Category Archives: Miscellaneous Posts

Leadership Series: Crashing Through the Silicon Ceiling

Leadership, Leadership Series, Miscellaneous Posts, , ,
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Image by dailymail.co.uk

Last summer, the Washington Post printed an article to confirm what Latinos in Silicon Valley already knew to be true – Latinos and other people of color are grossly underrepresented in the valley’s workforce, especially in management. The numbers are abysmal.

Intel leads the pack of tech giants where only 8% of its employees are Latino. That’s double the percentage of other major high-tech firms. Twitter is in the basement with only 2% of its workforce identifying as Latino. These statistics include all employees: tech, non-tech, management, etc. Latino managers, directors, and executives represent just a fraction of those employees.

The Post article goes on to describe how management points to the lack of qualified Latino candidates and an education system that isn’t providing a pipeline of talented people of color. This is a common response for organizations and institutions that claim that the problem exists with the talent pool, not hiring practices. Although still woefully inadequate, the rate of Latino college graduates is twice the percentage of employees in Silicon Valley.

So what gives?

According to the Washington Post, Valley executives are beginning to listen to the notion that there are “unconscious biases that have given preference to white men.” This is a great start. Along with those revelations, HR teams are well aware of the challenges to change the mindset of large institutions. As Latino college admission and graduation rates rise over time, there may be someday in the future when this isn’t an issue. It could be decades before the bias demons are exorcised

Unfortunately, today, it’s a major problem and current Latino professionals can’t afford to wait for society to catch up with the reality that there is a large pool of candidates already in the pipeline. The National Society of Hispanic MBAs alone has over 30,000 members in 40 chapters across the country, including Silicon Valley.

The good news is that Silicon Valley seems to be responding to the Washington Post article. Over the past year, companies like Facebook and LinkedIn have hosted events targeted at Latino professionals. The bad news is twofold. First, HR professionals have already said that tackling bias will take a long time. Second, these companies don’t know how to attract Latino talent. I’ll leave that issue for another blog post.

In the meantime, what are smart, talented, and ambitious Latino professionals to do?  Here are few tips that will get you started on your leadership journey:

  1. Work Hard

I’m not going to sugarcoat this. Getting ahead takes an enormous amount of effort, commitment, and perseverance. There’s no other way around it. All of the successful people I’ve ever encountered were passionate and dedicated to their craft. This can take a million hours a week or far less, it just depends how you manage your time. Just make sure to give it your all. A college education gets you to the front door. Hard work gets you to the corner office.

As I made my way up the corporate org chart, I was the first to raise my hand when upper management was looking for someone to take on an extra project. When the corporate office executives needed support for an initiative, I packed my bags and traveled throughout the country to lend a helping hand. Soon, I was on the radar for promotion from manager to director to vice president.

This strategy seems to fly in the face of corporate America’s newfound philosophy on work/home balance. Let me just say this: the hardest working employees get first crack at promotion. There are ways to balance family life and an ambitious career. My wife Sandra worked her way up the education administrator ranks while I moved toward the executive suite. Yet, we always made time for our family (I’ll leave that for another blog post too).

  1. Find a Mentor

Learning to master a craft from a successful person is the best education you’ll ever get. Former U.S. Secretary of State Condeleeza Rice once said that aspiring leaders should, “search for role models you can look up to and people who take an interest in your career.” In my career, the best mentors have been people who truly cared about my future. I’ve been blessed to have five men in my professional life that fulfilled that role.

Bob Williams, Percy Carr, Navarra Williams, Dave Walton, and Johnnie Giles have made an indelible imprint on my career. Bob, the manager at my first part-time job, was a master at team-building. Coach Carr is a hall-of-fame college basketball coach. I worked as his assistant in the late 80s and early 90s. He taught me the value of preparation and developing talent. Navarra, Dave, and Johnnie helped me understand the intense, yet delicate world of corporate politics.

The most valuable asset each of these men brought to me was a sincere interest in my growth and development as a leader. There are people like this in everyone’s life. You need to identify them and seek their guidance. One more piece of advice from Secretary Rice, “you don’t have to have mentors who look like you.” Just make sure that they genuinely care about your potential as a leader.

  1. Keep Learning

According to Pulitzer Prize historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, this concept is one of the ten qualities that made President Abraham Lincoln a great leader. Lincoln spent countless hours with generals in the White House and on the front lines of battle to better understand the science of warfare and the causes and effects of his decisions. He’s perhaps our nation’s greatest wartime president.

