The last week has featured several news items related to leadership; cabinet post picks of dubious ability, trashing of the US visa program that brings talent to our country, threats to peaceful and friendly nations such as Canada and Greenland, and layoffs from a filthy rich tech company (Meta, estimated to close on $47 Billion in revenue for 2024).

Hot air and cold cash will undo our democracy if we don't remain awoke.

I can't imagine these actions taking place if the social contract between Americans was in better shape. Economically, we can largely trace this back to the Reagan presidency, when union busting and the "greed is good" mentality took hold. Socially, 9/11 may have been the tipping point that Osama Bin Laden hoped for. Create enough fear in the country and we would do to ourselves what they hoped and prayed for.

Did he succeed?

September 11 was a black swan event, an unpredictable act that had a massive impact on our psyche. It was an opportunity to take stock of the why and assess the social contract between Americans and, frankly, the greater world. A more human analysis would not have stopped us from responding with force, but it would have caused much more soul-searching before we jack-assed our way into forever wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with very few results to show for it.

We have still not had an honest conversation about our actions, leaving an opening for a demagogue to prey upon the institutions of democracy.

Using the last four decades as a teaching tool, the United States faces significant challenges in reducing violence at home and abroad and it will all start by strengthening and rebuilding our social contract. I propose that our real need is to re-recognize the social-economic cohesion that is necessary to a happy and prosperous country. While we do well innovating in technology, what we lack is the willingness to adopt innovative policies and business practices that promote parallel social and economic gain. The DEI, gays bad, and book-banning efforts are simple noise meant to keep low-information supporters together and the rest of us off target.

The only way to get beyond this will be through proactive public policy that reaches to all communities.

Here are some promising approaches using models from around the world:

Tamp Down the Violence

While violence has always been a feature of the United States, it does not need to be the first choice. Reframing will be difficult because of the current trend of verbalizing violent rhetoric and painting entire people as evil. Free speech is the lynchpin of democratic government, yet if that right is used to sew discord, we will soon succumb to autocratic tendencies and the use of force. Instead, our words must be about jobs for everyone and recovering trust in public services (this will also help to avoid the disease of overreliance on an autocratic individual).

Drawing from countries like Norway that promote circular economies, the U.S. should establish a national "Neighborhood Revitalization and Violence Prevention Fund" with an initial allocation of $20 billion a year over 5 years. This fund would provide grants for physical improvements such as mixed-use development and alternative transportation choices, job training, and community-based violence interruption programs in high-crime areas. This should include corporate promises to locate new factories and new distribution centers in areas of job loss, more support for local farming and small-grow operators, shifting federal produce to local produce for local schools, and targeting inexpensive high-speed internet in communities under distress. If Bezos has money to spend on phallic rocket ships, he can also help rebuild the malls of America into community gathering places.

Move More Toward Community Policing

The proliferation of guns and economic disparities has resulted in the creation of more police in the United States, higher than many other advanced countries with much higher rates of officer fatalities. This will continue to be unsustainable. We need to enhance the feature of policing as a public service and adopt more elements such as the Swedish police education model, which emphasizes conflict resolution and human rights. Policing should be seen as a social construct connected to multi-agency teams, not a separate entity. Inspired by the Danish SSP (Schools, Social Services, Police) model, implementing a "whole systems" approach to policing that focuses more on prevention and social services, will reset focus on prevention than response.

Because of the broad diversity of American citizens, the U.S. should mandate extensive de-escalation and implicit bias training for all law enforcement officers along with mandatory vest cameras. Policing must return to the concept of being a public good, not perceived as an extension of the military or political party.

Comprehensive Gun Violence Prevention

The elephant in the room is that we do not have the psychological makeup to be awash in this many guns. While respecting the Second Amendment, implement stricter controls inspired by Finland's approach, which includes mandatory safety training and psychological evaluation for gun ownership. Establishing a national gun registry with regular re-certification requirements will also create more personal responsibility, a lynchpin of conservative principles. If we cannot harvest the leadership to do this, we can expect a substantial continuation of gun-related deaths over the next decade.

In 2022, there were 48,204 gun-related deaths in the United States. If the rate remains the same, that’s a half-million over a decade. This staggering number is far and away higher than any advanced nation and one that our culture has habituated to. These are not inevitable deaths. This is an outcome of current choices. Research has shown that implementing evidence-based policies can both serve 2nd-amendment beliefs and reduce gun violence. For instance, background checks, waiting periods, “red flag” laws, have shown promise in reducing gun deaths in various contexts. Moreover, states with stronger gun laws tend to have lower rates of gun deaths. If we were to implement gun safety laws similar to those in states like California or New York, it’s estimated that nearly 300,000 of those lives could be saved over the next decade.

