Category Archives: Topics on Culture

Culture is what we create when we come together and experience each other. Culture comes from the root word “cult”, which means “a form of worship.” We all worship someone or something; this someone or something determines how we create and order our lives. The question remains; how now shall we live?

#Leading a Thriving #Organization


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Organizational executives, managers and leaders have good intentions to create thriving organizations that reflect their vision and mission for successful outcomes in the marketplace. Over the years, I have had the privilege to work for many organizations in various capacities; as an employee, a middle manager, a pastor, an executive, as a coach and marketing consultant. In other words, I have seen the internal dynamics of how organizations are managed and led; some thrive whiles others struggle to survive. To accomplish this monumental task of building a thriving organization it will take an organization to understand and embrace the four pillars of a thriving organization, which are simply strategy, synergy, structure and systems. Let’s start with the first critical layer of strategy.

1. Strategy

The original meaning of the world strategy reveals the “art of the General”, which implies the General’s broad grasp of the craft of warfare based upon years of acquired acumen and intuition from experiences on the battlefield. We can break down this art form into to three layers: hindsight, insight and foresight. Likewise, those in positions of mid to higher management in an organization have years of accumulated knowledge and wisdom derived through their education, exposure to people and events within an organization, and past experiences on the job. The accumulated wisdom of these employees is critical for tapping into new strategic methods for success.

Strategy is the sum of two parts: it’s your acumen and your approach. Strategy is melding what you already know and how you will go about executing what you know. Strategy, however, fails on many accounts. The most critical one is the lack of collaborative imagination that keeps many organizations operating in the dark at mediocre levels. King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, understood the power of collaborative imagination. His wisdom was and is today second to none; the biblical narrative notes a person like Solomon will never be matched again, so listen carefully! King Solomon provides our culture today with a great Tweet tucked away in Proverbs 24:6:

“Surely you need guidance to wage war, and victory is won through many advisers.”

Can you imagine tapping into the combined acumen, intuition and experience of many advisors? So why don’t you take an assessment of the creative members on your team and begin to tap into their combined wisdom for strategic advantages and advances in the marketplace. The wisdom is all around you… are you listening?

2. Synergy

One lazy afternoon, on my day off, I went to the afternoon matinee to see the movie Pitch Perfect. It simply amazed me on many levels! It wasn’t the humor, although I had a load of laughs. It wasn’t the brilliant singing that caught my attention although it was American Idol on Steroids. The main message for me was how a singing team formed and fermented into greatness. Let me see if I can sum up the important snippets of the movie that helped me see how teams form to create dynamic energy and synergy:

1. Pride was present at first since the old guard did not want to give up their place or stature on the team. So they resist anyone trying to introduce new ideas, which will improve the team’s performance.

2. Then there is friction between the old guard and the newcomers since the new ideas being offered are better than the old ones. It’s takes some time for the old guard to realize their methods have become obsolete.

3. Thirdly, the old guard finally accepts reality and realizes it needs to adapt and change. They are now willing to make some accommodations to make the team better.

4. And finally, the team comes together to implement the new ideas. There’s a dynamic shift in team culture and performance.

Synergy is hard to create but when it is present it is dynamic and energizing. When a team creates synergy it begins to release that corporate magic many organizations long for. How do we know when synergy is present? It is evident when optimum energy is released and dynamic synergy is increased.

3. Structure

Every organization is structured in a unique way. Some structures are more rigid than others, such as the military and Law Enforcement agencies, while other organizations tend to adopt a more fluid and flexible approach. “By structure, we mean the framework around which the group is organized, the underpinnings which keep the coalition functioning. It’s the operating manual that tells members how the organization is put together and how it works. More specifically, structure describes how members are accepted, how leadership is chosen, and how decisions are made.”[i]

The structure solely depends on what your organization wants to accomplish. For instance, let’s take two examples from nature to make my point. An eagle and a duck are structured quite differently from one another since they have different purposes to perform. One is meant to fly in high altitudes, and to dive at fast speeds to catch unsuspecting prey by surprise. Eagles like to be alone most of the time; they are the kings of the air. While a duck is given webbed feet to navigate through the water, and tightly knit feathers to keep them warm in cold climates. Ducks like to fly in teams, and work together to fly long distances.

