by Peter H Frank | Nov 6, 2009 | Culture, Life in Romania, TV Commentary |
[Originally broadcast on Nov. 6, 2009, on The Frank Show, here.]
I’m in a good mood, despite the government here and unemployment in the US. It was a lovely day today so I’m not in the mood to complain.
This is a great place to live.
When I worked at a newspaper in Baltimore, we had a clerk who was a wonderfully strange man. Tony was his name. Not well-schooled but intelligent, he was a large, gentle guy, about middle-aged who lived with his mother and loved ships.
One day, when I was training a new reporter, Tony was drinking a cup of hot chocolate when suddenly, for no apparent reason — he spewed an entire mouthful of the drink out across three desks. It seemed like it went in every direction. He later said he did it because he remembered a funny joke.
But that’s not the interesting thing. What has stayed with me is what that reporter told me later. She said the most remarkable thing to her was not that Tony had sprayed a mouthful of hot chocolate across the newsroom – which indeed was strange enough. But no, what she noticed most was that none of the twenty-or-so reporters sitting nearby reacted. No one. They didn’t even look up. Why? Because that was, well, Tony. Nothing he did surprised us.
What has this got to do with anything? Well, living in Romania is a bit like sitting next to Tony. And that’s why I like it here.
I could ask you if you realize people park on the sidewalks here, or grow grapes in their driveways, or sell vegetables out of their car trunks, or cross themselves as they drive by churches. I could ask you if you realize people smile a lot here. They do, and in a genuine way. Or do you know that more people here than I’ve ever seen anywhere stop and will share a covrigi – it’s sort of like a pretzel – or other food with an old man or woman looking hungry in the streets. I could ask you if you’ve noticed that people are respectful while they wait in line. The line might not look like a line, but most people know and respect who was next. I could point out that every block there’s another window where you can buy a fresh pastry. I could tell you the women are beautiful and the men are friendly. I could tell you that corruption, if not legal then ethical, is prevalent and that there seems to be a grey market for everything. I could point out that there are horse-drawn carts everywhere outside the city. I could tell you all this and you would say, well, yes. So? So what?
But folks, I lived in the US near an Amish community. People would drive a thousand miles to see them in their horse-drawn cars. We have so many rules that are followed that people stop even thinking about breaking them – or creatively bending them day to day. We have so many parking spots that people get upset if you park too close to the white lines, nevermind on the sidewalk. We don’t sell vegetables out of trunks. Just guns, drugs, and fake scarves and watches. Our pastries come from factories and are bought in boxes.
I know none of this is surprising. It’s just the typical expat kind of thinking. Too many people have told me that someday I’ll stop liking all this and just start complaining. I don’t think so. That only happens when you start forgetting what life is like elsewhere and how much there is here to enjoy and marvel at. And if I ever start forgetting, I hope someone will remind me. Because I think it’s good to have someone point out, every once in a while, that there’s a Tony in the office.
by Peter H Frank | Oct 30, 2009 | Culture, Life in Romania, TV Commentary
[Originally broadcast on Oct. 30, 2009, on The Frank Show, here.]
I considered talking about all the things I love about this country. But that will have to wait. Instead, it’s cold and rainy outside and, well, I’m just in the mood to complain.
I can’t find shoelaces in this country – you know, the strings on your shoes you tie in little bows. I can’t find the shoe polish I need. I can’t find a comb – a simple Genuine Ace hard rubber pocket sized comb.
Oh, I CAN find Rolex watches, Gucci handbags, Prada scarves, Jaguars and Maseratis. But those won’t keep my shoes on.
And I wonder, what is going on here? Everyone tells me that there USED to be little stores that sold these things. But I’ve searched pharmacies, grocery stores, malls. I can find black shoe polish, but not dark brown. Then there are no brushes to put the polish on. I found a big display of shoelaces at Carrefour, but they only had brown and then, only in two sizes. Some shoe stores have them, but then only in one size – that is, the wrong size. I can find hair stylers that heat up and big round brushes to sweep my hair back. But seriously, look at me, I only need a comb. And a small one at that.
