New Year’s 2013 – Resolutions

1-2-13 WOSO Commentary

Did you have personal and business resolutions for 2012? How did you do? I read the other day that we do not meet 90% of our New Year resolutions.  Not a very good success rate, right?

Of course, the main reason for not fulfilling our resolutions is probably the lack of sustained effort, but utilizing my weight goal of 155, there are other possible reasons.

First of all, is the goal concrete and measurable? That I will lose weight is too vague and certainly not measurable.

Secondly, is the goal realistic? From 197 pounds five years ago I had reached 160 when I established this new goal of 155 for the Monday before Thanksgiving (I weigh myself once a week each Monday prior to exercising and breakfast and jot down my weight).  It was going to be tough because I do not remember ever weighing 155, but given where I was, it was going to be tough but achievable.

Thirdly, is there a concrete strategy to achieve the goal? My forty pound weight loss over five years has been based on eating less, eating healthier and doing more exercise. No fad diets. At no time did I shoot for huge weight loss. Initially, the strategy was to lose no more than 1 pound a week. I would also have 6 month periods with the goal of maintaining the newly achieved weight level. This last goal of 155 pounds was 5 pounds over 6 months. The strategy was the same - eat less, eat healthier and do more exercise.  

Finally, the commitment has to be complete. Frankly, at the beginning of November, I did not think I was going to achieve the 155 goal because trips in September to England and Ireland and in October to Vermont, resulted in my going up to around 167 pounds. Only pride and commitment permitted my weighing 154.4 on Monday, November 26^th.

I hope you were successful in your 2012 goals and I hope you have new goals for 2013 that are concrete, measurable, and realistic. I trust you have a concrete strategy for meeting your goals and finally I pray you have the commitment to fulfill them.

Hopefully, at the end of 2013 you will be among the 10% who met their goals. Now that is an achievement, right?  

Fondo de Mejoramiento – San Lorenzo

5-22-13 WOSO Commentary

Last Sunday my wife and I enjoyed immensely Fondo de Mejoramiento’s trip to San Lorenzo in which we visited the plaza and the surrounding historical buildings. We were greeted by the Mayor’s representative and the Plaza tour was by an architectural student from the Politécnico undertaking a study of this unique plaza. Although Ana Paulina did not grow up in San Lorenzo, her father lives in San Lorenzo and she is the granddaughter of Fe Leonor Borges, a music teacher for whom the excellent historical museum is named after.

The museum has excellent exhibits in six rooms covering the Taino’s, the municipality’s history, its economic and architectural developments, as well as San Lorenzo’s leaders in religion, the arts, music (Chayanne is from San Lorenzo), politics and sports. It is a small museum, but well organized in a very pleasant building. My only constructive criticism is that as often happens throughout Puerto Rico, the exhibits are only in Spanish. This lack of English descriptions is ironic since many of us identify San Lorenzo as a municipality that for many years voted for the statehood party, regardless of huge victories in favor of the Commonwealth party. Also ironic is that the present Mayor in his third term is from the Commonwealth party.   

San Lorenzo is known as the Samaritans and prides itself in the assistance and hospitality its people offer visitors and those in need. Its population of approximately 42,000 is spread out over a huge area of green hills.

One feels the sense of pride in its people and so it was not surprising to read in Sunday’s El Nuevo Día that its high school was one of three schools in Puerto Rico receiving the award of excellence.

Next week we will be going with Fondo de Mejoramiento to Cerro Punta, the highest peak in Puerto Rico, and the following week to Coamo. Please call 787 759 8366 if you would like more information on these and other tours. These tours are a great opportunity for those who want to practice their Spanish and experience the real Puerto Rico.

Bilingualism is a two way street. Que tengan un buen día y hasta la semana que viene.  

Fondo de Mejoramiento – San Lorenzo

5-22-13 WOSO Commentary

Last Sunday my wife and I enjoyed immensely Fondo de Mejoramiento’s trip to San Lorenzo in which we visited the plaza and the surrounding historical buildings. We were greeted by the Mayor’s representative and the Plaza tour was by an architectural student from the Politécnico undertaking a study of this unique plaza. Although Ana Paulina did not grow up in San Lorenzo, her father lives in San Lorenzo and she is the granddaughter of Fe Leonor Borges, a music teacher for whom the excellent historical museum is named after.

