Every business major knows about behavioral models for organizations, such as theory x, theory y, theory z.
I created 2 theories.
Theory Sense of Humor-This theory states that there are only two basic personality types when you get down to it. Those with a sense of humor and those that don't. I have a sense of humor and I bond with those who do, and have trouble with those that dont'.
Complex Theory of Competence and Leadership Style.--This theory says there are two ways to assess an individuals managerial skill- competent or incompetent. Then there are two types of personality, Nice guy(someone with a sense of humor) and Jerk (someone without a sense of humor and there are also other ways to describe a jerk)
This creates the matrix
Competence (1)No (2)No (3)Yes (4)Yes
Personality No Yes No Yes
4. The ultimate, competence and a pleasure to work with
3 Survivable, since you need competence, essential when people are shooting at you.
2 Deadly, but at least a pleasant way to sink in the quick sand.
1. The worst outcome, try to transfer to another unit.
There it is, my contribution to management theory validated in Baghdad 2003-2004.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Adversity Builds Character, Kirk Fechter's original quote
I was reading an article on the internet about the BYU defeat of UCLA.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-sp-ucla14-2008sep14,0,5082076.story
The message written on the board in the Bruins' locker room afterward read: "Adversity builds character."
Years ago at Ft Rucker, AL when I was what was called a Small Group Instructor (SGI) in 1986-1988 for the Aviation Advance Course, I originated a motto based on ABC- Adversity Builds Character. When I took command of a company in Spring 1988, I also made it the Company motto of E Co, 1-145 Avn. I remember one lieutenant referred to it as CPT Fechter's ABC's of military life.
After reading the article, I did a google search on Adversity Builds Character and got this result.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=Adversity+builds+character&spell=1
It is all over the place.
So I am on a quest. Did I first say it? If only there had been an internet to capture my quote and credit to me. If I had known how big it would be, I could have copyrighted it. Oh well.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/printedition/la-sp-ucla14-2008sep14,0,5082076.story
The message written on the board in the Bruins' locker room afterward read: "Adversity builds character."
Years ago at Ft Rucker, AL when I was what was called a Small Group Instructor (SGI) in 1986-1988 for the Aviation Advance Course, I originated a motto based on ABC- Adversity Builds Character. When I took command of a company in Spring 1988, I also made it the Company motto of E Co, 1-145 Avn. I remember one lieutenant referred to it as CPT Fechter's ABC's of military life.
After reading the article, I did a google search on Adversity Builds Character and got this result.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&sa=X&oi=spell&resnum=0&ct=result&cd=1&q=Adversity+builds+character&spell=1
It is all over the place.
So I am on a quest. Did I first say it? If only there had been an internet to capture my quote and credit to me. If I had known how big it would be, I could have copyrighted it. Oh well.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Energy
We get our energy from the sun. The earth, varying from 91-94 million miles away based on the earth's elliptical orbit around it, receives the energy from the energy. The sun is a gigantic nuclear fusion energy generator. Every second, massive amounts of hydrogen atoms by fours are fused into helium atoms in a 32 step process. Part of the reason for this is the tremendous force of gravity from the mass of the large orange ball. The resultant loss of mass (the four hydrogen atoms lose about 12% of their mass fusing into a helium atom) is converted to energy using the famous E=mc squared formula (not exactly the formula but close enough). So every day we have massive amounts of energy. We can't "eat" sunshine but plants can through photosynthesis and animals eat plants and we eat plants and animals. Vitamin D is activated by the ultra-violet rays of the sun. There are also massive amounts of energy within the earth such as volcanoes and geysers. In Iceland, the whole island is powered by geysers. They move the heat via pipes to their homes. Wind is also an incredible source. When the sun evaporates the water to the sky and it falls again as rain, we capture the potential energy in dams, mills, etc. The most efficient energy producer is nuclear power which unfortunately for economic and political reasons is forestalled. We really have more than we will ever need already. Recently, we learned that the Sun set a recent record for lack of sun spots and some scientists are inferring global cooling. So the issue of global warming is a very complex issue, but I am convinced that man is having minimal impact on the heat of the earth compared to the sun, and cosmic events such as meteors, volcanoes, etc.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Cherish Life
In December 2002, Our doctor looked at us and told us that our unborn son who was only 4 months old would die within a day. He looked at a Bible on the nightstand, and said that that was the only thing we could do. I and my wife were heart broken. I didn't want to believe it so I sought to talk with the doctor privately and he confirmed the horrible news. There wasn't anything to do but wait and pray. I remember asking my wife to pray with me. I asked her if she believed that our child could live, but she was heartbroken and in dispair. I said it was important that we both believe. So, she said she would try and we both prayed. The next day, the doctor was amazed because our child was still alive. He said it could only be a miracle and he gestured toward the Bible that he had referred to the previous day.
