Do you or someone you care about have big issues to fix? Start by fixing the small stuff. Fix a few broken windows. Like New York City did in the 1990s. You may think it’s nbd, but I’m telling ya, it’s real talk.
An off schedule post
This is an off-schedule post. That means something different or interesting is going on that warrants paying attention to. So, my friends, read on to find out more!
Introduction
If I were to mentor a young person, or maybe a “B” who wanted to get ahead in today’s environment, besides encouraging them with their morals and values, I’d tell them to do one thing. One simple thing, that’s all. And it would make all the difference. Oh, you want to know what that one thing would be? It’s simple:
Watch your pennies, and the dollars will take care of themselves
A finance story
From about 1988 to 2000, one of my varied responsibilities as a management specialist and then manager at American Airlines, supporting my managing director and vice president, was managing their capital budget. As a result, I became quite proficient in budgeting. I learned how to manage and control spending. I learned how to author appropriation requests. I learned how to get all my facts straight and develop a proposal that was factual and defensible. I learned how to tell a story. I worked closely with the financial analysts to ensure they understood and agreed to my proposal, which would help me sell it to their boss and secure the funding I needed. I learned a lot about human behavior and to understand the value of timing.
If you don’t already understand that “timing is everything,” then learn it here. My vice president was an expert in this business and life skill. While he had a certain dollar limit for proposals he could approve, large capital proposals had to go above him, often to the CEO and sometimes to the Board of Directors. It was a stair step process, and large capital expenditures had to be approved at each level up the chain of command. This meant that everyone in the chain of command had to approve it, which in turn meant it had to be continually defended and justified. It’s this way at many large corporations.
Now, if you are a child, you learn early in life that, just after your mother sent you to your room for back-talking to her, it was not the time to ask to go play with the neighbor. You also learned that sometimes daddy was a better person to ask for something rather than mommy, and you typically did not ask him, as he was cut, bleeding, and saying dirty words while changing the brakes on the car. You knew to wait until later, when he was done with the brakes and relaxing, to ask him if you could stay up all night, play video games, and eat junk food. It’s amazing how children intuitively have this skill, but by the time they become adults, they think more of themselves than they should, and have forgotten this important life skill.
So the vice president knew that when the senior vice president had to sign off on the proposal, if a lot of airplanes were out of service, weather was impacting operations, and the union was threatening to go on strike, that was not a good time to ask him to approve a $25 million proposal. No, you waited until next week, when the operation was running well, the weather was good, and the union just signed a new contract. Because waiting a week and getting the project approved was better than rushing it through and having it disapproved.
This particular job prepared me for the rest of my life, and I am so thankful I was able to have this position and work that hard to learn that much. They are truly life skills. That said, I am happy to report that during the 12 years I was responsible for the VP’s capital budget, I never had an appropriation request that was not approved. Oh sure, I got a few stuffed up my you-know-what a few times, but I licked my wounds, gave the finance people or whoever what they wanted, and ultimately got every single one approved. And some of them were so large that I could mention them to you, and you would recognize them if you have ever been to a major airport. I got to know everyone on a personal basis, and we developed a mutual respect. That’s how it’s done, my friend. I trust you either already knew that or know it now. Oh, and just as important, I learned what not to ask for in the first place. Yes, that’s an important life skill too.
And so, because I worked so closely with the financial analysts, I spent a lot of time in their offices. One of the financial analysts used to have a saying scrolling across his computer screen saver: “Watch your pennies and the dollars will take care of themselves.” And what this meant is that if you took care of the little things when it comes to your money, that act of financial discipline would naturally, over time, result in prudent decisions and consistent action, leading to you having a lot of money.
This, gentle reader, is the third lesson for today. The first was the importance of timing, the second the importance of relationships in business (in life, really, but that’s not what we are talking about here), and the third is that when it comes to your money, if you take care of your small expenditures, you will develop habits that result in you having a lot of money.
Now, it’s time to learn the fourth lesson for today.
Fixing broken windows
Now, I think you know that I’m not from New York. But I am from the Washington, D.C. area, and a lot of what happened in New York, including their talk and sayings, made its way to Washington, D.C. In fact, being the largest and probably the most important city in the US, what happens in New York often affects everyone in the country. Even the world, for that matter.
Throughout my career with American Airlines, I also worked with a bunch of New Yorkers. Overwhelmingly, my impressions of and interactions with New Yorkers have always been positive. I’m not going to tell you New York does not have bad people or problems; I’m just sayin’ I did not have to deal with them or witness it. The New Yorkers I dealt with were loud; they would point their finger at you and be in-your-face. They spoke funny, and then, after all that was over, they would invite you out for a sandwich or something like that. You always left on a high note, with them slapping you on the back and asking you to come back again soon.
So, when someone from New York tells you it’s ndb (no big deal), it’s real talk (I’m telling you the truth) or that you are a B (a loved one), while you may not understand it, it’s true. For an interesting list of New York Slang, click on the link in Note 1 and check them all out. And what I’m going to tell you now, if you were not around then or never heard the story, is real talk. Nah Yeah, in the 1990s, they were buggin. Here’s the story.