Each bird has a particular function to play and purpose to fulfill. These distinguishing features provide you and I insight into the roles they perform in their respected environments.

Let’s take another example from nature. What about a tree? An Oak tree has a firm base extending to the general body. It is immovable and strong. Then as the branches move out they thin out and become more flexible, bending by the wind, even with the subtle breeze. Structures in organizations should have a stabilizing structure but should also allow flexibility is some areas of the organization to accommodate quick changes.

4. Systems

Systems are like highways that connect motorists to interchanges, intersections and bridges, which provide a proper flow of traffic so that people can get to places in an efficient manner within a specified time frame. Let me provide you a personal example:

I remember a time when our church fed thousands of inner city people on a Saturday afternoon. At the time, our church had an extraordinary cook on staff that was once Donald Trump’s private Chef (and you know Mr. Trump is a pretty picky guy). Anyway, when it came time to feed the multitudes, I just happened to walk into the kitchen area where I overheard the Chef say, “This is how we are going to take the food out to feed the folks.” To shorten my story, he had adopted a system with six steps before the people could even receive their food on the table. I thought to myself, “This process or system is going to take forever. We can do better?” So immediately, I took the Chef aside and advised him of a more efficient way. After I made it sound like it was his idea, he adopted the new system. The result of this simple change in the flow of food delivery was that everyone was happy, from the volunteers who had to serve the food, to the Chef himself, and the multitudes receiving our compassionate services for the day. All it took was a simple change to the “system”, which provided more efficient outcomes.

Systems should be made simple, but most people make them more complicated than they should be. The Chef in this situation had extraordinary skills but he lacked the basic skills of how to deliver his product efficiently.

What area above is the weakest in your organization? Which one is the strength of your organization?

[i] An Organizational Structure: An Overview. http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1092.aspx, accessed on 4/7/2013.

People Are Not Illegal


by DANIEL GARZA

Farm workers have long been an important and enduring fixture of the American experience. Yet far too many Americans, unsympathetic to the damage words can have I suspect, will refer to the 48 percent of those who farm work in the United States in violation of our immigration law as “illegals”.  We’re better than that, aren’t we?

Today, the impolite label is ubiquitous – it’s in newspapers and magazines, it’s used by pundits on political talk shows, it spews from the mouths of babes, and uttered by the office water cooler whenever the issue of immigration reform comes up.

My guess is that some of us use the term out of obliviousness – we hear the label so often from others it simply becomes an apt moniker. We do it to others too. Devout Christians, particularly people who express faith publicly like Tim Tebow and George Bush, are deemed fair game for similar “acceptable” disparagement by the public.

Or, some unconsciously opt for the moniker because it subtly dehumanizes and renders them as lesser than ourselves, as if to spare us from having to consider that their dreams and aspirations are equal to ours. You see, if they were, equal that is, it would make all the difference.

Currently, there are two million farm workers – the majority of which hail from Mexico – and despite the disparaging treatment they receive, they nevertheless quietly continue to make personal sacrifices and vital contributions to the America economy. These sacrifices range from separation from their countries of origin, families, and cultural ties to working the most challenging and rigorous jobs, under the most difficult conditions, and for the least reward.

I myself was raised playing under the shadows of orchard trees and in the long rows of sugar beets on days there was no school until I was old enough to labor alongside the family – at 14 years of age. While working the fields, I probably witnessed U.S. Border Patrol Agents make sweeps for unauthorized laborers about a dozen times. Men in dark green uniforms and gold badges would pour out of a convoy of government vans and trucks just before alarming screams of “la migra!” would permeate under the canopy of fruit trees – chaos would immediately ensue.

Desperate men and women, some gripping their children in a tight hold, would scramble and scurry every direction to evade capture – and subsequent deportation. We would stand by our ladders, in stillness, waiting patiently for my father to explain to the first agent that approached “It’s okay, we are U.S. citizens” (to their credit, they always believed him).

