The Real Jersey Shore
My wife and I are from Jersey, grew up six blocks apart in what was the most densely populated city in the country (Union City), were high school sweethearts, and are married for 44 years. If my career hadn’t dictated otherwise, we’d probably still be in Jersey, where my company was formed, named after Summit, where we eventually could afford to live!
Our parents’ parents went to the Jersey Shore, as have our grandchildren. Point Pleasant, Seaside Heights, Wildwood, Cape May—all are fabulous and current memories. We return every year, swallows returning to Capistrano. The Jersey Shore is not about groups of illiterate, rude, narcissistic oafs with ridiculous names whom only reality television would spend a penny on. It’s about families enjoying good times, breakers, seafood, boardwalks, sun—escape and enjoyment.
The Shore will bounce back, it always has. Some things will disappear forever, as did the famed diving horse in Atlantic City. But Shore people, both residents and visitors, will reinvigorate it. Rhode Island seems to think it has beaches. That’s because too few people have gazed out at a quarter mile of pure sand from boardwalk to water. Here, that would take you out of Rhode Island. There, it merely takes you to the surf.
There is shame in this disaster, however, and the shame is that of our public officials. In the most powerful nation on earth, one which sends disaster aid to countries in remote parts of the globe, we are unable to prepare fuel, food, and water to be shipped immediately to hard-hit areas? We force people to spend hours waiting in line for gas to power generators to compensate for their power being out? We contemplate running a Marathon in New York—scheduled to begin in devastated Staten Island—and divert those resources from the needs of stricken people?
Our politicians preach to the choir. They surround themselves with people who adore them, they make speeches to those who cheer their mere presence, they react to those who lavish praise. This is intellectual incest, and represents the worst kind of narcissism.
In 30 years of consulting, I’ve observed an immutable law: Strong people surround themselves with strong people, weak people surround themselves with weak people. How could it be any other way?
I’m disgusted by the two dozen people who tramp up to the lectern to be in front of the cameras, behind the dignitary du jour, to show how engaged they are as tasks are enumerated. Only results matter. And people without shelter, without power, without hot food are not the results to be proud of.
Get off the stage and into the streets.
The Jersey Shore will re-emerge. We’ll go back this summer, as we always do. I have no idea yet whether the house we rent is intact, and I don’t want to interfere with people right now fighting for essentials. We’re contributing to the Red Cross.
But our politicians and the people they appoint, who can’t figure out from early forecasts what will probably happen and what will be needed where, don’t deserve to recover. My wife’s suggested philosophy for the upcoming election is: Vote out whoever is in. We’ve seen the current people, regardless of political party, at work.
And the only conclusion I can make is that they don’t work.
© Alan Weiss 2012.
Jerry Norman
I enjoy your posts most of the time. Today not so much.
Living in TX, I am not close to the details of the disaster there in NY-NJ. I have, however, caught new bits about supplies and equipment that had been pre-positioned in the area. But I don’t know the details.
I have no doubt that mistakes were made, but I also suspect that things are better than they would have been without the efforts that were made. Would you consider spearheading a post-event seminar to bring the best disaster-relief and management minds together to catalog what went well and what should be done differently for the next one? It should be ~90 days after the event, so maybe Jan-Feb?
Just a suggestion.
Alan Weiss
Who would sponsor such a seminar? I’m sure they hold their own post-mortems.
Things may have been better off than if no one did anything, but I don’t see your point. Those gas lines and power outages are simply ridiculous when we knew what was coming. Many of the generators pre-positioned were never even used.
My point of interest and disclosure: Do you have an interest or involvement with the agencies, disaster relief, etc.? And you’re right about one thing: You’re not close to the details.
Joe Tatulli
Excellent contribution hours before this very important election! Good points are made! 44 years of marriage and high school sweeties, what a great ride! I have 12 wonderful years of complimentary love in! Thank you!
Alan Weiss
Thanks, Joe!
T Wake
Excellent post in most respects – and in the interests of disclosure, my line of work includes providing disaster recovery advice to businesses and governments (unfortunately not in the US though).
There is a very common trend whereby every time something bad happens, huge amounts of effort are spent telling everyone how hard people are working and how much good is being done – and you cant help but wonder why they have to do this, rather than letting the good work sell itself.
Telling people who have lost everything that “its ok, we are working really hard” is no use – all they want is action – and telling the rest of the world is pointless because it would be better to let them see the action.
On a loosely related topic, I loved this quote:
“In 30 years of consulting, I’ve observed an immutable law: Strong people surround themselves with strong people, weak people surround themselves with weak people.”
As truisms go, that is pretty much spot on. I would add in the fact that fools surround themselves with fools and you could probably abstract the concept to a simple “Like likes like.” All too often companies are slowly undermined by foolish, weak, or just poor management encouraging others with similar trends until eventually everything is rotten and the structure collapses.