Make your personal development a priority. As a student of Goodwin’s theory, I’ve never hesitated at an opportunity to take advantage of leadership development. Among the many programs available to me, I studied community leadership as a senior fellow with the American Leadership Forum of Silicon Valley and corporate leadership with the Comcast Executive Leadership Forum. Today, I continue to learn from the talented people I encounter in my role as a leadership coach.

The most exciting thing about the Latino future is that it’s happening right now. There are many talented professionals in the pipeline today. While it appears that institutions are warming up to the facts about Latino talent, we need to take matters into our own hands until they catch up. Start your leadership journey by taking positive steps toward crashing through the Silicon ceiling!

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Are you ready to make your next career move?

REGISTER TODAY for the July 16th  ESEReport.com Leadership Series “Foundations of Leadership Workshop.” Please contact Eddie directly with any questions at eddie.m.garcia@comcast.net. This will be an inspiring day of learning!

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/foundations-of-leadership-workshop-tickets-24943731372

To read the full Washington Post article, click here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/silicon-valley-struggles-to-hack-its-diversity-problem/2015/07/16/0b0144be-2053-11e5-84d5-eb37ee8eaa61_story.html

Monday Meanderings: Why Are They So Mad?

Miscellaneous Posts
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Image by usatoday.com

The Republican presidential primaries have proven that there’s a significant block of GOP voters that yearn for the old days. They want to “make America great again.” Not surprisingly, 90% of Republican voters in those states are white. Exit polls show that these people are angry and frustrated with the direction of our country.

I have to confess that I don’t even know what “make America great again” means, nor do I understand why these folks are so mad. To educate myself, I’ve spent the past month or so listening to conservative talk radio while driving. I’ve had a steady diet of Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, and Mark Levin.

Man, these guys are pissed off!

Their language is filled with slurs and put downs. When describing people who don’t follow their way of thinking, I’ve heard them use words like: idiot, swine, liar, stupid, moron, and on and on. And that’s just during a 5-minute drive to the grocery store! No wonder their followers cheer when candidates bellow insults from the stage.

After hours of listening to these angry men and their loyal listeners scream, growl, complain, and scold, I think I know what they’re so upset about. Here are the top five reasons (in order):

President Barack Obama

Hillary Clinton

Latinos (with special venom for Mexicans)

Non-Christians

Outsourced jobs (except a certain brand of suits and ties made in Mexican maquiladores)

I’m not making this stuff up. Tune in and listen for yourself. Their explanation for the election results goes something like this: Voters are angry because the political establishment has allowed unpatriotic forces within our country (i.e. President Obama, Clinton, Mexicans, and non-Christians) to destroy the very fabric of our nation.

So when was the last time America was “great”? Historians agree that President John F. Kennedy’s assassination on November 22, 1963, was a turning point for the United States. Before that fateful day, America thought of itself as a black and white TV show starring well dressed parents and “gee-whiz” freckled-faced kids with wispy blonde hair.

During the next five decades, those who didn’t get a fair shot at the American Dream have fought for and gained equal rights. This sea change in America has ruined our country according to the angry electorate who wants to see us go back to November 21, 1963. These mad voters scoff at every piece of anti-discrimination legislation and each court decision that has leveled the playing field for women, people of color, and the LGBTQ community.

Guess what happened on the way to a more equal nation? The economy changed, we elected a black president, women have risen to the highest levels of government, Latinos have out competed working-class whites in the new economy, and evangelical Christians now have to share the national spiritual stage with believers of other faiths.

Yeah, I said it: Latinos have out competed working-class whites in the new economy.

That may be why rebellious voters are mad. They want to go back to the way it was before JFK’s assassination triggered all of this equal rights stuff. The white working class thrived when America was the global leader in making cars, mining coal, heating steel, and manufacturing in a myriad of blue-collar industries. Over 90% of those workers were white men. Management and unions ensured that it stayed that way.

By the early 70s, American auto manufacturing moguls, getting slaughtered by foreign car makers, realized that machines operated by computers could make a car faster and cheaper. The rest of the manufacturing sector followed suit. Then, Ronald Reagan and his Republican revolution introduced the free trade movement.

The most hated and reviled trade agreement is the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It passed during the Clinton Administration, but Reagan was NAFTA’s father. Yup…Look it up. American manufacturing as we knew it disappeared, the economy changed, and the white working class anger we see today was born.

Yeah, I said it: Latinos have out competed working-class whites in the new economy.

What have Latinos done since white working class manufacturing jobs disappeared? We adjusted to the new economy. While white Americans have turned their noses up on low-paying service jobs, Latinos have dominated that sector. High paying constructions jobs are mostly filled by Latinos, especially in states with large Latino populations.