All at once, I was struck by feelings of resentment, confusion and helplessness. My instincts were to intervene, to object or obstruct. But one, especially one so young, resigns to the way things are because, well, that’s the way things are. That is, constant evasion, anonymity, and invisibility is a way of life for those “living in the shadows”– the implied price one pays for a shot at opportunity.

It is a way of life that takes its toll.

I recall on one occasion a fellow worker walked over to dad, said he decided he would be moving back to Mexico after five years of hard living in the United States. Overworked, poorly paid, unappreciated, and tired of living in the shadows, he said he had had enough. My dad placed his hand on his shoulder, held it there for some time, and wished him well. He was gone by the end of that week never to be seen again.

In the fall of 1987 dad himself determined to leave the fields for good and open a business. After thirty years of being paid the prevailing wage, he had no retirement, no health plan, no vacation or sick leave days accrued, and no retirement party. Quietly, without fanfare, we got in our car one day after filling the last bin of apples and moved on.

Although the world didn’t stop to mark the milestone, it was a great day for our family. Days of arduous farm work were now be behind us, and soon to be added to the middle class rolls, our family was better off for it.

There are scores of incidents and other memories I hold that speak to the adversities faced by farm workers which give me reason to be grateful, every day of my life, to those who continue to slog, toil, and sweat under the elements – day in and day out – mostly sight unseen.

What is more, few concede the Nation’s need for agricultural labor is indispensable. Listening to those who call for mass deportation, you would think fruits, vegetables, and meats magically appear on store shelves, and at cheap prices – and always will. You would also think there is a long line of aggrieved Americans, upset their farm jobs were taken from them. Neither assumption is true.

Ignoring that seeds must be planted; fields must be cultivated, saplings must be irrigated, fruit trees must be pruned, and blossoms must be thinned; that fruits and vegetables must be fumigated, kept warm from the cold, picked, sorted, packed, stacked and transported by hundreds of thousands of people; some would deport the very people that do these things tomorrow if it was feasible without fully grasping the economic consequences of such an act.

And there are other menial jobs they do such as roofing, mowing lawns, dishwashing, milking, cleaning horse stables, and adult senior care to name a few that do not get as much as a nation’s thanks. They do them anyway. Even as we scapegoat them when the economy goes bad, when job numbers dip, and federal spending skyrockets.

Yes, I know, twelve million are estimated to be in violation of our immigration law, and I agree it is an undesirable condition. It’s not an excuse; the term “Illegals”, when used to label otherwise good, decent, hardworking people criminalizes the person, not the illicit action he or she committed. As has been said by others; humans are not illegal, what they do is illegal.

Rather, with astonishing ease and comfort many refer to them as “illegals” while their children stand listening close by. Actually, I cannot think of another group of American children exposed to more cruel disdain of their parents – and we call them “anchor babies” to boot. Have we not felt the sting of being a walking, living target of someone’s contempt?

Americans have expressed ongoing disagreements over immigration since the nation’s founding, and there is little doubt the debate will continue long after we’re gone. This piece is not an attempt to persuade you to advocate for or against immigration reform, it is solely a call for a respectful dialogue.

I know Americans to be the kindest, most compassionate people on earth. The stain of slavery –which had existed for thousands of years- was obliterated by us. When totalitarianism threatened to take over the world, we stopped it. And I’m convinced we have the moral fiber to solve the ethical challenges of our time.

By all means, voice your convictions regarding immigration reform, it is, of course, your right. But regardless of where you stand on the issue, my hope is that as Americans, we examine empirically and collaboratively what is socially, economically and politically most advantageous for our country without reverting to condescending pejoratives. It adds no value.

Immigrants to America have always shown a strong work ethic, a deeply rooted commitment to provide for their families, and have always been ardent defenders and valuable contributors to our free market system. These are virtues the vast majority of us share as Americans, and more importantly, as fellow humans.

Daniel Garza is Executive Director of the Libre Initiative. Previously he was deputy director in the Office of External Affairs at the White House.

