The Game Within the Game

Can adult attention deficit disorder be a learned behavior?

I sat back in my man cave with a cold beer and turned on the Mets-Yankees game Sunday night on ESPN. It's a guilty pleasure (the beer and the game and the alone time are all part of the guilty pleasure experience - ask a man if you're confused), and this should relax me. As I watched for a few minutes, however, it was hard to relax. No, not because the Mets bullpen is a disaster this season. I began to realize that a visual assault was being perpetrated on my innocent, slightly intoxicated mind, and the experience of soaking in some late night baseball became a video game instead with me at the center without a joystick (insert your own joke here). In summary:

• Behind home plate, there were advertisements for the next program, or the newest ED wonder drug, since baseball apparently attracts the impotent, or causes impotency;
• Across the bottom of the screen, there was the ever-present scroll, constantly providing the updated scores and written highlights on every other sporting event that I did not choose to watch that evening;
• Player's statistics - the batter's, the pitcher's, the man on deck - some numbers only a mathematician could love. Numbers about the current game, the last 10 games, career, day games vs. night games, ESPN televised games...should I continue? These flash and pivot and fade in and out, in case the game pace is too low (perhaps added to telecasts after a particularly long Boston-NY playoff marathon to encourage consciousness);
• Programming logos that appear like ghosts in the lower left corner at inopportune moments and block part of the frame on my mini-32" screen, telling me about the season finale for (fill in the blank) later that week, starring (fill in the blank), who recently graced the cover of People after a stint in rehab;
• Let's not forget the upper right corner for information designed to simultaneously inform and distract - the game score, inning, balls, strikes, pitch speed, outs, information that an announcer used to provide before visual outsourcing;

I almost forgot the game action. That was somewhere towards the center of the screen, but I needn't worry about missing anything. Every pitch, spit and scratch is replayed and dissected, with a Telestrator yellow line, or another sponsored gimmick ("The K-Zone, sponsored by K-Tel!"). This is a lot of stimuli for a Sunday evening at home after the kids are in bed.

I've become immune to most of this. The barrage of statistics and advertisements has been going on for years, and I rarely object, at least not in an economic way, by boycotting any product or program. ESPN makes money, I'm pretty sure, since there are now 20 ESPN channels ("Did you catch the dodge ball tournament on the Ocho - ESPN 8?"). In fact, I mostly like the changes, dare I say "enhancements" to the viewing experience. And if the price I pay for information on the screen is more commercialism, that's a fair trade. I can pretend we don't see them, and that my buying habits are unaffected.

I do believe that the book is usually better than the movie, and that games on the radio can be more enjoyable than on TV. A world where Vin Scully's description of the action is obsolete doesn't sound better to me. Too much information can distract from the main event. But I will continue to watch and be distracted, and buy the products whose ads I have chosen to ignore.

Because somewhere, there is game in that TV, and I'll be damned if I'm going to miss it.

What was I talking about?

Reason #1 to Love Baseball: No Clock

The Northwestern varsity baseball team led the Michigan Wolverines 14-0 in the 3^rd inning on Monday.  To add insult to injury, it was Michigan’s Senior Day, a chance for the home fans to honor the graduating members of the team.  I can sympathize with any Michigan booster who left the game early, believing a 14 run deficit too great to overcome, and a 14 run home loss to much to bear…but I can never forgive.

Michigan rallied back to win 15-14 in 10 innings.  Northwestern had to play for all 27 outs before the celebration could begin.  They couldn’t run out the clock, and they lost.

The truth is that in most team sports (football, basketball, soccer, hockey), the final minutes of the game do not allow for a comeback.  There simply are not enough ticks remaining.  In baseball, with 2 outs, 2 strikes on the batter, bases empty, bottom of the 9^th, down by 10 runs, you still have a chance.  You play until your opponent gets 27 outs, no matter how long it takes.  A 4 goal deficit in hockey in the final 20 seconds in insurmountable.  A 3 touchdown hole with 27 seconds remaining cannot be overcome.  The beauty of baseball is that it ain’t over til it’s over.

Sometimes I wish life were more like baseball.  A single shift in momentum, a few lucky breaks, and everything could change.  Time would never run out on you.  You could always achieve exactly what you had always dreamed of achieving, and tired bones or fading eyesight wouldn’t matter.  That final out may not come until you’ve won.

