GETTING GOOD ADVICE

Advice is something that most people give us for free. We get it whether we asked for it or not. However, advice is not something that is a zero priced good. Advice is spiritual in nature but it translates into the visible world. Advice is wisdom put into action. There are two types of advice, good and bad. Most people will take bad advice because they do not have to pay for it. Most people do not consider that paying for advice can end up saving them money in the long run. This is what most people do not consider, the long run, and thus, the reason for them not seeking good advice.

We live in a world with a highly specialized division of labor. We have to realize that we are limited in our abilities. We cannot be everywhere all at one time, nor can we do all things at one time. We are so limited that multi-tasking is a misnomer. We can only think of one thing at one time and since our attention is limited, we can effectively only perform one task at a time. This is why it is imperative to narrow our attention to becoming proficient in a minimum amount of tasks.

It is wise to recognize our limitations. We simply cannot do everything. There are things that belong to God alone and man must recognize who he is. Living in an age when God is relegated out of His universe that He created has allowed man to attempt the impossible of playing God. Of course, man has failed and demonstrated foolishness rather than wisdom. This condition is not going to change any time soon.

There are reasons why people cannot get ahead. While everyone has an opinion on the recent AIG bonuses (which I do not care anything about), they do not stop to consider their own financial house. They demonstrate their envy rather than trying to get their lives in order and advancing their cause. They want to pull others down rather than expending the effort to raise themselves up.

One of the main reasons people do not get ahead is because they do not seek good advice. Good advice usually comes at a price. People want good advice. The catch is is that they want it without having to pay for it. A situation where this is so is being a doctor. When someone finds out you are a doctor, they want free medical advice. The same for an attorney or accountant. Of course, the proper response would be, "I would be glad to give you advice. Here is my secretary’s phone number. Call her and set up an appointment." This would stop free advice seekers.

Good advice is not a zero priced good. The old adage that you pay for what you get is still true today. The wealthy have a bevy of advisors. They realize that they cannot know everything and that it is wise to seek good advisors. Those who could use the services of advisors do not. They get their advice from co-workers, family, and friends. Not that some of these may have good advice at times, just remember that you may not be getting the specific advice that you need. Advisors have answers that others do not possess and you must pay them for what they know.

CHOOSING THE PRACTICAL

Economics boils down to one word, choice. We all face a world of choice. The key is making the right choice. Making right choices allows us to be satisfied with those choices. Making right choices allows one to sleep at night. Choices will be based upon two premises. One premise is too make choices randomly, and the other is to make choices based upon principle. One leads in one direction and the other leads in the opposite direction.

When it comes to choice, one has to realize that choice is limited. We have more choices than we do budget. There are limits to the amount of money that we can spend. The principle is always the same that, if you want to be wealthy, you must spend less than you earn. This principle is never taught in school, yet it is the heart of the market system. Those who save money are the key to the capitalistic system. They provide the necessary capital that will fund future economic growth.

Savers are future oriented. They are a small minority. The vast majority of people are present oriented and they demonstrate this daily by their choices. The saver saves his income systematically and at a set rate, such as 10%. Combined with interest, the saver will have a surplus for the future. The present oriented person does not save and spends all that he earns and when an emergency occurs he is left with nothing. So he turns to the government to steal from the saver. The present oriented person is a thief at heart and in the voting booth. He votes himself an income from the productive.

Those who understand limitations are wise. It is those who do not understand these limitations that are dolts. The wise plan their income and expenses. The wise realize that they must secure a living and control their expenses. One way to control expenses is through the concept of substitution. When something rises in price, it wise to find an alternative that is lower in price. This requires an individual to be aware of prices.

Take for example steak. A few years ago, you could purchase T-Bone Steak for $3.99 a pound. Now, T-Bone Steaks sell for $5.99 a pound on sale. Even though I could afford to buy steak at $5.99 a pound, I choose not to. To me it is overpriced and I refuse to pay their price. As I say, they are proud of their steak and they are going to keep it. They will sell it because most people see steak and they buy it without considering an alternative. There is no thought process in their choice.

This week, Kroger is selling Sirloin Tip Roast for $1.99 a pound. It comes in a 12-14 lb. package. You can ask the butcher to cut it into three roasts. While it may not be a steak, a roast in my mind is satisfactory, especially the price. I am saving $4.00 a pound. If I bought 14lbs of steak, it would cost me $83.86 plus sales tax of 8.25%. 14lbs of roast costs me $27.86 plus sales tax. In this case, by buying roast instead of steak, I end up saving $60.62. If you are interested in saving money, buy roast instead of steak.

BIG PICTURE ECONOMICS

For those who are guided by principles it is a good thing that they use perspective when looking at a particular situation. Perspective is spiritual. It is a way of viewing things. If things are not put into perspective, the result will be an over or an under emphasis upon the matter at hand. Balance can only be obtained by putting things into their proper perspective. Perspective requires being able to mentally assemble all the pieces and putting them into a whole. Perspective is thus, thinking in terms of unity and plurality.

Views of things can either be clearly seen or they can be obstructed. Much more can be seen from a mountaintop than from a valley. From the mountaintop, one can view more territory because the perspective is greater. The view from the valley is limited because the perspective is limited. Thus, if one wants to gain a greater perspective, he would want to go to the mountaintop to gain his perspective rather than the valley.

Yet, most people are content to get their perspective from the valley rather than the mountaintop. This is because climbing the mountain requires effort and the valley dweller is content with his present view. The risk for the valley dweller is too great. He deals only in safety and security. The man on the mountaintop is not satisfied with the view the valley gives him, so he scales the mountain.

Much has been made of what is called the Peter Principle which basically assets that an individual will rise to his level of incompetence. I have read this book and to my knowledge the author does not state the reason for this eventual incompetence. All tasks are comprised of unity and plurality. Unity has to do with the purpose of a task and plurality is the details associated with bringing about the unity.

What happens is that some people are good with details. They excel in mastering detail. They make excellent workers. They get tasks done and done correctly. They must be kept in these positions without promoting them. When these same individuals are put into a supervisory capacity, they cannot function because they do not have the proper perspective. They are used to viewing things from the valley and now they are asked to have a mountaintop view. Disaster awaits. They are so lost in detail that they do not understand the purpose of their function. They excel in plurality and lack in unity.

How about those who are unity oriented to the exclusion of plurality? This is where many owners of companies fail. They more than anyone understand the purpose of their business. However, when the details i.e. numbers do not add up, they seek to ignore the objective results of their operations and focus solely upon the mission of the company rather than attending to the details. The ship must be kept afloat despite the evidence of the gaping hole in the side. The objective evidence of the details must be dealt with for the unity to continue.

The perspective that is needed at all times and in all places is the big picture. The big picture does not get lost in either the ditch of unity or the ditch of plurality exclusively. The big picture encompasses the necessity of both unity and plurality. Each balances out the other. When someone loses perspective of an issue, they are focusing narrowly and getting lost. They then keep getting more entangled by continuing to struggle in the same direction.

What is required is getting outside the situation to gain some perspective. It is a time of stepping back and seeking to get the big picture. Big picture economics is sticking with what works. What works is work. Investing our time in productive enterprises is where we can gain the biggest return. Many want to make money in a supposedly easy way i.e., without effort or due diligence on their part.

Seeing the big picture is the key to all supervisory positions. Those who have this perspective should be promoted. This is where companies have failed. They do not understand the principle of unity and plurality when it comes to the workplace. Thus, those who were competent at one level are overwhelmed at the next and rendered incompetent. Seeing the big picture is spiritual and is necessary to promotion in any and every endeavor.