The Fatherless Epidemic


Challenges

What is fatherlessness anyway? Fatherlessness is simply the absence of a father’s influence in the lives of their children. Fatherlessness ranges from mere absenteeism, neglect or ineptness to parent effectively. For example, it has been discovered that when a father leads the way spiritually that 93% of family members are likely to follow him, as opposed to only 17% of family members when a mother attempts to take the same spiritual role. This is a significant finding and confirms the role, authority and influence a father possesses over his family. Fathers in the Field, an organization dedicated to mentoring fatherless boys claims:

Some 24 million boys are growing up fatherless in America – Nearly a third of all American children are born to unmarried parents; the numbers are even higher among poor, minority populations – 40% among Hispanics, and 70% among African-Americans.”

As you can see fatherlessness is rapidly rising among Hispanics, and consuming the African-American community. Unless we get serious about this cultural epidemic, fatherlessness will continue to disrupt the family and devastate communities, perhaps even bring our culture to its demise. Dr. Leonard Sax, author of Boys Adrift notes:

Enduring cultures have strong bonds across the generations. In contemporary American culture, we’re seeing those bonds dissolve rapidly, in the span of a single lifetime.”

Dr. Sax is referring to the generational bonds between grandfathers, fathers and sons. This trend of generational disconnect in our society is showing significant signs of cultural decline. The following statistics from Fathers in the Field website should alarm you:

1. Fatherless children commit 72% of adolescent murders.
2. 70% of juveniles in reform institutions are fatherless.
3. 67% of state prison inmates come from fatherless homes.
4. 60% of rapists come from fatherless homes.
5. 30% more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol.
6. Fatherless children are twice as likely to drop out of school.
7. And, 11 times more likely to exhibit violent behavior at school.

It is for these reasons and other unseen factors that we should pay more attention to the fatherlessness issue in our society, but just how do we begin to address this epidemic? Dr. Sax provides the following insight:

To become a man, a boy must see a man. But that man doesn’t have to be his father. In fact, ideally, it shouldn’t be only his father. Even if your son has a strong father or father figure in his life, he also needs a community of men who together can provide him with the varied models of what productive adult men do.”

So where do we find this “community of men”? Many high profile athletes who were considered “role models” have abdicated their leadership role in the area of providing the leadership to inspire a generation of young boys by scandals of infidelity, drug exposures and boyish antics on public television for all to see. These examples of fallen heroes and others from admired professions force us to turn somewhere else for answers.

What solutions can you offer to curb the “fatherlessness epidemic” in America today?

Updated article, previously published on Ezine Articles on 3.19.2010

3 Governing Dynamics of #Leadership


I will prepare and someday my chance will come.” – Abraham Lincoln

Leadership is multidimensional in nature; much of it depends upon three crucial variables such as a person’s preparation, the context and time in which they live, and what happens within this context and time to compel a potential leader to step out of their comfort zone to lead change and transformation.

The example of one of our beloved presidents, Abraham Lincoln, should suffice to make my point. First and foremost, Lincoln studied law (preparation), and eventually opened a law practice, which just happens to be a foundational career for legislative office. To add to this, Abraham Lincoln lived during a specific period of time in history (context and time); a point in time when a leader would soon be summoned to the National forefront to lead the nation through a difficult crises. Abraham Lincoln would have had a good life as a small town lawyer, but the circumstances surrounding him (an emerging problem or dilemma) thrust him into a significant leadership role in history.

Today, Lincoln’s legacy is second to none. Lincoln’s contribution as a leader was winning the Civil war, thus, saving the Union, freeing the slaves and inspiring generations to come with his famous address at Gettysburg. One of Lincoln’s famous quotes sums up the leadership Law of Governing Dynamics, “I will prepare and someday my chance will come.”

1.  The Preparation Phase

The first critical component of any leader’s development is the preparation phase. For example, Jesus, the Christ, prepared himself for 30 years for just 3 years of impacting and fruitful ministry. His impact and legacy was evident from 10% of his life, so the other 90% of his life on earth was all preparation.

