Diamonds to You

Hi and Happy New Year:

There is so much to say in this issue, I’m not quite sure where to begin. Let me start by quoting a small portion of an article that was in the San Jose Mercury News on Wednesday, January 3, 2007.

The article pertained to the lynching-style of the execution of Saddam Hussein. The author, Thomas Friedman, compared the ugliness and violence of the act, to the scene watching the memorial service for former President Gerald Ford. He says:

Gerald Ford’s funeral was a snapshot of a country united – political supporters and opponents alike paying tribute to a president, who was surrounded by an honor guard representing every color of the American rainbow and whose place in history was secured by an act of pardon and national healing.

How fortunate to live in a country where this is the political norm, built up over generations.

“Because of our basic unity, we can afford to be divided on specific issues,”, said Michael Mandelbaum, author of “The Case for Goliath.” : “Democracy “is about differences and contesting them in the public sphere, and it only works where there is a basic agreement about the fundamentals….”

Joining Diamond Associates

I am so pleased that Tom Buckholtz, Ph.D. is joining Diamond Associates. Tom is a business advisor and executive coach, with an extensive background in industry, who brings so many skills to process improvement, organizational change, and effective problem-solving and decision-making. He is the author of two books, and has saved the companies he’s worked for literally millions of dollars due to his innovations.

Tom and I will join forces consulting in the areas of change management and process improvement. If you are curious, detailed information about him can be found at: www.human-landscaping.com/buckholtz.

Training Seminar – Affirmative Action and Diversity

I’ve also joined forces with Pinnacle Affirmative Action Services, LLC, to offer an all day workshop in San Jose, at San Jose Stage on First Street, in April. We are waiting for dates from San Jose Stage and will give them to you as soon as finalized.

Pinnacle and Diamond Associates will be providing its clients with a new training seminar titled, “Affirmative Action Planning and Diversity Training: The Key to an Effective Inclusion Strategy.” The seminar will present how Affirmative Action Planning and Diversity Training can be incorporated into a company’s Inclusion Strategy for maximum effectiveness.

This seminar will be for CEOs executives, HR personnel and others involved in hiring decisions. The President of Pinnacle, Rene Martinez will be joining me in presenting the information to you in an easy, informative, and interactive manner.

Silos and Sandboxes

One of my favorite clients had the recent good fortune to be sold to a large conglomerate who intends to keep them as a wholly owned subsidiary – leaving the entire management team intact – and probably grooming the executives for future promotional positions in the parent company. This is succession planning at its best.

One of the reasons for their good fortune is because their CEO, has created and maintained a team of men that are truly team-players. Instead of creating silos and sandboxes, they cooperate, they communicate, they work together and when there is conflict or disagreement, they discuss the issues, without posturing or attacking each other. They are truly an example to follow.

All too often I find executives who are in conflict and competition with each other and therefore fail to communicate honestly and clearly. Conflict is kept underground, until like the proverbial pressure cooker – it explodes. Staff meetings aren’t conversations, but Power Point Presentations designed by staff so that the executives can posture and look good before each other.

I like this client’s process better. I like executive teams and boards that really work as teams – willing to disagree – willing to step into each other’s sandboxes when that’s helpful – and willing always to join forces to work for the best of the company and its employees.

T.V. Programs

I am in negotiation with the group who own the Comcast program, ”Issues Today” to join them as a co-host. I’m really excited about this prospect.

In our conversations we are talking about creating a few important themes, one of which of course will be the issues facing Silicon Valley businesses today. We are also seeking sponsors and will feature them during the programs, which air on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 PM.

As our plans develop, I’ll keep you informed. In the meantime, think about whether you would like to sponsor one or more programs and whether you would like to be a guest on the program. Contact me if interested in either or both.

Guest Article – from Jay D. Pinson, Ph.D.

Wake Up America
Jay D. Pinson, PhD

Recently, there has been a variety of articles and editorial messages regarding globalization issues facing our nation. I thought I might add my two cents to the discussion.

Yes, we are witnessing a global economic and technological shift that is now causing, and will continue to cause, a lasting impact on the economic health of our nation. We are no longer the “Queen Bee” of innovation, and our gleaming legend of the world's smartest and most talented people “Coming to America” has been tarnished. Every day, the world’s workforce becomes better educated and more knowledgeable. This results in a growth of innovation that is creating a rapidly changing world of technology.

The status of our own workforce reflects these changes. First, we sent blue-collar work offshore; then, we began outsourcing the work of the white-collar employee. Globalization has created an environment that employs talent the world over, with the goal of developing and producing products where it is most cost-effective. Today, information and communication technology allow companies to form virtual organizations that manage international projects and programs with many participating entities located around the world. It is a new world and many more people can play the competitiveness game, which has never been the case before.

It is imperative that Americans, including all levels of government, our education enterprise, as well as individual citizens, must better understand the competitive issues brought on by this globalization. The world’s business enterprises have adopted new strategies and opportunities in this new era of globalization. Industries are already adjusting to these changes by the way they are investing, by forming new partnerships, and by outsourcing their workforce as they seek new talent with the knowledge and skills they now need. Companies do not limit themselves to their local environment as they seek the people and the technologies to develop something new or improve existing products. For companies to be internationally competitive, it is imperative that they maintain this worldwide access to knowledge, talent and technology.

All of this is occurring at a time when we here in America seem to face declining interest in science and engineering among our general population. At the same time, we have an aging science and engineering workforce, many of whom are on the verge of retirement. Many of our current scientists and engineers found interest in their fields around the time of this nation’s response to Sputnik. Some suggest that we need another Sputnik Technology Crisis to create such needed interest at this crucial time.

