What’s Wrong with America?

J. Lewis RichardsLeave a comment

Anarchists in Seattle… rioting in our major cities… protests… the left… the right.  It seems like our world is falling apart, but beneath the surface, it really isn’t.  We, and other cultures throughout time, have seen this many times before. We need to recognize the real root cause and once we do that… the bridge building between us will come more easily.

Our chaos is not complicated, as the media “experts” would have us believe.  The root cause is simple: “People feel left out.”  They feel left out of a system that is designed to shut them out, shut them up, and keep it that way.

We as individuals and as a group ONLY GET WHAT WE NEGOTIATE FOR. We always start with the verbal expression of ideas, We attempt to enlist the strength of numbers to our cause. If that doesn’t work, we turn up the volume and we consider options to get the ruling party’s attention. If we are still ignored, we take action which leads to violence and forced change. This has happened all too frequently throughout history. It is human nature. As humans, we are a product of 6 million years of evolution that has brought us to where we are today.

What do you think would happen if 5 toddlers were under your care and you gave only 3 of them ice cream?  Think about it… our society is no different.

 

How can one explain Bernie Sanders’ support by 62% of Americans aged 18-34?  Because they feel left out.  .8% of the world’s population control almost half of the world’s wealth. What’s hard to understand?

Why did Donald Trump win the presidency? Because his supporter felt left out. The deplorables, gun-toting white men were put in a bucket by the left… there were rounded up, labeled, and grouped on Trump’s behalf… and all he had to do was make them feel like they had a voice.  He did… and he does.

Blacks feel left out. There should be zero debate about systemic racism in the USA. Why? Because the data supports it AND our black communities tell us it is so. So why after some 70 years since the civil rights movement began, is this still an issue?

Who else feels left out? How about the LGBT community, Pro-Life groups, Pro-Gun / Anti-Gun, Environmental Causes…  the list is long.

None of these groups are wrong… trying to change the world is never wrong

 

What is most troubling is the fact that politicians don’t care enough to change the conditions that lead to FEELING LEFT OUT.  Instead we see blatant pandering and photo ops during an election year that is intended to direct our attention forward… and not backward.

Joe Biden has been a career politician since 1972. What has he done for those who feel left out? Not what does “he say” that he’s done…. but what has he done?  Like Joe, no one can really remember. There is, however, plenty of evidence of using his political position to enrich those around him.

This isn’t limited to one side of the aisle. Joe does, however, stand as a poster boy for everything wrong with our system. There are plenty of “poster boys” on both sides.

 

Hence… we arrive at the real root cause for what’s wrong with America. 

“Career Politicians” are what’s wrong with America – Republican and Democrat – Those who serve themselves and the big money interests who pay to keep them in power. They talk the game come election time, they pander, lie, talk about what they will do and not what they have done. They have no interest in solving issues that Americans have elected them to solve.

Healthcare for ALL

Lowering the cost of higher education

Improving basic access to quality education

Addressing the socioeconomic problems that keep our Black community down

Enforcing the rule of law uniformly

The list goes on…

 

Somehow, this group has come to believe that their purpose is to perpetuate their power. They hold it or gain it at any cost and there is no limit to what they will do to keep their swamp.

This  “power focus” serves to draw a line between political parties to the detriment of solving problems that are shared by all.  The lines narrow the range of acceptable political thought… thereby leaving variant views feeling “left out.”

As we know… “being left out” will inevitably sew the seeds of  discord.

 

My goal in this narrative is to encourage a different view, one that serves to include, enlist, and commune with each other for our common good.  Instead of asking “why are you lost?” you might ask “Am I the one who is lost?

 

And The Page Turns….

J. Lewis RichardsLeave a comment

After 13 years with world class tableware manufacturer, Steelite International, I’ve decided to turn the page in the book of life and start a new chapter.

My unlikely career began in 1977 as an accountant with New Castle based Carbis Walker. I became a CPA and spent 10 years in accounting and consulting. I joined a client, Bryan China Co and spent 20 year as GM in decorating business. It was at Bryan that I was introduced to Asian manufacturing and in 1991 I made the first of what would be 90+ trips to China. In the midst, I traveled to India, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Korea, Japan, and of course, many countries in Europe.  Add up the work years and it blows me away that I’ve been on someone else’s treadmill for 42 years!

I’ve long stated that when my kids were out of the roost, I was going to do something different…. and now here I am. Time to get off the bus.

My next venture is to scale a laser engraving business that I created a couple of years ago for shits and giggles. I taught myself how to illustrate during those many, many endless, sleepless nights in China. I perfected ways optimize the art for my process. I blend science and art together… (which is my realm… my center….) to create an emotional link to a product. This is the definition of adding value.  To me, it’s the second greatest thrill in life. (get it?)