A new group of Latinos replaced the Latinos who left the backbreaking agricultural and meat-packing industries  for the new economy. America can thank Ronald Reagan for that too. The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 was President Reagan’s baby. It ushered in a new era of immigration. Is the angry crowd mad at their beloved conservative icon? Nope. They’re mad at the group of people who took advantage of his policies.

When not cheering and jeering at political rallies, the angry white working class collects welfare at high rates. According to a Bloomberg News report, 160 of the 227 counties with the highest rate of food stamp usage are in southern Republicans congressional districts. These counties, approximately 90% white, have been devastated by the new economy.

The same report points out that Owsley County Kentucky has the highest rate of food stamp recipients in the nation. Over half of the residents of the area (52%) survive on the program. Owsley County is 98% white. GOP nominee Mitt Romney won 81% of the vote against President Obama in 2012 and 63% of the angry electorate voted for the angriest Republican candidate during the 2016 presidential primary last week.

While displaced workers of the new economy in rural America collect food stamps and complain about immigration and outsourcing, Latinos have worked their way to college campuses. In 2014, the Wall Street Journal reported that the University of California system admitted more Latinos than whites for the first time in its history.

A generation ago, my American-born parents were denied entry at a Phoenix nightclub because they were “Mexican.” Today, my family and Sandra’s family (including our spouses and children) have earned 26 college degrees with more on the way. Working-class Latino families throughout the country have followed this path to compete in today’s workforce.

That’s why angry working-class white welfare recipients are so pissed off. That’s why they want to build the wall (and make Mexico pay for it). That’s why Donald Trump’s nonsense resonates with this self-defeated group of people.

Latinos have come a long way, yet we have a long way to go. The executive suite and the halls of power are still but a distant speck on the horizon for Latinos. The United States of America, our country tis of thee, has provided an opportunity for Latinos to compete. We can’t allow anger to change that.

America is not perfect, but for the past half century, it has been great for Latinos. The ballot box is more important than ever. Let’s go out and vote in record numbers to make America even greater.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Latino Thursday: The Next Generation of Leaders Looks Good

Miscellaneous Posts, , ,
"Thank You" Poster Made by Luis Valdez Leadership Academy Student Leaders
“Thank You Poster”  by Luis Valdez Leadership Academy Student Leaders

One of my pet peeves is the phrase, “kids these days.” You know what I mean. What happened to the days when kids would speak only when spoken to and say “yes, ma’am” and “no sir.” Remember those days? My favorite is, “Kids these days don’t say ‘please’ when they want something or ‘thank you’ to show gratitude.

We old timers worry about what will happen when we get older and have to rely on the next generation to take care of us. What a mess, right? These kids can’t even write full sentences when they text. They would rather send “pics” on Instagram and Snapchat than pick up a phone or write a letter.

They listen to music that isn’t even music. What happened to the good old school days when you could understand the lyrics? Earth, Wind, and Fire. Santana. Al Green. Lionel Richie. Malo. Remember “Suavecito”?

That was music.

Many people my age wonder how kids these days will run the place when we retire. The old folks are sure that the world will go straight to the dogs when the youngsters take charge.

Well my dear readers, I absolutely, overwhelmingly, vehemently, and respectfully disagree!

I know we’ll be in good hands when the next generation of Latino leaders takes the helm. Let me tell you why.

During the last two school years, I’ve had the privilege and pleasure to teach leadership classes at three east side high schools: Latino College Prep Academy, Luis Valdez Leadership Academy, and Roberto Cruz Leadership Academy. Latino students represent over 90% of the population at the schools. The program I teach is a six-week freshman course that provides students with the tools to present and conduct themselves in a professional manner.

The students learn how to set and plan goals, make professional presentations, and work in teams. They also do professional development exercises to help them with shaking hands, sitting and standing posture, making eye contact, and using body language to convey confidence. This is all done within the framework of understanding and respecting Latino cultural norms. The goal of the program is to send our kids to college and beyond with the self-assurance to succeed.

At Luis Valdez Leadership Academy (LVLA) I’ve been able to see the results of the program as the student government advisor. LVLA is in its second year of operation, so the student government is comprised of freshmen and sophomores. That means that these young leaders have an opportunity to set the cultural tone for the school well into the future.

After taking the six-week course, the elected leaders learned how to run a working decision-making government. The leadership group is large. There are four school-wide elected officers, class officers, and classroom representatives. In all, 23 students represent their peers to create and manage events and activities for the school year. In any governmental environment, a leadership team of that size is challenging to manage.