I can't imagine the grief I would have had if my son had died. He is healthy but there is a challenge. Joseph has autism. But it is such a joy to hear him laugh, to have him jump on me, to wrestle with him, to see him run joyfully around the yard, in the park, to wade in the creek, to swim in the pool. Sarah Palin has brought to national attention to some of the hard choices some people make. Some have chosen not to let their children live when they discovered some prenatal flaw. Others cherish life. I recently discovered a web site celebrating Down syndrome children--The Downs Syndrome Celebration
http://mommylife.net/archives/2008/09/down_syndrome_m_1.html
I like my paraphrase in the movie, Radio.
"We think we are teaching him, but everyday he is teaching us. "
I just love my child and my daughter is learning from him also.
The incredible faith I had when I prayed has faded, but the love and thankfulness will remain strong.
I can't imagine the grief I would have had if my son had died. He is healthy but there is a challenge. Joseph has autism. But it is such a joy to hear him laugh, to have him jump on me, to wrestle with him, to see him run joyfully around the yard, in the park, to wade in the creek, to swim in the pool. Sarah Palin has brought to national attention to some of the hard choices some people make. Some have chosen not to let their children live when they discovered some prenatal flaw. Others cherish life. I recently discovered a web site celebrating Down syndrome children--The Downs Syndrome Celebration
http://mommylife.net/archives/2008/09/down_syndrome_m_1.html
I like my paraphrase in the movie, Radio.
"We think we are teaching him, but everyday he is teaching us. "
I just love my child and my daughter is learning from him also.
The incredible faith I had when I prayed has faded, but the love and thankfulness will remain strong.
Languages
"How is it you speak so many languages?"
Basically, learning languages has been a life long journey.
Like the typical American, my first language was English
When I was young, I started looking up words I didn't understand, building a pretty good vocabulary.
In Seventh Grade, I started learning German. Since, I had a German last name, I remember feeling some connection to the language. I continued in 8th and 9th grade.
In 10th Grade, to protect my grade point,(that year I had all A’s except for a B in Honors Geometry) I gave up German and substituted Latin. Latin was great because I started learning great words like ameliorate, pejorative, etc.
Then, one day in 11th grade, someone showed me a New Testament with a beautiful Greek script on one page and the opposite page was in Latin. It is a wonderful black leather book with gold edges on the pages. I still cherish it. I remember the excitement and eagerness I had to learn Greek, the original language of the Bible.
Since my grandmother was Icelandic and I was socializing in the Scandanavian section of Seattle, WA (Ballard), I started to pick up some Norwegian. I had a few friends that I liked to talk with and that time I was singing gospel songs like, Han skal apne perle porten (He, the pearly gates will open) O store Gud (How great thou art)
Previously, I had intended to be a medical doctor, now I wanted to study the classics: Ancient Greek and Latin.
So, I started the University of Oregon studying the Classics (I did some running but that is another story).
Later, I went to the University of Washington continuing my classics studies but adding another language: Hebrew. Again, an excitement and another change. I changed my major to Near Eastern Languages therein studying: Arabic, Aramaic, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Sumerian, Akkadian—I might add that since my professor had studied at Tuebingen in Germany and stated that the most important language for Near Eastern studies was German, I began working hard on my German—cultural events, listening to German shortwave broadcasts, subscribing to newspapers and magazines, visiting German churches, making German friends. I remember going to a German church and meeting some of the Germans at a social gathering at Ilse Kneifel's house. As she stuffed me with food she assured me I could not refuse because, "It is the German way."
French was added in an intensive summer course.
My Hebrew was practiced because my Hebrew teacher was a Rabbi (I recently spoke with him) He had us going to the synagogue (Schul in Yiddish) and he taught us a bunch of Hebrew songs. At one point we were commuting from Edmonds where my grandparents lived and another commuter who was studying Russian had us singing the Volga boat song in Russian!!
I also began to read the Icelandic sagas in Old Norse because my professor had said they had a unique place in literature and also since my grandmother was Icelandic.
I also took note of English dialects. When my wife and I were invited to a couple from Oklahoma for dinner, we were informed the Vernon had spiced up the olives becauase otherwise they were too "DAY ed"
My language studies took a hiatus for some Army training (however I did add to my knowledge of American English and added some profane words and phrases to my passive vocabulary always listening intently to the instructions of the drill sergeants.
