A guilty pleasure of mine is watching the television hit series the Sopranos. Maybe it's the Italian in me.  One evening while stretched out across the couch, anticipating an old rerun on A&E, something caught my eye during the show's intro.  Music playing, Mob Boss Tony Soprano was puffing on a cigar driving to his house in Jersey.  As he passed a gas station the marquee read $.97 per gallon!   The year was 2000 or Y2K as some remember it.  In the same year I was stepping out of a service truck and into a career in sales.  My old service clipboard from my days as a technician resides on a shelf in my office...for sentimental reasons.  Last week I opened up the clipboard and found a gas receipt for $1.14 a gallon.  From the first season of the Sopranos and the last year I was in a service truck, gas was around a buck a gallon.  If my math is correct, that's a $.50 cent annual increase over the past eight years.  At this rate we will be paying $5.00 per gallon by 2010.  How did we get to $4.00 bucks a gallon?

By: Kent Bernhard Jr. | June 23, 2008 | Source: www.greenbizjournal.com

High gas prices are driving a massive auto manufacturing shift from gas guzzling pickups and SUVs to more efficient cars. But the moves aren’t coming fast enough for some auto dealers stung by consumers’ growing coldness toward gas guzzlers.

CarMax announced last week that its profits were hammered by the public’s lack of appetite for SUVs. The chain of used-car superstores saw profit fall 55 percent in the first quarter. Wholesale market prices for SUVs and full-sized pickups fell 25 percent in the quarter ended in May. “It’s the longest-lasting depreciation of any segment we have ever seen, and I don’t know when it will turn,” CarMax Chief Executive Tom Folliard said, according to Dow Jones.  Read the rest of this entry »

By: Jimmy Veteto | June 20, 2008 | Source: The Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell

At my daughter's swim practice one evening I found myself in discussion with a couple of other concerned dads.  Memphis, with all it's history, music, food, Tiger basketball and Elvis, can't seem to get out of the top 5 list.  We are still in the top 5 most dangerous cities in America.  Even though the city pulled the plug on A&E's show The First 48, reruns will be aired for a long time.  Turn on your television and no matter which of the local news stations you watch, no news is good news.  Murder, carjacking, the failing city schools, crooked politicians and some other depressing bit is all they seem to talk about these days. 

As we debated poolside, we determined that the need for positive press for our city is more than needed, but could in fact be the answer.  All three of us Memphians, concerned dads and contributors to our local economy agreed.  This is our town, our home and we want so desperately for things to get better, but how? 

In Malcolm Gladwell's book, The Tipping Point he writes how epidemics spread both good and bad. In the 1980s Gladwell explains how crime in New York had reached an all time high with well over 2,000 murders and 600,000 serious felonies a year.  Underground, on the subways, conditions could only be described as perilous. 

Gladwell writes, "This was New York City in the 1980s, a city in the grip of one of the worst crime epidemics in its history.  But then, suddenly and without warning, the epidemic tipped.  From a high in 1990, the crime rate went into precipitous decline.  Murders dropped by two-thirds.  Felonies were cut in half.  Other cities saw their crime drop in the same period. But in no place did the level of violence fall farther or faster than NYC.  On the subway, by the end of the decade, there were 75% fewer felonies than there had been at the decade's start."  - The Tipping Point.

How did New York go from having the highest crime rates in the country to one of the safest big cities in America?  One theory mentioned in The Tipping Point was the 'Broken Window Theory'.  Criminologists James Q. Wilson and George Kelling developed this theory and based their argument on this premise - that crime is the inevitable result of disorder.  If a window is broken and left unrepaired, onlookers will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge.  Soon, more windows are broken, and the sense of anarchy will spread from the building to the street on which it faces, sending a signal that anything goes.  In a city, relatively minor problems like graffiti, public disorder, and aggressive panhandling are equivalent to the 'Broken Window' theory. 

George Kelling was hired by New York City's transit authority as a consultant in the 1980s.  He took his 'Broken Window' theory to the subways and the transit authority later hired a guy named David Gunn, who took Kelling's theory and cleaned up the subway system.  The graffiti clean up took 6 years to complete in NYC, from 1984 to 1990.  Once the subways were clean they later hired the transit police who would nab fare-beaters and handcuff them to a chain gain until that had a "full catch."  The idea was to signal, as publicly as possible, that the transit police were cracking down. 

After Rudy Giuliani's election as mayor in 1994, he ordered the police department to take the same strategy that had been used in the subway and take it to the streets.  It worked.  As they cleaned graffiti from the subways, the next day a car would be vandalized again.  But without fail the transit authority would clean up car by car immediately until the gangs and thugs finally gave up. New York City is now one of the safest big cities in America.  People like George Kelling, David Gunn, and Rudy Giuliani won the war on crime in the Big Apple...they took their subways and streets back. 