With that in mind, the student leaders are studying the fundamentals of the rules of order used by city halls, statehouses, and congress. They’re learning how to share their ideas with their fellow leaders through orderly debate and discussion. The students are using the committee system to tackle the details of putting their ideas into an actual plan.

After several weeks of intense training, the student government was ready to take on its first project. They decided to have a fall dance. As the first-ever dance in the school’s history, these young leaders felt much pressure to make the event successful. They had heated debates about the theme of the dance, the date, fundraising, the food and refreshments, decorations, and much more.

To have the event they wanted, student leaders had to raise $800 by selling tickets. They had less than three weeks to achieve this goal. That’s a tall order in a working-class neighborhood. Many on campus quietly shared concerns that the student council took on too much than they could handle.

Using the rules of order they learned, the young decision-makers developed a ticket sales and marketing strategy, and created a plan for a 100% student led and managed dance. I’ve been around many leadership teams in my career, and the students experienced all of the potential pitfalls and challenges that any team of leaders could confront. Through their raucous use of the democratic process, they worked through each barrier.

When the dust settled, here’s what happened:

LVLA had its first-ever school dance, they called it the “Falling for Fall” event. More than half of the student body attended. The student government made money on the event by raising over $1,000. The buzz on campus the next Monday was all about the dance. Everyone had a great time. The event was an overwhelming success by any and every measurement.

This gets me back to “kids these days.” Given the right tools and the confidence to succeed, Latino students will be exemplary leaders in the future. We’re in good hands. Today’s Latino civic and community leaders could learn a few things about teamwork and cooperation from the LVLA student government. In fact, so could our do-nothing United States Congress.

Oh, by the way, the student government planned and hosted an appreciation potluck for me and fellow advisor Mr. Osvaldo Ruelas, a young educator who is a future leader himself. The student leaders wanted to say “thank you” for the small role we played in supporting them.

Kids these days.

Monday Meanderings: Staying Young at Heart

Miscellaneous Posts,
Image by clipart101.com
Image by clipart101.com

Later this week, I’ll celebrate my 52nd birthday. Turning 30, 40, and even 50, was no big deal for me. Even 51 didn’t seem to register as a transition point from regular adulthood to real adulthood. But for some reason, the idea of 52 is making me rethink this whole old guy thing.

I’ve always been young at heart. I’ve never wanted to really be a responsible grown-up. Yeah, I got married, bought a house, had kids, and spent most of my waking hours on the treadmill of life trying to stay one step ahead of the next batch of bills that was sure to arrive in the mail. But, I never let it stop me from channeling my inner kid.

I love to party!

With some music, a little dancing, and a few (too many) adult beverages, I’m easily transformed into the irrepressible adolescent that lives inside of a body that has seen better days.

My daughters keep me up to date with the latest music, fashion, and phrases. Like I low-key want a cheeseburger right now (unfortunately, my cardiologist-recommended no-sodium, low-fat diet doesn’t allow such a thing). Oh, well.

Anyways…

I love hip-hop and alternative music. I like low-top navy blue Chucks, Vans, skinny jeans, and slim-fitting suits. Really, I do.

I’m connected too. I’m on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. I text, Instant Message, Google, YouTube, and Facetime. My Smartphone has become an extension of my left hand.

I’ve always scoffed at old fogeys who begin sentences with, “kids these days” or “in the old days.” Times change. Each generation brings new and exciting ways of doing things. To those who yearn for the past, get with the program, I implore.

A couple of weeks ago, everything changed. I was at the Delta terminal at La Guardia Airport in New York. The place is super high-tech. Almost every chair has an outlet to charge electronic devices. There is a bank of i-Pad stations where I’m sure phone booths used to sit.

Looking for something to eat before my flight, I walked by several restaurants. I noticed that every establishment had an electronic ordering device. When I sat down to order, I ran into a problem. There was no way to communicate that I needed salt-free options, a side of fruit instead of fries.

When I asked the server, she curtly told me that everything available was on the computer as she whisked by to leave a plate of food on another table. Yeah, but…I started to say. I wasn’t able to finish my sentence as she swiftly turned the corner to deliver food to the other side of the restaurant.

Are you kidding me? What happened to the good old days when waiters and waitresses greeted you with a smile and a helping hand? I sat like a grumpy old man eating a sandwich I really didn’t want and longingly staring at fries I couldn’t eat, only to pay the same machine I ordered from.

And then, to my horror, the device asked for a tip! What had the world come to?

