MWA - Managing by Walking Around

I am a fan of President George W. Bush. I have the utmost respect for President Bush and Laura for having served in the White House in the most difficult eight years since WWII and President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Without his common sense thinking and his faith in the Almighty, the USS America might have gone adrift or aground with all the turbulence and storms that this nation has experienced. BUT improvement can and should be made even at the highest level.

MBA ers and other management experts have now realized that effective management requires not only the book work, theories and the 10 steps to success; it requires knowing what is going on at the lowest denominator and that requires: Managing by Walking Around. If career federal and state employees would take the time to walk around and talk to the people outside the four walls of their offices, they might have an entirely different picture.

Managers today look at the public and say, "The economy is good. Why, they are earning more money and have more material things than ever before... Let them eat cake." They truly believe that everyone is enjoying wonderful health care, good retirement benefits and a good pay check like they are. While they enjoy their three weeks of paid vacation and 100% health, vision and dental care and are able to collect two checks at retirement and sometimes even three with military service, they don't realize that the vast majority of Americans are struggling to make ends meet.When the housing market began to crash, the common sense people outside of Washington felt it would due to the highly inflated prices for a little 3 bedroom 1 bathroom family home $400-$500 K depending on the city.

Most all seniors over the age of 55 knew that it wasn't going to last. These seniors who remember the great depression were not going to sell them homes of 1200 square feet and move into a mini-masion of 5000 square feet with triple taxes, triple energy costs and triple upkeep. They smartly sat on the sidelines and watched the frenzy as both realtors, lenders and unqualified buyers made deals to buy houses they couldn't afford, at over inflated prices with zero money down. Today, the seniors are okay! They retained their little homes. They retained their low property taxes and they retained their savings in the bank. The question is today? Who is government trying to save?

The bankers who were so greedy and the realtors and lenders who made huge unimaginable profits these last two-three years? Or are they going to save the little family who sold their home in the inner city and put all of their money into a new home that they could not afford and who might lost both the home and their once in life time equity? If the government managers would take time to get out of the office and walk around this old ship they would see the leaks and the repairs that need to be made at the lowest level.

May I say more about the greedy investment bankers. When I meet a young man or lady in their mid 30's driving a very expensive sports car, I ask what business are in you and the answer is often times, investment banking. They young people take your money (mutual funds) and trade and trade and trade making huge profits on each trade which nets them a huge commission. Of course it doesn't matter that the potential trades are risky, foreign or local, they make their commission and run.When the market drops, these people blame the President, the economy etc. But who is holding the bag? The 401K pension funds.

How many retirees were notified that their $100K pension fund was now worth $25K because of bad investments? While the government works to save Bear Stearns, Citibank, etc. who works to save that poor retiree who lost $75,000 for example, or all of his retirement fund because of the poor investments these banks made? Those in government need to get out of their offices and start walking around the USS America and see where the leaks are and where the repairs need to be made before the crew starts to see them as Captain Bligh and a young Mr. Christian rises up to challenge the authority without the experience without a track record and causes a turnover in leadership which may end up the blind leading the blind.

The USS America has been sailing since 1776 and I pray with the help of Almighty God and the good people of this nation - the commanders, officers and leaders will stop looking at the bottom line and start looking toward the finish line.