Surprise about Two Surprises

There are two articles in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle of December 11 that involved surprises.

I am surprised that they are viewed as surprises.

One on the front page is that the City Council of Cheyenne voted down allowing High West Energy to operate in Cheyenne. Several council members as well as High West Energy were surprised. One council member who voted no is quoted as saying he asked the question "What's in it for the city?" He could think of nothing. As an elected representative of the citizens, he should have asked a different question. What's in it for the citizens? I'll try to answer that question.

Reason one. High West could have continued serving its customers that are in areas annexed by the City. 

Reason two. High West is a coop. Many people prefer coops. If nothing else there is a great lunch at the annual meeting. This year it was barbecue in Kimball Nebraska. There was also an entertaining speaker, plenty of coffee and tea, and good fellowship with friends and neighbors. 

Reason three. Competition. There are many cities where choices can be made of which utility. There are even choices for wind or solar energy. It is a simple process to pay a usage fee to use the same wires and transformers. Duke Power of North Carolina has windmills on City of Cheyenne land and sells wind energy all over the country. 

A second surprise in another article is that 190 million people will be getting a $5.25 per month per capita Federal fee on their health insurance starting in 2014. Why the surprise? Did they believe that government involvement in health care would have no related costs? Do they not understand that all the coming freebies will cost at least $700 billion over the next 10 years? Will anyone be surprised if it is not much more than that? The $25 billion interstate system so far has cost $560 billion. The new $5.25 fee per month per capita is to raise only $25 billion. Many other fees and taxes are coming.

Cowboy Safety is all about how to know what is coming and to implement strategies to deal with it. Cowboy Safety means no surprises. 

David Sneed

He Is There All the Time

I love that song "He Was There All the Time."

Jesus made us many promises. He will not force us to apply them or even to call on Him. He just waits patiently.

The Bible tells us to "cast all our cares upon Him." If we do that he will accept them. He will not just take them. If we want to keep them we can do so.

He is there and waiting.

David Sneed

SKUs

I used the term SKU in an email today to a client.

The response I got was "SKU?"

It was my mistake for using the seller's term. I should have simply said "item number." I got to thinking more about that. Maybe we should be more precise and always use the term SKU. "Item number" to a customer means that it is something the customer wants. Maybe the customer does not know what they want and so they do not know the item number.

I was at the annual Convention and Trade Show of a long running organization. There was an open Board meeting. It made sense as it was a non-profit organization. I could see a private company restricting attendance to stockholders.

At this Board meeting there was a presentation by two of the Executives that would depict the firm as having three distinct parts. One would be the annual Conference and Trade Show. Another would be the leading fee for service product group. The third would be everything else. There was even the suggestion that there be three separate legal entities. I watched the Board members. Zero interest. And both of those executives are now departed from the organization. Plain and simple the first two parts are the cash cows that keep the third one, and all of the bureaucracy, employed. The mission was buried.

What if each if us, individually and in our businesses, had defined SKUs for what we do?  We would not call them "item numbers" because our customers would not have to know them. An item number is something that provides us money. A SKU is something that we must define and give. Yeah I know. It's a fine line. It does not have to be a fine line.

That organization could see fantastic growth if it formed the three organizations. The surplus money from the first two parts would allow them to have some real growth. Everything in the third part would have to learn to perform. The second and third leading fee for service product groups have no reason for being. Under the present model they have no need to perform. They get their share of the total budget and can hide out. Top management does not care because their salary and bonuses are justified by having a large staff.

That organization is imploding. It is not just the decline of total revenue. Adjusted for the value of the dollar over time, it is rapidly going downhill. It stays alive with annual layoffs. The ones laid off are often the only real producers. Others are simply inventory that can later be dumped. They are like sand bags on a balloon. When there is a need to regain altitude they are cut loose. That organization has a ways to go yet like the buggy whip manufacturers it will eventually disappear.

A feature of Cowboy Safety is to make sure that the strategies are black and white. Strategy parts either achieve the mission or they do not. The operation model can reduce overheads by eliminating or outsourcing indirect functions. Initially it is done with tweaking the bookkeeping systems. Budgets are structured to the mission. Users begin to see what can be reduced and what needs to be increased.  Eventually the organization becomes known for its work and not for its bureaucracy.

David Sneed

Why is Religious Affiliation Shrinking?

According to a new report from Pew Research (www.pewforum.org/unaffiliated/nones-on-the-rise.aspx), one fifth of the general public and one third of adults under 30 have no religious affiliation. A variety of reasons are given.

I know something about the issue because I am one of the religious unaffiliated. I do have a religious background while growing up and as an adult. Now I am not a part of organized religion though my faith is stronger than it has ever been.

My reason for being unaffiliated is that I have not been able to find a church that can consistently present and live its fundamentals. Those churches may be there. I'm sure they are. I just can't find one. I'm not looking for saints. I'm looking for teaching that is black and white. Over the years I have seen many humorous quotes about the subject. "You say the church has too many hypocrites? Come on in. There's room for one more." Or "The church is a hospital for sinners." It goes beyond that.

I went to one church in New Hampshire. I had my Bible with me. After the service I noticed that the pastor would not speak to me. Based on things he said in his sermon I suspect he did not much care for the Bible. "Are you a student?" a lady asked me. "I see you have a Bible." "I guess you could call me that" was my response. Church members and pastors not believing their own doctrine is important. It is not a matter of perfection. Not even aiming for perfection is.

Generally I think that as a society we are moving into more authenticity. It is not just due to generational replacement. Many baby-boomers like me are feeling the same way. Don't give me a sermon telling me why the Bible is not true. And if your doctrine is that everyone who is not a member of your church is going to Hell then have the guts to say so. I may not agree but will respect you for taking a real stand.

The report says that the unaffiliated are more likely to become Democrats and to embrace liberal attitudes on abortion and gay marriage. Those may be the ones that never had a religious affiliation.

The report goes on to say that there is a view that the unaffiliated are secular. Maybe it's the other way around. Maybe the churches are secular.

The gospel message is about Jesus, crucified and resurrected. As Paul pointed out, if that  story is not true then nothing else matters. It disturbs me when that message is not first and foremost. The gospel is about Jesus. It is not about me. It is not about my choices on election day. It is not about abortion or gay marriage. The gospel message is not about how I now entitled to a Bugatti Vayron. The gospel should encourage the lost to accept salvation and to tell others.  It is about the finished work of Christ on the Cross.

If I want to hear a prosperity message I'll go to Forbes or Fast Company or Inc to learn how to do it. I don't want to hear it from someone who has never held a real job or owned a business. If I want to hear about Divine Healing I don't want to hear it from someone with health insurance. And if I want to learn about horses the teacher better know how to ride. There is SOME truth to the adage "those that can do, those that can't teach."

