by Rufus on March 17, 2010
Lagom. It is a Swedish word that does not have a direct English translation, but it means kinda like “enough” as in “just enough” or “there is enough for everyone.” But, even those examples are not quite right, but language being what it is, it will have to do.
Over a span of about a year or so, little by little, I’ve become a fan of Julien Smith. Not a gushing kind of groupie fan, but one with a mildly curious fascination with someone who understands lagom and is content with others not. And being ok with that. Then by chance, I saw him speak about the inner ring on this video clip on Tim Sanders’ blog (you only need to watch until 1:26 or so, but if you want to watch the whole thing, have at it.) Julien does not publish prolifically on his blog, but when he does, you get a sense that he has thought about the post for a long time.
I meet people all the time who are “increasing revenue, market share, friends, followers, money” or are “moving to the next level” or buying a bigger house, etc. Why? To what end? I often wonder if they have ever set goals of success or if they are always defining success as one more dollar, one more twitter follower, one more….
They are like an impatient dog who can’t wait to get to the next block, and the next and the next when all he is doing is rushing the walk and ending up back home sooner. I much prefer dogs who stop and sniff the bushes longer and maybe holds her heads up to catch the breeze through her ears.
Lagom. Some say it limits ambition. I say it is defines sanity and peace.
by Rufus on March 16, 2010
In November, the Democrats were on the ropes. The GOP had just elected themselves a golden child with Scott Brown and tilted the scales back below sixty votes in the Senate. They had won two gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey. The media was calling the Health Care Reform bill dead. Time between now and the next election cycle was getting shorter and the drums of defeat were beating loudly.
But then the bill got the biggest shot in the arm from the insurance companies. They increased their rates 39% in California, cut off cancer-survivors in Youngstown, Ohio, jacked up rates all over the country and even sent this poor puppy a letter that increased his health insurance costs by 21.8% over last year.
That was the second wind.
Had the health insurance companies instituted a premium freeze for 2010, not cut off existing customers regardless of circumstances and sent letters out with the message, “We’re all in this recession together, so we’re not going to increase your premiums,” they could have taken the wind right out of the sails of the Reformers. They would have convinced the average American they were not greedy, money-grubbig heartless bastards, but caring, warm folks who only had your health in their hearts.
They would have gained the entire GOP and most independents as free PR agents for their industry. “They get it, we can make a difference!” would have been the rally cry and the Obama Administration and progressive Democrats would have been left fighting an enemy that simply no longer existed. By August, the country and Congress would have been embroiled in a mid-term election with Democrats fighting to explain why they spent so much wasted time fighting the benevolent insurance companies. Most likely they would have lost a few seats and the balance of power would have tipped a bit. President Obama would have then had two years of accomplishing nothing and the insurance industry would have been healthy for the next several decades, free to plunder and pillage recklessly while Obama’s successor’s successor worked up enough public passion to start another health care reform movement.
But they didn’t. They rushed hard toward the profit line, cutting off aunt Sallie who had cancer and facing a home foreclosure. They dropped health insurance for residents in Flint, Michigan where unemployment is 27%. They continued to increase premiums an average of 22% across the country, claiming it was necessary because of rising health costs. They tightened their grip on the wallets of those lucky enough to remain employed and even tighter on the small businesses and entrepreneurs trying to weather the economic downturn and tight credit markets. And yet, they continue to post record profits.
Sometimes you have to retreat back a few steps to advance forward.
But they didn’t.
Bad business, bad public relations. On that account alone, the health insurance industry deserves to go the way of the horse buggy, passenger train and telegraph industries.
by Charlie on March 15, 2010
Pretty harsh title, I admit but it is really just there to get your attention. Did it work?
People don’t care about great ideas. They care about great personalities with average ideas they can understand. How else can you explain Sarah Palin’s book, Going Rogue: An American Life (Please don’t buy it.) or the raving success of some social media people who are constantly blogging, tweeting and presenting on remedial ideas as if they were Moses bringing down the Ten Commandments from Mount Sinai? (I linked cause I know some of you are asking yourselves, what the heck are these ten things the pooch is talking about? Mt. Sinai too.)
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t begrudge them their success, not even Sarah Palin. Really, honestly, she has that something that is appealing and she knows how to work it. But she is a great personality and that is all.
I have three great books in my head but my friends in the publishing business tell me that there is not a snowball’s chance in hell that any of them will get published without me first becoming a great personality. I struggle with that because the Internet is supposed to flatten things out, give all good ideas equal weight, flush out the charlatans and poseurs with facts.
Remember the old Peter Steiner’s cartoon, “on the Internet, nobody knows you’re a dog”? It was supposed to exemplify the anonymity of the person and force us to focus on ideas instead of personality.
It didn’t really work out that way because human beings need great personalities behind ideas, not just great ideas. And given the choice, we choose a great personality.
Even if that person turns out to be a dog.