Bam! There it was. I said it. I sounded like a bitter senior citizen decrying new-fangled things. I started questioning if I was from a bygone era when people actually talked with each other. I like to talk. I like to give and get hugs. I like to look someone in the eye when having a conversation. Was I a man of the 20th century? Did the train of progress leave me at the depot?

I hope not. I love progress and everything it brings to our lives and culture. But, I have to say that I’m perplexed when I see a young couple sitting in a restaurant booth on their respective hand-helds instead of flirtatiously giving each other goo goo eyes. There’s nothing like a warm smile and human interaction. No device can replace that.

In the meantime, I plan to celebrate my birthday with my wife over a nice dinner. I’ll gaze into her beautiful eyes and we’ll talk about whatever crosses our minds. I might even entertain sipping good old-fashioned bourbon over ice as a nightcap.

On the other hand, pounding a few Mike’s Hard Lemonades and dancing to Drake and DJ Mustard sounds like more fun. I’ll Snapchat my daughters and nieces and nephews, and share pics on Instagram with the world. I might even invite my old fogey friends who are on the couch watching TV and complaining about “kids these days.” Of course, I’ll have to call them. They’re soooo 20th century!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday Meanderings: Donald Trump is the Voice of the Racist Right

Miscellaneous Posts, Public Affairs,
Image by Red-carpet.de
Image by Red-carpet.de

I’m taking a page from the Trump playbook. I won’t be politically correct and give in to the PC police. I’ll just tell it like it is. Donald Trump is the voice for the Racist Right in America.

He’s a smart guy. The average person isn’t worth $10 billion. It takes some brainpower to make that happen. So what gives? He really wants to be President of the United States. Who knows what was behind his initial motive for running for the highest office in the land. Now, he thinks he can win.

Trump has sustained his standing in the Republican polls despite comments that are seemingly at odds with conservative icons. At a family conference, he said that he didn’t need God’s forgiveness for his sins. He called war hero Senator John McCain a loser for getting captured in Vietnam and belittled conservative news celebrity Megyn Kelly at the Fox News debate. Not one of these incidents resulted in a slide in his support.

Shrug off God, Mr. Trump. That’s okay according to the religious evangelists on the right. Proclaim that John McCain isn’t a war hero. No problem, say some veterans. Insult the star of a conservative news show. Wagging their fingers, the PC police scold women for being too sensitive.

That’s where the racist thing comes in. Trump revived the racially divisive term “Silent Majority” in a speech at a rally last month in Arizona. That term is not without historical significance. To exploit the civil unrest of 1960s urban America, Richard M. Nixon coined “Silent Majority” to rally the racist Deep South to support his election. Angry and frustrated by civil rights gains, southern voters swept Nixon into the White House in the 1968.

Trump is trying to bring that racist anger and frustration back as a political strategy. He hopes to replicate the Nixon landslide. The thrust of his message is “make America great again.” For the Silent Majority types, this means going back to the days when Blacks knew their place and Mexicans stayed in Mexico. That explains why conservatives give Trump a pass on trivializing Republican stalwarts like God, Senator McCain, and Megyn Kelly.

When he outlined his immigration proposal, Trump solidified his support in Racist America. The lynchpin to his plan is to abolish the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution. The Supreme Court has cited the amendment to rid our nation of the evils of racial segregation, ensure voting rights to all Americans, and guarantee equal treatment under the law for everyone. Repealing those values has always been the goal of the Racist Right.

Trump wants to take away the birthright of American-born citizens guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. He believes that their parents don’t belong here, so those born in the U.S. don’t have the right to be American citizens. There’s plenty of legal and constitutional precedent that demonstrates that Trump might be drinking too much Southern Comfort. That doesn’t matter though. He just wants to rally the Racist Right to go to the polls and vote for him. It worked for Nixon.

Fortunately, the group of Americans who want to return to a nation that provided equal treatment for just a few white folks is shrinking. These people scream at the tops of their lungs that they want to “take America back.” During a Trump rally in Alabama last weekend, his supporters heard shouts of “white power” coming from the crowd. The Silent Majority is really the vocal minority. They now have a self-proclaimed champion in Donald Trump.

While his poll numbers continue to hold steady with those who yearn for an America of yesteryear, we’ve come a long way since 1968. The rest of the country has moved on. Poll after poll shows that a vast majority of Americans support a pathway to citizenship for undocumented workers. We are part of a reasonable majority that sees the true greatness of America, not in the past, but just on horizon.

Despite the belief shared by most Americans that our nation is better off with cultural diversity, Trump will continue his assault on immigrants, especially those from south of the Rio Grande. With each promise to build the Trump Wall to keep Mexicans out and every proclamation that all undocumented immigrants and their American-born children “have to go,” the vocal minority will cheer with enthusiasm and hope for the return to the racist America they loved.

