Yes You Can

Another chapter in the US history books was written yesterday with Obama taking oath and moving into the White House.

Funny thing about history and events: moving vans were moving George W. out at the same time moving vans were moving Obama in. Obama and his family will enjoy at least four years in the historical house and time will tell if his 79% approval rating will hold up. For right now, Obama has it going.

We all know his motto is "Yes You Can." He specifically and thoughtfully only used the "I" word three times in his address. Listen, this guy is smart and has read more books than most of us plus he got his Master's from Harvard.

I like the optimism in his motto. When he speaks, he reminds me of a great motivational speaker that when you are done listening, you want to do. But then time goes by and the message is lost.

Gallup has taught our company many things about engagement, the right path, our strengths and how to use our strengths effectively. We work hard at it daily yet we fail at times to maximize our talents.

Yes You Can can mean a lot of things to people. At its simplest point, a married couple can be happy. A family can get along. Employees at each company are productive and happy. Cities can be great places to live and work. We can be poverty, crime and pollution free. We can quit smoking, lose weight, improve our health. We can do anything.

Yet, we cannot agree on which flavor ice cream is best: Vanilla or Chocolate. Yes, Vanilla is the most popular flavor at 68% but what if you love chocolate more? Can you agree to love vanilla instead?

What Obama's message is really about is that anything we can do will take a lot of work, perspiration, dedication and change of life style to accomplish. Are we willing to do that? And do we have the opportunity to do that?

I know one thing for sure. TNG is not getting any money from Obama. TNG is not getting any cost reductions in its benefit package it pays for its talent. We aren't a bank or an insurance company and for that, we can say we are lucky. But at the end of day, only TNG can do what it takes to make it happen and that my friends is exactly what we are focusing on in 2009.

Obama brings hope and let's hope we can do our part because the I alone won't work. 

Happy Wednesday!