Maybe life is already like baseball.  I’ve got a few more at bats in me.  What about you?  Thanks, Big Blue, and congratulations on a stunning victory that inspires us all. 

Unless you’re a Northwestern fan.  In that case, the lesson is different.

One Nation, Two Sides

In August 2001, the President of the United States received an intelligence briefing entitled, "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in US". Within 3 weeks of this stark warning, almost 3,000 people were killed in New York and Virginia.

In the aftermath of these heinous attacks, the country rallied together and demonstrated its' unified support for our President and our government. George W. Bush's approval ratings soared above 90%, and anyone who openly questioned our government during this vulnerable period was accused of providing aid and comfort to our enemies. We were one nation, and we deferred to our democratically elected leaders. The citizenry gave our President more than just the benefit of the doubt. Dissent disappeared (for a few months, at least, and some would say longer).

Almost a decade has passed. We have either prevented or luckily avoided any massive, coordinated attack since that fateful day. We have been vigilant, but mostly, we've been lucky.

I wonder if the electorate would band together again, as we shared our grief and anger and determination in 2001, if we were to fall victim to a similar attack during the current administration's stewardship. This would be a true measure of the depth of our political divide.

Bush came to power after a protracted and contentious election. Bush had prior warning of the threat that we faced. The people, red and blue, rallied behind him at that critical time. Obama's term has been contentious, and some question his legitimacy to hold the office, as some question Bush's legitimacy. Obama knows the severity of the threat. Would the people rally behind him?

I hope I never know the answer.

Contingent Workforce Trends and Challenges - Part III

The final Chapter of my summary of last week's keynote address at the Contingent Workforce Fisk Forum:

New Labor Law Landmines: President Obama has appointed former labor leaders to the National Labor Relations Board, and they are sure to take an extremely pro-labor stance on issues, including the growth of contingent workers. Labor tends to take a dim view of independent contractors, as they are more difficult to organize collectively than traditional employee groups. It remains to be seen how the NLRB will handle this new workforce, but it is safe to assume that union leaders will argue that contingent workers and independent contractors should no be excluded from any collective bargaining units.

Global Legal Issues and the Global Contingent Workforce: According to Mathiason, many assumed that the global downturn would stall the growth of contingent workers. The opposite, however, has occurred. The recession has accelerated the pace of the transition to independent workers into the labor pool. In fact, the post-recession business environment will require a global use of contingent workforce solutions. In the US, we have already seen the addition of 330,000 temporary jobs (26,200 in April 2010 alone), and experts predict that by 2020, professional skill sets will represent 2/3 of staffing spend by companies. One of the drivers of that trend is the loss of math and science expertise to global competition. 18% of college students are enrolled in math and/or science disciplines. Half of these students are from foreign countries, and most will get their education here, and return to their home countries, taking that expertise with them.

Employment Law Challenges of the Virtual Contingent Workforce: Technology is changing faster than employment policies can keep up. New issues seem to appear in the newspaper daily. Students are suing a school system because laptops have webcam installed and active. Employees have been terminated for text messages sent over private networks, but using company equipment. Phones are now cameras, and GPS devices can double as performance management tools. Most of these were not anticipated 5 years ago, and no one can say for sure what challenges (and benefits) technology will provide over the next 5 years. It is safe to assume that potential, as yet unknown employment law fears will paralyze some business owners from moving quickly into the use of contingent workers, however.

Protection of Trade Secrets and Non-Compete Issues: Quick question – who owns the LinkedIn network group that you developed during your employment at Acme Computers? You or the company? This is but one of the questions being asked by today’s employment attorneys.

Disgruntled workers have always had the ability to steal customer lists or financial data from their employer, usually by sticking papers in their briefcases. That risk is now greater since that stolen customer list could now be posted on a blog, or put to music and uploaded onto YouTube. With contingent workers who by definition have no specific loyalty ties to the client business, the risk is perceived to be greater. Contracts will need to be written with care, and enforceability cases will end up in the courts. Access to computerized databases from remote locations over secure networks will continue to be viewed with suspicion, as will the storing of confidential information on laptops that sometimes get “stolen”.

