Ignite the Promise

10 Most Depressing States in America

When I found this report, it got my attention because I have become sensitized to the needs of people under stress.  Madeline, a senior chaplain working in the critical incident stress area, regularly attends workshops and conferences dealing with counseling and supporting people with stress -- depression, pain, and post traumatic stress disorder (found in many returning war veterans).  In accompanying her to these sessions, I have grown to appreciate the needs.  Health.com, using data from federal agencies, identified 10 states with the highest rates of depression, psychological distress, and other indicators of poor mental health. The states in alphabetical order are AK, IN, KT, MI, MS, MO, NV, OK, TN, and WV.

While genetics will play some role here, the environment plays an important trigger for psychological and physical distress.  High unemployment, high joblessness leads to anxiety, depression and, often, substance abuse.  These stressors are complicated by obesity, and hypertension.  Most of the 10 states fit in this category: Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, and Tennessee. 

Arkansas and Indiana are in a second group.  The bad economy has devastated community health center budgets, just as unemployment rises.  Many young adults are impacted.

The last two states, Oklahoma and West Virginia, have high poverty and low insurance coverage.  West Virginia ranked last or next to last on every mental health category evaluated.

Our nation's economy and health are given faces and names as the needs impact more and more people in negative ways.  We need to change this downward trajectory!

The report can be read at http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20483493,00.html.

 © Baldwin H. Tom CMC
www.tbgroupconsultants.com

Thank Goodness for Bad Times!

OPPORTUNITIES IN A DOWN ECONOMY

Recession, market shares down, government has no money, cyber security issues mount, worldwide economic downslide, unemployment, ugh and more ugh! 

In the midst of this unsettled landscape, it is still about meeting needs.  With all sectors in our economy looking for ways to do more with less, it becomes important to learn of ways to work smarter – quicker, better, less costly -- in order to stop the slide and turn indicators upward. 

It is time to look at benchmarking again, the adoption of methods from one industry for use in another.  Remember how Southwest Airlines learned to turn around their planes for return flights?  They took the ideas from Indianapolis Raceway pit crews (changing tires, gassing, cleaning windshields) and adapted it to their planes.  The result was first-in-class turnaround times to lead the airline industry.

It is time for those creative and innovative minds to help design new thinking on getting work done. Einstein indicated that if you continue to do the same thing over and over again and expect to get different results the next time defines insanity!

It is an exciting time for individuals and small teams to step forward to make a difference as everyone is looking for better ways to work and to do business.  Yes, I am excited about the future because I feel that small groups and even individuals can make a difference in this economy.  Those in power are not just looking at the tried and true to solve the plethora of problems facing America and Americans, they are now willing to consider all possibilities, even from you, to see if an untried but real solution is at hand.  Who said, "Necessity is the mother of invention?"  Maybe we should update that to say, "Crisis fuels urgent creativity!"  That’s the beauty of the situation we find ourselves in today – a ‘candy store’ of potentialities to make a difference!  And yes, my firm is looking at ways to help reduce cost on managing large government contracts!

© Baldwin H. Tom CMC
www.tbgroupconsultants.com

Shifting Realities with Federal Government Contracts

Since our firm started life in the federal contract business as a minority owned, U.S. Small Business Administration 8(a) designated firm, my commentary revolves around this basis.  Yet, I believe the comments I make will have relevance to all small businesses wanting to succeed in the federal marketplace.

Here is my unscientific recollection of the shift in the way federal government contracts have been and are now being awarded.  Dates are not exact but serve to segment the different contract approaches.  Generally, the move from open, individual bidding on contracts has moved to closed, team bids on contracts.  This shift changes the entire way a company must act in order to be a successful, competitive bidder on federal contracts.  This shift demands the following from small businesses:  1) must network and build teaming relationships, 2) must develop skill/experience sets that make it a desireable teaming partner, 3) must become very skilled at writing proposals, and 4) must have very good people in key positions.  Trying to graduate from a small business set-aside position to a full-fledged larger business has become exponentially more difficult.  The new small businesses can no longer wait to build the needed infrastructure and expertise to compete well.  It must be a deliberate effort early -- right from the start! 

