A NOTE FROM TIM -

For the last ten years, I have been accused of writing nothing but common sense; that I have too much common sense for one person. Frankly, I am offended by this accusation. Surely parents are teaching their offspring how to use their head? Well, what about the teachers, coaches, and clergy? I suppose you are going to tell me television and the Internet are not having a positive impact on our children? Politicians surely have our best interests at heart, don't they? I'm quite confident managers are teaching their workers correctly and pointing them in the right direction in their career path?

What do you mean, "Are you kidding me?"

Well, maybe it is true after all, that I have more common sense than the average person. If so, I better write down some of these lessons for posterity. This is why I have assembled "Bryce's Uncommon Sense Series" of books which discusses common sense in an uncommon time. Here I discuss everything from management, to our changing world, along with profiles of the American scene, and politics. All of these are based on my essays and observations over the last ten years where I have discussed a multitude of subjects in my column on the Internet, "The Bryce is Right!" In these postings, I discuss things we either overlook or take for granted. In this way, I often feel like the small child in Hans Christian Anderson's book, who exclaims, "The emperor has no clothes!" This obviously causes some people to blush, as they rightfully should.

Since 1971, our corporate slogan is "Software for the finest computer - the Mind," for in the end, it is the human-being that matters most, not technology, not numbers, not gimmicks, but flesh and blood.

TIM DISCUSSES HIS BOOKS ON THE RADIO -

KSON-FM (97.3) (Jan 22, 2015) interview in San Diego, California with host Joy Tiz re "Liberal Kryptonite").

WJTN-AM (1240) (Dec 10, 2014) "Town Square" interview in Jamestown, New York with host John Siggins.

KIT-AM (1280) (Dec 8, 2014) interview in Yakima, Washington with hosts Dave Ettl & Lance Tormey).

"ESSAYS ON THE AMERICAN SCENE"
ISBN-13: 978-1503115576
ISBN-10: 1503115577
Copyright: 2014
258 pages
Paperback & eBook

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DESCRIPTION

A series of essays describing how the world is changing and why. It includes considerable discussion on the effects of technology, leading to the Bryce's Law, "As the use of technology increases, social skills decrease." The book also discusses the affect of change in business, particularly noting changes in the medical profession. Although Mr. Bryce adds humor to his writings, they are all aimed at making a specific point.

From the INTRODUCTION

"If anything in life is constant, it is change."
- Bryce's Law

These are my observations from over 30 years in the business world, coupled with extensive experience in the computer industry. Not surprising, I am particularly sensitive to the effects of technology on the human being. I believe technology influences our perspectives and enhances our sense of instant gratification. We want everything faster, not slower, thereby influencing our perspectives on life. We become more quickly frustrated and impatient for results. This leads to such things as "Road Rage." To illustrate, it was the evening rush hour on a Friday, the end of the work week, and I had been working on the computer all day. I was tired and had arranged to visit a friend after work where we would smoke a cigar and have some libations. He lived only three miles from my office, and as I drove to his house on a country road, I found myself behind a motorist who appeared to be going painfully slow. I suddenly found myself tailgating him and uttering expletives for him to go faster. I then recognized my anger and asked myself, "Why are you getting upset? Your friend will still be there even if it takes a few more minutes. Just relax." And I did. I then felt my anger subside and my blood pressure go down. The other motorist was barely maintaining the speed limit, but my problem was rooted in the technology I had been working with all day. Interestingly, as I slowed down, I realized there was another motorist behind me who appeared to be as agitated as I had been.

- Tim Bryce

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication

About the Author

INTRODUCTION

UNDERSTANDING CHANGE

It's Me, Right?
Adapting to Change

CULTURAL CHANGES

Youth Will Have Its Day
A Couple of Rays of Hope
Scientific Flip-Flops
Snapped
Our Changing Vernacular
Gobbledygook
More Gobbledygook
Has Cheating Reached Pandemic Proportions?
Greeting a Stranger
The Wisdom of Dobie Gillis

THE EFFECTS OF TECHNOLOGY

Analog vs. Digital Generations
Technology: Show Me the Proof
The Adverse Effects of Technology
Instant Karma's Gonna Get You
How Technology Affects Our Youth
Is Personal Technology a Drug?
More Evidence of Technology Addiction
Texting and Common Courtesy/The Cell Phone Pledge
The Absence of Electronics
Managing Complexity
Personal Technology's Effect on Air Travel

CHANGES IN BUSINESS

What is Business?
Beware of the MBA's
Man Versus Numbers
Working for Goons
The Death of Professional Courtesy

CHANGES IN THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY

My Dinner with the Doctor
Turning Everyone Into Data Entry Clerks
System Start-Ups: A HospiTal Drama
Long Live the Fax Machine
More Problems in Doctor Offices

CLOSING

Life is Unfair
How are we Evolving as a Species?