The museum has excellent exhibits in six rooms covering the Taino’s, the municipality’s history, its economic and architectural developments, as well as San Lorenzo’s leaders in religion, the arts, music (Chayanne is from San Lorenzo), politics and sports. It is a small museum, but well organized in a very pleasant building. My only constructive criticism is that as often happens throughout Puerto Rico, the exhibits are only in Spanish. This lack of English descriptions is ironic since many of us identify San Lorenzo as a municipality that for many years voted for the statehood party, regardless of huge victories in favor of the Commonwealth party. Also ironic is that the present Mayor in his third term is from the Commonwealth party.   

San Lorenzo is known as the Samaritans and prides itself in the assistance and hospitality its people offer visitors and those in need. Its population of approximately 42,000 is spread out over a huge area of green hills.

One feels the sense of pride in its people and so it was not surprising to read in Sunday’s El Nuevo Día that its high school was one of three schools in Puerto Rico receiving the award of excellence.

Next week we will be going with Fondo de Mejoramiento to Cerro Punta, the highest peak in Puerto Rico, and the following week to Coamo. Please call 787 759 8366 if you would like more information on these and other tours. These tours are a great opportunity for those who want to practice their Spanish and experience the real Puerto Rico.

Bilingualism is a two way street. Que tengan un buen día y hasta la semana que viene.  

Tips, Commissions and Fees

1-30-13 WOSO Commentary

                                

Have you analyzed if the tips, commissions and fees you pay make sense? Let’s take three examples – waiters, real estate brokers and lawyers.

I submit that the standard waiter tip of between 15% and 20% based on the value of the meal often makes no sense. Two of you go to a three hour lunch at a modest restaurant, have three courses, a $25 bottle of wine, coffee and an after dinner drink. The waiter really worked and did a great job, including the recommendation that you share the appertizer and dessert because the servings are very generous thereby saving you $4. The tab comes out to only $50. You pay the 15% tip of $7.50 which is the norm at this modest restaurant.

That evening the two of you eat at a very fancy restaurant, have just two courses and the same brand of wine which now costs $50. The tab comes out to $200.  You give the high end 20% tip of $40 as expected at very fancy restaurants even though the waiter did nothing out of the ordinary for the two of you. You have followed the norm, but have you not seriously under tipped the first waiter at $7.50 and over tipped the second at $40?

A second example are real estate brokers who are paid a commission based on a percentage of the sales price without any reference to the time and effort invested, nor more importantly, whether the final sales price is close to the asking price.

Let’s take two examples in order to illustrate my point.

In case A the property is sold for the $100,000 asking price. The brokers efforts over three months involved some 100 calls, 25 visits to show the property to prospects, and 10 hours working with lawyers, banks, the notary public, CRIM, etc.,. The typical 5% commission is $5,000. The broker, who spent around 100 hours and obtained the desired asking price, is compensated at $5 per hour.  The broker would have been better served by obtaining a quick sale at $80,000 involving some 10 hours of work for a commission of $4,000 thus earning about $40 an hour.

In case B, the asking price is $1,000,000 and the property is sold for $800,000 to the first prospect.  The sophisticated seller and buyer handle all closing issues so that the broker only shows up at the 20 minute closing to pick up the 5% commission check of $40,000.

Was not the first broker underpaid and the second substantially overpaid? A fairer commission would phase in the percentage in accordance with the price achieved so that in the second case the commission could be 3% on the sale price up to $800,000, 4% on the amount above $800,000 up to $900,000, 5% on the amount above $900,000 up to $1,000,0000,  and 20% of the amount above $1,000,000. Under this formula, the commission on the $800,000 sale would have been $24,000 which is still very generous given the time and effort expended, but we all know that real estate brokers very often receive no compensation despite great efforts  If the sales price had been $1,100,000, then the commission would have been $24,000 plus $4,000 plus $5,000 plus $20,000 for a total of $49,000.

Lawyers are normally paid based on the hours invested. The formula incentivates putting in more time instead of resolving the client’s problem expeditiously and effectively. Over the last few years there has been a movement away from purely hourly billing towards what is called alternative billing based on incentivating efficiency and success.

 For example, the lawyer and client agree that the legal fees for a particular project could vary from a low of $50,000 to a high of $100,000. The lawyer would agree to charge 10% below the lawyer’s normal hourly rate but would receive a $15,000 success fee if the project goes through. In addition, the lawyer would receive 20% of the amount not billed up to the $100,000 budget limit. Thus, if the lawyer billed $60,000 and the project closed, the lawyer would receive the $60,000 plus the $15,000 success fee plus $8,000 for billing $40,000 less than the upper budget limit for a total of $78,000. The client closed the deal and arguably saved $22,000 in legal fees.