The report indicates that the trend is for more people to become unaffiliated and that there is no longer a stigma to that. There is some fear that we are headed in the same direction as Europe where church attendance has had a major decline. Fortunately many of the churches there are state-funded with religion taxes and with indirect funding. When in London I have attended St Paul's and Westminster Abbey. At both churches only a handful of people are present on Sunday. Ironically I find that the preachers do seem to believe what they preach.

The only thing new in the report is that the number of Protestants is now below 50%.

David Sneed

Big Numbers Made Smaller

According to an article in today's Wall Street Journal, Americans had $31.6 billion in overdraft charges in 2011.

I looked up the population in 2011. According to the Census Bureau in mid-2011 the population of the United States was 311,800,000.

Big numbers for sure. I decided to make it smaller.

When I divide the amount spent on overdrafts by the population I find that the average American spent $101.35 on overdraft charges in 2011.

So the population of a company or a community of 450 people would on average have spent $45,606 just on overdraft charges

The population of my city of 56,000 people spent $5,675,432, again just on overdraft charges.

Often in safety marketing we are told the average cost of a worker's comp claim and in the same ad we are being offered membership in some organization, the sale of a class, or maybe the sale of a book. There is no clear-cut connection other than the implication of how much money can be saved by making that purchase.

Do these marketers not understand that we have Workers' Comp insurance so that we do not have to pay the claim? Have they no other benefit to offer?

There are many other tradeoffs to achieve safety.

The Cowboy Safety concept is to do just that with a variety of measurable safety problems that are unique to a given community. If you like you can do it yourself and maybe better than hiring it out. Let me give you an example of that.

I cannot count the calls I have had asking for "getting certified in forklift safety." I tell them there is no such thing. They are puzzled. "Maybe you mean having someone who has never driven a forklift give you a four hour class on the third Thursday in July if at least 12 people show up?" One of the things that person will "teach" you is that no one can operate a forklift until they have had certain training. So you will know that new hires will have to sit around until the next class can be given.

After pulling their chain for a bit I tell them that they can go to the internet and easily get directed to the OSHA CFR for 1910.178 for Powered Lift trucks. For some reason OSHA does not call them forklifts.  Starting with 1910.178 paragraph L (lower case) there is all that one needs to know about forklift training. Do that and then have the best forklift driver on staff do all of the hands on part. What's better is that new hires can be compliant.

The Cowboy Safety concept is a way to "git er done."



David Sneed

The Height of Ignorance

At a breakfast meeting I attended this morning there was a discussion of the problems in development of collaboration in the development of effective safety programs. Requests to discuss the matter are frequently ignored even with the claim that there is a better way of achieving safety goals. There is zero interest in knowing how this would be possible.

Dr Wayne Dyer said that "the height of ignorance is to reject something you know nothing about."

The desire for effective and efficient safety results is growing in the context of small communities. Collaboration is a way of spreading the news and furthering the cause at the grassroots level.


In 1835, Alexis De Tocqueville wrote of how grassroots methodology worked in America and was helping to make the new country grow.

Wouldn't it be great to "give safety a chance?"

David Sneed

Don't Forget

"Don't Forget" was the title given to an address by William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army in 1910. My son Joshua, a Salvation Army officer, sent me this.

"I am glad you are enjoying yourself. The salvation business is a friend of happiness. Making heaven on earth is our business. Serve the Lord with gladness is one of our favorite mottos. So I am pleased that you are pleased! But amidst all your joys don't forget the sons and daughters of misery. Do you ever visit them? Come away and let us make a call or two. Here is a home, six in family, they eat and drink and sleep and sick and die in the same chamber. Here is a drunkard hovel, void of furniture, wife a skeleton, children in rags; father now sleeping, the victims of his neglect. Here are the unemployed, wandering about, seeking work and finding none. Yonder are the wretched criminals cradled in crime passing in and out of the prisons all the time. There are the Daughter of shame deceived and wronged and ruined. Traveling down the dark and blind to an early grave. There are the children, fighting in the gutter, going hungry to school. Growing up to fill their parents places. Brought it all on themselves, you say? Perhaps so. But that does not excuse our assisting them. You don?t demand a certificate of virtue before you drag some drowning creature out of the water. Nor the assurance in a man of faded grace before you deliver him from the burning building. But what shall we do? Content ourselves by singing a hymn? Offering a prayer? Or giving a little good advice? NO! Ten thousand times no! We will forgive them. Feed them! Reclaim them. Employ them!Perhaps we shall fail with many. Quite likely. But our business is to help them all the same. And that in the most practical, economical and Christlike manner. So let us hasten to the rescue for the sake of our own peace, the poor wretches themselves, ____ (dean?) of these children, and the danger(Savior?) of us all. But you must help with the means. And there is nothing like the present. Who in this company will lend a hand by taking up the gauntlet?"

What is most interesting in terms of safety is that this address was given close to the time of what is called the first National Safety Council Congress in Milwaukee. At that time the keynote speaker, U.S. Secretary of Labor described safety as "Applied Christianity."

That time is ripe that safety be viewed not as a business with unprovable cause and effect relationships enforced by government but as a human service event much as Booth describes it.

David Sneed

Semi Crash on Black Ice

A good reason not to drive in the left lane. Watch this semi cross the median when it hits black ice.

Many states now have made it illegal to drive in the left lane on a high speed highway unless passing or making a left turn such as a left exit or on a high speed non limited access state highway where there are legal median access turn areas.

Wyoming does not yet have the law. Colorado defines it as any four-lane highway with a speed limit of 65 mph or higher unless passing or making a left turn. I have noticed many states now have signs about that law and also about moving over when approaching any emergency or maintenance vehicle on the shoulder.

Another reason not to drive in the lefty lane is that head-on crashes occur in the left lanes of divided highways. Someone driving the wrong way, impaired or disoriented elderly, may think they are driving to the right. They will in fact be in your left lane.

A good rule at night is not to drive in the left lane if you cannot see any taillights ahead of you. During the day time cresting a hill in the left lane can be bad on a divided highway.

On any highway looking ahead as far as possible is always a good idea.

David Sneed

Advice from Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury died today at age 91. Bradbury, sci-fi writer, was most known for his books The Martian Chronicles and Fahrenheit 451. In telling about what it was like to be a writer Bradbury once said,


"The first year I made nothing, the second year I made nothing, the third year I made 10 dollars, the fourth year I made 40 dollars. I remember these. I got these indelibly stamped in there. The fifth year I made 80. The sixth year I made 200. The seventh year I made 800. Eighth year, 1,200. Ninth year, 2,000. Tenth year, 4,000. Eleventh year, 8,000 ...
Just get a part-time job! Anything that's half way decent! An usher in a theater ... unless you're a mad man, you can't make do in the art fields! You've gotta be inspired and mad and excited and love it more than anything else in the world! 