EPILOGUE

INDEX

ENDORSEMENTS

"I find myself not only liking the way you think and the way you write, but the way you put what's happening in our world of government regulation, technology, the medical community, and business into perspective for me. As in all of your writings, I find myself nodding my head, smiling knowingly, or laughing out loud in agreement with you..."
- Joan Schoenling, Florida

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DESCRIPTION

A series of essays lecturing on management. In it, Mr. Bryce is less interested in promoting a cockamamie theory of management, such as "How many angels can dance on the head of a pin," and more concerned with practical advice on managing people. What is discussed herein is based on actual observations and proven techniques found to be sound and practical for business management.

This book is well suited for those aspiring to become effective managers, as well as for those who require a refresher or change of focus. It should also be read by workers to better understand what is required of a manager, thereby lending him the support he desperately needs to fulfill his duty. Mr. Bryce's observations are based on years of experience traveling around the world and visiting with hundreds of different types of corporations where he has seen a lot of successes, as well as a lot of snafus.

Throughout this book you will hear about such things as corporate culture, empowering the workers (managing from the bottom-up), and the need for developing the socialization skills of the next generation of our workers; in other words, the human elements of management. This is one reason why our corporate slogan is "Software for the finest computer - the Mind," for in the end, it is the human-being that matters most, not our technology.

From the INTRODUCTION

"If the mind really is the finest computer, then there are a lot of people out there who need to be rebooted."
- Bryce's Law

When I graduated from college I became immersed in computers, specifically how they were applied to expedite corporate information systems. This led me down a path of management consulting where I was fortunate to have toured quite a bit of the world, visiting companies of all sizes and shapes, and people from the trenches to the boardroom. It was a very enlightening journey. I learned a lot about technology, but more importantly I learned a lot about people. For example, I discovered systems fail more for the lack of people procedures as opposed to computer procedures.

Unlike the computer which will do anything you instruct it to, right or wrong, writing for the human being is actually more difficult. People are more emotional and can be lazy and uncooperative at times. Writing for people, therefore, can be an arduous task. Such scenarios led me to the conclusion we often take people for granted in companies today. They are certainly not machines, but flesh and blood with all of the foibles of being human.

Here in the 21st century, the corporate world seems to have embraced "micromanagement," a top-down, dictatorial form of management. Although I will discuss this in more detail within the pages of this book, I consider micromanagement a Master/Slave relationship which has little regard for the human spirit. I believe in the dignity of all forms of work and that the human being must lead a worthy life. As such, I fervently believe in "Managing from the Bottom-Up" whereby people are trusted and empowered to perform their work, and supervise themselves.

I always viewed "management" as a people oriented function, not a mechanical function (which is why "man" is used as part of the word). I define it as, "getting people to do what you want, when you want it, and how you want it." The corporate landscape has changed considerably since I first entered the work force in the 1970's. Thanks to changes in government regulations and socioeconomic conditions, we have witnessed substantial changes to corporate cultures in terms of communications, fashion, socialization, morality, and how we conduct business. Despite all this, one thing has remained constant: the need to get a job done, and this is the domain of the manager.

Quite often management is taken for granted, that it comes naturally to people. It doesn't. I see companies spending millions of dollars on technology but little on improving the skills of its managers. To me, this is putting the cart before the horse. Some people are afraid to manage; probably because they do not know how to or because they live in fear of a lawsuit. Others devise harebrained schemes to manage their area (usually involving the manipulation of numbers). There is actually nothing magical to management; all it requires is a little common sense. However, as I have learned over the last 30 years in business, if there is anything uncommon today, it is common sense. I wrote this book because management is not naturally intuitive to people, nor is it painless.

- Tim Bryce

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication

About the Author

INTRODUCTION

THE NATURE OF WORK

The Dignity of Work
Are You Engaged in Work?
Craftsmanship: The Meaning of Life

PERCEPTIONS

The Bond Between Workers and Boss
How Do We Manage?