Building a Flexible 21st Century Workforce: Many of the regular full-time jobs that our parents raised us to take are gone. Our children are likely to work in jobs and careers that do not yet exist, participating in groups that form and storm, and then dissolve until the next project. They will work to live, not live to work. They have evolved beyond work-life balance issues, to work-life integration issues. The Information Age has given birth to a nation of free agents and micro-businesses. Large companies will operate with a lean infrastructure, adding expertise and talent only when needed to handle upticks in the economic cycle or projects outside of their core competencies. Businesses will need HR leadership that can understand and manage this new world of work. Who will train these HR professionals?

Mathiason closed his presentation with a final analogy. When speeding down the highway, we race towards our destination, but we do so with a keen awareness of our surroundings and the road conditions. We are ready to tap the breaks whenever conditions dictate, and accelerate when conditions improve. If we floor the gas pedal without regard for the traffic around us, we crash. If we ride the breaks, we may never reach our destination. We don’t always know what is around each curve, but if we proceed cautiously, we’ll arrive safely. The point of the story is meant to illustrate how easily we could be slowed or stopped by legal paralysis when analyzing contingent workforce risk; however, we cannot be cowed into inaction by these risks. The workforce roadmap is changing, and we need to carefully move forward at a safe and reasonable speed. Just as with driving, it is impossible to eliminate every risk. We can, however, stay vigilant and move confidently ahead towards the future of work.

Contingent Workforce Trends and Challenges - Part II

Part II of my summary of the keynote address from this year's Contingent Workforce Risk Forum.  Interesting stuff about future trends in the world of work:

While Mathiason made a compelling case for the continued growth of the contingent workforce, he listed Top Ten Legal Challenges to continued growth of the segment:

Health Care Reform and the Contingent Workforce:  It appears as if the current law will begin breaking down the employer based health care system, and that is good news for workers who want the freedom to move from assignment to assignment.  The challenge for employers will be in defining whether or not contingent workers should be included in their headcount for the purpose of calculating potential penalties for not providing coverage for those workers.  Someone will have to pay as health care becomes more portable, but the question remains who that will be.

Legal Attacks on Independent Contractor Status:  There is a perfect storm in place.  Tax revenue is down because of the recession.  More benefits are being paid to the unemployed, further reducing state coffers.  More workers want their independence.  More companies want workforce flexibility.  The government needs the money that regular full-time workers provide, in way of payroll taxes.  For these reasons, 24 states have already increased their level of enforcement on misclassification of workers, and passed laws to require greater penalties for those who misclassify workers.  This will have a significant impact on the growth of this segment.  Contingent workers already represent 8% of the total US workforce and the numbers are growing.

Wage and Hour Misclassification Challenges:  Between 2008 and 2009, there was a 40% growth in wage and hour claims.  Some of this is to be expected, given the downturn in the economy and a more labor friendly administration in power.  Of concern for those involved with contingent staffing, however, is the fact that independent contractor misclassifications were the fastest growing segment.  Many employers will tell you that workers prefer the perceived status and security that comes with being classified as exempt (salaried).  That is true, unless of course, the job goes away, and the need for income becomes more important than “status”.

The position of Recruiter deserves special mention here, since it is a job ideally suited in many ways for the contingent worker world.  It can be done remotely, requires little face-to-face interaction, sometimes odd working hours, and tends to have high peaks and low valleys of activity.  The courts have delivered conflicting decisions regarding the exemption status of Recruiters as a classification, and Mathiason believes that this will be an area of focus for auditors in the coming years.

Managing Co-Employment Risks:  The law continues to evolve in this tricky area.  The very nature of the contingent workforce requires some duel control.  Many suppliers of contingent workers do not see the client face-to-face, and many never see the contingent worker either!  To manage this risk, and to provide security to the buyer of these services, compliance certification reports will become mandatory.  At this time, Mathiason says that the laws are changing to recognize what it calls primary and secondary employers.  The hope is that these designations will provide some clarity to these fluid situations.

Allocating Legal Risks between Providers and Users of Continent Workforce Resources:  After the legal risks are defined, businesses, suppliers and independent contractors need to determine the best sharing arrangement for those risks.  Simply put, who will be responsible for what in the eyes of the law?

Part III next...

Contingent Workforce Trends and Challenges - Part I

When the Great Recession ends, more than 50% of new workers will be contingent workers – independent contractors, contract workers, free agents, business consultants, temps. By the end of 2012, more than half of the total US workforce will be contingent. This could be the beginning of the end of the regular full-time employee workforce, according to Garry Mathiason, Vice Chair/Senior Partner of Littler Mendelson. During his keynote address at the 2010 Contingent Workforce Risk Forum in Washington, DC, Mathiason detailed the extent of the workforce changes that are occurring today, and outlined the potential roadblocks to continued expansion of this vital workforce resource.