The Trumpnado, as his followers call his campaign, will soon pass. Sadly, it will leave a trail of destruction and bitterness in its wake. When the winds of primary season calm down, Americans will go the voting booth and elect a president who will govern from the center. For 225 years, Americans have always found a way to elect thoughtful leaders that have kept us on the road to equality and justice.

After Election Day 2016, I’m confident that we’ll continue on our journey to make the United States the “more perfect union” that our Founding Fathers envisioned. I believe in America and I have faith in God that He will lead us down the right path.

San Jose City College: Home to World Champions

Miscellaneous Posts
Photo by Golden State Warriors
Photo by Golden State Warriors

Yes! The Golden State Warriors are world champions! I’m still nursing my celebration hangover from Game 6 of the NBA Finals. It was quite a story. There was all the hoopla about the the Splash Brothers vs. “the greatest player in the world.” With the exception of Warrior fans, the rest of the country was sure that King James would carry the day like Michael, Magic, and Larry did in the 1980s and 1990s. But he didn’t.

And the Golden State Warriors are world champions!

This was a topic of conversation when I had lunch with Hall of Fame basketball coach Percy Carr last week. Coach Carr just finished his 40th season at San Jose City College and has his fair share of championships. He mentioned a tidbit of history that I’m sure not many people know about. The last time the Warriors were world champs, the team’s practice facility was the gym at San Jose City College.

The team practiced at SJCC from the mid-1960s through the end of the next decade. Hall of Famer and 1975 NBA Finals MVP Rick Barry played there, as did Warrior greats Al Attles, Clifford Ray, Jeff Mullins, Jamal Wilkes, Phil Smith, and Charles Johnson. Attles was also the head coach of that 1975 championship squad.

Coach Carr shared stories about the NBA stars playing pick-up hoops with the SJCC players during open gym. He recounted how the NBA players were right at home on his floor. They interacted with students and others who happened to hang around the court. Coach still has one of Clifford Ray’s size 19 high-top sneakers in his office as a souvenir from those days.

I peppered Coach Carr with questions: When did the Warriors start practicing at SJCC? How did it happen? Why did the team choose to workout in San Jose, not Oakland or San Francisco? Since the the Warriors/SJCC relationship started before he arrived in 1976, Coach Carr didn’t have answers to my questions. I could see the light bulb illuminate above his head as he picked up his cell phone and dialed his old friend and “Mr. Warrior,” Al Attles.

After a few minutes of friendly ribbing and chit chat, Coach Carr asked Coach Attles some of my questions before handing the phone to me. It was pretty cool for me to be able talk to the legendary Al Attles just a week after the Golden State Warriors won the NBA championship. Actually, it was VERY cool!

Here’s what I learned: A generation ago, the NBA wasn’t the glitzy showbiz entertainment juggernaut it is today. That had its beginnings in the late 1970s with Dr. J’s acrobatic dunks and the Magic vs. Bird show. Then came Air Jordan, and the rest is history. The NBA evolved from a hard-nosed league of large men who happened to be the best basketball players in the world to today’s multi-billion dollar mega business featuring large men who are the best players on the planet.

In 1962, the Warriors came to San Francisco from Philadelphia in when a group of local businessman pooled their money together to buy the team. When the Warriors arrived in San Francisco, there was only one other NBA team on the west coast, the Los Angeles Lakers came from Minnesota just two years earlier. The group bought the franchise for a whopping $850,000.

Yeah, you read that correctly.

A few years later, San Jose native Franklin Mieuli, who made his fortune in the local radio and television business, eventually bought out his partners and became principal owner of the franchise.

As the NBA was getting a foothold in California during the early years, the Warriors were having a hard time finding a place to practice. The University of San Francisco was the only local college that was willing to give up some gym time for the pro team. That arrangement didn’t last long. The club then moved to the Oakland Mormon Temple where the old ABA Oakland Oaks practiced during its one year in existence. The Oaks failed to pay the rent, so the deal almost fell through because church leaders mistook the NBA for the ABA.

That’s where owner Franklin Mieuli’s San Jose roots came in handy. He reached out to the SJCC administration and secured a long-term commitment to use the gym as the pro team’s official practice facility. Part of the deal included the construction of a professional-style locker room that the SJCC Jaguars still use today. Coach Attles told me that the SJCC community was always warm and welcoming. “We loved our time at San Jose City College,” he said.