MANAGEMENT

How Do We Build Great Managers?
Bryce's Crash Course in Management
The Elements of Leadership
Building Team Morale Through Leadership
Understanding Corporate Culture
Individualism vs. Teamwork
Reactive Management
Managing From the Bottom-Up
Implementing Business Ethics
The Price of Ethics
Taking Quality for Granted
Work Horses
Mad Management

SPECIAL SUBJECTS

Improving Customer Service
The Two Sides of Work Measurement: Inputs & Outputs
Increasing Brain Power
The Need for Critical Thinking
Evaluating Employees and Management
Firing Employees Isn't for Sissies
Why We Need Policy Manuals
Creating a Skills Inventory

SOCIALIZATION SKILLS

10 Tips for Improving Social Intercourse
Remembering Names
The Art of Persuasion
There is Meaning in Your Handshake
Wearing Ties
Dress for Success or Failure?
The Art of Thank You
The Power of 'Good Morning'
All I Ask About Running a Meeting
The Danger of Saying "No" Too Often
Performing a Job You Hate

EPILOGUE

QUOTATIONS

BRYCE'S LAWS

INDEX

ENDORSEMENTS

"Couldn't have written it better myself! It's scary how much we agree."
- Bob Boyington, Florida

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DESCRIPTION

A series of essays revealing and debunking the liberal agenda. America is under attack, but not from external forces but within our very country. The left preaches socialism and autocratic control, and is bent on destroying capitalism, the rights of the individual, threatening the middle class, and our very way of life.

From the INTRODUCTION

Years ago, when I was still in college, I came upon the following quote by Laurence M. Gould, President Emeritus of Carleton College in Minnesota:

"I do not believe the greatest threat to our future is from bombs or guided missiles. I don't think our civilization will die that way. I think it will die when we no longer care. Arnold Toynbee has pointed out that 19 of 21 civilizations have died from within and not from without. There were no bands playing and flags waving when these civilizations decayed. It happened slowly, in the quiet and the dark when no one was aware."

Gould's message had a profound effect on me. I too believe America will be destroyed from within, not by external forces. Indeed, history will inevitably repeat itself.

In our case, it will be caused by liberals who want to overturn the American way of life; who want to redistribute the wealth, eliminate God from our culture, reject American exceptionalism, subvert the United States constitution, and replace it with autocratic rule. In so doing, government will become bloated, bureaucratic and control every aspect of our lives, thereby realizing George Orwell's prophetic "Big Brother." Make no mistake, liberals do not support the middle class, they want to destroy it as they know this is where the real power resides in our country. Without a middle class, Socialism blooms.

Behind this is a deep-seated belief the people are not smart enough to do what is best for themselves and the world overall, that they must be controlled and coerced like cattle. Liberals believe the world should be led by the selected few who know what is best and control others accordingly, thereby creating a slave state; people who will do their master's bidding as long as they are taken care of. Under this approach, you are to allow others to do the thinking for you, share everything, own no property, you are expected to behave a certain way, and you will be rewarded accordingly with food, housing, freebies and drugs. More than anything, liberalism is about social engineering and control.

For centuries, immigrants had to adapt to the American culture. They were asked to learn the English language and conform to the country’s laws, rules and regulations. Today it is just the reverse; the American public is being asked to learn immigrant languages and customs, and adapt to their laws, and rules. One could even suggest that illegal immigrants today have more rights and privileges than American citizens. This is unnatural; the individual should adapt to the culture, not the other way around.

Obviously, this dictatorial form of government is in sharp contrast to our current form which provides certain unalienable rights for the individual. The supposition here is that a monarchy can rule better than a democratically elected republic. Interestingly, this was the reason we fought the Revolutionary War, to eliminate monarchies and provide a government for and by the people.

The left consists of attorneys, government bureaucrats, and pseudo-intellectuals such as teachers and college professors who have trouble surviving in a capitalist world and, as such, are determined to undermine it. They are self-righteous do-gooders who believe they possess exclusive knowledge of what is best for society. Their immoral tactics include undermining our current form of government and way of life, create doubt and suspicion among our youth and the poor, brainwash the public, and control the media. They operate covertly behind the scenes and will go to any extreme to get their way, legally or illegally.

They are not interested in honest debate but rather visceral attacks aimed at character assassination, anything to cloud the issue and distract the audience. Their tactics include lying, cheating, creating false rumors, or any other method to get their way. They are gorilla fighters as opposed to people of honor. Their weapon of choice is fear. Because they have the ear of the media, it is easy for them to spread cataclysmic fear and innuendo about such things as global warming, gun control, the wars on women and energy, racial and economic inequality, the greedy rich, the evils of big business, and the separation of church and state. This is enforced through carefully crafted sound bites that are easy to memorize and recite. They are not interested in protecting our borders as they are counting on the votes of millions of illegal immigrants, nor are they interested in having an accurate voting system so they can illegally manipulate it. They want to take the country by hook or by crook. Their efforts would be laughable if it wasn't true. They are masters of perception manipulation.