As I look at Memphis, I can't be one who complains, but one who commits.  As my friend Vick said poolside, "Every time I hear someone complaining about Memphis, I just ask them.  What are you going to do about it?"  Those words hit home to me.  I have been guilty of complaining about our politicians, complaining about overcrowded prisons or just complaining to complain. Vick is right.  We (Memphians) all need to take a look in the mirror and ask ourselves, "What are you going to do about it?"  Complaining only solidifies the problem.  Individual commitment to make Memphis a better place can tip the epidemic the other direction.

As you read this, you may be asking yourself: "I am not a police officer, mayor or a transit authority employee.  How can I make a difference?"  My answer would be to start with positive press in your home, workplace, network and community.  Don't fall victim to negative Memphis-bashing pander around the water cooler.  Instead look for ways to get involved....look for a 'Broken Window' and fix it. 

I attend a church that meets at Crichton College off Highland Avenue.  What drew me and my family to this church was not just the music or casual dress code, but their authenticity and dedication to Memphis.  Fellowship Memphis is a church committed to Memphis, urban development, racial reconciliation and healing in our community.  They don't play church on Sundays...they walk the walk.  They saw a broken window in Kingsbury High School.  They saw a school where only 55% of the 2006-2007 seniors passed their math exit exam and could not graduate. They saw 45% of students who were left behind.  Fellowship's membership volunteered as tutors at Kingsbury and in 2008, 95% of the seniors passed their math exit exam and graduated. 

Wow...what a story!  Did you hear this on any of the local news stations?  Of course not.  As I stated before, good news is no news.  Therefore if you truly want a change in Memphis, it is going to take more people like those found at Fellowship Memphis.  Little things can make a big difference...those little things can spread...start an epidemic, but it starts with you.  "What are you going to do about it?"

To learn more about Fellowship Memphis and how to get involved with their 'Engage Memphis' ministry, click on the following link:

http://fellowshipmemphis.org/ministries/engagememphis.htm

-Jimmy Veteto, Memphian

If you missed this year's PGA U.S. Open, then you missed one of the greatest sports performances of the decade.  Even if you are not a fan of golf, you have to give credit to the man in red on Sundays.  To say Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer in the world is like saying the sky is blue...DUH!  But after watching his 90 hole feat at Torrey Pines, one could easily say that this tournament will go down as one of the greatest moments in golf history. 

Just months after knee surgery and against doctor's orders, Tiger Woods won the U.S. Open.  Pain was evident after a big tee shot.  Limping at times, and using an iron as a cane, he pressed on.  He put pain in the back of his mind and focused on the task at hand.  Two eagles on Saturday that were so spectacular, no one thought he could set the bar any higher...but he did.  The underdog Rocco Mediate played the round of his career.  He was flawless, but on Sunday, Tiger made a putt on 18 that sent them both into a playoff on Monday. 

The world's economy practically froze as people skipped work, or took an extended lunch in search of a TV.  The drama over Torrey Pines was so thick you could scoop it out of the air with a spoon.  Could the underdog Rocco beat the Tiger?  You know the rest.  That Monday night I was glued to ESPN watching highlights from the final match. But the image that will remain in my mind for the rest of my life was the press conference after Tiger's victory. 

There he was, gleaming with joy, and reporters all around the room. "Tiger, what about the knee?  Is it sore?  Are you going to play again this year?  Why did you push yourself so hard?  Did your doctor tell you not to play?"  Question after question Tiger's poise was unwavering.  He answered there questions one by one.  "Yes my knee hurts.  Yes the doctors told me not to play.  Yes I was nervous.  BUT THERE ARE NO EXCUSES...YOU JUST PLAY!" 

After the questions were all answered the reporters thanked him for his time.  Tiger stood up, took a drink of his "Tiger Gatorade" with his right hand, grabbed his trophy with his left, and limped off the stage a winner.  That was inspiring.  Despite injury, the doctors, the media, the pressure, and the millions watching, Tiger gave no excuses.  That is a winner and that was true inspiration not only for athletes, but a lesson for all.  To be a winner in sports, the business world or life there is no room for excuses.  It's no wonder Accenture uses Tiger for all their marketing posters.  For more Tiger inspiration, check out all the Accenture Tiger ads by clicking on the following link:

http://www.accenture.com/Global/About_Accenture/Company_Overview/Advertising/Print_Advertising.htm#a1