It has to be this kind of BY GOD I'VE GOTTA DO IT! I'VE SIMPLY GOTTA DO IT! If you're not this excited, you can't win!"


Cowboy Safety is a waste of time if you do not have a goal of some kind are are willing to do what not takes to reach it. In a Cowboy Safety program there are many things that must be done that will otherwise seem to be a waste of time. The part-time job concept, not necessarily the part-time job, is a part of a Cowboy Safety program. 


Reread what Bradbury said about his earnings. It was not an accident that he reached 8,000 in year 11. He kept doing what he has to do in order to succeed. 


David Sneed

Faith Summary

In the province of the mind, what one believes to be true either is true or becomes true.

From a fortune cookie.

What to Forget

There are two things we should learn to forget.

1. The good we have done to others.

2. The evil others have done to us. 

Priorities

It's good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it's good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure you haven't lost the things that money can't buy.

George Horace Latimer

The Abundance of Sea Fishes

..."There are multitudes of codde, haddock, salmon, eels, smelt, shad, halibut, flounder, and bass. Lobsters there are infinite in store in all parts of the land, and a great store of oysters, clams, scallops, and mussels."

These words, penned by a Bay Colony Pilgrim in 1630, attest to the abundance of fish and shellfish found in the ocean off the Massachusetts coast, and in the bays, rivers, and inlets.

A tenet of Cowboy Safety is that there is an abundance of everything. All that is needed is an orderly and sensible way of harvesting the good things.

Technology today allows that to be done by any individual and any business no matter how small.

Frequently I hear the lament that "the recession is killing my business." In a 1975 New York Times article, economic statistician Julius Shiskin suggested several rules of thumb for defining a recession, one of which was "two down consecutive quarters of GDP." In time the other rules were forgotten. Some economists prefer a definition of a 1.5% rise in unemployment within 12 months. I am still waiting for someone to tell me how a recession can affect their business at all.

David Sneed

Portable Careers in Cowboy Safety Practice

Years ago I met a man who was single and who liked to travel. He had start out to be a doctor and changed his mind when  he viewed that it would be a confining career. He became a screw machine operator. He saw that it was a high-paying job with demand worldwide. What was even better, it was a language independent job. Drawings and dimensions and quantities were the same everywhere. As an experienced operator he did not have a learning curve. He achieved his goal.

"Portable" careers is the term used for jobs in high-growth, high demand industries with likely openings everywhere.

Employees have more freedom and can make more money with a portable career. Employers also benefit because they can increase or decrease their work force more easily.

David Sneed

Mixed Agendas

An area of concern in safety is mixed agendas. A mixed agenda is when participants in an environment have differing goals or agendas.

In Wyoming we see it in Yellowstone Park. Some drivers are on a two week vacation who did not realize how long it would take to get to Yellowstone nor how long it would take to see it. Other drivers, retirees for example, are in no rush and can spend the whole summer there if they like. Because of mixed agendas it is difficult to control traffic.

The latest example of mixed agendas is in New York City. We all know of the plane that went down in the Hudson River because of a bird strike. Under a proposal from the Department of Agriculture, staffers would be authorized to kill a half dozen species of birds within a five mile radius of the airport. The intent of course is to reduce the number of bird strikes on airplane. Sound good? Not so fast.

There is a multi-million dollar Federal project underway near the airport to restore wetland habitats for migratory birds that includes Canadian Geese. Canadian Geese brought down the flight into the river.

Often safety relates to what the ruling government agency defines as a hazard or a safety priority.

David Sneed

National Safety Council Humor

We are collecting safety humor for a new book of safety ideas. If you have any jokes or cartoons please send them.

I ran across a good one today in the 1981 movie Cannonball Run. This movie had a number of big name actors and actresses. It involved a cross country race on public highways and was quite funny.

Between minute 31 and 32 in the movie, in a scene the night before the race was to begin, a mechanic was repairing a motorcycle in a hotel room. The rider had a clutch problem and was testing the fix. Out of control in the hallway, he knocked down a man with an unnamed government safety organization, crashed into the hotel bar where patrons were relaxing and celebrating, and went out a window. Sammy Davis Jr said to Dean Martin "What was that?" Dean Martin replied "That was the National Safety Council entry."

Humor involves something unexpected. Humor can be used as a way to convey serious thoughts and ideas. In the motorcycle example there are so many ways to explain the humor that it is a valuable joke.

David Sneed

Facebook is the Antithesis of Cowboy Safety

The value of Facebook has its origin in two fairly well-known quotes: 


"No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public." H.L. Mencken. 


"If you want to get rich, you start a religion." L. Ron Hubbard.


Who would have ever thought that in 2012 it would be possible to get a billion people to devote large amounts of time to writing private details of oneself or to reading private details of others? Who would have thought that a billion people would openly allow themselves to become a product? 


Just today I was explaining to one of my daughters the effective function of "like" in Facebook. Yes it is to give assurance to someone who needs assurance. It is also a way to get data for the purpose of soliciting advertising. 


Facebook may not have set out to become a business, and certainly not one where the raw material has no cost, yet it has certainly become one. Not only is it a business it is now one where the stock is publicly traded. The only thing that could be better would be if it was a religion. And it has done that. 


Facebook has become not just a business but a religion. It is a religion that is the antithesis of Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and possibly all others. Salvation comes from the sacrament of daily communion with self and with telling the world about oneself. All written in digital format in the eternal cloud, heaven if you will. No more meditating and seeking a Higher Power other than self. Not only does one not have to die to self, on Facebook there is honor in living to self.

Cowboy Safety is not a business or a religion. Yet Facebook is also the antithesis of Cowboy Safety. Cowboy Safety is a way to protect oneself. Ultimately Facebook is a way to destroy oneself.


Facebook is the newest form of the religion of Narcissism. And with an altar that is a far better one than a mirror. PsychCentral says that "at the core of extreme narcissism is egotistical preoccupation with self, personal preferences, aspirations, needs, success, and how he/she is perceived by others." Facebook exactly. Egotism is egoism with a "t," talking about self. 

Facebook, the religion, is only a threat to the religion of materialism. The other religions have embraced narcissism and many of their churches are on Facebook. As a threat to materialism, Facebook is a timely aid to a society that may have had too much growth. 


Who needs to make money and accumulate money when there is no longer a need to "keep up with the Joneses?" Facebook is a much better alternative. 

Facebook is a democratic religion. No longer does one have to be wealthy in money and make big donations, endow chairs at colleges, or to fund buildings named for oneself. The only wealth needed to build monuments to self in Facebook is time and that asset is more plentiful among those who lack money. In turn that time is converted to money for the stockholders of Facebook the company. 


I am not running down Facebook. Facebook does not create narcissists. Facebook provides the place for worship of self.  It has done a great job of that and will do it even better in the future. Maybe it is good that we know how many narcissists there are.


