Tom Paterson Process for Productivity in Business

 

This blog post/article is a re-print of an awesome person that has attended the same church as I do (Bethany Presbyterian). My reason is not to plagiarize, but to place in front of others to learn from his incredible insights that have been put in place my many well known companies.
As well, long before I have read or heard of the Paterson Process, I too have attempted to implement many of his points only to be rebuffed at a previous employer that was run by a few very clueless investors/persons as to how to deal with human resources, so reading of the Paterson Process and how many major businesses have employed it has been a reaffirmation to me.

Here are a few of Tom Paterson's productivity accomplishments

• Bringing Northrop Corporation back from near bankruptcy as a financial analyst, and creating the "Paterson Process" and the "cross functional team” concept.


• Establishing THE foundational discoveries that allowed the entire world to hear, "HOUSTON, WE HAVE LANDED!"... The decision for a human controlled lunar landing by Apollo 11 was Tom's sole decision.


• Introducing secret technology to Roy Disney that resulted in the invitation for Tom to design all of the electronics for Disney World, including Space Mountain. Roy actually dedicated Space Mountain to Tom Paterson


• Created the US Presidential Study on Productivity in America for the Carter Administration.


• Tom Paterson was a member of President Reagan’s trade mission to the People’s Republic of China in which Tom was the designer of China’s “pink economy" – a unique mix of communism and capitalism – enabling 1,000,000,000+ people to have food and shelter today.

PATERSON PROCESS

Our greatest productivity loss is invisible so it is not measured. Tom Paterson achieved a MBA from Pepperdine University that was sixty percent behavioral based. After sixty-five years of experience, he came to realize that this hidden factor of production loss is due to INSECURITY, a reality that is sadly epidemic.

Characteristics of the really pathologically insecure, include:

· Cannot praise or affirm others – The truth is that all of us NEED APPLAUSE.
(This is where so many businesses such as BiMart or the investors of Carys of Oregon seem to be so totally clueless!)

· Are gossips – the pathologically insecure feel it is important to show they are in the know.

· Often speak loudly – to draw attention to the wisdom they are imparting to others.

· As Managers, they often build on weakness – they cannot make themselves bring someone on their staff that is (or appears to be) stronger than them.

· Are controllers who drop those they cannot control in their “kingdom” and their control techniques will be subtle.

· Do not take intelligent necessary risks. They play it safe…which is very unsafe when change is needed.

· Do not hold regular staff meetings – they prefer to meet one on one so they will be the only one that has the complete picture.

· Always need more budget in their piece of their budget world. This is apart of their play it safe mentality.

· Do not bring products in on schedule and at cost. They cannot drive a project due to their need to be popular.

· Cannot speak up in meetings of entire staff due to fear that their ideas may not be well regarded. Often they have great ideas that are only captured offline in one on one sessions.

Learnings for Leaders:

· Always recruit strength

· Recruit strong potential

· Do psychological testing

· Review your staff

· If you have staff who’s Thinking Wavelength is does not fit their assignments, don’t try to change them. Assist them to relocate to a job they can do.

· Be an affirmer – There is no Hall of Fame for Critics.

· Celebrate successful efforts and results.

· Let your team challenge themselves.

· Raise the bar for their performance.

· Reward outstanding results and effort.

· Get the thoughts of your silent ones offline

· Don’t try to force group participation – it will not work.

· Screen people carefully for management of major projects – make sure major projects are led by drivers.

· Place people who are silent in meetings in positions where they do not have to manage staff themselves.

Here are a couple Books by Tom Paterson

*Deeper, Richer, Fuller

*Living the Life You Were Meant to Live

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COMMENTARY (By Carl S.)

While I may have attempted to institute many of these points during my many years in management, reading these as Tom Patterson presents these points helps me realize where I can improve too.
As well understanding how to identify the "pathologically insecure" among employees is something I had not given too much thought to until I read his "process".

In my aquarium/pond maintenance business, and now my online research and article writing endeavor I can see how valid these points are, including my failings.

Here are a couple of my professional, researched aquarium/pond care articles:

*The Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Nitrogen_Cycle.html

*Aquarium Chemistry:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumKH.html

Here are a couple of my professional, tested products that I feel through hands on use and research are the very best in their genre:

*TMC Pond UV Sterilizers:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/TMCUVSterilizer.html

*Aquarium & Pond UV Replacement Bulbs:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/UVCReplacementLamp.html

Regimes Fall, Oil Prices Spike; What's Obama To Do?

From this article: Moment of Surrender: Regimes Fall, Oil Prices Spike

Snip from referenced article:
"In this unprecedented time of ordinary people rising up to do the extraordinary—toppling multiple governments in the Middle East—we look at what the reverberations mean for the market, economy and energy sector."

Key Points: *Geopolitical tensions swell along with oil prices, pushing the stock market lower. *The absence of a longer-term oil-supply shock suggests the price spike could be short-lived. *Consumers will take a hit, but the broader economy should avoid a double-dip recession.

My Opinion/Commentary

First this is a well researched article politically speaking can be used to make points for both sides in my opinion.

What is interesting is how recessions have often followed oil price spikes
See graph below, please click to enlarge


What remains clear to me is we still need to be less dependent upon foreign oil, especially from the Middle East and Venezuela, although increased energy efficiency has somewhat reduced the dependence of the economy on oil.
As a positive we are currently at about 8% energy consumption as a percentage of gross domestic product while in the early 1970s, US energy consumption as a percentage of gross domestic product was about 16%.

It is easy to blame "big oil" and they certainly are reaping the benefits as they always do during times of spikes in prices, but to place all the blame there is lazy economics.
Is it not true that as an example when say a cold snap hits Florida and many oranges are destroyed that you can expect to pay more for orange juice and often those dealing in this commodity also make more money, yet do we hear the news media and other angry at the "orange juice barons"????

If we must place blame, let's place blame where it belongs; with President Obama, his liberal cohorts (most notably the news media), and the radical (communist) environmental movement.

As for the news media, currently as per the mainstream news outlets, they are only running stories about the spiking oil prices at a rate of 1 to 15 when to compared to 2008 and news reports then blaming Bush.
Talk about corruption in the media!!!!

I would also have to add that even President Bush (W) has some blame, and that is not having the "huevos grandes" to stand up to the liberals in congress and their allegiance to the new home of communism: the radical environmental movement, especially when he had a majority in both houses of congress.

What we should be doing (& of coarse Comrade Obama will not do):

*Vastly increase drilling in Alaska, which the current drilling has shown to not be harmfil to the surrounding environment, in fact quite the opposite.
A new study says drilling on Alaska's Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) could make Alaska the eighth largest oil resource province in the world — ahead of Nigeria, Libya, Russia and Norway.
See: Vast Oil Reserves Go Unexploited in Alaska

*Stop the moratorium on drilling in the Gulf that is also hurting their local economy

*At the very least work on some feasibility studies for drilling in the area offshore from Santa Barbara, CA

*Unlock the coal reserves that Clinton locked up in Southern Utah in the 1990s in an end run around congress and to the objections of locals in Utah

*Allow more refineries

*We have heard it stated many times, no blood for oil; well we gave blood and "got no oil". Time to make Iraq pay us back for their freedoms.

*More Nuclear

*Do not just promote solar cell technology, but promote the more efficient Stirling solar dishes. The Stirling engine makes solar power so much more efficiently than photovoltaic solar cells can.
Currently for home use, credits are only given for photovoltaic solar cells, not Stirling solar generators.



For a related weblog post:
List of Obama Failures