This is true for others who prepare for long periods of time for a short impacting life. Each and everyday a person makes choices about his or her life, which will prepare him or her for a leadership role or simply disqualify a person for when opportunity arises. I call this critical phase the preparation phase, which happens during the first 30 years of a person’s life. This is when a person makes the critical choices of the character he or she will chisel in their personal constitution; whom they associate with and why, many of these relationships will open doors for them at some point; whether they chose to drink and experiment with drugs or not; the vocation one chooses; and the school one attends, or the mentor that will prepare him or her for their chosen career.

Many other factors can be listed in this phase. This phase, however, is where conscientious choices are made to prepare oneself for life regardless if a leadership role ever emerges. However, it takes two other governing dynamics to thrust a person into a more pronounced leadership role.

2. Context

We all experience and live within a certain context in time, whether that context is small or large, significant or insignificant does not matter, at least not yet. For example, my context consists of my family, church, school and work, and other social gatherings my wife and I wish to attend. In a nutshell, my context is an accumulation of my life’s choices. For instance, I have a local context of which I have already alluded too but I am also engaged in a larger one, although minimally. I love America; my nation is important to me and the decisions those in authority choose to legislate will impact my life, limit my liberty and impact my family and future, good or bad. If I don’t like something I get involved in politics and recruit others to do the same, therefore, enlarging my context.

Today, technology through the Internet and social media have enlarged all of our contexts to a global consciousness. You and I now have access to more information at the whim of our fingertips by accessing an iPhone application, and the Internet from the palm of our hand. No matter the scope of our context; the things we choose to get involved with are important to us, therefore, we make choices to engage ourselves to bring about change or disengage and allow evil to prevail.

There is one thing that will draw you and I out of the shadows of our context and to lead in a more significant way – this is an emerging problem or dilemma that stirs you and I into action.

3. An Emerging Problem or Dilemma

There will come a time during your daily context when a leadership opportunity will emerge through a problem or dilemma, which only your personal offerings; your gifts and abilities will be sought after to remedy the problem. Let’s get back to Lincoln. He had prepared himself thoroughly as a lawyer, and lived in a certain context and time in history. When an emerging problem or dilemma emerged in his day, he was at the right place at the right time ready to meet the demand placed upon his life.

Lincoln vehemently advocated the end of slavery during his campaign speeches for Congress and as candidate for President of the United States. He eventually became the nominee for the Republican Party, and the rest of his life is read in history books. Lincoln became a history maker.

Lincoln was a perfect fit for his time. So are you for this time, if you take the time to prepare yourself! A person who is prepared can easily see opportunities as they emerge before them. You don’t have to have a national stage to be an impactful leader. You can make a difference in a smaller context like your family, in your job, community or city, even a larger context like influencing and impacting the global landscape.

Do you see the 3 Governing Dynamics of Leadership working in your life? If so, tell us your story.

Latinos Lack National Leadership Voice


On Monday, November 15th 2010, the Pew Hispanic Center released a new report dubbed National Latino Leader? The Job is Open. This essence of this report reveals there is no consensus over a prominent leadership voice representing the Latino community in America today. According to the study, “Latinos were asked in an open-ended question to name the person they consider ‘the most important Latino leader in the country today,’ nearly two-thirds (64%) of Latino respondents said they did not know. An additional 10% said ‘no one.’” These percentages reveal that 74% of the Latino population is unsure or at least unaware of a national Latino/na leader. The results of those who did provide answers were dismal at best, noting:

– 7% support for Sonia Sotomayor, U.S. Supreme Court Justice
– 5% thought of Luis Guiterrez, U.S. Representative from Illinois
– 3% mentioned Los Angeles Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa
 – And, 2% voted for news anchor Jorge Ramos of Noticiero Univision

These Latinos have liberal tendencies and occupy “institutional” and “local” offices, which would not appeal to a nationally diverse Latino population. With this said, a few questions must be asked:

It is time for the Latino community to have a national voice speaking for them, much like the African American community has Rev. Al Sharpton, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and leaders of the National Associations of  the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
The recent mid-term elections propelled three potential Latino voices onto the national scene: Senator-elect Marco Rubio Florida; Susan Martinez, Governor from the State of New Mexico; and Brian Sandoval, Governor-elect from the state of Nevada. 