We’ve listened to the market and it has pointed us to military… and more specifically to Military Aviation.  We engrave whiskey decanters and glassware as gifts for military retirement, change of command gifts, graduation gifts…

We thrive on the execution and precision required to deliver a product that exceeds the expectations of the giver and recipient. If you are illustrating a Super Hornet for a Navy Captain’s wife, you’d better be spot on because she knows exactly what an F/A-18E looks like.

We’ve secured USAF and USN licensing and will pursue all branches of the military. We purchased our commercial “shop” in New Wilmington, PA… a small college town… we’ve inked a deal with Sparq Designs, a Pittsburgh based marketing firm, to spiff us up, package our message and help us create a marketing machine so that we can get the word out.

We have two brands… Bourbon and Bull, which is a general brand that we’ll devote to a variety of interests, and Military Etch, which we’ll focus on military products.

So, stay tuned as we roll the dice.  We’ll work hard and we’ll work smart and we’ll bring you along in our journey for excellence….

Ah… Just What I’ve Been Looking For…

J. Lewis RichardsLeave a comment

It’s a cool, rainy February in Frankfurt, Germany. While I’ve been to Germany many times, all of my visits have been in cool, rainy Februarys like this one.

In show terms, Ambiente is the show of shows. It’s a place where 4,376 exhibitors will try to convince over 134,000 potential buyers, that their product is the next big thing. Buyers from 168 countries converge here to find new products. Most of housewares, kitchen wares, furniture and decorative accessories that you will see in stores next year, will be directly related to Ambiente in Frankfurt.

If you are a buyer here, you’d better know your numbers. How much is freight from their country to yours… how much is the duty? What are the minimum order quantities, quality standards, lead times, exclusivity agreements? Now is your time to ask. You only have so much time here and you can’t afford to spend it kissing frogs.

Ambiente is a microcosm of global business… it’s how millions of people feed their families, educate their children. It’s how they hope to attain a better life. Everything happens because someone adds value to a product and sells it to someone who will pay for it. Here, the buyers are also sellers. To be successful, you must be right more times than you are wrong.

Every year for the past 12 years, I’ve come to Franklfurt and walked past every one of the 4,376 booths in search of hidden gems. I want to find the gems before my arch enemies do. If I find two items or factories of interest… I’ve won. If I find none, then I’ve won as well because I know that they don’t exist on this planet at this time.

Over the years, I’ve seen the rise and fall of trends, colors, textures… and companies. I like to walk the fringes first since most newcomers occupy the less expensive space. I can quickly assess whether you (the exhibitor) “are” the factory or you are a sales agent. I want to work with factories. I can usually tell what your genius is and how it fits into my business… before I even talk to you. You typically have one great product that has led you to the big show. All the other products are just an offshoot of the big idea. If Williams Sonoma or Pottery Barn find you here… they can make you rich. Sometimes their demands can bankrupt you as well.

You can’t bullshit me. I’m interested in unique products, processes, techniques for improve product performance… I want to know why your product is better. I don’t want a sales pitch, I want technical information that I will co oberate through testing. I want to know that it’s your idea, and that you’ve created it. I will travel the the ends of the earth to visit your factory and during that visit I will learn everything I need to know to determine whether we can do business. You must be who you say you are and I feel no compulsion to deal with you if you are not. You might be a very nice person, but my job description doesn’t include finding nice people. We can be friends but I will not buy from you. Again, you can’t bullshit me.

I’ve been in and out of hundreds of factories all over the world over the last 30 years. I know old dirt from new dirt, engineering from copying… you cannot fake it til you make it… at least not with me.

The fun side of Ambiente is seeing the breadth of products within product categories and how companies attempt to maintain their relevance.  How do you innovate to keep your edge? If you can’t improve the technical aspect of your product, maybe you can just make it prettier….. At right is a Dolce Gabbana mixer that costs a few thousand dollars.I’m sure the cake that it makes tastes just as good and determined cook with a wisk. But.. it’s fun to look at.

Another approach is to get a celebrity to pitch your product. Still another is to come up with 50 variation of the same products… size, color, texture. It’s all here… all of it. There are 4,376 booths full of eye candy.

Some companies that exhibit here will be here for the next 100 years. Others will not be here 100 days from now, most likely because they’ve blown the budget on this show and no one found them.

So tomorrow, I’ll use another 10 miles of shoe leather in search the elusive gem…

 

 

 

 

 

China – Then and Now

J. Lewis RichardsLeave a comment

China isn’t China anymore…  This once Communism nation has been transformed into a thriving, capitalistic society that just happens to have a one-party government.

I’ve witnessed the evolution of China over the last 25 years… from the ground… not from watching some “over-winded” TV analyst filter the world view for us uneducated souls.