The first time I ever traveled to New York was around 1990. I was with American, and I needed to go see some people at JFK (John F Kennedy) airport. Because JFK had only limited domestic flights at the time, the typical way to get to JFK was to fly into LGA (LaGuardia) and take a taxi. So that’s what I did.
To say that I was shocked at what I saw on the ride over would be an understatement. Trash was everywhere. Burned-out or vandalized cars were on the side of the roads. Buildings everywhere had broken windows. Graffiti was painted on everything, it seemed. The trash and burned-out cars even had graffiti, or so it seemed. I was appalled. And it made me nervous and frankly a bit scared to be there. The hotel outside JFK airport had a fence around it with an armed guard outside. I’m not sure I slept that night. It was bad.
In 1994, Rudy Giuliani was elected mayor, and along with police commissioner William Bratton, applied the Broken Windows theory (Note 2) citywide in an effort to improve the quality of life, focusing on things such as squeegee men (Note 3), graffiti, subway fare evasion, and even, yes, broken windows. They initiated stop-and-frisk on suspected evil-doers.
The broken windows theory was originally introduced in 1982 by social scientists James Wilson and George Kelling. The theory suggested that ignoring small problems leads to a breakdown in community control and encourages crime. You can learn more by clicking on the link in Note 2 that I mentioned above.
To say that the effort was successful would be an understatement. By 2000, homicides were reduced by 66%, robbery and burglary by 67%, grand larceny auto by 73%, assault by 44%, and rape by 40%. Misdemeanor arrests increased by 50-70%.
However, this effort was not without controversy, and I’ll leave it to you to read more in the Wikipedia link (Note 2). My point is that by focusing on the small things, the bigger things were taken care of as a natural result. The broken windows theory efforts started in 1994 under Mayor Rudy Giuliani, continued to bear fruit until 2019. That’s a long time.
What does this mean to me?
And lesson four for today is that, like New York City and its broken windows policy, or like watching our pennies, if we start by focusing on the small stuff in our lives that need to be improved, the bigger things will take care of themselves. Let me give you a few examples:
We can improve our health by drinking more water, stretching each morning, going to bed a bit earlier and walking at least 10 to 20 minutes a day
We can improve our finances by tracking our spending for a month and seeing where we can save a few bucks. We can start an IRA, start contributing to our 401(k), and pay off debt. We can develop a financial plan
When it comes to our professional development, we can read more, learn new skills that will help us improve our job performance, plan tomorrow’s day before we go home, or build better professional relationships
When it comes to professional development, we can eliminate negative self-talk, practice patience with others, set tangible goals, and simply put down our electronic devices. Yes, I said it!
Relationships? Listen without interruption (disclaimer: Yes, I need to do more of this, I get it…), saying thank you more, apologizing more, and spending uninterrupted time with our loved ones. Yes! This is my challenge, this category right here!
At home, we can make our bed every morning (remember me discussing this one?), declutter, keep things clean and neat, and prepare our lunch and clothes for the next workday the night before
If you reflect on your own life, are there other things you would like to add to this list? Seriously, think about it for a few minutes.
You will not be surprised to learn that when we start doing these little things, they will add up to big things, which make tangible improvements in our lives over time.
Summary
Identify any broken windows you need to fix in your life. Start small and watch things grow over time. And, as sure as the sun comes up tomorrow, you will see the improvements if you stick with it over time. Yes, you will!
That’s it for this week!
Let’s help our friends and loved ones, shall we?
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It’s the little things that make a difference
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What’s in it for Me
If we want to get what we want from life, we need to accumulate as much knowledge and experience as we can. Then we must take that knowledge and experience and act with determination. Doing so will ensure we get what we want, and that’s what’s in it for me.
Call to Action
Honestly consider if you need to make some changes. Or, perhaps you must want to learn a few things. Purchase any of the books noted below. Take the Afterburner Success Partners course. Tell a friend.
Recommended Resources
Buy and read any of the books mentioned in the notes below.
Up Next
Back to regular posting schedule.
Notes
Please note that as an Amazon Affiliate, I may earn a small commission on the sale of any of these recommended resources.
Approval Addiction by Steve Siebold: https://amzn.to/3ZnL8jg
How Rich People Think by Steve Siebold: https://amzn.to/3RKTSfm
Secrets of the World Class by Steve Siebold: https://amzn.to/4k4apY0
Congruent Triangles Introduction, mathisfun.com: https://www.mathsisfun.com/geometry/triangles-congruent.html
Behavioral congruence, American Psychological Association: https://dictionary.apa.org/behavioral-congruence
Everyday Cooking for Everyday People Like Us, by David Giustozzi: https://amzn.to/437OhVQ
Achieve Your Dreams: A Complete Guide to Live Your Best Life by David Giustozzi: https://amzn.to/3IxEFgy