Over that past 40 years, I’ve studied the principles and practices of effective leadership, embracing the works of transformational leaders like quality guru W. Edwards Deming and Walt Disney.
More important, I’ve had the privilege of working with Hawaii’s best leaders, including thousands of front-line supervisors and managers who make Hawaii organizations in the private, nonprofit and public sectors work.
Given this perspective, I have serious concerns about Hawaii today.
In the book “Good to Great,” Jim Collins revealed how companies stay in business for 100 years and longer. He discovered that these organizations did two things well:
>> “Preserved the core”: They stayed true to their values.
>> “Stimulated progress”: They continued to adapt to the changing world.
Walt Disney put it this way, “Keep one foot in the past and one foot in the future.”
Regrettably, Hawaii has shifted significantly toward preserving the status quo, protectionism from outsiders and blocking change through regulatory restraints and legislation.
Often, businesses attempting to “stimulate progress” become targets.
High-profile examples such as the Superferry, Thirty Meter Telescope and NextEra Energy Inc. dominate local media. Strong-willed oppositional factions adamantly resist. The “silent majority” steps back, observes the drama and complains about how messed up things are.
Instead of robust and honest dialogue, polarization sets in.
I support the First Amendment and believe we need to hear all sides of every argument. It’s the American way.
Yet a pervasive sense of apathy has engulfed everyday folks here, while resistance voices have gotten bolder.
Validation of this shows up in our low voter turnout. It reminds me of a statement by Harvard Professor Rosabeth Ross Kantor:
“Negativity and low aspirations show up in behaviors psychologists call defensive pessimism, learned helplessness and passive aggression.”
Sound familiar?
Throughout our history, there have been newcomers who have mistreated people and abused our lands. We should not, though, assume every newcomer will do the same. Many come here with world-class capabilities and positive intentions.
Take NextEra as an example. It is the first American company and first non-Japanese awardee of the Deming Prize, one of the world’s most prestigious awards for quality.
For the last eight years, NextEra has been Fortune Magazine’s America’s Most Admired Company for the electric and gas sector.
Having done consulting work at NextEra in Florida, I can assure you everyone I met there was nice, giving and humble, much like people here.
Too often, new ideas and outsiders stir up voices of resistance. The media blows it up. Politicians attempt to block change through regulatory constraints. People seeking a cause rise up and rebel. Unfounded accusations fly and false rumors spread.
Drowned out are reasoned voices expressing the benefits and advantages to Hawaii. Unheard are the voices seeking a reasonable approach to growth. Few ask, “What are the long-term negative ramifications of rejecting change and advancing stagnation?”
As we’ve rejected progress, the results have not been good. In rankings of states, we show up as among the worst places to do business, highest in cost of living, high in taxation, worst place to retire, highest per capita homelessness and most sleep-deprived people (working two jobs to get by?).
Note the irony. As leaders here attempt to protect and preserve our island ways — aloha, inclusion and hospitality — they resort to hostile, unfriendly, unwelcoming approaches.
In Japanese, “kodomo no tame ni” means “for the sake of the children.”
Leaders in this state must work together, resolve our differences respectfully and leverage the assets of our state to create a sustainable future for our children.
If we fail, what kind of Hawaii do we leave them?
