Why Good Programs Get Cut From Budget

 It comes as no surprise to me that cuts made by the Trump administration are upsetting many people on the left and the right. Why is it that some programs get cut from a budget and others do not? Why would a wonderful program which goes to such a great cause get defunded? How heartless can people be?

There are many programs out there and when it comes time to make the cut, nobody wants their group of people to suffer. So, let us assume that every single program is a good program, or else why in the world would it have ever gotten a green light to proceed, correct? But if we can agree that we need cuts, let's not decide based on who has the most heartwarming cause or helps the most likable people.

I don't want to throw money in a jar for a program that promises to feed the hungry year after year with literally no established results. So, if we can agree on this, let's look at why a great program might get cut before another program that doesn't sound AS great!

When program cuts are made, the first thing to look at are the goals and objectives of the program. Have they been met? Why make cuts in some programs and not in others? Because programs funded by the people (taxpayers) must perform toward their original promised goals and objectives and prove to be effective based on measurable data. To see what that looks like, note the following example:


Goal

The goal is a universal and idealistic vision. It is a promise to whomever is funding the campaign/project/journey (taxpayers), that it will increase or decrease X by some factor.

Our program goal is to increase productivity in the classroom by 25%. We will do this by implementing a regimented nutrition program in public schools. 

This means that showing a correlation between a regimented nutrition program and an increase in productivity is prudent, right? Fair enough.


Objectives

Objectives are those completed tasks which will impact, in a positive way, the goal. The objectives, once measured, will show the increase or decrease in X, which was the goal.

1. Establish a baseline classroom productivity scale. Word.
2. Make public schools decrease the amount of fatty foods served in their lunch programs. Nobody will complain about this one.
3. Public schools will remove vending machines from cafeterias. Meh, okay.
4. Provide public schools with wheat grass supplemental snacks during recess. OMG, please! But okay, let's see what you got.
5. Conduct an annual classroom productivity survey to measure against the established baseline. Duh!

Measurement of Success

Believe it or not, success doesn't just happen. Accomplishing goals and objectives isn't as straight forward as winning the Superbowl. It's not as concrete as winning a spelling bee.

When there are objectives to meet, those objectives must be measured to show success. Measurable data can either prove or disprove that the objectives had an impact on the goal. So, it is important to collect this data to determine the success of a program.

Are we able to produce the results that will show our program has been a success?

Oh, I'm sorry. Were we supposed to be measuring data somewhere?

CUT!

Don't blame Trump. Blame the program administrators for not producing measurable results!

Please read the following language pulled from the actual Trump budget cuts proposal:

Economic Development Administration ($221 million): The Trump budget says it has "limited measurable impacts and duplicates other federal programs."

Minority Business Development Agency ($32 million): The White House says this minority business incubator program is "duplicative" of other programs in the Small Business Administration.

McGovern-Dole International Food for Education program ($202 million): Trump's budget says the program — a sort of Third World school lunch project — "lacks evidence that it is being effectively implemented to reduce food insecurity."

21st Century Community Learning Centers program ($1.2 billion): The formula grants to states support before- and after-school and summer programs. "The programs lacks strong evidence of meeting its objectives, such as improving student achievement," the budget says.

Community Development Block Grant program ($3 billion): CDBG has been a bread-and-butter funding source for local communities for 42 years, totaling more than $150 billion in grants over its history. "The program is not well-targeted to the poorest populations and has not demonstrated results," Trump's budget says.

What cut programs have you puzzled and/or fuming?


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Staff Training Survey - Help Improve Your Organization

I need respondents for my anonymous survey. It is short, it is fun, and it will help my Survey Design grade if I can get 200 respondents or more.

Training Survey: Please help with my Masters in Communication course - take this short survey and SHARE the link to this post via the share buttons below. THANK YOU!!

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10 Things You Learn When Involved in a High Profile Project

Happy New Year everyone!

So much has been going on in my life these past few weeks that I haven't had the time to scavenge my thoughts long enough to write a post. I also have another class which started last weekend.  The class has been an inspiration to me because it made me reflect on the outcome of a high profile project I had the privilege to be involved with over the past 3 months. High profile to me means anything which can potentially get you fired if you fuck it up.