David Sneed

Cowboy Safety Involves Living During Exponential Change

The following is a must see video that explains exponential change. There is no longer time to let things evolve. A Cowboy Safety practitioner does things right now and moves on to something else. That is made possible by having a model of the business that can quickly show what the effect will be of the change.

David Sneed

Cowboy Safety Idea from Mark Zuckerberg

Startups today are not like in the past. Here is a comment from Mark Zuckerberg of FaceBook:

"An idea today can be implemented right away. There is a fundamental protocol for a business that is for the most part standardized."

New development today is in the arena of how to plan for a business to self-finance with only a small amount of seed capital or maybe none. Flow-through taxation is a disadvantage with the new type of businesses.


David Sneed

Graphics in Cowboy Safety

Maurice Sendak died today. My favorite quote from him is:

"There must be more to life than having everything!"

-from "Higglety Pigglety Pop!"

The following is an important interview with him. In essence he says:

"An illustrator in my own mind – and this is not a truth of any kind – is someone who so falls in love with writing that he wishes he had written it, and the closest he can get to is illustrating it. And the next thing you learn, you have to find something unique in this book, which perhaps even the author was not entirely aware of. And that’s what you hold on to, and that’s what you add to the pictures: a whole Other Story that you believe in, that you think is there."

We need illustrators in safety. Too often we take rules that were written by some government worker, possibly a lawyer, and we make that our policy. We forget that risk management is the real goal of safety. We make safety an end unto itself.

Look at the simple issue of fire extinguishers. Though legally compliant, they are often inadequate to extinguish any type of fire, inaccessible in an emergency, invisible to people in the workplace, unneeded, and even a hazard because evacuation may be the best choice no matter what type of fire. Not only do hotels have sprinklers over the swimming pool, there is usually a fire extinguisher on the wall. Yet there are no fire extinguishers in the bedrooms. The bedrooms are where hotel fires usually start and where poisonous gases may spread through the heating and cooling ducts often causing multiple fatalities of sleeping guests in other rooms.

Using Sendak's theory, an illustrator could see through the CFR "story," see the real need and come up with a picture of what to do in the event of a fire or in how to prevent a fire.

David Sneed

The Fellowship of the Silver Star

I received an Easter card from Commissioner Carolyn Knagge and Major Mariam Rudd of the Salvation Army Fellowship of the Silver Star. Cheri and I are members because our son Joshua is a Salvation Army officer.

The card reads:

"Alleluia! He is Risen! Mark 16:6

Jesus conquered death once, for all, so that we might live as God's deeply loved, forgiven children, full of hope and joy. 

Jesus rose, and we, too shall rise from death to be with him forever. "

The original purpose of the Order of the Silver Star was to provide a means whereby The Salvation Army could recognize and honor each mother (by natural birth or legal adoption) whose son or daughter was commissioned as an officer in The Salvation Army.

In 2001, the name was changed to the Fellowship of the Silver Star to reflect significant sociological realities in society and to affirm the importance of the family.  The Fellowship was expanded to include both parents or a designated spiritual parent of the newly commissioned officer.  This inclusiveness emphasizes the linking of families of commissioned officers to The Salvation Army, providing support as well as fresh evangelistic and pastoral opportunities.

Membership will continue to be family based, but where the cadet does not have parents or step-parents, he or she will propose another close relative or spiritual parent to become a member of the Fellowship of the Silver Star.

Communities are important and the Fellowship of the Silver Star is a good example of an intentional community. 

David Sneed

What Happens When Time Passes

I am looking at The Wyoming Eagle, Cheyenne WY, of May 7, 1992...exactly 20 years ago. Seems like yesterday.

There are ads with prices. The Sea Galley at the Frontier Mall has Prime Rib and Crab Legs for $8.99 with Clam chowder or salad, and baked potato, rice pilaf, or golden fries.

The Kings Table Buffet has Friday and Saturday dinner for $4.99.

That is about half the price of the same items today. We do not readily think of the past 20 years as a time of inflation.

What was your revenue in 1992? Has it doubled since then? It would have to be double today what it was in 1992 just to be even with inflation. A doubling in 20 years, per the Rule of 72, is 3.6% per year of increase.

I think of a number of safety organizations both for-profit and non-profit that have revenue today that is LESS than what it was 20 years ago. Many of them have the same management that suffers from the same problem that all of us have. Time passes and we are not conscious of relative values.

If our revenue numbers are down is it because we have improved productivity or is it because we are in decline? Are we doing more units of service or are we doing the same or fewer units of service at ever increasing prices? It is important that we examine ourselves to see what is really going on.

One more comment. On page 18 of that same newspaper there is an article by Jim Farber of the NY Daily News entitled "Springsteen Makes TV Appearances." The article begins with the question "Has populist Bruce Springsteen lost some of his clout with the masses?" The article then goes on to give some stats on numbers of records sold and the fact that Springsteen was increasing appearances on tv and other places ostensibly to counteract his decline due to competition, new ideas, and younger audiences.

David Sneed

Is Patrick Dempsey a Hero?

We have been treated to plenty of news this week about how "Grey's Anatomy" star Patrick  Dempsey pulled a teenager from a wrecked car in front of his house in Malibu.

The 17 year old driver was airlifted to a hospital  where he is recovering from a concussion and a bruised optic nerve.

Was this action heroic or was it poor judgment?

An important rule of first aid is not to move the victim unless absolutely necessary.

I was not at the scene but from photos I have some good ideas about the situation. The car was not on fire. There did not seem to be leaking gasoline. With the vehicle upside down the engine may well have been off. The victim was not in the middle of the highway in the fog. From anywhere in Malibu it does not take long for an ambulance to arrive. THe best action may have been to make certain that 911 had been called and to support the victim's head and neck until help arrived.

It is ironic that Dempsey plays the part of a doctor yet did not know this simple principle.

Fortunately the driver did not sustain further injury by being moved.

David Sneed

Government and Safety Have the Same Problem

The context of this quote is the statement from Kim Kardashian that she might run for Mayor of Glendale CA. Don't laugh. Look at who we have as Mayors eveywhere. 

Gary Woodward, professor of communication studies at The College of New Jersey in Ewing.

“What seems to be happening at every level of government, from the Senate on down to the office of mayor in Glendale, is that people are seeking public office more as a way to establish identity than to actually do the difficult work of governance,” he says. “They are forgetting that public service is about governing and governing is a talent in and of itself. It requires skills in compromise and working with others to come up with something that benefits the public good."

“It is not a place to simply stake out who you are,” he says.

The same is true in the safety world. More to come on this subject. 

David Sneed

Salvation Army Thrift Store Cheyenne Wyoming

The Salvation Army Thrift Store in Cheyenne Wyoming closed about two years ago. I don't have the details but I believe that the labor cost was greater than the revenue. Most o=if not all of th staff was paid. There may also have been some other reasons but a net loss is a good enough reason.