Off to New Jersey, I began adding Spanish by listening to Spanish television. I also continued to subscribe to German periodicals and used to read a French paper from Louisiana Akkadia.
In Alabama, I sponsored a Saudi Arabian student(saw him in 2001 in Egypt during a Bright Star Exercise after 911, he is now a general) that was good practice for my Arabic. (one interesting moment in Egypt was when I was talking to an Egyptian officer. He was having trouble with my English and of course, I was having trouble with his Arabic. Somehow, I let him know I spoke German and then we were set since he had gone to a military school in Germany. It was funny, I was asking him in German what he said in Arabic and he was asking me what I said in English)
Spanish continued to be reinforced in Texas(also learned to love Jalapenos and the Cotton-eye Joe)
Later, I was the liason to students from 40 countries in the Army Infantry Advance Course-speaking Arabic, French, German, Spanish, (came in handy with the Columbians-they usually relied on Puerto Ricans to get them through the classes.) I befriended a Greek officer and we went to Greek Churches and other Greek cultural events. At this time, I began my study of Italian. (It helps to marry into an Italian family, my studies have slowed after the divorce but I really love to sing opera in Italian.)
I worked on my French by trips to Quebec in Canada(they have great food) and Martinique in the Carribean(more great food)
I got a job teaching English for a while in St Petersburg, FL and had Ethiopian, Vietnamese, Cuban, and Central American Students(helped with the Spanish)
I applied for a job claiming knowledge of French and was granted an interview. For 6 weeks, I really worked on my French speaking. I had a tutor that had taught French in the South Vietnamese embassy. When I told him I had only had 6 weeks formal training, he said, pas beaucoup. Not enough. But, when they tested me on the job interview, I was facile enough to convince them I spoke French.(wish I could have gotten the job, I would have been off the West Africa every 2 weeks marketing helicopters(I used to fly helicopters in the Army)
A trip to Korea for a month brought me a temporary knowledge of the alphabet(Hangul) and a smattering of phrases I use when I see Koreans(usually at the cleaners, Gamsa Ham ni da-thank you, comes in handy) Interestingly enough, I met someone from Switzerland that spoke no English, but we conversed in French.
I became interested in Sushi and at one time had about 100 Japanese words. Wasabi(horse-raddish sounds a lot like Wuz-up? I enjoy Japanese food.
Recently, I took a 5 week course in Farsi which is the language of Iran and its dialect Dari is the language of the northen half of Afghanistan. There are a lot of Arabic loan words in Farsi(about 50 percent so it was a good review for Arabic.
I took a 6 week refresher in Arabic and then I was soon off to Iraq where I added the Iraqi dialect to my language collection. I try to read the headlines from the Iraqi paper everyday but it is sad because they always report on the bombings. In Arabic, I added some greetings to use with Nepalese and Indians(namaste) some Urdu for the Pakastanis( ka hal e: how are you, khodafiz: God protect you)
When I got back from Iraq in 2004, I ran into some Kurds who lived in VA and worked at the courthouse. It was great to exchange greetings in Kurdish and Arabic (Kurdish is very similar to Farsi.
2008 ---- I enjoyed trying to learn some Sanskrit grammar. I know quite a few vocabulary words just by paying attention to popular culture, Dharma and Greg, Yoga, etc. I enjoy listening the Bhagavad Gita chanted in Sanskrit.
2009 --- I am having fun on Facebook. I have friends that speak Afrikaans, Arabic (Arabic, Iraqi Dialect),Chaldean, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German,(Greek,Ancient), Icelandic,
Italian, Latin, Norwegian, Portuguese, and Spanish. So daily I see phrases in languages I know to reinforce them and also my friends are helping me start learning Afrikaans and Icelandic!!
Studying the languages has really added to my life. It is amazing the rapport you gain by saying a few phrases in someone's native language.
ADDENDUM
Here are some of my Best Defense Language Proficiency Test Scores
Language Listening Reading
German 2+/ 3
Spanish 2 /3
Italian 1+ /2
French 1+ /2
Farsi 1 /1
Arabic 0+ /1
General Description of the Test
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Language_Proficiency_Tests
Explanation of Scores
http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=24546
New Test
http://www.military.com/military-report/new-official-language-proficiency-test
Languages for which I have college credits:
Latin
Greek (Ancient)
German
French
Hebrew (Ancient)
Arabic (Classical)
Ugaritic
Aramaic
Phoenician
Akkadian
Sumerian
Syriac
Italian
Farsi
Basically, learning languages has been a life long journey.
Like the typical American, my first language was English
When I was young, I started looking up words I didn't understand, building a pretty good vocabulary.
