Living Companies Keep Me Up At Night

So anyone who has talked to me in the past two weeks knows that lately I've had a hard time sleeping. There's something about the peace and quiet of the night that lets my race and I just can't get it to stop. I probably should stop reading, but I've been really engrossed by this book that's changed the way I think of businesses and communities.

The book is called "The Living Company" by Arie de Geus, and he challenges us to think about businesses and other social organizations not as just collectives of people, but as a distinct persona, which has the capability to learn and grow as any other individual would. He utilizes the definition of persona by the psychologist William Stern to explain how a company is a living persona:

1. A company is goal-oriented. A company desires self-preservation, utilizing its strengths and the conditions of its environment to ensure its existence.
2. A company is conscious of itself. The is a clear definition between who is part of the company and who is not.
3. A company is open to the outside world. Elements enter and exit the system of a company, similar to the human body.
4. A company has a finite lifespan. A company is born, lives its life, and when it can no longer function, dies.

At first, I had a hard time grasping this idea just because I'm used to just considering individuals as organisms. That is, until I realized that individuals are collectives themselves. While it seems natural that we have full control of our own body's facilities, the truth is we don't. Our body can be subdivided into organs which operate beyond our conscious thought, and sometimes even function independently and against the will of the higher-level personae. These organs also prioritize their own self-preservation; it's just that in most cases, their self-preservation is best served by following the will of the higher-level personae.

The author argues that because companies are living entities, the success and longevity of a company is determined NOT by its size or its profit, but rather by its ability to adapt and to grow. He also argues that too many companies prioritize profit over longevity, which then discourages collective learning and adaptation, and thus die prematurely.

The paradigm shift has got me to re-think my own concepts of human will and human behavior, the possibility of individual will of the organs and cells within my own body, and how to best facilitate leadership, both within the company I work for, and within the production team of my film. No wonder I stay up nights.

Just When I Thought I Couldn't Be More Ashamed...

After the disaster in South Bend, I was hoping to find a sympathetic article in the sports section of the Daily Bruin website. Instead, I find this editorial.

Now, say what you will about reparations. I agree that impact of slavery on African Americans is difficult to quantify, and I doubt that any mere cash handout or services rendered to African Americans would adequately address any social inequalities. What offended me was the Daily Bruin editorial board dismissing the Brown students who protested an anti-reparations ad in the Brown Daily Herald as "curious."

Now I'm not African American, but I'd imagine that if I were, knowing that:

1. the American government supported the enslavement my people
   
2. the American government continued to oppress my people through Jim Crow and segregation laws
   
3. society's images of my people are either as sports stars, thugs, or crack pushers/heads
   
4. I am statistically more likely to go to jail than to college
   
5. I am as likely to get a fair trial as anyone in Guantanamo Bay
   
6. I am more likely to be stopped by the cops than the white guy next to me
   
7. And people are actively trying to turn me away on Election Day

...if someone were to put up an ad that even SUGGESTS that my people don't deserve some payback, I might just be a LITTLE BIT PISSED, wouldn't you? It's one thing to question reparations, but the Daily Bruin ediorial board actually believes that outrage over slavery today is simply unfathomable! For American students, who learn about slavery and African American history in school, the lack of thought and empathy in this editorial is down right insulting. I'd expect this kind of crap from an egocentric columnist, but not from the editorial board. Just shameful.

Prevent Offense Prevents Win

Notre Dame 20, UCLA 17

Tell me... when you haven't had a run for more than 5 yards in the entire game, and you are up by 4 with a little more than 5 minutes to play, why would you try to run for 5 of your last 6 offensive plays?!?!? I sure as hell don't know, but it sets up Brady Quinn to have classic Notre Dame a game-winning TD drive. I've been very kind to Karl Dorrell and the UCLA coaching staff, but someone needs to be fired after playcalling like that.

First, the A's give up a walk-off HR to send the Tigers to the Series. Now this. Two giftwrapped send-offs in front of national audiences in consecutive weeks. I'm feeling sick.

Mercy

ALCS - Game 4

Tigers 6, A's 3
Tigers win series 4-0

A's 8th inning defined this series. Tie game 3-3. Milton Bradley hits a single. Tigers relief pitching wild, on Frank Thomas, goes up 3-1 count. And what does Thomas do? Ground into double play. Tigers then throw 13 straight balls. Give up three straight walks, loading the bases. What does Marco Scutaro do? Pops out on the 2nd pitch he sees. Sigh...

I guess with their stats the A's shouldn't even gone as far as they did, but getting swept in front of a national audience is pathetic. Too many chances left on the table. Tigers beat us straight up. Good luck, Detroit, you deserve it.

On the Edge

ALCS - Game 3
Tigers 3, A's 0

Tigers lead series 3-0, best of 7

A's get owned by Kenny Rogers. Period. Time to pray.

Need Some Roommates

Hey... does anyone (or someone you know) need a place to stay starting in January? I'm looking for two people to share an apartment with myself and my roommate. It's a 2-bedroom, 2-bath place right off the Santa Monica 405 exit. Rent will be around $435-$450, depending on whether you want to stay in the bigger or smaller room. If you are interested, please let me know ASAP!!!