The store is back in business with a different operations model.

The two buildings are owned free and clear of debt. Possibly the only fixed cost is insurance on the buildings.

The items sold are all donated. The staff is all volunteer. The only variable cost might be the utilities.

For all practical purposes the net profit is equal to the revenue.

Because of limited inventory the store is now open one day a month. As donations pick up, rather than have "percent off sales" the store can add days that it is open. This part is only my speculation. It is true that the operation is more sustainable.

That store now is similar to an internet experience or information business. Once the website is set up the incremental cost of a sale is zero.

The lesson to be learned is that if the economy has a no growth recovery, competitive advantage will come from new operations models like the Salvation Army Thrift Store.

In the late 60s when supermarkets went to Sunday opening and then 24/7 the others had to do the same for competitive reasons. What if for competitive reasons shortening of hours was necessary for survival?

Sustainability may stem from reduced revenues rather than from growth. Minimization of fixed costs will be necessary. There will be reduced risk of all kinds and related reduction of expenses.

Shortening hours is only one way to reduce revenue and costs. There are some other options. We are dealing with them on a case by case basis. The American way of work is unfortunately being forced to change.

David Sneed

Romans 3:25

Romans 3:25 is an interesting verse. Here it is in King James:

"Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God."

The whole sentence runs from verse 22 through 26.

"...through faith in his blood..."

On Easter Sunday, the shedding of blood for the remission of sins often seems to come across as a celebration party for our team that has won. We honor our coach in the pulpit with increased money in the offering plate. Many are there who will not be seen again until Christmas and many will forget about Jesus and move on to the next win.

"...through faith in his blood..."

Blood does not go well with a $2,000 suit and Gucci shoes. Blood did go well in Egypt.

All that mattered when the Angel passed over was whether or not there was blood on the doorpost.

Look at Exodus 12:13. "And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you when I smite the land of Egypt."

When you sit in church on Easter Sunday will you be looking at the smiling man in the pulpit with the car salesman voice? Will you rejoice in your fine clothes and new shoes? Will the money you put in the plate be the propitiation of your sins?

Hear the prophecy. Exodus 11:6. "And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it any more."

Is there blood on your doorpost? Is there blood on your neighbor's doorpost?

Exodus 11:7. "....that ye may know how the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel."

"...through faith in his blood..."

David Sneed

A Simple Solution from a Lawyer

Much of safety prevention and cure could be eliminated by eliminating or minimizing activities. This may sound facetious but there is a good basis for it.

Cutting out unnecessary driving lowers chances of a crash.

Outsourcing infrequent specialty work avoids having inexperienced and unskilled workers on a task.

There is a good current example that is easy to understand.

In today's issue of Go Lackawanna, from Scranton PA, there is an Associated Press article about problems that occur for lottery winners. There are law suits from people who claim to have a piece of the ticket in a lottery pool. The lottery pool ticket buyer may claim that the winning ticket was not bought as part of the pool. There can be false claims. There can be claims that are not clear. In one case a nine year pool member, Jeanette French, was not at work the day the money was collected for what became the winning ticket. That case is still being litigated.

There are many controls that can be implemented. French's lawyer, Eric Shane of Miami, said "My true advice, honestly, would be don't do a pool."

Keep that in mind when writing a safety plan.

David Sneed

What is the Real Reason Christians Pray?

According to T.M. Luhrmann's book "When God Talks Back" Christians pray as "a psychological defense against the culture's prevailing disbelief."

The real reason Christians pray is because we are commanded to do so in God's Word. There are many scriptures to back that up. Just a few.

I Th 5:17 "Pray without ceasing"

I Th 5:18 "In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you."

Lk 21:36 "Watch ye and pray always"

David Sneed

What Makes a Community?

Yesterday, I rented a bike in San Francisco and rode over the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin. To get back to San Francisco I took the ferry from Sausalito to the Embarcadero.

While waiting for the ferry, I called my wife. I said "We are waiting to get on the ferry." In a later call she asked me who was the "we." She knew I was there to meet a man from South Africa. She also knew that our daughter-in-law Jessica was coming to San Francisco for a Salvation Army meeting. So the "we" was unclear. In one sense though it was just me. The cyclists were all off to the side separate from the pedestrians. "we" meant us cyclists. Why did I say we?

There are many cyclists on the bike path along the bay, on the bridge approaches, on the bridge and on the bike paths in Marin and Sausalito. Everyone stops at different points to rest. Cyclists pass each other and then get passed. They hold brief conversations and greetings. A certain number of cyclists then form a camaraderie of doing the same thing at the same time yet not being directly together. While waiting for the ferry loading some of these cyclists are able to greet each other as friends of the moment though names are not known and there will soon be a break-up. It becomes a "we." It could still be "we" to distinguish from the pedestrians or to group those about to do the same thing. In this case the "we" becomes a designation for a temporary community.

There are many types of communities that may not seem to be communities. Motorcyclists  wave to each other. On country roads with little traffic and relatively low speed there is the lifted index finger off the steering wave to each other. Cowboy hat wearers nod to one another. The same with drivers of antique cars, Corvettes, or whatever is similar yet uncommon. In the Xin Fu Kang Neighbourhood in Shanghai it might be senior citizens in specially designed buildings in a wealthy area.   

If it is not possible to say "we" then a community must not exist. Maybe if we (there it is again) can say "we" then  we can go further and clarify the type of community and can do, something for the common good.

As safety moves from mandatory behavior control to grass roots beneficial experiences, there will be more of the "we" communities. I'm going to work more on where the "we" should take place and how to know when the community exists.

David Sneed

I was Stopped by a Deputy in Nevada Today

I was stopped today on a remote highway in Nevada by a County Deputy. No citation though. He said that he stopped me because I was using a cell phone while driving. With each of us doing at least 70 mph I don't know how he could determine that. I was not using a cell phone and my passenger confirmed it. The deputy wanted to see my cell phone. I had to unfasten my seat belt to retrieve it from my left jeans pocket. I gave it to the Deputy who determined that I had, in fact, not been using it. He did tell me that there is a new law in Nevada and that he is watching for violators. 


Authorities say distracted driving puts everyone on the road at risk. The National Safety Council estimates that one in four car crashes involve cell phone use. Cell phone usage though, only one element of distraction, has become safety theatre. I was exceeding the speed limit. That was not an issue. I was driving an Arizona car though the deputy knew I was from Wyoming and my passenger was from South Africa. No need to show ownership or authority to drive it.  There was no security concern about why we were there on that remote road and on a weekday. 


No disrespect intended to the Deputy or to his Department. He was most courteous. He has to do whatever someone somewhere has determined is  a priority. 

David Sneed

Cowboy Safety, Wyoming, and Etch a Sketch

Today on CNN, Eric Fehrnstrom, an adviser to Mitt Romney, spoke of a new start for Romney's campaign after winning the Illinois primary. “Everything changes,” Mr. Fehrnstrom said. “It’s almost like an Etch A Sketch. You can kind of shake it up and restart all over again.”