The lifestyle promoted by liberals is not a natural one. Under a socialist approach, there are no losers (or winners for that matter). Work is no longer considered a natural extension of the human spirit, nor is risk. Consequently, liberals are promoting a program that will ultimately kill ambition, exploration, invention, and entrepreneurship. More importantly, it kills our sense of craftsmanship and productivity and turns us into a second class country. Basically, it will be turning the clock backwards 250 years.

Liberals are the true enemies of the country, not outsiders. The point of this book, therefore, is to familiarize yourself with the enemy. To do so, I am enclosing essays which may seem innocent on the surface yet are despised by the left, which is why I refer to it as "Liberal Kryptonite."

Bottom-line: The Liberal agenda is moving slowly and silently, but they are moving nevertheless. As Gould said, "It happened slowly, in the quiet and the dark when no one was aware."

Our very way of life is at stake.

- Tim Bryce

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Dedication

About the Author

INTRODUCTION

PRELUDE

I Believe...
Is America Still Great?
A New American Civil War
The 2010 Split
Why America Succeeds
The American Character
Are These the Good Old Days?

PROBLEMS

Ten Things the Federal Government Does Well
Voter Certification
What Inflation?
Why Japan Dropped Their Corporate Tax Rate
The Need for a Balanced Budget
Can You Really Balance a Budget by Cutting Taxes?
The Four Steps for American Subversion
Understanding Political Brainwashing
The Problem With Sheeple
What Ever Happened to Civics?
Securing Our Southwest Border
After Detroit, Who is Next?
The Political Financiers
Medical Marijuana as a Trojan Horse
Today's Slave Mentality
Bureaucrats
Conducting Business Within the Laws, Rules and Regulations
The Death of Bipartisanship

LIBERALS

What Conservatives Don't Understand
Progressives: Liberals in Sheep's Clothing
Liberals and the Media
Liberal vs. Conservative Personalities
Conservative Stereotypes

THE MEDIA

Let's Focus People
Manipulating the Masses
Branding the Moral Values of Conservatives
Political Correctness - Let Us be Bland
The Vilification of the Tea Party
Thank God for Fox News

CAPITALISM

The Ant and the Grasshopper
Our Right to Fail
Why We Need a Middle Class
Rebuilding the Middle Class
The Disappearing Middle Class
Is Business Inherently Evil?
The Disparity Between Capitalism and Socialism
The Myth of Equal Pay
Too Big to Fail?
Capitalistic Crabs
Welcome to Freedomville

HISTORY

American History 101
Independence Day
What Are Your Rights (or is it Wrongs)?
The Meaning of Traitor
Pearl Harbor Day
Billy Mitchell - the Original Whistle Blower
Remembering the Doolittle Raid
D-Day +70 Years - We Will Always Remember
Heated Political Debates
Senators and the 17th Amendment
Celebrating the 16th Amendment's Anniversary
40th Anniversary of Nixon's Resignation
Understanding the Electoral College
Treaty of Paris
Are We Becoming a Godless Country?
Election Magnanimity
The Missouri Compromise Parallel
A New Mason-Dixon Line
What is the South had Won the War?

POTPOURRI

What is 'Right' with America
Equality
A New Contract with America
Who Should Be Responsible for Charity?
A True Electoral College
American Citizenship Oath
Presidential Candidates
Why the Fascination with Hillary Clinton?
The Politician in Me
My Recent Trip to Mars
10 Most Wanted List

EPILOGUE

INDEX

ENDORSEMENTS

"Liberal Kryptonite is a collection of essays that are serious, but they're also humorous; it's a good read.
It's an entertaining read; I think you'll really enjoy it. (Tim) covers a lot of topics in a way that is easy to understand and fun to read."
- Joy Tiz
"The Joy Tiz Show"
KSON-FM (97.3), San Diego, CA

"I enjoyed the optimism many of the articles had and I liked where you talked about generational politics.
Overall, this presented optimism, hope and faith for the people of this country."
- Pat Shelton, Kansas

"A New Contract with America and 10 Most Wanted Lists were excellent as were all the articles on common sense economic issues.
Your writings will definitely help educate people.
The essays just wet my appetite for more of your common sense writing."
- Helena Nunn, Florida

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