This example comes from an actual case I handled in the past and I believe demonstrates how creative alternative billing formulas can work well for both the client and the lawyer incentivating efficiency and success.

Although some clients still prefer hourly billing, this is a rare exception and not the rule for my consulting clients.

Escuela Nueva Juan Ponce de Leon

5-12-12 WOSO Commentary

My interview with Ana María Garcia that you just heard was in April and a few weeks ago I had the opportunity of visiting the school again in connection with an open house they were celebrating. During the tour of the school two things stood out. First of all there was great order and everyone spoke in a very low tone. After the tour I was explaining to my sixth grade tour guide the Model UN Program and another student guide standing nearby very respectfully requested that I lower the volume of my voice. In other words, I was being taught a Montessori lesson. Incidentally, my guide has already contacted me for further information and by coincidence,  her e-mail arrived while I was attending the Model UN Conference at the Cayey campus of the University of Puerto Rico.

The second thing that stood out was there ambitious goals to take the school to the next level with new programs in art and music, after school and summer camp, as well as new buildings.  There was a presentation on some of the programs and buildings the school needed and we were asked to become Friends of the School.

Besides the School in Barrio Juan Domingo, Ana María is also involved in spreading the successful formula to other public schools throughout Puerto Rico and so she also needs support in this endeavor developing tutors and teachers in the Montessori system and educating on how the schools need to fully integrate with its community.

Many of us are looking for concrete ways in which we can help our community and this is one. You can contact the school at 787 512 6494 and the foundation via its web site at fundacionnuevaescuela.org.

For information on the Model UN Program for the public school children, you can contact me at 787 587 9957 or access our web site, UNA USA PR.Org.

Get involved; don’t sit on the sidelines or bleachers; become a player in helping improve our community.

English in Iran

5-8-13 WOSO Commentary

My wife and I returned last week from a two week trip to Iran sponsored by the Harvard Museum of Natural History.

The impressions were many and they will be the subject of at least two Business Resolutions programs that I invite you to listen to commencing next week, as well as a series of essays that I will be posting on my JRGCPRC web site.

As most of you know, at the Governmental level, the US and UK are two of the three countries Iran most distrusts and criticizes. The third, of course, is Israel. Nevertheless, almost all important signs, descriptions and instructions that are important to tourists (road signs, product labels, museums, religious, and historical site descriptions, major restaurant menus, etc.) are written in Iran’s official language, Farsi, as well as English, and an excellent English at that.

In addition, our group was universally met with great enthusiasm by young and old wanting to practice their English and learn what the US as a country, and we as individuals, thought of Iran. Pinky and I have never felt more welcome in our travels. Our Iranian tour guide explained to us that according to Iranian religious and cultural traditions going back some 3,000 years, visitors staying and passing through Iran are to be welcome and protected.   

While we were away in Iran, my commentary in favor of bilingualism aired on Radio WOSO. It is ironic to find that a country like Iran is doing a far better job than Puerto Rico in recognizing that English is today’s global language of communication. Shame on us!

Death Penalty II

3- 27-13 WOSO Commentary

In last week’s commentary I expressed my opposition to the death penalty in the Alexis Candelario Santana case despite the horrendous and heartless murders he committed of 22 persons, including family members and completely innocent persons. As we now know, Alexis escaped the death penalty because one juror prevented the necessary unanimous verdict.

Our local Constitution prohibits the death penalty, but like in so many other areas of law, the federal law prevails over local law as part of our Commonwealth compact with the United States. Those jurors had to decide on the basis of federal law. In the case of Alexis, the defense was able to show a neglected upbringing in poverty, a slight possibility of rehabilitation, some momentary indications of remorse when some in his family, especially his only daughter, testified that that his life was important to them.

In other words, the murders were horrendous and he is one mean man, but the case was not perfect, which is what is going to have to happen in order for a 12 person jury to decide in favor of the death penalty in Puerto Rico. The Federal Court system will have another chance at bat with the case of Lashaun Casey who murdered the anti-drug federal agent, Jesús Lizardi Espada.   

I have to applaud the determination of that one person who voted for life imprisonment in this case. In my personal opinion, except for self-defense, we should not kill another human being. In my view, we should allow for rehabilitation and be in the position to forgive those who repent as Christ forgave the convicted murderer dying with him on Calgary.  

This is Jorge Gonzalez wishing you a religiously significant Easter weekend.