Interesting thought with some history behind it. 


The Virginian, by Owen Wister, is the quintessential Wyoming story of Equality. At the Swinton barbecue, speaking of the unnamed cowboy for whom the book was named, school teacher Molly Wood said "There's a stranger now. Who is that black man?" "Well - he's from Virginia. and he ain't allowing he's black." 


In Wyoming race and color did not matter. Perhaps the Virginian was a freed slave. Where you came from and what you did before coming to Wyoming did not matter. All that mattered was what you were in Wyoming. To paraphrase Fehrnstrom, Wyoming was like an Etch A Sketch. 


Cowboy Safety works the same way. In the industrial age safety was done in a certain way. Legal compliance became more important than incident prevention. People were treated as machines that had to be protected more from themselves than anything else. 


Then safety was all shaken up.  


Safety became a part of the design process. Instead of binders full of engineering legalese, safety became a part of one's life. Automation took over the nitty gritty. Much of safety became invisible. Hazards became those of situational stress. We began to realize that safety is not the same everywhere. And after 9/11 we began to do safety differently. 


In the same way that Wyoming was a geographic place of a new start, safety is a continuing new start not just in our physical location but in our minds and in our actions. Each day is different. Each situation is different. Being safe from random events and secure from planned events means to constantly shake that Etch A Sketch. 


David Sneed

Cowboy Safety Design Process by Richard Rodgers

Cowboy Safety Design Process by Richard Rodgers? Do you mean the Richard Rodgers of Rodgers and Hammerstein? Yep!

Here it is.

"Our first meeting on the project that eventually became known as OKLAHOMA! took place at my home in Connecticut. We sat under the huge oak tree and tossed ideas around. What kind of songs were we going to write? Where would they go? Who would sing them? What special texture and mood should the show have?

We had many such sessions until we became thoroughly familiar
not only with every aspect of the play but with each other's outlook and approach as well. Fortunately we were in agreement on all major issues, so that when we finally did begin putting words and notes on paper - which didn't occur until we'd gone through weeks of discussions - we each were able to move ahead at a steady pace.

The first problem was, appropriately, how to open the show. We didn't want to begin with anything obvious, such as a barn dance with everyone a-whoopin and a-hollerin'. After much thought and talk, we simply went to the way Lynn Riggs had opened his play, with a woman seated alone on the stage churning butter. For the lyric of the first song, Oscar developed his theme from the description that Riggs had written as an introduction to the scene.

This was all Oscar's poetic imagination needed to produce his lines about cattle standing like statues, the corn as high as an elephant's eye, and the bright golden haze on the meadow. When I read them for the first time I could see those cattle and that corn and bright golden haze vividly. How prophetic were Oscar's words I've got a beautiful feelin'/Everything's goin' my way.

By opening the show with the woman alone onstage and the cowboy beginning his song offstage, we did more than set a mood, we were in fact, warning the audience, 'Watch out! This is a different kind of musical.'"

I cannot imagine what the play would have been like if Rodgers and Hammerstein had used the technical approach used by most safety plan designers.

David Sneed

They Knew They Weren't Dealing with the Salvation Army

"In choosing to contract with Goldman, these people knew they weren’t dealing with the Salvation Army."

This is a great quote that is actually to the benefit of the Salvation Army. It draws a contrast between Christianity and Materialism. 

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/johncassidy/2012/03/why-is-goldman-so-goldman.html#ixzz1pTbLWu8i

I'm reminded of a sermon by one of the mainline radio preachers like the ones on Back to the Bible, programs that have elevator music hymns and preachers with elevator music voices. As one of his illustrations, in a matter of fact way this preacher was telling about the most important thing that he does every year which is to check his net worth and compare it to the previous year.

No determination of whether or not he was becoming more like Christ as his net assets increased. Nothing about whether or not he was becoming more isolated from the needy. Nothing about whether or not his increasing wealth meant that he was becoming more selfish. Nothing about if he was moving up into better neighborhoods.No review of the condition of his soul. 

With increasing wealth he no and his family no longer had to associate with the low-life that Jesus favored. Instead he lived with people that mattered to him, the money class. 

David Sneed 

How to Build a 30 Story Hotel in Two Weeks

This hotel in China was built in 2 weeks

Do you want to make a difference? Have a look a this video. I made it at R W Schambach's Camp Meeting, his last one, in February 2010. First is what you do something that would be noticed enough that you would be told that you would be arrested if you continue? And then what would you do if you were told that?

Today, Christians are not much of a threat to anyone. About a hundred years ago just in Cheyenne Wyoming, according to the history at the local Salvation Army Corps, people throw rocks at the Salvationists. Their message was so powerful that it caused noticeable loss of business at the bars. What was so different about their message?

Today, the gospel message has become "we'd like to have you as a member of our church especially if you will be putting money in the offering plate. You don't have to quit anything that you do. Homosexual? Living with your girlfriend/boyfriend? Lover of material things? No problem.

You say you are a Christian? Go reread the gospels. Jesus challenged people to believe in Him. Look at the healings. Do you trust God that much? Look at the other challenges. Jesus told one man not to go to his father's funeral. He told another man to give up his money.

Are you into Cheap Easy Believism?

David Sneed

365 Days in the Life of a Bicycle in New York

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then  365 pictures must be worth 365,000 words. thought that this was a neat safety graphic. Think through what that could mean. Parts being stolen is not the issue. Think in terms of time and change.

Opening Prayer at First National Safety Council Congress on September 30, 1912 in Milwaukee

Dr Edward a Steiner, Professor of Applied Christianity, Grinnell College:

Oh Lord, Our God, who dost promise to those who meet in Thy name Thine own presence, we have come together not to consider our own weal or wealth; we have come here in Thine own name to consider the well-being of our fellowmen, and we would invoke Thy blessing, ask Thee to meet with us whom Thou hast chosen to be co-workers with Thee. We pray that Thou may be with us and help us not only to light the way, but help us to keep the way, and grant that everything that shall be done at this Congress  shall work for the well-being of our fellow-men for the glory and development of our own country, and for the speedy coming of the Kingdom of God. May our consideration of the safety of labor and the toiler be rewarded by a higher respect for humanity as a whole, a greater regard for law, a purer and deeper and higher patriotism, wilst Thou bless this city in which we meet, this Commonwealth, our beloved country, the President of the United States, his cabinet and all his officers, this great country and all its states from one end to the other and may it continue to be the great beacon to the world, lighting toward liberty and toward progress, and may the work which we do here this morning be a contribution toward that end. Bless the President of this Association, all the officers, all those who take part, and may it be as solemn as it is sacred, and may it be useful as we try to make it holy. We ask it all in the Master’s name, who gave himself for the good of men. Amen.