The demographics of the US workforce have been evolving for years, accelerated by technological advances, generational shifts, and economic necessities. Mathiason explained that the average US worker today is 42 years old, and has held 10.2 jobs in his lifetime. In many ways, this worker has already been contingent, shifting jobs and company loyalties as business requirements changed and work assignments did not suit his strengths and interests. The growing economy made these job transitions easier, and the Internet brought new career opportunities to the worker’s attention with the click of a mouse. Turnover went up, but this suited the business needs of many companies. Businesses found that during times of dramatic and accelerated change, the need to maintain a flexible workforce is not just a key competitive advantage, but a requirement for survival. As evidence, look at Microsoft, the company known for its’ software, and its historic settlement of a worker misclassification claim to the tune of $98 million. Its’ workforce today breaks down into 96,000 regular employees, and 88,000 contingent workers. Microsoft, with a legitimate reason to fear an aggressive foray into the world of contingent workers, has not only embraced the concept, it has become a leader in the movement.

In place of the traditional, hierarchical business model is a more fluid type of organization, with core personnel and ever-changing pieces to meet fast-changing market demands. The gathering of specific skill sets for the completion of a finite, well-defined task is not new, Mathiason said. Construction projects are accomplished in this manner. Movies are made in this manner. The project is conceived; the experts are sourced; tasks are assigned; accountabilities are established; project is implemented; assignment completed, and the team members go their separate ways in search of the next job. The 21st century workforce will operate in a similar fashion. Hard to imagine? Sound too “futuristic”? Last month, Inc. magazine published the entire monthly edition of the publication without ANY of the contributors (writers, editors, advertising executives, printers, photographers, etc.) ever setting foot in the office together. The workplace of tomorrow is here today at Inc. magazine.

Up until now, two major obstacles have stood in the way of an accelerated transition to a majority workforce of contingent, project based workers. According to Mathiason, these are:
Health Insurance: As long as health insurance remains tied to regular full-time employment, worker mobility will be restricted. With the passage of the recent health care reform package, this dynamic might be changing. Mathiason predicts that for many companies, paying a penalty instead of offering an employer health care benefit will be more cost-effective, thereby driving more Americans into the health insurance exchanges, scheduled to be in place in 2014. If this proves to be the case, this could announce the death knell for employer sponsored health insurance programs, thus removing one significant barrier to the expansion of the contingent workforce.
Need for Community: At our core, we are social beings. Employees crave meaningful work, but also a sense of connectedness to others. We make friends at work, share stories around the proverbial water cooler, and participate in brainstorming meetings. Workers need to gather together from time to time not only to get things done, but to satisfy their social needs. The explosion of social media and communication tools appear to have solved this problem. Now, we can tweet, Skype, collaborate and “friend” one another, all while never leaving our virtual home office or the local coffee house. If today’s trends hold, by 2020, 44% of US workers will be distance workers, having no regular face-to-face contact with their co-workers. The itch for community bonding seems to have been scratched by Facebooking.

Law and Order - (SKU) Special Kindergarten Unit

In order to enroll my 5 year old in kindergarten in the fall, we had to complete the following questionnaire regarding her activities up to this point in life:

Section 22.1-3.2 of the Code of Virginia requires that parents/guardians provide upon

registration of students in public schools:

A sworn statement or affirmation indicating whether the student has been

found guilty of or adjudicated delinquent for any offense listed in subsection

G of Section 16.1-260 or any substantially similar offense under the laws of

any state, the District of Columbia, or the United States or its territories.

These offenses are:

o A firearm offense

o Homicide

o Felonious assault and bodily wounding

o Criminal sexual assault

o Manufacture, sale, gift, distribution or possession of Schedule I or II controlled substances

o Manufacture, sale or distribution of marijuana

o Arson and related crimes

o Burglary and related offenses

o Robbery

o Prohibited street gang participation

o Prohibited street gang activity

o Recruitment of other juveniles for criminal street gang activity

The last one on the list is borderline (she is quite the leader on the playground), but I think we’re safe on the rest – never convicted.  

I'm not sure, but I'm thinking the lawyer who recommended this language for kindergarten admission is laughing his/her ass off.  Just a hunch.