Comments on: Interview With a Capitalist

By: Clay Barham

Clay Barham — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 17:47:48 +0000

UP YOUR KNOW-HOW
Leonard Read, the Founder of FEE, used to say “Improve you before trying to improve others.” It is embarrassing to argue with someone who appears to know more and grinds you into the dust. Yet, in politics, it is easy to find the roots of all arguments and see how issues follow those roots. That’s what I’ve tried to provide on claysamerica.com. If you know the roots, where the yellow brick road begins, you know better how to reach the conclusions you seek. You can take a reasoned position without passion and injury. Try it and see. Claysamerica.com

By: Sam Carpenter

Sam Carpenter — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 14:36:29 +0000

Thanks much for the kudos. To answer your first questions: Buried in the book – and I should have emphasized it more – is my method for prioritizing. It’s to fix the most pressing problem first and then move on to the second most pressing problem. That’s it. The priority sequence is critical. The danger in doing it some other way is that one can get bogged down in fixing things that don’t have that much impact. Time is critical: Get the most bang for your buck and yes, “first things first” ala Stephen Covey. . This is on page 189: “Centratel was becoming dramatically more efficient. We worked hard, improving and documenting system after system. Interestingly, there were rarely relationships among the procedures we created or revised. The sore spots we tackled were unrelated, but we had a methodology for setting priorities: We straightened out the weightiest problems first.”

Your second question: A good procedure is one that applies to any recurring event. If you know a process is going to be repeated, you need a procedure. The unexpected, one-time events can be handled via your Strategic Objective and Operating Procedures. In these “grey area” decision-making situations, people will have to make choices without specific instruction, but with the guidelines, most often correct decisions will be made. The great thing is that with good guidance through your documents, and with people who “get” what this is about, bad decisions will be seldom made and when they are made, the organization can “absorb” them as just part of doing business (the 98% perfection thing.)

By: B. Buckley

B. Buckley — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 14:29:15 +0000

I was just recently introduced to your blog by one of my clients. The same day my client posted the link to your blog on one of my forums I ended up reading all of your blog entries (that took a little while). In your writing I found a kindred spirit, so I ordered your book in audio format the next day and have listened to it once for a general overview, but am now listening through a second time and making notes of things I can put to work for one or both of my companies. Several of my clients and business associates that have taken time to read your blog entries and/or purchased and listened to the audio book have commented that you and I are twin brothers from different mothers (I am always harping on them about systems).

Now, on to the point of my e-mail. I have two questions for you;

First, have you found a method to prioritize your systems approach, a first things first kind of thing?

Second, have you identified a way to distinguish between good written procedures and bureaucracy?

I have had to deal with both of these extensively over the years and think I have a good solution for both, but would love to hear your experience in these two areas, and how you have dealt with them at Centratel.

Thanks for any advice you can provide.

By: Bret

Bret — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 14:27:21 +0000

Very well said. All of it.

By: Sam Carpenter

Sam Carpenter — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 13:18:44 +0000

Thanks Selin. I won’t get into immigration here as that is a whole other political area and it’s time to steer away from that. My posts have everything to do with explaining the systems mindset without getting bogged down in opinion. (It’s a tricky thing to do!)

By: selin

selin — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 05:37:55 +0000

hey sam, bravo!! with the answers.you are some one who thinks logically.
what do you think of illegal immigrants?

By: Robert

Robert — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 21:57:27 +0000

Wow, thanks Sam for doing your due diligence and answering the community. I can tell you some of your last post went above me…but I can appreciate you taking the time to respond. Looking forward to whats next as I try to build my own “what’s next”

By: Darrin

Darrin — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:51:35 +0000

Excellent answers. I’ve never understood anyone so willing to bash capitalism, and bash the profit motive. As you say, a dispassionate analysis would indicate capitalism to be superior to alternatives (without having to argue that capitalism is “perfect” because nothing is perfect).

Thanks for being proud without being preachy.