Because of the success of this project and as a celebration to its closure, I had sent out a survey to 20 people, professionals I know in various businesses, and asked them to provide their answers to the following questions:

What does nobody want to do during a high profile project?
What does everybody want to do during a high profile project?
What types of people want to be involved in a high profile project?
What are some things you've learned when working on a high profile project?

My favorite answers came from several people and I'll share them here. These are the 10 things you learn when involved in a high profile project. Enjoy!

1. Nobody wants to be that person who announces to the entire organization that a project is underway, especially if it's a high profile project.

2. Everybody wants to be the expert, but nobody wants to be the accountable.

3. The persons with the least knowledge are the most helpful (accidentally).

4. The persons with the most knowledge are the least helpful (on purpose).

5. The persons not working on the project are willing to provide feedback. If they like you, the feedback will be positive, and if they don't, the feedback will be negative.

6. While you're learning from your mistakes and growing, those least helpful are stagnating in their own lack of progress.

7. While you're learning from your mistakes and growing, those most helpful are bonding with a team that is grateful for their loyalty.

8. You find out who works best under pressure.

9. You find out how you work under pressure.

After writing down these nine answers, I stumbled upon a quick, closing note for answer number 10!

10. You finally realize who you need on your team and who you don't. I'll take willingness to work over knowledge any day of the week!

I'm a lifetime learner, so I learn something new every day. Just because someone has knowledge doesn't mean they will apply it while working on your team. Boot that mother fucker to the curb and find you some loyalty!  :)



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Making Progress by Letting Go

Sorry to have been MIA lately. I've been dealing with so much at work, at school, and at home. I still don't know why I've not been here on my blog with you guys, despite my situation. This is the place I come when I need to get things off my chest, these days more like expunged from my heart.

I've been contemplating clearing out some items from my home to quell my OCD. There are things that are taking up room and I don't know how to remove them, or even if it's okay to remove them. Every book I pick up that Tim read and every piece of clothing I consider placing into the discard pile makes my throat constrict and I give up.

How do I get rid of books that he read, knowing that I could read those same books one day and by reading the same words he'd once read, I might feel connected to him once again? It starts this panic attack and I don't know what to do, so I put them back on the shelf or in a different pile labeled keep.

Other than books?

What if I delete the last voicemail he left on my phone without listening to it one more time?

Is it okay to delete 3 years worth of text messages, including the very last words he wrote?

Everything seems to have a memory, and to get rid of anything feels like a loss all over again. Even though I know it needs to be done, is there ever a right time?




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Writers Seeking Investors

I read a post by one of my blogger friends a couple days ago and while composing my thoughts about it, my comment grew beyond a suitable length, so I decided to post the response on my blog instead. Thank you, Randi, for such a stimulating topic. I can't believe I had more than a few sentences in me about "requesting financial support for writing and publishing a book." Apparently, these have become common projects on sites like GoFundMe.com and Kickstarter.com. However, the general public seems to be in a sort of debate about this, whether it is ethical or not. Many feel that these young writers should earn their way via some secret writ of passage. Let me put this in perspective a bit.

First off, GoFundMe and KickStarter are great programs and I think most people can peruse the projects on those sites and decide for themselves if a project is worthy of funding. Sure, the Internet wasn't always available, and these sites suddenly pop up and now there are more options for young writers today than ever before. So, you missed out? No! Go start your own project rather than scolding the young for having dreams and exploring new ideas. Who says you have to write, edit, submit, be rejected, and start the process all over again while you slave miserably 5 days per week, 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m., at a job that pays you a wage? Today you have options, obviously.

Don't whine that these folks aren't worthy to be published because they didn't get raked through the coals like you did. Let site donors decide if these projects are worthy of funding. If you don't think the project is worthy, then don't donate your money. Simple as that.

What if I want to fund some writer's dream? Should it matter to you? I'd much rather fund an honest person's dream than to let the government take it from me and give it to some person who sits on their ass all day long doing not a damned thing.

At least these kids are wanting to do something productive and creative. And, it doesn't matter how the funds are utilized, whether for a laptop with word processing software, an income to pay the bills while they write, or a fancy desk where they can spend their days working on their product. Isn't that how the government utilizes our tax revenue?