1990.  8(a) set asides were not always competed.  Before we arrived in Washington, DC to start up our effort with federal clients, we knew that there were many contracts set aside for disadvantaged businesses.  We also knew that, as long as you could do the work, many of the contracts were not competed.  In other words, competition for contracts was not as stiff as it has become.

1998.  8(a) set asides were competed.  When we finally set up in DC, all the contracts we were pursuing were being competed with at least three bidders.  We wondered what happened to the easy 'wins' of prior years. 

2004.  Contract bundling becomes apparent.  Around 2000 and more by 2004, the challenge was that agencies were beginning to group small contracts together to simplify their contract load.  The number of small projects that small businesses could bid on were thus reduced.  In order to win a contract now bundled, a small business had to team with a larger business that had the bandwidth and cashflow to bid and win. 

2008.  Government Wide Award Contracts (GWAC) and multiple-award Indefinite Delivery and Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contracts increase.  Beyond the bundled contracts requiring a large company to manage, the feds moved to GWAC and IDIQ contracts as a means to minimize the need for the feds to continuously find contractors.  Instead, they awarded these contracts to a select group of firms so in the future, the feds would already have available contractors.  Since these pre-selected businesses would merely bid on the requirements when the opportunities were released, it reduced the fed's selection evaluation to cost and approach. 

2011.  Some agencies now expect all bidders to be on an IDIQ/GWAC vehicle to compete for awards.  We know of an agency that has a multi-award contract for Information Technology work, one for Scientific and Technology requirements, and GSA Schedules for any other needs.  In other words, if your firm is not on one of the vehicles, you are not allowed to bid, or you need to find a firm with the vehicle and team with them.

With a reduced number of contract specialists and with cut-backs in federal agency funding, it is understandable that the shift to simpler contracting means is cost-effective and desirable.  The move to bundling a number of projects into a single contract, or pre-selecting a group of companies into a bidding pool has been the solution.  Anything that helps reduce the number of contracts to review and manage is the goal.  This is ideal for the government's need to do more with less. 

After 12 years working exclusively with the federal government, we are still learning how to adjust to the new norms in federal contracting.  Even with all the challenges, if we approach working with the government as a meaningful pursuit, then the struggles are worth the effort.  Since we view our ultimate customer as the citizens of the United States, it's like an investment in our own future! 

© Baldwin H. Tom CMC
www.tbgroupconsultants.com

9/11 Ten Years Today

As with life's high intensity events we experience, we remember exactly where we were when they occurred.  I remember distinctly what I was doing when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated.  I was at a water fountain in the Microbiology Department at the University of Arizona when a nun walked around the corner of the hall to tell me the President had been shot. I recall the first landing of U.S. astronauts on the moon.  I watched it on television in Tucson, AZ with friends, as our children played on the floor.  We were sitting on the couch, all four of us adults, seeing Neil Armstrong take the first step onto the moon's surface.

Ten years ago on September 11, 2001, I was packed and standing in our kitchen preparing to leave for Reagan National Airport to fly to Denver to provide training for employees of the Department of Transportation. Around 9:00 am, my daughter called us and told us to turn on the television.  Every channel had the same picture of a plane burning on the side of one of the twin towers in New York city. I remember how unreal the image looked.  It was surreal, like in a movie.  She pleaded with us to leave our house to drive away from the U.S. Capitol.  She said that the newscaster in Takasago, Japan knows a third plane was headed for the Capitol. In reports, you hear that that the plane was targeting either the White House or the U.S. Capitol.  I side with the Japanese newscaster that the primary target was the Capitol -- a much easier, visible, and iconic target. 

My daughter was teaching English in Japan and was able to make the telephone call to us in Washington, DC. In retrospect, I marvel that her call made it through the phone traffic. We live five blocks from the U.S. Capitol on what would be the flight path for a plane to come from the east.  If it were not for our daughter's call, I would have driven to Reagan airport, unaware of what was happening.  I do not believe the plane that crashed into the Pentagon had happened when we received her call. 