B. Schackman & Co, Favors, Novelties

B. Schackman & Co, Favors, Novelties was founded in 1898

http://www.shackman.com/

Dinosaur Account in the Bible

The following, reprinted with permission, was written by Pete Mackevich, Wildlife Lecturer at the Pocono Snake and Animal Farm in Marshalls Creek PA, a short distance north of I-80 near Stroudsburg and the Delaware Water Gap. 

Hello Pastor Dave,

My name is Pete Mackevich. I appreciated your message on how the Bible is reliable. I especially liked when you brought up about how scripture agrees with true science. That's one of my favorite subjects. I've got one other example for you about dinosaurs and the Bible. The word dinosaur was coined in 1842 by Sir Richard Owen, so of course the word is not found in the Word, but an eye witness description is. In Job, believed by many to be the oldest written book of the Bible, chapter 40:15 – 24 is an anatomically accurate account of a dinosaur.

First is the name "behemoth". It's the original Hebrew word, and although many have interpreted it to be a hippopotamus, the text doesn't bear it out. The word behemoth is associated with something BIG. Behemoth existed with man. How else could Job be commanded to look at it? Verse 15 tells us that this large animal was a vegetarian. So we have a large vegetarian animal.

Verse 17 shows it can't be a hippo, elephant, or any other large vegetarian mammal alive now or extinct (that we know of). It describes it's tail appearing like a cedar tree. All known large herbivorous mammals, present or extinct, have puny tails compared to their body. A hippo's tail is so scrawny compared to it's body, you hardly notice it! Now we have a large vegetarian with a long cylindrical tail.

From the NKJ version verse 17 also says “The sinews of his thighs are tightly knit.” The King James says “The sinews of his stones”. The actual Hebrew word is testicles. This is important. In most mammals testis hang outside the body cavity to stay cooler. In reptiles and birds the testicles are inside the body cavity, usually above the kidneys, and wrapped in connective tissue, sinew.

So it can't be a large mammal, and birds, even the largest, wouldn't be considered a behemoth, plus they don't have tails. It has to be a reptile. The only creatures that fit this picture are dinosaurs, either hadrosaurs, better known as duckbills, or sauropods, the “brontosaur” style.

From verse 16 and 18 the NKJ says that his strength is in his hips, and that his bones are like beams of iron. In all dinosaurs, bipeds and quadrupeds, and also alligators and crocks, most of the body weight is born by the hips. With the huge sauropods the leg bones were like a column or beam, only having a 15 degree flex maximum at the joints to bear the weight. Because of this I believe behemoth is one of the sauropods.

Verse 16 tells us that his power is in his stomach muscles. A sauropod, like many dinosaurs, crocodiles, and birds, had a gizzard to break up and, in effect, chew their food. It's believed the larger sauropods may have had gizzards over 3 foot wide with muscle walls a foot thick. These gizzards could grind down almost anything.

Verse 20 says the mountains yield food for him. Up until the 1970's scientists generally believed that sauropods lived in water, that they weighed too much for their legs to support them on land. There are many convincing paintings, done under the guidance of paleontologists. It is known now, from fossil track ways, that they not only walked on land, but many species frequented low mountain, their valleys and surrounding areas. So the mountains did yield food to him. Talk about the Bible being ahead of science!

Verse 22 says the lotus trees cover him with their shade. Modern day reptiles need to sun themselves to warm up, they are cold blooded. I do not agree with the general assumption of paleontologists that dinosaurs were warm blooded. But there is the principle of mass homeothermy, because the proportion of surface area to mass goes down as the mass increases, big animals retain heat. While cold blooded, reptiles do generate a small amount of heat from muscle movement. At a large sauropod's size, the problem wouldn't be getting warm, it would be cooling off. So it would need the shade of trees.

Verse 19 says he is the first in the ways of God. This word has been translated many different ways. I get the general feeling that it means he is so impressive that it calls attention to it's creator. The largest sauropods may have been as long as 150 feet, and weigh almost twice as much as a blue whale. I'm constantly amazed at God's creative hand when I look at animals, I can only imagine if I could see one of those!

So long before scientists ever had a name for them, long before they gave accurate reconstructions of them, the Lord recorded them in His Word. I think it is interesting because dinosaurs are so often used to support evolution, and in the long run discredit the Bible, and yet it is in the Bible that we have the oldest account of them.

I know you most likely remember me, but I'm the person associated with the Pocono Snake & Animal Farm, and I talked to after one service about the witness of the blood cell. You asked me to e mail you those notes, and I have to admit, it slipped my mind till Sunday. I will get them together for you.

Thank you for the great preaching,

Pete

Be Impartial and Objective

Here is David Teater of the National Safety Council illustrating an important safety principle namely to look at all of the factors involved in hazards.

There are factors within our control and out of our control. Some factors may mask others.  Be impartial and objective.

The National Safety Council is a good source of analysis material.

David Sneed

Davy Jones Dead of a Heart Attack at 66

Singer Davy Jones of the 60s singing group The Monkees has died of a heart attack at age 66. Here he is in 1967. 



As recently as June of 2011, Jones told The Palm Beach Post that after a routine stress test, a doctor said he had the heart of a 25-year-old. "The doctor says my heart's so good, the door's open to do any kind of exercise I want," he told the paper.


When we hear things like this from a doctor we are happy and of course do not mind paying the bill. We also will do what the doctor has said. If the doctor says slow down we slow down. If the doctor says do things we do things. 


Why do Christians pay heed to doctors but not to Jesus? Jesus is "the author and finisher of our faith." His Word tells us that "by His stripes we are healed." He is always right. Clearly Davy Jones doctor was not right. Yet people will continue to go to a fallible doctor and still ignore God's Word. 


David Sneed

Where is the Cowboy Safety Outline?

Good question.

We have been working on Cowboy Safety for a very long time. Implementation has been done in pieces in all types of businesses. The present goal is to end up with a simple approach that can be easily understood. No one needs another complex idea. "Buy low. Sell high." has been around for thousands of years and has worked in all cultures. Someone added to that "Collect early. Pay late." Cowboy Safety adds a few more. Maybe we can shorten it enough that it can be tweeted.

What we began to realize sometime back is that traditional business planning and business education is designed to make the first goal of a business be to make money for banks and government. There are many who attack the "high profits" of oil companies. Far more per gallon goes just for taxes even when the oil companies are losing money. The real owners of the oil companies are government and government is taking no risk.

Cowboy Safety starts before the application of "Buy low. Sell high." It says that the goal of a business is for the long-term benefit of the owners. I say long term because it becomes a business that has sustainable returns. Why invest elsewhere?

We all love the platitudes about customer service and need filling. Of course we have to do those. They should be done well and done better than anyone else. If the business, whether organized as a for-profit or non-profit, does not make a profit it will not last long, no matter how good it is. Cowboy Safety deals with the hazards to making a profit. Keeping workers comp costs down is only a small piece of that.

