The Price of Making a Difference

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Author Message Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI, CDT Senior Member Username: rliebing Post Number: 1290 Registered: 02-2003 Posted on Wednesday, January 18, 2012 - 01:59 pm:    120118 THE PRICE OF MAKING A DIFFERENCE by Ralph Liebing, RA, CSI, CDT Cincinnati, OH Everything, and I guess everyone has a price! In life, we come to learn, not so much in those words, but the rough experience that tells us, over and over-- to gain something you usually have to give something back or up! That may even apply to those who are independently wealthy, through mere inheritance, but the power and impact comes out more in those that work for their money. But, strangely enough, we humans are always very reluctant to pay the price. Sometimes we travel miles [using the dearly pricey gasoline of today] to save a nickel on a bunch of carrots! We feel sooo satisfied, never seeming to equate the cost of the gas against the savings of the carrots! Another of the wonderful old saws is the proverbial, “You’ve got to spent money to make money!” Staying with the gasoline “thing”, don’t you spend the cost of gasoline to get to work to make your weekly money? See! And your pay reflects the cost in human terms! But you can also “spend” time, brain-power, skill, talent, information, ingenuity, and in many instances what you spend is shared but never really leaves you-- you just sort of peel off a copy for others, and keep the resource as yours. And there are, of course, the other times! The “other times” are those where you must literally spend [and perhaps never see again] some of your financial resources. College tuition could fall into this category, until you see your youngsters graduate and find success-- but your money spent, there, comes back as pride, satisfaction, love, and a really good feeling [none of which jingles in your pocket as new cash on hand. This can even be tuition, etc. spent on yourself! In industry and commerce, spending to make money, is somewhat different. Here, as investments, there are R&D efforts that flop; product creations that fall short; the cost of testing and meeting regulations; loss due to not being to market first; plants built but never occupied; and ideas [even from high corporate mines] that never pan out. Money lost? In a way, knowledge is gained [small comfort] but usually some lesson is taken away and impacts some other similar situation [to its good!]. Venturing forth into unknown or untried endeavors also extracts a risk of money lost [to at least some degree]. But with decent forethought, development, preparation and planning [also a cost] the ability to enhance one’s impact, influence and success is the due reward. When there is expertise and knowledge available and left unused, nothing is gained; nothing is made better. Benign neglect is the product that accrues. At times venturing out or “reaching out” to perceived success in a new area or effort is beneficial to the standing entity and both enriches and enlivens the organization-- and its membership [often drawing participation out of more and different members]. New products are a constant—always! Something new invented or evolved! But most of the time this involves spending money to make money; the alternative is to grow stale, reclusive, bogged-down and slowly approaching loss of value, credence, influence and membership [in general called, “failure”]. Whether product, system, material, new techniques or revised procedures, some block of instruction is required. Education is a continual process! That is rather well known and fact [necessity?], but when that education starts has become an issue. Why? Knowing new things does not necessarily negate or override the older information. In fact the first and elementary education is what forms good working habits, depth of knowledge, flexibility in application and well-founded choices and decisions. Simplistically, we don’t start reading a book in the middle—rather we work through the beginning which is almost without exception the background, setting and character development for the rest of the information. In some cases this is chronological, but nonetheless has a scheme involved—progression of adding fact on fact. This leads directly to planning—both long- and short range , and the introduction of new and added programs. Not every program need be pursued at the same rate for all time; many can and are perpetuated simply by their success. But things and times changes. It is here where we must react, and act in accord with obvious new situations, work programs, and level of education. The risk of failure exists, and must be addressed. So new programs as we all know, need to start small, with growing vision which can modify them as needed in the future. They will need nurturing and perhaps modification. BUT, the new programs must get started!!! If well directed and supported in the beginning and with appropriate on-going care, the difference[s] will come!