Even with the twin towers burning, I was still getting ready to leave for the airport.  That's how my mind was processing this -- stay normal and do what I was going to do.  This must be have been my mind coping with what seems improbable.  It wasn't until I heard that roads were closed to and from the airport that I had no choice but to stay home.  My wife and I stayed glued to the television the rest of the day.  We will never forget the pictures, nor the tragedy it represents as we remember the day.

Yes, I bought a book on the tragedy of 9/11.  We never left the house as our daughter asked, believing that the third plane that was brought down by heroic passengers would not have missed hitting the Capitol if it came our way.   I'm grateful for the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93 that crashed in Shanksville, PA for taking action to thwart the highjacking.  Shanksville is 167 miles by car from DC.  With the jet traveling at 580 miles per hour (when it crashed into the earth), it would have taken less than 17 minutes (if it were a car), or more likely less than 10 minutes to fly to the Capitol!  We are eternally thankful.  I have no doubts that the plane would have found the Capitol had it not been stopped. 

What does 9/11 mean to me today? 1) Be grateful for everyday, 2) There are good people in the world, 3) There are evil people in the world, 4) The world is changed and life is not the same as before 9/11, 5) The world is truly interconnected and a global community, 6) Whether we do good or do harm locally, the potential for global ramifications is very real, and 7) We need to protect and defend what we believe is good because there will always be some who want to destroy it.

© Baldwin H. Tom CMC
www.tbgroupconsultants.com

Human Geography + Physical Geography Predicts the Future!

If you have been following my thoughts the last several months, I have been fixated on geospatial thinking and geographical information systems (GIS) themes.  In other words, thinking about time and space (or place), when and where things happen.  In a follow up to an article on the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency's (NGA's) role in using GIS to pinpoint the location of Osama Bin Laden, we now hear from NGA director, Letitia Long, about the use of geospatial thinking in predicting human actions.  As agency director Long says, "The key to predicting the future? Human geography." As articulated by Long, if you insert the human component into the equation of time and place, you will see patterns of behavior arise that help guide and thus presage future actions. 

While human geography data sets can change rapidly based on current needs, the human geography of a place would provide significant granularity and usefulness to the GIS map.  Such data sets could include sociological, political, technical, and economic attributes of a people.  Thus data sets could include ethnic and tribal conclaves with their languages, levels of education, and political leanings. It could include the use of technology including social media.  It could include economic factors around health care and nutrition.  All such factors influence human behavior.  As Long says, Geospatial intelligence "is the examination of all this data viewed through a spatial and temporal lens."

Place is defined by physical attributes (physical geography) that include terrain, roads, buildings, hills and valleys, water ways, and even the climate to characterize a location. A coupling of human geography with physical geography to track the movement of people from place to place would help define patterns of interactions that predict what people might do next, or where a disease might spread, or where people might migrate to.

Further, Long says such analyses would give our intelligence agencies insight into security questions such as 1) where the conditions are right for weapons of mass destruction proliferation, or 2) where the spread of transnational criminal activity might occur, or 3) where people are most susceptible to extremist ideology.

As you can see, the application of GIS tools are varied and still evolving.  For me, this is a fascinating insight into our government's use of geospatial analyses.

You can read the entire article on "Mapping Human Terrain," by William Matthews in Government Executive July 1, 2011.

© Baldwin H. Tom CMC
www.tbgroupconsultants.com

Innovation Needed for Federal Government Chiefs

Managing effectively in this dynamic global environment requires new thinking, creative thinking, and the willingness to change and to innovate.  In my mind everyone needs to be concerned about creativity and innovation.  And in order to foster creativity, we need more students to stay in school and graduate from college and that, in itself, is a challenge and a topic for another time. 

The Government Executive (GovExec) issue of June 15, 2011 has dedicated most of its pages (with several authors) on the need to innovate within several important organizational areas within our government.  The article is about the government's top leaders, the Chiefs, and why they must innovate, e.g., Chief Information officer (for open government), Chief financial officer (to modernize internal controls), Chief human capital officer (for hiring reform), and Chief information security officer (to monitor/respond to threats).