So, here’s my  “take” from belly of the beast, covering a range of topics comparing China THEN and NOW….

DOING BUSINESS

Then: The government owned and subsidized most industries. Factory managers who I knew, measured their importance by how many people they were over. Mr. Lee was in charge of 20,000 workers in a mammoth group of ceramics factories in northern China. He believed his job was to display his importance like a peacock and to out-drink his customers and adversaries, both of which he was very good at.

I remember my first drunken banquet dinner where he was telling me through his interpreter, how important he was. Now before telling my story of that evening, I’ll describe the all important “banquet dinner.”

A Chinese banquet dinner is an alcohol fueled train wreck in which the Americans are goaded into matching professional Chinese drinkers… drink for drink. “Ganbei” is the war cry that prompts participants to drink all their drink. The empty glass is then quickly filled by an attendant and believe me, the glass is not empty for long.

Seated at the large round table, you’ll notice 4 or 5 factory managers… two pretty girls that go by the title of administrative assistant (okay…,) a young man you’ve never seen before, a designated interpreter, and the “drinker.”  The unknown young man is probably a Shanghai University graduate who understands English and is planted there to figure out what you and your American counterpart are talking about among yourselves. The assumption is that you’ll be drinking and loose lipped. The drinker is obvious… he’s the catalyst for multiple Ganbei’s.

After a couple of hours of eating unfamiliar food and downing “who knows how much” beer, I asked Mr. Lee:  “So, are you powerful enough to negotiate price?”

He slurred his Chinese to the interpreter who answered: “Yes, Mr. Lee does this all the time, he can do whatever he wants to… he’s the boss.”

I held my beer glass up “Ganbei!”  and drank my beer down. Mr. Lee almost beat me to the bottom of his glass. I then asked “Do you really have power over pricing?” Then I added “or is the beer talking” and I laughed.

The interpreter delivered my unfiltered message. Mr. Lee gave me a pompous look and mumbled something. The interpreter leaned over to me and said “Mr Lee very powerful… he will give you 5% reduction. He is powerful.” His tone bordered on “condescending.”

Now… for a little New Castle guy, a 5% reduction of my million dollar order was 50 Grand. Without missing a beat, my comeback was “Are you powerful enough to give me 10%?”

At that moment, drunk or not… Mr Lee knew he was been “had.” His lower toned response was interpreted as “no, I’m not THAT powerful.”

The Mr. Lee’s of his day we’re not all that bright. They ascended to their paper thrones via politics, not by their abilities. That was Communism then.

 

NOW: There is no Mr. Lee. In the late 90’s, the government started shutting down or selling unprofitable industries.

Today, I deal with the sons and daughters of the Mr. Lee’s. This new generation attended US universities. They ate at McDonalds, lived in a free society, obtained a great education, a sense of business ethics…. and they came home to China to take over their parent’s companies.

Today, they are good business people who understand my customer and the quality standard demanded by the market. They know that they must constantly improve even when they are among the low cost producers on earth.

Business owners in China use world class design and production techniques that rival any country on earth.

When you are smart and you work hard, you are a tough, tough adversary. This is the China of today…

Look for more topics of then and now as seen from the trenches…

 

 

I Learned Something Else Today

J. Lewis RichardsLeave a comment

Every trip I take seems to bring me another lesson or two about what to do and what not to do during foreign travel. Failure to pay attention to these lessons would result in negative experiences, which of course, we all try to avoid.

For example, I learned to pack an extra pair of shoes after being caught in a rain storm in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. Actually, it was a couple of days after the rain storm… when my blisters developed blisters, that the lesson sunk in. My shoes were still wet and my skin raw.

Continue reading →

The Flight From Handan

J. Lewis RichardsLeave a comment

The day started off well as I affirmed for the 140th time that a population of 1.3 billion people can’t construct a shower that will not flood the bathroom floor. Drying my skivvies may have been a bit easier if the hair dryer worked, but, oh well. I was just happy to leave this God forsaken city of Handan.

Handan is a shit hole of a city… the crotch of China… a smelly, stanky, stain on the map. I swear that if I am ever re-incarnated as a Chinese baby in Handan, I will shove my rattle down my baby throat at the earliest opportunity in hopes of drawing a better card next time. Continue reading →

Great Start to My Next Chinese Adventure

J. Lewis RichardsLeave a comment

“Mechanical issue sir?”

From all fours, halfway under my pickup truck, I turned my head to see a shiny pair of shoes upon which were draped dark grey slacks with a perfect crease. The cars were whizzing past the entrance to Route 376 East.

“No officer, I was retrieving my athlete’s foot spray.” I said as a stood upright, aerosol can in hand. Continue reading →