Here are some statistics that might be a reason for alarm. About 60,000 engineers graduate annually from the colleges and universities of this country. It is suggested that with the present trend, these number will decrease by the end of the decade. At the same time, countries like China and India each now graduate close to 300,000 engineers a year, with that number expected to grow each year for the remainder of the decade as more and more of their youth pursue the engineering discipline. Based on these present trends, by 2010 more than ninety percent of all engineers and scientists in the world will be living in Asia.

American industry's historical short term solution to the United States' so-called "engineering shortage" has been to ask Congress to allow more skilled workers into the country to meet high-tech's needs; it's called the H-1B Visa Program. The Information Technology Industry Council, including companies such as Intel, Cisco and Hewlett-Packard, has requested 95,000 workers for 2006. This is a fifty percent increase over last year. If you assume that sixty-five percent of this number were either software or hardware engineers, we would have to double the number of engineering graduates per year to meet this demand. That may be close to impossible with this country's current weakness in K-12 math and science, along with the declining interest in engineering and budget problems.

Any solution to these problems for us would be long term and realistically industry needs are described as immediate. Congress has approved 440,000 H-lB Visas since 1999, excluding the 2006 request for 95,000. Depending on the H-1B Visa Program to meet our needs, without solving our own educational problems, is like skating on thin ice. With the expanding world economy and the growing need for engineers in their own country, it is anticipated that it will become more and more difficulty to recruit and keep these talented and educated people.

Our national deficiency in K-12 math and science coupled with the decreased interest science and engineering has been adequately documented in many studies. The National Council on Education says the major factor contributing to a national failure in K-12 science and mathematics achievement is inadequate teacher preparation. That is confirmed in the 2003 Program for International Student Assessment of the industrial countries. The U. S. ranks 19th in science literary and 24th in math literary for 15 year olds. (The 2005 Rand Report says California ranks 48th overall in average state performance in mathematics for grades 4 and 8.) If we, as a state, or nation for that matter, are to be globally competitive, we have no choice but to solve the K-12 science and math problem, while at the same time working to reverse our current students declining interest in science and engineering.

We need to upgrade K-12 math and science teaching to foster higher student achievement. We must create special programs to assist in teacher development. We need to seek the public support, including that of parents, for making science and math in K-12 improvement a high priority. It will be necessary to expand scholarships and other financial support areas for students pursuing degrees in science, technology and engineering, including K-12 teachers of math and science. Also, a need exists to change the curricula to include the real world of engineering and science so that students learn what it means to pursue these exciting fields/careers

The expansion of knowledge and skills around the world confirms that education is the driver of change. It is clearly time for us to develop an education strategy, combining efforts of government, industry and education, to become competitive in the new era of globalization. It is time to quit drawing lines in the sand, and instead develop a partnership solution.

The universities that are involved in teacher education, such as San Jose State University, in working with the K-12 education systems, must assume responsibility for developing special programs for the K-12 teachers of math and science. At the same time universities need to improve the teachers’ instruction and assist in the development of relevant curricula. To accomplish this much needed task will require increase political and financial support of the university and the community.

We cannot afford to lose! So, let’s Wake Up and get it done, our economy, our quality of life and defense of our nation depends on us working together to meet this challenge.

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Dr. Pinson is Dean Emeritus, College of Engineering, San Jose State University, and the President and CEO of LifeLine Tech, San Jose, CA, published 12/5/05

So, how can I help you?

My clients are so good to me! Here’s something another client said about me:

ArLyne’s instinctive ability to very quickly understand the crux of the issues that management has either overlooked or not acknowledged has set her apart from the majority of consultants with whom I have worked over the last 20 years.
    – George Cameron, SamTrans Chief Administrative Officer

Recent Publications

• “Improving Customer Service:
  How to Improve Customer Service and Get Thousands of New Customers to Flock"
  will appear in the online magazine, Customer Service Managers.

My two published books are available at www.ProductivePublications.com.

• Training Your Board of Directors:
  A Manual for the CEOs, Board Members, Administrators and Executives of Corporations, Associations, Non-Profit and Religious Organizations
• The “Please” and “Thank You” of Fundraising for Non-Profits:
  Fifteen Essential Ingredients for Success

Articles that Appeared in Volume I of the Newsletter

Issue 1

• How can I help you? Let me count the ways!

Issue 2

• On-Line Sexual Harassment Training – My Opinion
• Managing Meetings – Answering Your Questions
• Meeting Preparation

Issue 3

• Staff Development for Professional Practices
• Professional Development
• Non-Profit Boards
• Managing Mergers and Acquisitions
• Brief Introductory Speeches for Networking Events

Issue 4

• Managing Organizational Change (you need to visit my website to see the whole article on this one, I’m sorry!)

Issue 5

• Powerful Networking and Interviewing Strategies: Slam Bam Doesn’t Work
• The Art and Science of Grant Writing

Issue 6

• Conflicts, cliques, Family Feelings and Turf Wars

Issue 7

• The Middleman – Or Intermediary
• Resources: Affirmative Action’s Bad Rap, by Rene Martinez

Issue 8

• So You Want to be A CEO:
  Basics in Entrepreneurship: Launching a Startup
  (These articles are also repeated in issue 9)

Issue 9

• Goal Setting and Time Management

 

Let me be your Aufin—your advisor to Kings.

ArLyne Diamond, Ph.D
ArLyne@DiamondAssociates.net