The Law of the Hog By Praxis

"The Law of the Hog."

By Praxis

Some business researchers were trying to find the ultimate management techniques and so they looked to the most successful businesses across the land to see what they could learn to improve business management techniques.

In the process of their research they kept hearing rumors of a small lumber mill in Oregon that had the highest employee moral, the best employer-employee relationships, the least amount of time lost on the job and the highest rating in every other area of their business including profit and so they had to find out what their secret was.

When they got to the lumber mill they were greeted by the general manager who was as big as an ape and looked like he could rip body parts off of anyone by accident while shaking their hand. As soon as they entered into the mill they realized that all of the managers looked the same - big muscle, thick necked gorillas. One of the researchers asked one of the employees why all the managers were so big and the employee said, "They have to be big so that if the employees need discipline they can make you work."

The researcher thought this was funny and said, "What if the employees didn't need discipline and the manager was just in a bad mood." The employee said, "Oh, no, that would never happen." The researchers were puzzled.

They noticed as they were walking through the plant that large trees were brought in and put on conveyors and big knives would strip off the outer bark. Then big knives would come in and strip off a thin layer of the outer wood and they were told that this wood was the finest grain and it was used for all of their high priced paneling and veneer wood. Then the logs would continue down and go through a series of saws cutting them up into beams of wood and they were fascinated by all the things going on in this lumber mill and they were still puzzled by this whole manager thing.

And so they started asking questions, "Was there a union to protect the employees?" And the employees would answer, "That's a stupid question, there is no need for a union. You researchers sure aren't very intelligent asking such dumb questions." This got the researchers even more confused and so they kept asking questions. With each question they asked they became more and more confused.

While they were walking through the mill they noticed a commotion at the end of the mill and asked what had happened. One of the employees said, "Well, one of the employees just mouthed off to the manager and so he had to be disciplined." The researchers ran over to where the disciplining was taking place. They saw the man lying on the floor just beaten to a bloody pulp. The other employees were just working as if everything was normal. No one was watching or upset. Everything seemed just fine. The researchers said to one of the employees near by, "What happened?" The employee said, "He did something wrong and so he got disciplined by the manager." The researchers were shocked and said, "Aren't you going to do something like call an ambulance?" The employee said, "The ambulance will be here in a minute, don't worry."

The researchers were incensed and said, "I can't believe that this man is lying here half dead and you act as if nothing were wrong. You should do something. This is abuse! “The employee said, "He deserved to be punished and so the manager punished him." "Well, I think the manager overstepped his bounds this time!" said one of the researchers. The employee standing near by said, "Oh, no, they wouldn't do that." "How do you know this? The researcher protested. "Because we own the hog." said the workers. "The hog!" said the researchers. "Yes, the hog so they would never do anything wrong." was their answer as they shook their heads in disbelief of such stupid questions.

Now the researchers were really confused. And so they decided to just walk around and try to figure out this madhouse called a lumber mill. Just then the owner walked up to one of the researchers and said how do you like my company? They said to him, "We're really confused about your company. You have gorillas for managers who put people in the hospital and all of your employees act like nothing is wrong. This doesn't make sense. And what in the heck is the hog?"

The owner chuckled and said, "Let's back up a little and I will tell you about our mill. Now first of all we get these big logs that come in on these big tracks. And the big blades come down and take off all the bark and all the high spots and then the logs move down and the blades shave off all the expensive veneer wood to be made into paneling, etc. Then the logs move down to the next area where the big beams are cut off the logs. The left-over's are cut into smaller lumber such as two by fours, two by twelve's, etc. You see, how it works, is the employees here make an hourly rate no matter how much or how little lumber we produce they make the same hourly rate. The managers on the other hand have a quota to meet up to each day. As you know lumber is measured in board feet. The more board feet we make the more money and the higher the quota for the managers. And the managers are required to make their quota each day. If the managers don't make their quota two consecutive days they are put on probation. If they get a low quota for a week they are fired. So you see they would never dare mistreat their employees because they have the hog. Well, I've got to go now and so I hope this has answered your question. So Bye." And the owner walked off.

