12 The Independent • The Herald
May 26, 2016
VOICES
LOCAL
Right problem may be no problem Really, is there any such thing as a good problem? I mean if we have a problem it is a problem, right? Of course there are real problems that need very real solutions. But there are also problems that could easily be turned into opportunities, and there are problems that are indeed very good problems. Even problems or challenges that become opportunities need to be managed correctly in order to convert the opportunity into an achievement or success story. And then there are the good problems. Those are the problems that also require a solid solution or proactive strategy or they too can quickly move from being a good problem to a very bad problem or crisis if not managed carefully and properly. Let’s look at just a couple of examples of what those good problems might look like. One such example may be that you have been a victim of “downsizing” or “right sizing” at work and have found yourself unemployed. However, you have been given a very lucrative severance package and you have more new job offers than you know what to do with. With each new day, another job offer seems to come your way. The good problem is that you are making money from your severance and you have opportunities ahead of you. How this turns into a bad problem is when you get comfortable not working, or procrastinate on your decision-making about which new job
opportunity to take, and before you know it the money is gone and so are the offers. Another good problem could be that you own a business and have more customers than you can possibly serve. Money is coming in, cash flow is good, customers and emMichael Norton ployees are happy, and you are enjoying your WINNING vacation time. If you WORDS watch the Food Network or happen to catch any of those restaurant shows where they have to do a makeover or fix the business, many of those owners had a very good problem at one time, they had more customers than they could serve. Before they knew it, quality suffered, service slowed down, chefs and servers walked off the job, and the ownership ended up in crisis mode. Enough of a crisis mode where they had to invite in a restaurant consultant and television show to help them re-establish their brand and credibility or risk losing everything they had worked so hard for. You see, there really are good problems in life. But the word “problem” is still there. And as stated earlier, every problem, good or
bad, needs a solution. My Uncle Harry used to always say, “Nothing is so bad it couldn’t be worse, and there is nothing so good that it couldn’t be better.” Just another way of saying, we have to manage all the situations, challenges and opportunities in our lives or they will become a problem. So the next time you are explaining a situation to someone and they say, “Well that’s a good problem to have,” instead of taking pride in that good problem, it should put you on alert. And instead of sitting back and getting caught in the comfort zone, the first thing you should do is pay attention to the word “problem” and figure out a plan and strategy to keep that good problem train chugging along or have a clear path to get the train back on the tracks of consistency. Problems are easy, solutions take work. How about you, have you ever been in a “good problem” situation? What did you do about it or what are you doing about it? I would love to hear all about it at gotonorton@gmail. com, and when we turn our good problems into even better opportunities, it really will be a better than good week. Michael Norton is a resident of Castle Rock, the former president of the Zig Ziglar Corporation, a strategic consultant and a business and personal coach.
A publication of
9137 Ridgeline Blvd., Suite 210 Highlands Ranch, CO 80129 Phone: 303-566-4100 Web: EnglewoodHerald.net
To Subscribe call 303-566-4100
President and Publisher JERRY HEALEY jhealey@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Executive Editor ANN MACARI HEALEY ahealey@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Editor CHRIS ROTAR crotar@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Community Editor TOM MUNDS tmunds@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Advertising Director JASON WOODSIDE jwoodside@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Majors/Classified Manager ERIN ADDENBROOKE eaddenbrooke@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Follicle follies are all much too much Do you have 1980s hair? Please do me a favor. Get a haircut. Get two. Our hairstyles in the 1960s were awful, but forgivable. For the very first time, the focus was on young Americans and not on our Craig Marshall Smith parents. We did OK, but QUIET there DESPERATION hair. was a lot of Remember? Clothing was awful too. Bell-bottoms. Say no more, say no more. The 1970s and the 1980s were just as bad. But it was different. We should have known better by then, but most of us didn’t Women all looked like the Mandrell sisters or the Murphy Brown cast. In music, there were “hair bands.” Mötley Crüe, Twisted Sister, Poison. Kiss. And Gene Simmons still has that hair. It’s a shoe polish helmet. Ann and Nancy Wilson were sisters, but they weren’t twisted. But Heart was a hair band too. I was crazy on Nancy (the blonde). There are photographs of me that I have tried to repress. It never got completely out of hand, but my look somewhat embarrasses me now. There were people and performers who seemed to get it right. Robert Palmer — remember “Addicted to Love”? — always looked dapper. The rest of us had hair over our ears, and collars the size of paper airplanes. Women wore shoulder pads. And other things. Leg warmers. I think I know what happens. We find a hairstyle that we like, and we stick Smith continues on Page 13
Marketing Consultant DAWN BRANDT dbrandt@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Business Manager AUDREY BROOKS abrooks@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Production Manager ERIN FRANKS efranks@coloradocommunitymedia.com
Operations Manager LINDSAY NICOLETTI lnicoletti@coloradocommunitymedia.com
We welcome event listings and other submissions. Please visit our website, click on the Submit Your News tab and choose a category from the drop down menu.