Today, the Warriors play regular season games at the Oakland Coliseum and work out in a state-of-the-art practice facility befitting a 21st century NBA franchise in that city’s downtown. The team is the best basketball club in the world. The best two players have a splashy nickname that resonates with fans in the high-energy entertainment industry the NBA is today. Steph Curry jerseys are the hottest items in the NBA’s retail business.

In simpler times, the NBA champs hung out in a little gym in San Jose. Earlier this spring, I wrote that the SJCC men’s basketball team was the best kept secret in town (click here to read that article: https://esereport.com/2015/02/23/monday-meanderings-san-joses-best-kept-secret/). Now we know that the college has another wonderful secret. It is home to world champions.

Monday Meanderings: San Jose’s Best Kept Secret

Education, Miscellaneous Posts
Speed City Getting Ready to Run (photo courtesy of Twitter @SJCCBasketball #sjcchoops #speedcity )
Speed City Getting Ready to Run
(photo courtesy of Twitter @SJCCBasketball
#sjcchoops #speedcity )

Okay, please bear with me. I’m really going to meander today.

I want to talk about the best kept secret in San Jose. First, let me say this: San Jose doesn’t have a clue how to attract, support, and celebrate big-time sports. There, I said it.

We pride ourselves in being the 10th biggest city in America. Yet, when it comes to sports teams, one of the characteristics of a big-time city, we have but one major-league organization, the National Hockey League Sharks. Oh yeah, we also have the Earthquakes.

I still sting over the voters’ rejection of a ballot measure to build a stadium and bring the Major League Baseball Giants to town in 1990. I can’t forget how the Golden State Warriors used the city to get a better deal in Oakland a few years later. What about the ongoing effort to lure the A’s here?  Don’t even ask. And, please don’t even mention that little hamlet on our northern border getting one of the most storied franchises in NFL history.

For goodness sake, the 40th largest city in America has the Braves (MLB), Hawks (NBA), and Falcons (NFL).

I must also confess that I’m not much of a hockey fan. As someone who is a native of our beloved city, I didn’t play hockey or watch it on TV as a kid, although I do remember that it snowed here once for about 10 minutes when I was in the 7th grade. The Earthquakes is a major league soccer franchise, but its new 18,000-seat stadium is a far cry from the 114,000 seats in Estadio Azteca, Mexico City’s soccer venue.

But, I digress (and meander).

The best kept secret in town is the San Jose City College Jaguars men’s basketball team. The program is also the most successful sports organization in the history of our fair city. Period.

Let’s start with the numbers. During the past 39 years under Coach Percy Carr, the Jags have won 864 games, the most wins for a California college basketball coach ever. Seventeen players have earned All-State honors. The best number, however, is the 97% of players who move on to a four-year college.

On Saturday afternoon, the team clinched its 14th conference championship and 35th playoff appearance in the Carr era by finishing 12-0 in Coast Conference play and 25-3 overall.

And, guess what? No one outside of the SJCC community knows about it. No mention in the Mercury News, no stories on NBC Bay Area, ABC 7, CBS 5, or KTVU Channel 2. Was the mayor on hand on Saturday to celebrate with the college chancellor and president? Nope.

What gives here? How can a city that prides itself on success and innovation completely ignore one of its most successful institutions?

Unfortunately, I don’t know the answer to that. But I know this: San Jose City College basketball is fun to watch! If you love basketball like I do, you won’t find a better place in this town to watch a game than in the Jaguar’s gym. And it’s up close and personal.

The squeak of basketball shoes on the maple floor, the referee’s whistle, coaches shouting directions to the players and scolding officials, and the sweet sound of the ball swishing through the net after a three-point shot can all be found at SJCC.

And, the basketball is big-time. The players are big, strong, fast, talented and well-coached. More than a few of them will play at a NCCA Division I school. Fans call them Speed City. At any given moment, a breathtaking fast break or a thunderous slam-dunk will ignite the small crowd.

Did I mention that the basketball is big-time?

Luckily, this season isn’t over. The Jags will host the first-round of the state playoffs at home on Saturday, February 28th at 7:00 PM. Do yourself a favor. Go watch them play. Follow their quest for a State Championship.

It’s the best kept secret in town.

 

 

 

 

 

Monday Meanderings: Walking Along the Path of Faith

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spiritual-journey

I’ve spent a lot of time lately thinking about faith.

Faith is a powerful word and an even more powerful force. It’s been the catalyst for the most important movements in the history of the world. We hear the word all the time, usually in times of great sorrow and fear.

But, what does it mean?

No one really knows, and I think that’s the point.