 Universal Basic Services

Inspired by the Nordic welfare model, gradually implement universal healthcare and heavily subsidized higher education. This approach addresses root causes of violence and social instability, and it delivers on the need to have a healthy, educated society.

While the US continues to be a leader in most categories from finance to technology, trends show those advances have not breached growing inequality and financial stress for many Americans. By adopting a model that guarantees access to healthcare and education, we could see a 20-25% reduction in poverty-related crimes within 7 years, improved public health outcomes and reduced healthcare-related bankruptcies, and a more skilled and adaptable workforce able to find and create better jobs without fear of financial ruin.

Corporate Social Responsibility Mandates

As we fall headlong into the era of the oligarchs, we should be inspired by Denmark's approach, which requires large corporations to allocate a percentage of profits to community development initiatives and implement mandatory DEI reporting. Remember, the current ploy is to find fault with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. This is a non-factual, make-believe effort meant to ignore history and freeze social mobility. Corporate America has already enjoyed a free ride for decades, and with the incoming administration, will work to embed itself further into public policy making. Instead, we will need to push back and expect these billion-dollar companies to increase private sector investment in underserved communities, improve corporate accountability and stakeholder engagement (which will only come through regulation and shareholder support), reduce income inequality, and enhance social cohesion.

One only needs to view the stock market, share prices, and CEO pay to understand who is first to get paid.

Employee Well-Being Programs

With the dropping of DEI programs, less corporate offering of healthcare benefits, and a forced return-to-work policy, employee well-being is going in the wrong direction. We need to adopt elements of Sweden's work-life balance policies, which include generous paid parental leave and flexible work arrangements. We need to provide tax incentives for companies offering comprehensive mental health services, and incentivize the creation of more employee-owned companies. Finally, with the rise of AI agents, an American worker Bill of Rights is going to be more important than ever to avoid widespread job loss.

Digital Citizenship Initiative

The rise of social media has happened without a comprehensive digital literacy curriculum in schools. Purposeful misinformation and profit-based entities are creating havoc in communities. Take the California Wildfires. The amount of instant false and outright dangerous information that made the rounds has filled the holes left by more traditional ways of getting and vetting information. As Scott Galloway wrote:

Unfortunately, local news is in short supply across the U.S. Over the past decade, there have been $23 billion worth of broadcast TV ownership deals, further concentrating an industry in which the three largest owners already control 40% of all local news stations and are present in over 80% of media markets. Zooming out to include print, radio, and digital, more than half the counties in the U.S. have little or no access to local news. Most of these “news deserts” are located in high-poverty areas and serve historically marginalized communities. People say digital media gives everyone a voice. Maybe. But digital media has definitely drowned out actual journalists. 

We are beginning to see some interest in the concept of digital literacy, or at least safe access, with the banning of TikTok nationally and the banning of phones inside several school districts. While that’s a start, we may need to include the breaking up or public ownership of Facebook as a public good, thereby falling under public broadcasting corporation regulation and guidelines.

Corporations able to reach a billion people at once need public regulation.

Boomer - X - Millenial (BXM) Mentoring Network

Go into any community and you’ll find lonely citizens, neighborhoods where the neighbors don’t know each other, senior citizen warehouses, and less public places to gather in peace. We must establish a national database connecting retirees with young people for mentoring and skill-sharing, inspired by the old model of Nordic "folk high schools." Instead of retiring to gated communities and golf courses, elementary and middle schools are ready for a million senior citizens to lend a helping hand.

This initiative would reduce youth alienation, improve intergenerational understanding, transfer valuable skills and life experiences, and decrease loneliness among older adults and at-risk youth. It also gets us closer to developing a national expectation of two years of service to the country in some role.

All of these initiatives have real-world models and it is only through public policy that we will guarantee future generations the same or better opportunities in life.

One critical caveat.

The success of these initiatives is interdependent; one cannot succeed without the other.

United We Stand.

• You’ve heard of the military-industrial complex. Here’s a good story on how difficult it is to kill a program once it exists. One good principle of leadership is to know when to pull the plug.

• As a reader, I’m often curious about what book collectors find and sell. Here’s the big sales of 2024. I’m still awestruck that Shelley wrote Frankenstein at that time and at that age. Wow.

• The Washington Post did a deep dive into who’s reading in America. See where you stack up, and the books people couldn’t finish!

The more I study and observe leadership, the more I realize that hard things typically get done only with time and patience. The gun violence epidemic is uniquely American and its continued outcomes will be decided by our public policy. It starts with recognizing when progress is made, even a small step, and that’s what this piece is about. In 2024, the US made significant progress against gun violence. Murder rates fell at record levels, saving thousands of lives. Mass shootings declined from 656 to 491 incidents. Despite two assassination attempts on Trump, feared election violence didn't materialize. Ghost gun prevalence decreased following regulatory actions.