If a donor wants to fund a creative writing project, then that's what those platforms are for, giving creators a voice in requesting funds for their project ideas. The creation of a product is the creation of a product, no matter what it is. It could be a cool new game, a fancy cooler, or *gasp* a novel. Why should writing the next Great American novel be considered any different than any other creative endeavor?

To the writers out there who are requesting funding, you can't be too modest while in pursuit of a dream and you can't worry about what other people are saying about the way you are pursuing said dream. Just do it and have no regrets. Because when you are a success, it will be the only indicator that you did what was right for you! If you make it though, do give credit to those who donated to your project. It's the considerate thing to do.

And for this message of encouragement, I only charge a 10% fee on your first royalty check, so when you write that epic series comparable to Harry Potter, you can donate to my personal fund.

Go ahead, click it, seriously...

Your donations are greatly appreciated!




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A Tale of Two Writers

Ha! A friend and colleague of mine helped me out today and produced some super, high-quality documentation for training on a project we've been trying to roll-out for the past six months. In celebration of the moment, I found something as close as I could get to describing how we probably feel this evening! PC Weenies is a wonderful comic strip and the artist gets deep into the psyche of geeks like us.

Imagine me as Bob and imagine her as the purple-headed geek trainer, only:

1. We weren't writing on corporate ethics
2. She sits in an office rather than a cubicle
3. I'm actually the one who dreams of writing that Great American Novel!

Thanks, Amy. And like I always say, you are the bomb diggity. :)

Do you have a collaboration partner in your writing projects? How does that work out for you? Share your experience in the comments below!



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Making Room for Women with Effective Strategic Communication

You know me. I'm all about the progress. And now it's for the women out there. I'm sharing the presentation I put together in my first graduate level course in Strategic Communication. As we all know, women have been major contributors in the workforce for decades and we still manage to fly under the radar when it comes to being recognized for our talents and potential in leading others, especially in male dominated fields such as science and engineering.

Please feel free to share my work as a reminder to organizations that women have made tremendous progress, and we are ready for some recognition.

Thanks, and enjoy.

You "knocked it out of the park" with your slide design and your delivery. Very well done. One of the best. -- Dr. Chupp

My next class is Crisis Communication. That will be fun. Stay tuned!

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Making Progress with Strategic Communication

My first discussion post for Strategic Communication class asked how we viewed communications in the past and to reflect upon the materials provided by our instructor. Which perspective did we find most helpful to our understanding of strategic communication? You all know me. I can't resist using personal experience in any challenge. This is about progress, so why not?

When Hatch (2013) mentions Malinowski’s photograph of the anthropologist observed by the natives (p. 39) it struck me as funny and reminded me of another photograph I had found years ago. In my photo, one guy is digging a hole. Joe, according to his name tag, is surrounded by several folks with similar name tags, only each of the observers has a title rather than a name, with “manager” on the end of their titles or “lead” at the front: Operations Manager, Lead Technician, Total Quality Manager, Facilities Manager, Heavy Equipment Manager, Lead Gopher, etc. all surrounding, watching, and pointing at Joe, the hole digger. Ironic? How many managers does it take to dig a hole? Zero. Just hire Joe.

This guy has no name.

I think I’ve been kicked around over the years with having a boss clearly focused on the modern organization theory and driven by the contingency theory in organizing teams, to having a new boss who might be a fan of the postmodern perspective. I’ll explain:

My old boss owned a software company and when he put me to work on a project team, I always found myself faced with clients having insatiable appetites for sabotaging my work. Though failures on my part, each project was a successful outcome for my boss, because he had predicted my failure. He would swim in terms such as risks and constraints, assumptions, deliverables, and return on investments, all things measurable.



In my blind desire to be successful, I didn't realize my boss had not placed these same criteria for success on other analysts, so I quit playing his game and played like the others, refusing to provide him with time-wasting flowcharts, timelines, and graphs. Soon enough, I was taking on projects, reaching out to clients, and making successes (completing goals and objectives I had set for myself).

The old boss has since retired, taking with him his mask of the grand narrative. I can relate with the postmodern perspective much more because of my painful experiences dictated by the tyrant.

There is no right way to do things and by the time you’ve grown accustomed to your comfort zone, someone comes along using new terminology for the same things you’ve been working on for years, but now you’ve become seated in your ways and management isn't happy. They want change. The newly employed use fancy words explaining the same symbols of the past and management is in awe.