Now the researchers were really confused. What was this hog that kept the managers in line and the employees satisfied? They just had to find out. And so they started asking employees where the hog was so that they could discover what it was all about. They pointed down to the far end of the mill where there was this massive machine. As they walked down towards this massive machine they saw two huge men with long chains attached to the wall picking up scraps of lumber and throwing them into this large machine. When they got there they asked the operator how it ran. And he said, "Gladly. Well you see, when the logs get cut up into lumber there are pieces that are too small or too bent to use and we put them in the hog. You see the hog has all of these big swinging knives that cut up all of the lumber into a fine dust and shoots it out the other end and then we burn it. "I see," said the researchers, "But how does "hog" give you so much power over the managers?" "Well, at the end of the day they see how much board feet of lumber there is and then they also weigh how much saw dust there is in the hog. If the hog goes up and it is too high in comparison with how much board feet the managers get in trouble and after one week of high weights in the hog the managers get fired." "I understand this," said one of the researchers, "But how does this give the employees so much power?" "You researchers really are stupid. The hog will eat up good lumber too. Anything you put into it, even big expensive beams, or whole trees come out as fine dust and so that's what gives us our power." And so the Law of the Hog was invented. © Praxis

When it comes to quality control, employee productivity, or the bottom line of financial profitability your employees are not the problem, they are the solution when you understand the Law of the Hog.

IBM found one hundred dollar computer chips in their toilets from disgruntled employees, Ford Motor Company lost millions of dollars thinking that employees were the problem of quality and so they put in robots where they could since they wanted to reduce the mistakes the employees made in manufacturing cars since robots don't make mistakes. After doing this their quality went way down but only in the area where the robots were put in place and so they looked into it and they found out that the robots did everything the way they were supposed to but the cars didn't. You see if the cars shifted on track a little the robot couldn't adapt but the people could. They realized that the people were not the problem but the solution when they understood the Law of the Hog.

The biggest area where the Law of the Hog is used today is in industry where they expect their employees to just do their job without using their mind or when the employee takes a risk on an idea and it is successful and the supervisor takes credit so the employee feels taking advantage of and stops trying to do a better job.

Even worse when the employee tries something new and it doesn't work or makes someone look bad he is punished and told, "You are not paid to think. Check in your mind at the door. When I want your opinion, I will tell you." You see most employees want to do a good job but when they are treated like machines they turn off their mind and act like machines, not adapting, just performing their required quota without the motivation to do a really good job like they really want to.

Creativity is the biggest Law of the Hog law in the United States today. If you are punishing mistakes and not rewarding risks taken by employees you are promoting the destruction of your business and will ultimately see its failure.

Copy Right By Praxis, with permission from Ron McMillan a good Friend a Great Man and Gifted Teacher

Understanding Communication

Understanding Communication

In this blog posting I want to look at telling the truth in communication. This I believe is the strongest factor in how we experience life. For until we can have open and honest communication we are doomed to have misunderstanding In every conversation, and Illusion In how we perceive all of our relationships.

"For there is but one veritable problem- the problem of human relations. We forget that there is no hope or joy except in human relations."

Antoine de Saint Exerts Wind, Sand And Stars

"Love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermost core of his personality. No one can become fully aware of the very essence of another human being unless he loves him. By his love he is enabled to see the essential traits and features in the beloved person: and even more, he sees that which is potential in him, which is not yet actualized but yet ought to be actualized." ~ Victor E. Frankl ~mans search for meaning

Communication in the human family, since the beginning of recorded history, has been at best mediocre. Except in isolated cases like the city of Enoch that was taken in to heaven, as told of in the old testament of the bible. Historically Lack of truth in communication has created misunderstandings, distrust and divorce on a personal level and on a broader level disrespect and destruction directed at all living things, even war. Every one of us, if we are willing to look deep inside, shares a feeling of being alone. Our inability to really communicate ourselves to others with out being misunderstood is constantly being tested and confirmed. We often wish even simple phrases like "I love you" could be understood with out the traps and expectations. Thinking "What else do they want?" It seams as if we are all, brother and sister, husband and wife, friend and neighbor, are speaking in a foreign language - never understanding each other and never understanding why. In our world I would say misunderstanding is not the exception but the rule. Because of our inability to overcome our communication barriers, we have become disillusioned, overwhelmed. The other side of the coin is people pretending that they have it "all figured out" and try to use force to make people use their rules. They spend their time creating laws, rules and regulations in governments to force people to get along. This is a very short term, immature, quick fix approach and only serves to create more problems and disharmony down the road.