We citizens who view the government from the outside are often not aware of the efforts that are taken to make more effective and efficient the many areas within government that affect our country's safety and successes.  This article helps give perspective to us that our government is serious about responding to major challenges to effective government.

The dominant theme throughout the articles was that the challenges are many and growing!  There is no real choice but to become more creative and innovative.  Not doing so will lead us on a path of organizational road block, mediocrity and danger to our quality of life.  The major challenge is that all reforms will be difficult because they will require changes in the way work is done.  Many of us accept change reluctantly!  Increased congressional oversight has also aggrevated the situation with deadline pressures.  There are also demands from the White House and the American public to 'get things done.'  The GovExec editor lists the needs for innovation for each Chief.

Chief Information Officers are moving operations into the Internet cloud.  Yet, what can be done with only $8 million allocated for eGovernment?  For CIOs, it is estimated that over 30% of the desired changes will be very difficult to effect. 

Chief Financial Officers are working on internal controls to crack down on improper payments that have reached over $50 billion.  For CFOs, over 50% of the desired changes will be very difficult.

Chief Human Capital Officers are partnering with managers to meet workforce needs but it is reported that 46% of HR staffs lack the skills to support new governmentwide hiring.  For CHCOs, greater than 44% of desired changes will be very difficult to make.

Chief Information Security Officers have a duo challenge -- to fend off cyber attacks and to address the increasing use of mobile devices.  One challenge is that all security measures have a short half-life and will ultimately fail.  For CISOs, nearly 50% of the desired changes will be very difficult to make.

In a nutshell, the needed changes will take more than a business-as-usual approach.  It will require not only sustained funding and a focused effort in creative thinking and operational innovation, but also patience on the part of us citizens!

© Baldwin H. Tom CMC
www.tbgroupconsultants.com

Wounded Warriors -- Walter Reed Army Hospital (1909-2011)

Like many things we read about but have never witnessed in person, we can intellectually understand a situation, but not fully take to heart its meaning.  In other words, we can know, but we do not feel.  That's the situation when I speak about injured military, the wounded warriors.  The human aspects of an injured warrior did not come across until I met one brave warrior at the closing of the Walter Reed Army Hospital within the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC.

I met Adam.  He lost his left arm below the elbow, his left leg above the knee, and his right leg at the hip.  He had body wounds and was not expected to live when he arrived at the hospital a year ago.  He is 21 years old.  I would like to tell you I spoke with him and learned all about Adam, but I did not know how to relate to him and was not comfortable asking him questions.  I knew he still had a long way to go to be fully healed so I did not want to be the cause of a medical or psychological setback.  All I can tell you is that I learned that I have much to learn about people with disabilities.  I also know that I need to learn more about how to speak with someone with physical and psychological stress.  I marvelled at his strength and courage.  He even wheeled himself onto the floor to particpate in an impromptu dance of celebration toward the end of a Doobie Brother's concert presented as a closing celebration.  His mom ran out and took Adam's hand and danced with him around his wheelchair.  That's hope and expectation displayed!  Yes, I teared.

Bottomline.  We need to 'walk' in a person's shoes in order to appreciate the full impact of a person's situation.

I attended the Walter Reed Casing the Colors ceremony, when all the flags that had flown to represent the units within the Center were ceremoniously rolled and sheathed.  View this photo
Within several months, the hospital's 5,000 staff members will be divided between the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., which will be renamed the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and the newly completed Fort Belvoir Community Hospital in Virginia. All new combat casualties from Afghanistan and Iraq are already being sent primarily to the Bethesda facility. By late August, all of the Hospital's patients will have been moved to the two new sites. Thus after 102 years of service to the military, Walter Reed Hospital will officially close its doors on Sept. 15th and the facilities will be reused by the DC Government and a federal agency.

End of an era, the beginning of another.