Hurting

ALCS - Game 1
Tigers 5, A's 1

ALCS - Game 2
Tigers 8, A's 5

Tigers lead series 2-0, best of 7

Leaving runners in scoring position, errors, and woeful starting pitching have put the A's in a difficult 0-2 hole against the Tigers going back to Detroit. Under normal circumstances, I would be upset with the A's lack of discipline, but the tragic death of former A's pitcher Cory Lidle have pushed any concerns about baseball aside.

If you want to be an A's fan, you must accept the fact that the A's will let go of any player at any given time, no matter how well that player performs or how popular with the fans. It's the price you pay to be competitive while on a low budget. So the A's lose superstars, and replace them with more affordable prospects, journeymen, and castoffs past their prime. While it hurts to see former A's do extraordinary things with other teams, there's a certain magic to the Oakland uniform. You see it all the time; a guy rejected by other teams puts on an Oakland uniform, and they play like a superstar. John Jaha, Matt Stairs, Scott Hatteberg, Frank Thomas, Marco Scutaro. Cory Lidle.

Cory, you were a true professional in every sense of the word. You were always solid when you were on the mound. And no A's fan will forget August '02, when the A's won 20 straight, when no pitcher on Earth could match you. You were a gamer, and baseball lost one of its best. We'll miss you, man.

Sweep With Me!!!

2006 ALDS - Game 3

A's 8, Twins 3
A's win series 3-0

Chavez breaks his post-season slump with a HR
+
Kendall makes a "phantom tag" at the plate
+
Scoot clears the bases with a 3-run double
= Oakland to the ALCS!
Good luck, Detroit, but I want Oakland to take out the Yanks, personally. Pucker up, Jason Giambi, 'cuz you're gonna kiss our "A's"ses. Let's go Oakland!!!

Bring It Home!

2006 ALDS - Game 2

A's 5, Twins 2
A's lead series 2-0, best of 5

They say there's no play more exciting in baseball than an inside-the-park HR, unless it's an inside-the-park HR that gives you the lead. Thank you, Mark Kotsay.

Oakland, bring your brooms. Your boys are coming home!

Old Stomping Grounds

So last Thursday I was back at UCLA attending Samahang Pilipino's Annual Welcome Reception. As a former student leader, it's always great to go back. Your biggest fear as a leader is that you leave things worse than when you were there, so knowing that a tradition you were part of for years still goes on gives you a little sense of relief. All the new students were sitting at their tables, watching all the org presentations, wondering what exactly was going. And all the current leadership, who all used to be the wide-eyed new students in the audience when I was around, were scrambling around, making sure sure everything was OK, and looking wiped out by the end of the night.

It was ironic to see, just because you remember that feeling all too well; you're in a new position, and you're excited about the new year. You compare yourself to your predecessors, remembering how they worked miracles, hoping you can live up to your own memories. And you have this huge fear that you'll do something stupid, like mess up an event, no one shows up, or you say something dumb that'll offend a bunch of people. Then when you DO mess up, you think everyone hates you, that you're incompetent, and when history looks back on you, all people will think about is how YOU messed up and jeopardized the entire organization. Does it sound like I've been there?

But if there was any question I'd ask the current leadership, I'd ask, "Had you really thought about the worst that could happen?" Seriously. What would really happen if no one showed up to your event? Or you happened to say something offensive? Or you couldn't get the funding you wanted for your workshop? Would the community really brand a scarlet letter on your chest? Would history remember you as a bad person? If I had really thought about the answers to those questions, I would've saved myself so much agony. And it's even more ironic that for three quarters, Summer, Fall, and Winter, Samahang is handcuffed by fear of expectations. It isn't until Spring, when everyone is finishing their term, and expectations for the perfect year are shot to Hell, and everyone just wants to get everything done, and is too busy to fear anything, when Samahang is at its finest.

And if you want to know what I as an alumnus think, I don't necessarily care about WHAT you do, but how you FEEL doing it. Do you really want what's best for the community? Do you believe Samahang is something worthwhile? If you can answer yes to both those questions, there's no way you can fail. Your heart will find all the knowledge, all the skills, and all the support you need to succeed.

A community organizer's ideal is that you create a situation where the community can articulate and address their own needs, making your own role obsolete. It's not something valued in the Western corporate world. You are supposed to make yourself INdispensable, creating a niche that you and only you can fulfill, to ensure yourself of employment. But I go back to UCLA every now and then, and I see Samahang is still around, doing just fine without me. Turns out I was just as dispensable as all the other alumni were. And there's no better feeling in the world.

I Am PUMPED!!!

2006 ALDS - Game 1

A's 3, Twins 2
A's lead 1-0, best of 5

Frank Thomas hits two HRs, one off the best pitcher in baseball, Johan Santana, and the A's win a game even I didn't think they'd win. Now Oakland's in the driver's seat. Time to take Game 2!!!