Taking the ultimate parent role setting up rules that treat every one like disobedient children, "If you kids don't stop fighting and get along, I'm going to punish you." I know they mean well but personal behavior is inside each individual person, making rules will not change them. People need understanding and an actual living example in order to change behaviors, showing mutual cooperation, respect and understanding. In relationships we have so much bad experiences we have become cynical. Often when we see people getting married, seeing them absolutely in love we say; they'll learn in time that it is not all a bed of roses and they usually don't disappoint us. Why can't we keep the love and excitement alive?

The exception! Once in a wile we see a husband and wife or some small group of people that really find an ability to communicate. That develop a rill sense of oneness and we think it is a fluke, their lucky, just pretending or maybe even mad. We say real people can't be that happy together. I personally think it is not a fluke and there is hope for all of this confusion. I believe it is possible to overcome the traditions of misunderstanding. This through a process of discovery that my wife and I have been experimenting with. I know this is not new information the truth of what we are learning is in all of us. This truth is also in every ancient spiritual text; whether the teachings of Buddha, the teachings of Zoroaster, the Bhagavad-Gita, the Koran or the Holy Bible. The purpose of these books is to assist you to awaken and remember that part in you that is temporarily sleeping but already in place. To lift your consciousness up to a higher awareness and knowledge, tempered with love. To awaken from the night mirror of human relations and embrace true open and honest communication. The process will take some time but I believe it is very much worth it. We live in a wonder full time. When all things in life are being looked at and re-evaluated to try to find some meaning to this mess of a world we have created.

Historians say if we can learn from history then we do not have to repeat it. Here I would like to say there is no such thing as true history. As a general rule history is full of look good lies that give us a sinking feeling, because those who came before us where so good and we know how we are. The truth is they made just as many mistakes as we do. The person righting the story just left that part out. There is a wonderful thing happening today though historians, because they are looking for the truth they don’t want the look good history but what really happened and this kind of history can help us not to repeat it. The benefit to this type of history is we can see that all people are good and bad at the same time. What ever that means, for it is just a judgment. None of us are all good or all bad, with this knowledge we can realize we can be as wonderful as we want, with the knowledge we also have shortcomings too. And these shortcomings need not stop us from being great. This could go a long way in helping the world to heal; I feel the most destructive form of lying in the world is people trying to cover up mistakes they make. We should rejoice in our mistakes for they teach clearly what doesn’t work, and this is very beneficial. This is because of the shame blame and punishment mindset of society. This makes people distrust creating distance and secrecy in order to not be found out. Instead let’s look at what we have tried; what works and what has not. As you know mankind has been making the same mistakes since recorded history started with no apparent sense of having ability to stop the cycles from repeating. The primary focus has been on force and mandatory laws. Doing this the problems have continually escalated with bigger bombs, more cruelty, bigger wars, more fear and less trust. We the self-righteous United States are afraid of any one else having the atomic bomb. Yet we are the only nation to have ever used its destructive forces. (A little like the kettle calling the pot black.) My number one conclusion you can not force understanding. people are as honest as they feel safe to be with out reprimands. So instead of trying to make more rules for every situation, instead let’s have some understanding, some compassion, some forgiveness, some love. Let’s learn to rejoice in our humanness and embrace our limitations, acknowledge our mistakes and learn what they have to teach us. There is not a single human being on the face of the planet that doesn’t make mistakes and have limitations. Let’s create a space for open and honest communication, a safe environment where every thought can be expressed without condemnation. From this place we become a self correcting society and will grow to see fulfilled all the wonderful things our Holy books talk about. And for the first time in recorded history it won’t repeat its self!

Just something to think about.

Peace

Charles Lyon CHT

The 10 Best Employee Motivators

This is a study done in 1986 by Dr Kenneth Novack about what motivates employes from the employers view verses the employes view.

It is quite profound how out of sync most managers are to there employees.

He asked a cross section of employes across the U S What was the top ten things that motivate them to do a good job for a employer.

He also asked a cross section of managers across the U S what they

thought motivated there employes and here is the results.

1) Managers) said " Money"

1) Employees) said "appreciation"

2)Managers) Job Security.

2) Employees) The feeling of being an insider & having a say on how things are run.

3) Managers) Promotion.

3) Employees) Sympathy for personal problems.

4) Managers) Working conditions.

4) Employees) Job security.

5) Managers) Interesting work.

5) Employees.) Money.

6) Managers.) Loyalty from the company to employes

6)Employees.) Interesting work.

7) Managers) Tactful disciplining. What ever that means ?