 Public policies do work.

We may need to have this fight.

There’s no real spokesperson anymore with the loss of Fred Rogers. Maybe Rick Steves or Ken Burns. This will be the greatest threat to public media in decades, and it will take their voices and more. Two predictions will come to fruition with this move. First, any public good will be seen as disposable. This will apply to any social service, from public media to libraries to food stamps. Second, they will fight to extinguish these programs not for any economic sense, but simply because they can. 

We will only reach the bottom and rebuild when people have had enough.

I came across this young man on one of my Reddit feeds. He has posted several times when he goes to clean up someone’s yard, and my goodness, does he do a thorough job. It is a good reminder of the importance of being a decent neighbor. Over the years, I realized there are more excuses than ever not to know or be involved with a neighbor. One suggestion is to learn and assist at least one neighbor who shares a corner of your property in any direction. At least one. That will help a lot of the social ills that get us today. This video is beautiful because the local government recognized a problem and this young man provided a solution. This is the definition of personal leadership.

I wish there was a legitimate Facebook alternative. I use it routinely to receive and share information. It is not what I say is a work of genius, but a cool project dreamed up by tech nerds that saw the next step of information sharing. Journalistic and news platforms missed this boat, just as Sears missed building out an Amazon-type catalog service, and taxi companies missed developing an Uber-like extension of their services.

Companies can get too big to pivot and cut the one thing that matters the most: human labor. People see and feel it, just like the mall losing its anchor stores and the rest is history. Protecting jobs has never been a high priority in the United States, so we end up in boom and bust, gilded age cycles instead of expecting more of a steady state. Other countries with big tech companies like Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and Germany have figured this out.

The concept of a steady state of good jobs is not being taken seriously enough, and the social contract becomes a social dilemma. We keep using these products while people become more superfluous to their business model. Just as Musk unemployed thousands upon taking over Twitter, the hits keep coming with no end in sight. If anyone thinks that putting people out of work is part of a robust economy, you’ve bought into a core Greed is Good principle. Jobs are the lifeblood of communities all over the country, and having a product like Facebook that is supposed to promote the community while absolving itself of doing the same internally? Well, this shouldn't surprise me.

Meta plans to cut approximately 3,600 jobs, representing 5% of its workforce. This calculation is based on Meta's current employee count of around 72,000 as of September 2024. The layoffs are part of Meta's strategy to set a higher standard of performance management according to the CEO Zuckerberg. However, this round of job cuts comes after several previous layoffs at Meta:

• In late 2022 and early 2023, Meta laid off approximately 15,000 employees.

• In 2023, the company let go of 10,000 workers.

The current layoffs will further reduce Meta's workforce as the company aims to streamline its operations (this means more AI) and focus on key technological areas such as artificial intelligence and smart glasses.

And remember, Meta made nearly $47 billion in revenue last year….

Because I have the “jolly gene”, I tend to love people who spend their lives bringing joy to others. Bob Uecker passed away this week. Always funny and insightful on America’s national past time, and admired by anyone who came in contact with him. Take a look at this nice recent episode from CBS Sunday Morning.

Even if you are not a football fan, this is a fun read on the Buffalo Bills quarterback, Josh Allen. With the NFL football playoffs upon us, I include it because of two things important to practicing leadership: authenticity and servant leadership. Many people get these practices wrong, thinking this means perfection. Authenticity typically means honesty and mistakes, if you are doing it right. Find a new place to grow if you’re in a culture that does not leave room for both. Servant leadership is doing without an expected request or response. You’re thinking ahead of the good for the other person, even if they don’t see it. Some view it as weak or leaderless because you have to have some humility to serve others first. And if you have a kid into sports, help steer them toward solid people for leadership examples. Most of the time, it is not the loudest person or even the best player on the team that is actually the model to follow.

If you enjoyed this week’s newsletter, share it with others. My best method for growing readers is your word of mouth. Thank you.

This week, work to recognize that when we worry only about our freedom and not that of others around the world, it is a ticking time bomb that eventually someone like our kids or their kids will have to deal with. Oceans may separate us, but no place on Earth is truly isolated.

I will always believe that the greater good is how we treat each other, at home and around the world, and not finding ways to limit or diminish one’s potential. History has shown over and over again that only good governance will promote individual freedoms, not the whims and preferences of a few wealthier-than-God individuals. We all have ownership and responsibility for each other. After all, we all use the same planet.

Be a good human.

And be prepared to make good trouble.

WORD OF THE WEEK: CENSORSHIP