By starting the whole safety program while the business model and actual business operation is just a thought, it is possible to develop a sustainable and safe model that does not deplete the creative energy of the founders.

There are a few more discussions that will take place and a few more pieces to be implemented. We are actively doing those things. We will be publishing the protocols. If you can't wait go see the movie "The Cowboys" with John Wayne, "High Plains Drifter" with Clint Eastwood and "Moneyball." Most of those protocols are there. They just need technology updates.

If any reader wants to join the others and get more involved let me know. There is new terminology. What we will do is work on how to see results. Not a get rich scheme. Instead there are some pointed questions and pressure for you to make certain changes. We can do the work, You can do the work. Or you can hire the work elsewhere. No rocket science.

Those who are most in need are baby-boomers with insufficient retirement funds, new grads who cannot find a job, and business owners tired of paying interest. Those who believe that the market will go over 13,000 and keep going are not interested.

My direct phone number is 307-433-0557. Email is dsneed@lcrossranch.com

David Sneed

$189,000 Per Hour Pay

I just read today that the new CEO of Apple Inc has a starting pay of $378 million per year. That is $189,000 per hour. He probably does not get any overtime pay. Imagine what it costs the company for him to go to the men's room or to take a coffee break! If he was walking down the street in the Fall and the leaves were hundred dollar bills Apple could not afford for him to stop and pick them up. He would have to keep walking.

There are two things at play here. Ability relative to anyone else is not it. Knowledge is not it.

1. Apple has enough revenue that this pay as a percentage of revenue does not make much difference. On a per share basis the stockholders do not even see it. If what you are selling is a fixed cost item to your customer it can often be sold at a higher price. If you are selling packaging material you will be beat down unmercifully on price. If you are selling business cards or advertising material, made with the same type of equipment as the packaging material, you can get a much higher price. Remember this when you are the buyer.

2. This man's real ability is that he can make a deal like this. That ability may or may not translate into growth. He of course did not build Apple. He happened to come along at the right time. When we leave a job where we have built the business we see someone "enter into our labor" and maybe start at a higher salary than we were getting. This is why we should be the owner of the business and not an employee.

David Sneed

New Challenger Amateur Video has Surfaced

Here is a new video that has surfaced of the Challenger disaster. Basically what had happened was that the weather was too cold and there was a problem with a large o-ring. There had been warnings that the flight should have been postponed.

It is interesting that the people watching are not aware that something has gone wrong.

At the time this happened I was attending the White House Conference on Small Business. President Reagan sent a message to all the state meetings to please continue the work that day.

David Sneed

Who is a Candidate for a Cowboy Safety Program?

There are several things we know about a candidate for a Cowboy Safety program. It will be a business that either is or desires to be one or more of the following:

1. Owner operated.

2. Financially Independent. These businesses want to generate cash from internal resources to limit their dependence on loans and other credit. They want to be debt free as quickly as possible.

3. Family-based. At one time all business had family at the core. In many countries this is still true. It has almost become a truism that children now go on their own, get a job, and sell their time wholesale rather than keeping the production in the family. A creative family business can offer much better opportunity than going elsewhere for employment.

4. Diversified in concept even if not in products and services. They can view their business from the stand point of the problems they solve rather than the products and services they sell. They can adapt to new things as conditions change.

5. User of technology.

6. Faith-based. This is not for everyone but Cowboy Safety programs can include a spiritual dimension. LeTourneau Technologies, the manufacturer of large earth moving equipment, was completely faith-based as long as R G Letourneau was involved. There are many other examples.

David Sneed

Future Peception

There is a quote I like from Marilee Zdenek who has written on right brain thinking.

She said "The minute you alter your perception of yourself and your future, both you and your future begin to change.

This is especially meaningful to Christians. We are told in the Bible in Romans 12:2 to "be ye transformed by the renewing of our minds."

Whether one selects a Cowboy Safety type business this is a relevant concept. It is a certainty that without a vision we will be in bondage.

Our future as Christians should start with seeking Jesus and to seek to have the faith of God.

David Sneed

Shipping Overcharges

I received a book, a fairly costly one, that I had ordered from a certain publisher. When I got the bill, I was appalled at the shipping and insurance charge. It was $16.68. My shipping department determined that the real shipping cost and insurance was $6.34. The shipper may view that they should amortize handling costs. If so maybe they should prorate the CEO salary and other fixed costs and add that on. A Cowboy Safety program deals with the whole issue of pricing in some refreshingly unique ways based solely on variable costs.

That publisher, like so many other firms, makes a profit on the shipping. The pill ads on the radio offer free 30 day supplies and then charge high shipping and handling. The so-called retail price may well be phony. They profit more than amply just from shipping and handling.

A Cowboy Safety firm, with a desire to be honest and sustainable, does not do that. When something is offered free it is free. When an item is priced it is a fair price though it will be value-based rather than cost-based.

Here's what is going on. The firms with the gimmicks are setting profit goals first before anything else. In the long run that is not sustainable. Even in the short run it can cause them to have to start shortcutting every thing they do. They become high risk and every possible problem can and often does occur. Non-profits are often the biggest violators of putting profit before sustainability.

The first element of a plan of any for-profit or non-profit should relate to it's real goal. I don't want to say mission because mission statements have reached the point of absurdity. No one believes them or practices them. Often they are written by a clerk in the Human Resources Department. The real goal should be what they are really aiming to accomplish. Putting that in writing can help bring out truth. If the goals are totally selfish then it will be clear. The owners, organizers,or whomever is in charge will not be able to fool themselves. The real goal does not have to be altruistic or customer-focused. For true sustainability it should be. In an imperfect world there can be other goals.

Once a goal is established policies of behavior are easy to establish. An example immediately comes to mind. There are many places where warning tickets are never given by the police. Their main goal is revenue. Yes the people stopped are violators. They will say that the police are enforcing the law. In practice revenue is the real goal. Texas is different. When a State trooper in Texas stops someone they will usually get a warning ticket. And it is not like other warning tickets. It will not show up on a driving record. Years ago one of my sons was stopped on I-10 near Fort Stockton. The State trooper told him that not only would it not go on his record but that if he was stopped 30 minutes later the next officer would not know that he had already been stopped. The goal in Texas is to encourage safe driving and safe driving attitudes. Texas takes the approach that a stop by the police should be a good way to encourage people to evaluate how they are driving. No it does not always work. Neither do big fines. Think through this concept of how the statement of the real and truthful goals guides policies. And think through how shipping overcharges can come to be.

I won't lengthen this with all the other steps. Basically it is all mainstream planning. Right up to day to day planning the real goal and the policies will have a significant impact that can result in sustainability, profit for the firm, and value for the customers.

David Sneed