I’m ok for now. I brought over about a dozen shoelaces the last time I was in the US. I got a comb as a wedding present from some lovely women with a great sense of humor.
And then I realized what’s happened. Life here began to make sense. I realized why I can find, not shoe polish, but just that liquid that makes it LOOK like you’ve polished your shoes. It gives it the shine and glow. But not deep down. It wears off quickly. There’s no substance. It goes on without any rubbing and brushing and buffing. We use the expression that’s a merely a spit shine.
And then it dawned on me. That’s the point I keep trying to make. That’s what’s wrong. In too many ways, this country has gone from Mobra motorscooters to Maseratis. From Cico soda to Campari and orange. From Marasesti cigarettes to Vogue and Parliament Reserve. It’s built companies that LOOK shiny like their counterparts elsewhere. They have the signs, the business cards, the clothes, the money.
They’ve seen what they want and they built something that looks like what they saw. But most often, it’s what is NOT seen that is truly important. What is NOT seen from the outside is what determines whether the company ultimately succeeds or collapses. That, I believe, is true whether it’s inside a company, inside a person, or even on a pair of shoes.
Maybe this sounds harsh. I’m not casting blame. I think it’s human nature, understandable, probably predictable. But I’m optimistic. It will come. If not with planning, then with necessity. And I predict that someday, someone, will discover that there is money to be made in a chain of stores that sells shoelaces. And shoe brushes. And combs. And all the other things that are the mundane foundations of life and business. And they will succeed, as long as they don’t put the shine on and forget about first rubbing in the polish.
by Peter H Frank | Oct 23, 2009 | Culture, Politics, TV Commentary |
[Originally broadcast on Oct. 23, 2009, on The Frank Show, here.]
Vice President Joe Biden was in town on Thursday. He gave a good speech, not great, but solid. He touched all the right points. The Romanian revolution. The people. Progress. Leadership and the need for it. What this country represents, still, to much of the world. The ability to overcome. To surmount a history and join a world that was missed for decades. Because believe it or not, we Americans do admire Romania and the people here for having survived and persevered. Of course, most of us in the US don’t know the difference between Bucharest and Budapest. God forbid we should try to find either one on a map. But we do pay attention and we find strength in seeing what people elsewhere can overcome.
And though I’m sure it sounds corny, all this got me thinking about Joe Biden himself. I confess, without wanting to sound fawning or naive, that I have often thought of his personal story as an example. Well, just a small example. One of many. But at times of reflection, we all look to images of others, however slight, to illuminate parts of ourselves.
The Vice President was a US Senator from the state where I worked. I knew him. But then again, so did most of the people there. It’s a very small state. The population is less than one-third that of Bucharest. We would have meetings together, sit near each other at restaurants, chat sometimes. I worked with his son.
And I do like him. Almost everyone does. The Vice President is forthright when allowed to be. He is often very funny. He has his faults. Even compared with other politicians, he can talk too much. He’s not always a very good politician, I don’t always agree with him, and he’s been known to stretch the truth, to put it kindly. But he is a good guy, and a good father. I believe he’s honorable. And he has persevered. At 29, he was elected to the US Senate in a very surprising upset. Then just weeks later, his wife and young daughter were killed in a car accident. He considered resigning before even taking office. Twenty years ago, he almost died from a brain aneurism. And in the mid-90s, he confessed in a meeting with a group of us editors that he thought about leaving politics as his party had lost the majority in Congress. And now, there he is. Vice President of the United States.
