Manns Medium

Heard a story about this new bill working its way through Congress called “The Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for America Veterans Act” on the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC.  This bill calls for independent evaluations of all mental health-care and suicide-prevention programs in VA and the Defense Department, a student loan repayment program that would offer up to $120,000 per year to recruit psychiatrists who commit to working for VA, and a program that would take back unneeded prescription drugs from patients at VA facilities.  Now while all this may sound good and is needed much of it is actually worthless in solving the problem of veteran suicide.  Clay Hunt’s mother said that after he finally got in to see a  psychiatric , he called her and said that he was not going back, the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)  and other veterans groups believe to solve this problem VA needs more psychiatrist.  Both completely ignoring the fact that mor...

Many people in the Human Resources Industry, or what I like to call the “People Factory Business” will have many different and a variety of ways to accomplish this goal of getting the best from your employee or associate.  Much of the information is good and most of it is solid but I have a much simpler way and instead of having the top 3, top 5 or top 10, I have only one consideration.  Now don’t get me wrong, I do not think that my way is better than the rest nor do I think that I know more than them.  I offer this because it is the most consistent barrier that I have come across and if you are constantly running into this wall as well, maybe this could help. Based on my many years of leading Marines, a few Corpsmen and a couple of soldiers from 1980 till 1991 and in some peaceful situation as well as some that was greatly chaotic,  I've  learned a few things.  Based on the years of managing several small businesses, a household of 4 and more as a si...

ROCKFORD- A local TV Station recently reported that “a regional grocery chain will no longer ask people applying for a job if they have a criminal past.  Jewel-Osco applications won’t have a box to check asking if you have been convicted of a felony”.  It further reported that “According to Jewel-Osco that stopping the cycle of homelessness, joblessness “is one of the reasons a criminal background won’t stop them from interviewing candidates but they will still perform background checks as the final step to employment”. Now this is what I call leadership.  They are not talking about hiring the individual but giving him/her an interview and while that may not seem like much to many, it is a far cry from not even being considered at all.  Mistakes in your past should not limit you to  achieving  goals in the future.  If the future is closed off to you once you make a mistake, what other avenue do you have.  Many people like to jump on that soap...