The emerging discourse, through hidden meetings where veteran employees are excluded and new employees become heroes, plays out until someone at the top realizes there is a communication problem which if left alone could likely embarrass the organization as a whole.

It came at a meeting and was announced that our CEO made this perfectly clear. The word “dashboard” is not to be used in any context when introducing our new portal to members. He insisted there is a public profile and a personal profile. Why not the new flashy “dashboard” terminology the new guy used the other day? Because we are not implementing a DASHBOARD, it’s a personal profile page!

How much does communication or lack thereof play a part in your successes and/or failures?



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Writing Inspiration Comes in Many Forms

Don't call me crazy, but I was a bit depressed this past weekend. I wanted to write something so desperately and my brain wouldn't work. As a matter of fact, it worked against me!

Tim asked me why I was being so quiet and I didn't have an answer. He knew I'd had writer's block for the past month and the concern on his face was quite touching, so I blurted it out, "I want a ferret!"

He had this WTF look on his face, but I pressed on, "They're like cats and you can litter train them."

"They smell."

"No they don't."

"They do!"

"Let's go to Carol's Critters. I'll call them and see if they have any. I just want to look at one. You'll see how cute they are and you'll agree that we should get one."

Turned out they did have one and when we arrived at the store, there she was, resting in a hammock suspended from the top of a 90 gallon aquarium tank.

What a coincidence! I have a 90 gallon tank at home taking up room in the garage. Three years of maintaining a salt water fish tank had done it for me, but I knew I would eventually use the tank for something else.

She was a cutie, too! The ferret. The only problem? She was already 9 months old and not litter trained.

Also, I didn't have a lid that would support a hammock suspension system like the one in the store, which is something I would have to get because you can't have a ferret and not add that level of cuteness. No way.

I handed Carol my business card and asked her to please call me when she had new arrivals of baby ferrets and I would return. I couldn't help but notice Tim looked mighty pleased that we were leaving without the ferret. He knows me too well. I'm the compulsive buyer. Give it a week and I'd forget all about the ferret.

Back to my deep thoughts and sadness...and writer's block.

Today was my flex day, so I came home from work and found Tim in the driveway building something. It couldn't be! He had started working on the lid to my future home for Mo and Bo!

"What do you mean Mo and Bo?" he asked.

I must have said that out loud.

"Well, remember, Carol had said that ferrets come into the store in pairs of two. You can't just separate baby animals when they've been cuddling together all the way to their new destination. That would be cruel. Maybe even traumatizing!"

I'm so excited. The inspiration to write hit me instantly and so here it is. Now that I'm done telling you all about my new future ferrets, Mo and Bo, I must go thank my wonderful husband.

Wait, why is he staring at me like that?



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From Hell to Heaven in 7 Days

So, the labor guys finally made it to my house. It's 5:00 p.m. and they have informed me they will need 3 to 4 hours to install my granite counter tops. Nice, right? I kind of wanted to step out tonight and maybe grab a beer or two. Instead, I get to listen to my Uncle Si bobble head call out, "I'm down like a rodeo clown" or "Hey, that's a fact, Jack!" every time one of these guys pounds away at the old counter top.

Easy! Jeez. Yeah, my son gifted it to me for my birthday last month. I love Duck Dynasty, but this thing going off every 2 seconds is driving me nuts. I had originally moved it off the washing machine when I caught it blasting away during the spin cycle. I never heard Si talk so much, saying the same thing over and over again. Oh wait, yes I have.

Anyway, so they're putting in the new counters this evening, and that means tomorrow, a day for which I took annual leave to enjoy my new kitchen, I get to spend the day putting away all these items I had to remove from my cabinets and drawers.

I know this looks messy now, but I will have a brand new kitchen ready to give a home to these items soon enough. It'll get squared away. The least I can do is have a positive attitude. This is the best Christmas present ever. We're doing the floor ourselves. Here's a photo of the old counter tops. I snapped it Sunday night after all day of cussing, stomping, and throwing scrap laminate. Sorry Tim! He apologized too, so now we're friends again. This is progress!

The tile guy comes on Friday, so I'll be sure to update you with new photos of this project I call From Hell to Heaven in 7 Days.



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