In Seventh Grade, I started learning German. Since, I had a German last name, I remember feeling some connection to the language. I continued in 8th and 9th grade.
In 10th Grade, to protect my grade point,(that year I had all A’s except for a B in Honors Geometry) I gave up German and substituted Latin. Latin was great because I started learning great words like ameliorate, pejorative, etc.
Then, one day in 11th grade, someone showed me a New Testament with a beautiful Greek script on one page and the opposite page was in Latin. It is a wonderful black leather book with gold edges on the pages. I still cherish it. I remember the excitement and eagerness I had to learn Greek, the original language of the Bible.
Since my grandmother was Icelandic and I was socializing in the Scandanavian section of Seattle, WA (Ballard), I started to pick up some Norwegian. I had a few friends that I liked to talk with and that time I was singing gospel songs like, Han skal apne perle porten (He, the pearly gates will open) O store Gud (How great thou art)
Previously, I had intended to be a medical doctor, now I wanted to study the classics: Ancient Greek and Latin.
So, I started the University of Oregon studying the Classics (I did some running but that is another story).
Later, I went to the University of Washington continuing my classics studies but adding another language: Hebrew. Again, an excitement and another change. I changed my major to Near Eastern Languages therein studying: Arabic, Aramaic, Ugaritic, Phoenician, Sumerian, Akkadian—I might add that since my professor had studied at Tuebingen in Germany and stated that the most important language for Near Eastern studies was German, I began working hard on my German—cultural events, listening to German shortwave broadcasts, subscribing to newspapers and magazines, visiting German churches, making German friends. I remember going to a German church and meeting some of the Germans at a social gathering at Ilse Kneifel's house. As she stuffed me with food she assured me I could not refuse because, "It is the German way."
French was added in an intensive summer course.
My Hebrew was practiced because my Hebrew teacher was a Rabbi (I recently spoke with him) He had us going to the synagogue (Schul in Yiddish) and he taught us a bunch of Hebrew songs. At one point we were commuting from Edmonds where my grandparents lived and another commuter who was studying Russian had us singing the Volga boat song in Russian!!
I also began to read the Icelandic sagas in Old Norse because my professor had said they had a unique place in literature and also since my grandmother was Icelandic.
I also took note of English dialects. When my wife and I were invited to a couple from Oklahoma for dinner, we were informed the Vernon had spiced up the olives becauase otherwise they were too "DAY ed"
My language studies took a hiatus for some Army training (however I did add to my knowledge of American English and added some profane words and phrases to my passive vocabulary always listening intently to the instructions of the drill sergeants.
Off to New Jersey, I began adding Spanish by listening to Spanish television. I also continued to subscribe to German periodicals and used to read a French paper from Louisiana Akkadia.
In Alabama, I sponsored a Saudi Arabian student(saw him in 2001 in Egypt during a Bright Star Exercise after 911, he is now a general) that was good practice for my Arabic. (one interesting moment in Egypt was when I was talking to an Egyptian officer. He was having trouble with my English and of course, I was having trouble with his Arabic. Somehow, I let him know I spoke German and then we were set since he had gone to a military school in Germany. It was funny, I was asking him in German what he said in Arabic and he was asking me what I said in English)
Spanish continued to be reinforced in Texas(also learned to love Jalapenos and the Cotton-eye Joe)
Later, I was the liason to students from 40 countries in the Army Infantry Advance Course-speaking Arabic, French, German, Spanish, (came in handy with the Columbians-they usually relied on Puerto Ricans to get them through the classes.) I befriended a Greek officer and we went to Greek Churches and other Greek cultural events. At this time, I began my study of Italian. (It helps to marry into an Italian family, my studies have slowed after the divorce but I really love to sing opera in Italian.)
I worked on my French by trips to Quebec in Canada(they have great food) and Martinique in the Carribean(more great food)
I got a job teaching English for a while in St Petersburg, FL and had Ethiopian, Vietnamese, Cuban, and Central American Students(helped with the Spanish)
I applied for a job claiming knowledge of French and was granted an interview. For 6 weeks, I really worked on my French speaking. I had a tutor that had taught French in the South Vietnamese embassy. When I told him I had only had 6 weeks formal training, he said, pas beaucoup. Not enough. But, when they tested me on the job interview, I was facile enough to convince them I spoke French.(wish I could have gotten the job, I would have been off the West Africa every 2 weeks marketing helicopters(I used to fly helicopters in the Army)
A trip to Korea for a month brought me a temporary knowledge of the alphabet(Hangul) and a smattering of phrases I use when I see Koreans(usually at the cleaners, Gamsa Ham ni da-thank you, comes in handy) Interestingly enough, I met someone from Switzerland that spoke no English, but we conversed in French.