© Baldwin H. Tom CMC
www.tbgroupconsultants.com

Solar cells and Dirty Air

Since I have been on the environmental theme for the past two weeks, I found the following two articles by Wendy Koch in the electronic version of USA TODAY of interest to me so here they are:  “Solar panels power 1 million Bangladesh homes” (06/15/11 01:43 PM) and “Metro areas with dirtiest air get cleaner” (04/26/11 10:50 PM). Koch’s article: ALA's 12th annual "State of the Air" report.

SOLAR PANELS

I tend to stop and pay attention to anything that comes out of Bangladesh because I used to joke about Bangladesh being the hinterlands.  Now however, I have an international management consulting colleague who works out of Bangladesh, plus I am working for a client who is from Bangladesh so it is no longer a joke for me.  Isn't it interesting how our attitudes change when we personalize a place? 

This article about the use of solar panels gives me joy about Bangladesh because they are moving rapidly into use of alternative energy.  "It's the fastest expansion of solar energy anywhere in the world," said Nazmul Haq of the state-run Infrastructure Development Company, which finances clean energy projects, according to Agence-France Press. "We crossed the 1 million threshhold more than 18 months ahead of schedule (and) we have set a new target to cross 2.5 million by 2014."  The old adage about having a need and finding a solution fits here.  Since the Bangladesh infrastructure does not support power lines to 60% of its people, the solar solution is an ideal one to replace kerosene burning lamps for light.

DIRTY AIR

Dirty air with particle pollution and ozone can lead to asthma attacks, other respiratory problems and premature death.  Where you live matters!  The report from the American Lung Association (ALA) says that overall, there has been improvement in air quality, yet around 50% of Americans live in areas where it is difficult to breathe. See ALA key findings in the American Lung Association's 2011 report.

Eighty percent of the cities with the worst smog and ozone pollution and sixty percent of the cities with the worst particle (soot, ash) pollution are in California!  Los Angeles and Bakersfield have the overall dirtiest air quality.  Honolulu and Santa Fe ranked as the two cities with the cleanest air overall.  I don't see Washington, DC on the lists anywhere, so I guess I could breathe easy or should breathe cautiously?!

 Here's the ALA report: American Lung Association ranks U.S. cities on air quality

10 Most Ozone-Polluted Cities
1. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, Calif.
2. Bakersfield-Delano, Calif.
3. Visalia-Porterville, Calif.
4. Fresno-Madera, Calif.
5. Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Yuba City, Calif.-Nev.
6. Hanford-Corcoran, Calif.
7. San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, Calif.
8. Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, Texas
9. Merced, Calif.
10. Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury, N.C.-S.C.

10 Cities Most Polluted by Year-Round Particle Pollution
1. Bakersfield-Delano, Calif.
2. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, Calif.
2. Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Ariz.
2. Visalia-Porterville, Calif.
5. Hanford-Corcoran, Calif.
6. Fresno-Madera, Calif.
7. Pittsburgh-New Castle, Pa.
8. Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman, Ala.
9. Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.
10. Louisville-Jefferson County-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg, Ky.-Ind.
10. Modesto, Calif.

10 Cleanest U.S. Cities for Year-round Particle Pollution

1. Cheyenne, Wyo.
2. Santa Fe-Espanola, N.M.
3. Tucson, Ariz.
4. Great Falls, Mont.
4. Honolulu, Hawaii
6. Anchorage, Alaska
7. Albuquerque, N.M.
7. Amarillo, Texas
9. Redding, Calif.
10. Salinas, Calif.

© Baldwin H. Tom CMC
www.tbgroupconsultants.com

Consumer Inaction and Global Warming

The Center for Climate Change Communications at the George Mason University and Yale Project on Climate Change Communication have published their second of four reports (from May 2011). This report is: Americans' Actions to Conserve Energy, Reduce Waste, and Limit Global Warming in May 2011.