Columnists & Guest Commentaries
Consumer protection rule already applies to some The Great Recession of 2008 changed the future forever. The credit crisis distressed housing, stock market returns, unemployment and the ripple effect of all that follows a major economic decline. One of the most significant creations of consumer protection regulations in history took place. Last month, one more ruling was announced by the Department of Labor (DOL). It is the Fiduciary Rule and will be required by all investment advisors by April 2017. Back in the summer of 2008, the federal government was scrambling to instill order in the financial arena, starting with the rescue of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Then Lehman Brothers failed, AIG collapsed and Merrill Lynch was salvaged by Bank of America. The financial disaster continued with the demise of Wachovia Securities and Washington Mutual, the largest thrift. The entire U.S. financial landscape had changed in a few months. The subsequent fallout of financial institutions continued over the next several years, along with strict regulations constantly put in front of Congress. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) resolved almost 300 failed banks between 2008 and 2010. This was the largest wave of bank and thrift failures since the U.S. savings and loan crisis that ended in the early 1990s.* By mid-2010 there were nearly 780 insured institutions on the watch list with over $430 billion in aggregate assets. The FDIC increased deposit insurance from $100,000 to $250,000 per depositor to avoid a
run on the banks. The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was to buy up $700 billion in toxic mortgages to clean up tarnished balanced sheets of the financial sector. This was followed by the Dodd-Frank Act instilling heavy Patricia Kummer regulation to reduce the likelihood of FINANCIAL financial panSTRATEGIES future ics and taxpayer bailouts and to improve consumer protection. The implications of Dodd-Frank are still in play. Some feel Wall Street got off too easy while others complain banks can’t function under capital requirements that tightened the supply of credit. Meanwhile, largely due to the Federal Reserve pumping liquidity into the economy, the stock market recovered and then more than doubled between 2009 and 2015. Now that the Fed help has evaporated and even changed directions in the form of an interest rate increase in late 2015, markets are floundering. This is perfect timing for another new regulation custom-tailored to the retail investor, not large financial institutions. The DOL Fiduciary Rule simply states Kummer continues on Page 13
The Herald features a limited number of regular columnists, found on these pages and elsewhere in the paper, depending on the typical subject the columnist covers. Their opinions are not necessarily those of the Herald. Want your own chance to bring an issue to our readers’ attention, to highlight something great in our community, or just to make people laugh? Why not write a letter of 300 words or fewer. Include your full name, address and the best number to reach you by telephone. Email letters to letters@coloradocommunitymedia.com Deadline Fri. 5 p.m. for the following week’s paper.
What is Sustainable Printing? It’s the paper: Biodegradable, renewable, recycled, reusable. It’s the ink: Soy based inks are used, reused then recycled. It’s the plate: Process-free plates eliminate VOC’s and reduce water usage. It’s the press: Using cold-set presses reduces the amount of VOC’s put into the air. It’s the location: Printed locally reducing shipping and postage costs, while saving gas, emissions and time.