– Marco Rubio is the son of Cuban immigrants and a proven conservative. A question arises whether Mexicans, who make up the majority of Latinos in the United States, can depend upon Rubio to represent their needs in Congress, especially in the area of immigration reform?
– Susan Martinez, a conservative as well, and a native born citizen from El Paso, Texas. Could Martinez, as a native born citizen of the United States, appeal to the large Mexican population living in the Southwest region to galvanize a respectable national following with strong feelings against amnesty?
– Brian Sandoval, a native born citizen of Northern California, is perhaps too distant from the current diverse makeup of the Latino population, which tends to be more bi-cultural in nature, speaking Spanish as their first language.

These voices will take some time to hold sway among a growing and diverse Latino population.

One individual not mentioned in Pew’s study is Rev. Sammy Rodriquez who presides over the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC), the largest Hispanic evangelical group in the nation, representing over 40,000 churches and religious entities with representing a population of 19 million adherents. Rev. Rodriquez was recently featured on the cover of October’s edition of Charisma magazine, an evangelical periodical. In my opinion Rev. Rodriquez has more potential than anyone mentioned in Pew’s report, even of  the three newly elected Latinos, to have a national voice. He has met with members of both parties in Congress and participates in White House briefings on social justice, Latino and values issues. As a matter of fact Rev. Rodriquez has been a regular voice on CNN, Fox News and other national media outlets advocating for immigration reform; defending over 12 million undocumented Latinos. As a national voice for immigration reform, he has the best possibility of becoming our nation’s leadership voice for the Hispanic community. Perhaps, Rev. Rodriquez is the best kept secret in the Latino community.

Who do you see as the national voice for the Latino community? And why do they deserve your respect?

Disingenuous News Media + An Uniformed Public = Chaos


By Nelson E. Santiago

It is becoming more apparent that news media outlets in newspapers, new magazines, television news and the Internet are leaving out what would be considered significant information from important stories. How does this have an affect on the opinions formed by the population of a country? There are three stories that immediately come to mind:

1. It has been reveled that there were emails that clearly showed influential scientists had purposefully manipulated data at the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, the most prominent research center for “anthropogenic global warming”. It now appears that other scientists had tried to warn other scientists and the press as far back as 2006 that the data was flawed. Why was this not reported?

2. It was reported that the Arizona law SB 1070 would “allow racial profiling” and that you could be stopped by the police simply because you “looked Hispanic” or Mexican. What happened among the Latino population as a result of this inaccuracy?

3. On May 1, 2010, there was an attempt to commit a substantial act of terror in New York City. While it has been established that the terrorist had recently become citizen of the United States, it is also known he was originally from Pakistan and had recently spent months in Pakistan training in explosives in a region known as a center for Islamic jihadist.

Why has the press been so reluctant to identify him as a devout Muslim with ties to the most radical elements of the Islamic religion? What is really going on?

Chaos: The Precursor to an Authoritarian State?


By Nelson E. Santiago

For those who are willing to study history and systems of government, there can be seen signs of an authoritarian government coming. It starts first with the changing of laws to “protect” the people from a perceived or true threat. People will chose to give up some freedoms in order to preserve order and safety for what appears to be the greater good and safety of society.

In the United States, our willingness to allow foreign nationals to exercise the freedom to participate in the benefits of a free, open, and entrepreneurial society has caused an imbalance of social burdens on some of the States in our Union. The federal government’s unwillingness to recognize or to compensate those states for the financial burden and instability caused by the lack of federal intervention has caused some states to want to create their own laws to prevent the chaos and consequences of an uncontrolled border.
Stricter enforcement of current laws already on the books by either the State or the Federal government could be seen as leading toward a “soft totalitarianism”. Yet, enforcement by no government entity, could lead to the cycle of chaos and chaos to the strong desire for order by citizens desiring the peaceful functioning of society, creating an even greater probability of a harsher environment of enforcement.

If the federal government refuses to enforce its present laws and a State government in a Federalist system has “States rights” and responsibilities to protect its citizens, how can the issue be resolved for the benefit of all citizens as well as immigrants crossing our borders? Suggestions anyone?