As a consumer, I understand the ennui around actions to help reduce global warming.  It's all about not seeing tangible results and real change.  When change takes years and decades to show significance, the urgency is lost in the daily challenges of life.  Thus it is no surprise that conservation behaviors and other activities that would help mitigate impacts of climate change are poorly practiced or not practiced at all.  Further, the immensity of the effort to change the world will cause many of us to 'give up.'  The results show that there is intentionality to act 'right,' but insufficient incentive to change behaviors.   According to this report, positive energy conservation behaviors have declined since the last report in 2010. 

Here are some desired behaviors that did not change positively and, indeed, have become more negative: 1) 11% fewer Americans (45%) than in 2010 reduced their thermostats to 68 degrees or cooler in the winter; 2) More Americans than in 2010 are driving than walking or biking; 3) More Americans now than in 2010 are pessimistic about success of industrialized countries to save energy to reduce global warming.

On the bright side, there are some who are determined to make positive changes:  1) Since 2010, 12% more of us say that we buy products from companies taking steps to reduce global warming; 2) 55% of us intend to either buy or boycott companies due to their global warming related behaviors; 3) 18% of us have volunteered or donated money to organizations working to reduce global warming; and 4) 10% of us have communicated to a government official about global warming.

In my opinion, our citizens' actions are static, not going to make a serious difference.  Maybe that's a pervasive feeling.  What we see is a start, but what will help move positive behaviors on a steady upward trend?  What will it take to push behaviors to increasingly higher plateaus that go beyond the random 80/20 rule where some 20% of people will always be counted in the positive.  Here is my thought on this.  We need to regularly demonstrate the tangible effects of rising waters, shifts in weather patterns, etc. in human ways.  Show the loss of food, waters, etc. that directly impact people.  Melting ice caps and the threat of rising oceans are not as compelling as sea water rise destroying fish in rivers that have become too salty for the fish.  What about sea water rise destroying beaches or beach front property in your neighborhood?  The impact needs to be personalized.  In future surveys, I would like to see the results from 2011 serve as the 'new' plateau of positive behavior change and that future surveys will move the plateau upward for citizens active in climate change.  At the end of the day, I see the following sequence of actions -- American overwhelmingly and actively show concern about climate change, politicians will take action, then our collective government bodies will do something about it, industry will act more aggressively because we, their customers, demand it.  So simple to say, but definitely not easy to execute!

© Baldwin H. Tom CMC
www.tbgroupconsultants.com

Climate change & Global Warming?

The latest national survey around peoples' beliefs and attitudes around climate change is out (May 2011).  The Center for Climate Change Communications at the George Mason University and Yale Project on Climate Change Communication annually publishes a global warming report.  This year there will be four separate reports released.  There are no dramatic changes from the 2010 survey.  Public understanding of and engagement in climate change issues remains lower than it was in 2008.

Here is a report summary: 1) Public believing global warming is happening rose 3% to 64; 2) It is believed to be caused by human activities dropped three points to 47%; 3) Americans who worry about global warming did not change at 52%; 4) Americans who are personally concerned about global warming dropped 3% to 60.  Further, the public believes that only 39% of scientists think global warming is happening and 40% of the public believe there is a lot of disagreement among scientists.  On the other hand 81-100% of climate scientist believe in global warming.
 
Half of our citizens say that global warming is already causing or making the following events worse: 1) coastline erosion and flooding (52%); 2) droughts (50%); 3) hurricanes (49%); 4) rivers flooding (48%); and 5) wildfires (45%).  This report further suggests that decline in media reporting reduces public awareness and commentary around global warming.  More than half of Americans want more information about global warming, up 5% from 2010.
 
Overall levels of trust as sources of information remain high for scientists (76%) and for federal agencies that deal with climate change, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, 76%); the National Park Service (73%); the Center for Disease Control (69%); the Environmental Protection Agency (62%); and the Department of Energy (59%).  My firm works with NOAA to provide coastal managers tools and services to deal with climate change issues such as sea water rise and inundation, soil erosion, and salination of rivers caused by rising sea water.

View the full report: Americans' Global Warming Beliefs and Attitudes in May 2011

© Baldwin H. Tom CMC
www.tbgroupconsultants.com