I became interested in Sushi and at one time had about 100 Japanese words. Wasabi(horse-raddish sounds a lot like Wuz-up? I enjoy Japanese food.
Recently, I took a 5 week course in Farsi which is the language of Iran and its dialect Dari is the language of the northen half of Afghanistan. There are a lot of Arabic loan words in Farsi(about 50 percent so it was a good review for Arabic.
I took a 6 week refresher in Arabic and then I was soon off to Iraq where I added the Iraqi dialect to my language collection. I try to read the headlines from the Iraqi paper everyday but it is sad because they always report on the bombings. In Arabic, I added some greetings to use with Nepalese and Indians(namaste) some Urdu for the Pakastanis( ka hal e: how are you, khodafiz: God protect you)
When I got back from Iraq in 2004, I ran into some Kurds who lived in VA and worked at the courthouse. It was great to exchange greetings in Kurdish and Arabic (Kurdish is very similar to Farsi.
2008 ---- I enjoyed trying to learn some Sanskrit grammar. I know quite a few vocabulary words just by paying attention to popular culture, Dharma and Greg, Yoga, etc. I enjoy listening the Bhagavad Gita chanted in Sanskrit.
2009 --- I am having fun on Facebook. I have friends that speak Afrikaans, Arabic (Arabic, Iraqi Dialect),Chaldean, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German,(Greek,Ancient), Icelandic,
Italian, Latin, Norwegian, Portuguese, and Spanish. So daily I see phrases in languages I know to reinforce them and also my friends are helping me start learning Afrikaans and Icelandic!!
Studying the languages has really added to my life. It is amazing the rapport you gain by saying a few phrases in someone's native language.
ADDENDUM
Here are some of my Best Defense Language Proficiency Test Scores
Language Listening Reading
German 2+/ 3
Spanish 2 /3
Italian 1+ /2
French 1+ /2
Farsi 1 /1
Arabic 0+ /1
General Description of the Test
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Language_Proficiency_Tests
Explanation of Scores
http://www.acenet.edu/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=24546
New Test
http://www.military.com/military-report/new-official-language-proficiency-test
Languages for which I have college credits:
Latin
Greek (Ancient)
German
French
Hebrew (Ancient)
Arabic (Classical)
Ugaritic
Aramaic
Phoenician
Akkadian
Sumerian
Syriac
Italian
Farsi
911
Seven years ago I was on the 10th floor of the Army Materiel Command (AMC) Building just off the beltway in Alexandria. It was just another typical day, when I heard on the radio that an airplane had hit one of the twin towers. I notified the director of safety so he would have situational awareness and I turned on the TV. While I was watching the TV I saw another plane plow into the tower. This called for another notification to the safety director. And then, there was a report that that the Pentagon had been hit. I went into the 10th floor conference room and looked out the window and could see smoke billowing over the hill that stood between our building and the pentagon. Shortly, we all heard the voice of the General John G. Coburn, the commander of AMC. Very calmly and authoritatively, he said that we probably had heard about the recent events and that he was going to release us to go home. This engendered some discussion in the safety office and during this I got a phone call from my wife who wondered why I hadn’t left the building yet - Aren’t you scared?” She was a nurse in Fairfax and they were in lock down, awaiting patients from the Pentagon as rescue workers began the triage to distribute them to various locations. She wanted me to pick up our infant daughter and the school age children. I related to her that we in the safety office were discussing our next move. One critical need was to man the Operations Center that night. It was decided that Loren would take job, so I went home picking up my daughter along the way and later picked up my other children.
Reviewing those events, I can see that a lot of ad hoc-spur of the moment decisions were made. Fortunately, we had a lot of cool heads. But the lesson learned is that it is important to review scenarios, to review options, and be prepared to execute well thought-out plans when necessary.
Reviewing those events, I can see that a lot of ad hoc-spur of the moment decisions were made. Fortunately, we had a lot of cool heads. But the lesson learned is that it is important to review scenarios, to review options, and be prepared to execute well thought-out plans when necessary.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
A Note to my friends
Hi, a blog is a good way to let my friends know what is going on.
Right now the main focus in my life is work, my little children, Rachel and Joey, and legal battles concerning their custody-some of which I will share only with those who can maintain confidentiality and who are genuinely interested. Hopefully next week I will do something else.
Right now the main focus in my life is work, my little children, Rachel and Joey, and legal battles concerning their custody-some of which I will share only with those who can maintain confidentiality and who are genuinely interested. Hopefully next week I will do something else.
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