With Every Bad Comes the Good, and Vice Versa

An interesting fact reported by the Harvard Business Review today; JUNE 16, 2010

Swedish Papas Get Generous Paid Leave

With 85% of fathers in Sweden taking extensive paid parental leave, companies there have come to expect new dads to disappear for months at a time, and the leave-takers aren't penalized at promotion time, according to The New York Times. The country's generous paternal-leave policy is seen as contributing to lower divorce rates.

Source: The New York Times According to a Wikepedia article, the combined Employer and Worker tax rate in Sweden is about 63%. Yet quality of life, as compared throughout the world is ranked as #10 of best rated countries to live in. USA Ranks #14 best Country with Honolulu coming as the #31 best city to live in, in the world. New York is the median ranked as the #49 best city to live in in the world. This according to the Mercer survey (Vienna scores 108.6 and Baghdad scores 14.7. Cities are ranked against New York as the base city…). Whether we agree with the survey, or not, is not at issue – it has long been known that quality of life in Sweden is high. Indeed, in my last visit to Stockholm, I was amazed at the relative "elegance of the populace. The food was remarkable. Culture is at its highest. I awoke one summer morning around 4AM; the lights were blazing through my window. It was a manmade "land of the midnight sun" as it were. Upon looking out my hotel window, I was amazed to see a scene of families enjoying the weekend, parents and even small children, having fun together as if it were a typical Saturday afternoon in any small American town. Understandable, considering how brutal the winters can be. Winters are so challenging that my hosts told me that theirs is a shrinking population. But their summers are filled with pure joy, regardless of the time of day or weather conditions. Along with their brutal taxes come some great joys of life. Yin and Yan, opposite forces always at play. My point is, that none of us have anything to complain about, if we take the time to see "what's good" in our daily existence, regardless of where we live. Witness one of the International students in our town, who though being raised in the brothels of India (ranked on the lowest end of the Mercer survey). I have only seen her a few times, but each time, she has had a smile. She is helping my wife over the summer. Regardless of the assignment, she does not complain. My wife tells me that she goes about happily doing what is asked of her. Many in our society have grown jaded. That attitude was summed up so well in a conversation with a teenager when he said "I Didn't ask to be here." Au contraire mon frère...what we have we have somehow asked for, a controversial truth open to argument, but unchangeable. Do we ask for tragedy or accident? No. Although, I refuse to watch what we commonly refer to as "wrecks" in bull riding (a really bad ride that generally ends in injury to the cowboy) because I don't want those images it in my mind as they can create fear and other unwanted outcomes. If I were to picture it in my mind, I might start looking for a "soft place" to land, as most cowboys do. If you get an opportunity to watch, especially amateur bull riding, see if you can notice where the cowboy is looking when he comes out of the chute. The cowboys that "fall" off the bull, (you never really fall off, you get slammed off by 2,000lbs of muscle) as they come out of the chute, are probably looking down at the ground. In bull riding we like to say you're going where you're looking. In that instance, we can create our reality. But accidents are just that, we don't create them, they really just happen. Anyway, when you feel that you're dealing with "bad," look for the opposite force at play, the Yin and Yan. Trust me, it's there. Know that there is good in your business. If your business is "off," it represents an opportunity to improve your marketing efforts. Indeed, when sales numbers remain constant, we may be missing a huge opportunity to find more markets, or improve our marketing efforts such that we increase our business dramatically. The current economy has many business owners complaining and many even failing. But if you walk "behind the scenes at Temkin International, you'll witness Danny Temkin's employees hard at work improving company efficiencies. Despite the fact that company finances are in a healthy state, the current economy has provided an opportunity to become more competitive for this firm that has grown to be largest US producer in their industry. And, should economic conditions improve dramatically; the company will simply enjoy improved net profit dollars as a result. As you become aware of, and grateful for, that "good" your life is immediately enriched. You will find yourself more energized, and in the right place at the right time to enjoy the good accidents of life. Namaste, Coach Frits