7) Employees.) Promotion

8)Managers) Appreciation.

8) Employees) Loyalty from the company.

9) Managers) Sympathy for personal problems.

9) Employees) Working conditions.

10) Managers)The feeling of being an insider

10) Employees) Tactful disciplining.

Conclusion the average manager doesn't have the foggiest Idea of how to Effectively motivate His employees.

Tom Peters turned the management world upside down when he Introduced "In Search of Excellence" He admonishes Managers to desert the old management style and become Cheerleaders of Excellence. Specifically he says ketch your employees in the process of doing something right and then praise them for there efforts. Stop looking for what they do wrong, look for what they Do right.

Manifesting & Intentional Creation

The Secretes of Manifesting or Intentional creating. It’s a synchronicity where you attract things to your self.   We are naturally born with the ability to attract things to our self instantaneously. But the process and conditioning of life makes us forget what we were born knowing. The conditioning process of life fills our mind with lots of useless mind chatter, things like self doubt judgments, regrets, attachments to thoughts and things all useless stuff.   Meditation is the process to eliminate mind chatter. It’s about finding your true self. When we start meditating we all feel like we are doing it wrong, because the mind doesn’t give up its control Easley, but if you stick with it in time little by little it lets go and you can be at peace, even when you are surrounded by kayos. The mind is not even real it’s when we get attached to the thoughts of our mind and those thoughts becomes an attachment that we identify with when the illusory nature of the ego driven mind takes hold. When we are truly living in the present moment the mind naturally goes away and you are just in the moment, there is no comparisons with past experiences no judging of what is perceived as good or bad, just the experience of the here and now. Its being in the zone, that athletes talk about, or artists, or any one who has found a way to get lost in something, and in that moment you are the thing you are doing, you are truly one, all cense of self is gone, all is well and just to be alive is profound. In this place every thing is all good, every moment is fun and enthralling.  How we manifest is by visualizing the thing we want to manifest as if we already have it, in this place we are deserving of what we want and we see our self as having it in the here and now. We Visualize how it feels to have what we are manifesting, see it in our mind, feel it and how it will feel when we have it the more details we can have and the more real we can make the visualization the faster it will come. When we get caught up in thoughts of why we cant have what we want to have the self doubt brings the process to a stop, worry, self doubt anxiousness desperation or neediness is all going in the wrong direction. It’s a peaceful process to embrace all you would like to manifest, there in no attachment its about letting go and trusting the Universe to bring it to you in the right time when you are ready to receive.  Gratitude is key to all manifesting; to be grateful in advance is the greatest tool to shorten the time between when you create the vision and when it is physically manifest. When I look at the times when I have been able to manifest what I wanted in a fast manner the greatest was bringing in to my life of, my present wife.

I was almost completely divorced it was 6 weeks until the court hearing to finalize my divorce.   I created a list of every thing I wanted in my perfect relationship things like some who love me for me some one who wasn’t constantly wanting me to be something I wasn’t at the time, some one who empowered me and built me up instead of tearing me down, I also had lots of individual things that I really wanted as well. I had connected to a place in me where I knew I could have what I wanted I felt worthy to receive this new relationship. And it was also an act of prayer to my divine source, with a feeling of gratitude for the gift of life. I didn’t have a timetable, I just believed this is something I want and will not except anything less in my life ever again. I was introduced to my wife the night before my divorce was final. And the introduction, was a peaceful experience, none of the overwhelming sexual attraction I had felt in the past. It was a complete hart connection it was a soul connection. It was much more profound then mirror sexual attraction it was like I was looking in to my own soul, this person was Me but in a female form. She was Georgiou’s, and powerful, with a strong sense of self in many ways much more secure with her self then I ever was. She was even profoundly better then I asked for, better then my list, better then my wildest dreams, it was like asking for a new home and receiving a mansion, filled with gardens, and grand rooms of wonder. We spent the whole night just talking and we talked all the way up to just a two hours before my court hearing, so I went home and showered and went to the court with the biggest smile I couldn’t remove from my face. Filling totally blessed, and grateful to be alive, grateful to have met the best friend I had ever known. We have been together for the last 20 + years, and it has been a joy, to be living with some one who loves me warts and all, and believe me I’ve got lots of warts.  I am Blessed.  So I hope this can spark in you a little more understanding of how to manifest in your life, it was fun for me to take a short trip down memory lane.

With Peace and Love

Charles Lyon.