What does that teach us? Maybe not much. Many of us have had to survive tragedies, persevere through the worst pains of life. But as we do, it consoles and inspires in small ways, I think, to know of others who traversed their own sometimes dark paths and arrived at a green pasture of success. It’s good to have these examples. But it’s most important to set these examples.
by Peter H Frank | Oct 16, 2009 | Business, Politics, TV Commentary |
[Originally broadcast on Oct. 16, 2009, on The Frank Show, here.]
It’s said that great leaders are born, not made. It’s also said that in a democracy, people get the government they deserve. I don’t believe either of these. And I think we’ve seen some evidence of that this week with what happened in Parliament.
Now, believe it or not, the way politicians act here, what they say, what they do, is not all that different from other countries. In the US, members of one party will go on TV and repeat, over and over, the same words, the same phrases, the same ideas – as if robots programmed with no other thoughts than what they’ve been directed to say.
We’ve had one party shut down the government by refusing to pass spending legislation. We’ve had parties refuse to stay in session, instead going on vacation, during the midst of a crisis. Like many of us, they get caught up in the game of their own making and lose sight of what they were hired to do.
But is this myopic pettiness really only the domain of politicians? Are they really all that different from what we too often see in the business world? There are too few statesmen, leaders, everywhere.
Too many times, in politics and in business, we have people content with playing a role. They are usually called managers. They do not lead. They manage. But somehow, they spend their time managing themselves more than others. They attend to what they believe is important at the moment. Too often, it’s what is important to themselves, not to the people they are supposed to be managing. They are so busy doing things – they get nothing done. There is no follow up. There is no accountability. Most often, this is because, there is no strategy. I’ve heard that complaint several times in the past few weeks from business people here.
I am not a fan of books on management. Except the Peter Principle – well named and well conceived. These books seem, like many managers, to be more about the author than the topic. Because, the best managers I’ve ever had were simple in their approach. They managed by common sense. They knew that with a clear strategy comes consistency, with courage comes timely and reasoned decisions, with commitment comes results, and with treating people with respect comes strength, not weakness.
Leaders can, in fact, be taught – but by example, not a book. So as we watch these politicians manage, themselves more than the country, we might learn a lesson for the office. And we might ask ourselves whether we are truly acting any differently. We don’t like seeing it in politics, why should we set the same example in the workplace?
by Peter H Frank | Oct 9, 2009 | Business, Culture, TV Commentary |
[Originally broadcast on Oct. 9, 2009, on The Frank Show, here.]
I’ve been in Romania a while now and have gotten to know a few companies and have heard plenty of stories about others. In too many cases, it makes me think of a story about an old man. He lives out in the country on top of a very tall mountain. He owns a car, very badly designed, and the engine stopped working years ago. One day a friend of his comes over and old the man offers to take them to town down in the valley. So they get in the car and the old man gives it a push and down they go. About halfway down the mountain, the friend turns to him and asks why he doesn’t get his car fixed. The old man says, fixed? Why get it fixed. It’s moving just fine.
Now, I don’t think you need to look very far to see examples of this all around. I’ve been told the term for this in Romania is “merge si asa.” It doesn’t translate very well, but essentially means, eh, it’s working, why mess with it?
Well, to state the obvious, at some point, you reach the bottom. And then what?
You start patching. You try a fix here and a fix there. And pretty soon, to mix metaphors, you end up with an overcoat like that in Nikolai Gogol’s story. Eventually, the tailor tells you that he can patch no longer. There is no coat left. He’s just putting patches on the patches.
If you don’t think this applies to you, some of you, I reckon, should look in the mirror. Patches are no solution. Eventually, you’ll reach the bottom of that hill. And if you wonder why you’re getting cold down there, don’t blame the tailor, or the mechanic. They are not creating the problems simply by pointing them out. More than likely, you need a new coat, a new car, or a new way of thinking. Any venture capitalist will tell you it takes a different personality to build a company rather than run one. Recessions have a wonderful way of deciding who among us realize this.
So if I were you, I’d wonder if I really want the person who designed that old man’s flawed engine to be the one to fix it.
