, we cannot take those demands out of context. Does Mary Barra really contribute as much as 362 employees? Expressed in another more tangible way ‘...is it right that Mary Barra makes more before lunch on the first workday of the year than the average employee makes in a year...’

 

There is more than enough blame to share for this inequity. Compliant compensation committees on Boards of Directors; executive search firms whose own fees are a function of the executive compensation; HR leaders who neglect to represent ALL employees. And finally place blame on the major investors who turn a blind eye to the whole mess if stock returns meet or exceed their expectations. 

Employment equity includes compensation equity. The disparities demonstrated in the executive ranks have reached absurd levels because there are far too many so-called leaders who are similarly out of touch.

 

We need a large dose of reality. I am pretty sure that Barra, and others like her, could learn to get by on $5-6 million a year...  

 

I acknowledge a recent BBC article for the salary information contained herein.