We can start with the religious concept of the word. It is the foundation of all religious beliefs. Whether you practice Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism or any other organized religion, faith is the cornerstone. The short story is that God is in charge and the secret to a productive and happy life is accepting that fact.

In non-religious terms, New Age thinkers and motivational speakers have stirred people through positive thinking and believing in oneself. The wisdom they share has inspired countless people to achieve success and improve their lives by accepting “universal laws” and using them to realize personal and professional dreams.

Even pragmatic practitioners of the scientific method rely on a form of faith to explain why things like gravity and the rotations of planets around the sun exist. Scientific research has explained what causes these phenomena and how they work. However, science doesn’t answer why they happen, so they are accepted as Universal or Natural Law.

What do all three of these examples have in common? Acceptance of what can’t be explained. This is the basis of faith.

Since the summer a massive heart attack changed my life, I’ve been on a personal faith journey with bridge crossings marked by calming enlightenment and uncomfortable uncertainty. I fully accept what occurred that summer and understand how it happened.

Every now and then, I arrive at a bridgehead of doubt. The nagging why seeps into my consciousness and causes hesitation. Why me? Why now? Why has my life taken this dramatic turn?

While pondering those questions, I remember how I survived a harrowing heart attack, sudden cardiac arrest, and life-threatening lung failure. I remember the many family, friends, and even strangers who prayed for my survival. I remember learning again how to walk, talk, and eat after a month in a paralytic coma. I remember that I’m alive.

Then I thank God for what I have and move on along the path with gratitude.

As I meander through the unknowns of the trail, the why crossings are fewer and further apart. Pauses at the entrance to those insecure bridges of uncertainty become ever shorter as I get closer to the gates of true and unconditional faith.

And my  journey lives for another day…

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COMING Wednesday: The FINAL EXCERPT of Summer in the Waiting Room: How Faith, Family, and Friends Saved My Life. If you missed last week’s excerpt, click here:https://esereport.com/2015/02/04/summer-in-the-waiting-room-how-faith-family-and-friends-saved-my-life-excerpt-50/

East Side Eddie Report Surpasses 30,000 Views!!

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Image by vintagevelvets.blogspot.com
Image by vintagevelvets.blogspot.com

East Side Eddie Report.com now has more than the 30,000 views!!

Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!

Check out the features and the Tags on this Homepage to see what all the fuss is about.

The most viewed feature on this blog is Summer in the Waiting Room: How Faith, Family, and Friends Saved My Life. It’s the real story of a man who failed early in life and vowed never to fail again. So he worked tirelessly trying to redeem himself, only to find true redemption while in a state of complete helplessness in the ICU. Here’s the link to the series:

About Summer in the Waiting Room

As always, I would love to hear from you. Please let me know what you think and share your ideas on future stories.  Thanks so much for your support!!

Eddie García

San Jose, California

February 5, 2015

Monday Meanderings: Turning the Corner in 2014

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García Family - Christmas 2014
García Family – Christmas 2014

Five years ago this month, I was on top of the world. My obsessive quest for career success was in overdrive. After more than a decade as an executive in corporate America, I was serving my second year as chief of staff to an elected official who represented 300,000 residents, president of the high school board of trustees, and co-founder of a leadership academy created in collaboration with Stanford.

In addition to my six-figure salary and high-profile community leadership roles, my wife was a successful elementary school principal and our daughters attended private Catholic schools. I lived in a nice house and drove a late model European sedan. For a kid who grew up in a working-class neighborhood, who could ask for more, right?

Well, I did. Striving for “more,” I worked around the clock pushing myself harder and harder.

Six months later, a massive heart attack brought it all crashing down. A month after that, I was in the ICU clinging to life in a coma and on breathing machines. By the end of that summer, I was a living testament to the miracle of God’s will. I survived a heart attack, cardiac arrest, and a rare lung syndrome.

That’s when the hard part started. I had to completely change my way of life.

Although my mind still works at hyper-speed, 106 days in the hospital and three major health issues have wreaked havoc on my body. I’ve struggled to reconcile my desire to live at the hectic pace I love with the reality that I can only do as much as my heart and energy will allow.

Working hard and the struggles of leadership excite me, but the stress that comes along for the ride is life-threatening. I love Kentucky Fried Chicken, Roundtable Maui Zaui pizza, ravioli and meatball sandwiches, all of which are off limits on my low-sodium, low-fat cardiac diet. I miss working up a sweat in the gym and knocking back a few ice-cold Coors Lights on tap afterwards.

Everything I do now is measured in calculated moderation, a concept that is completely foreign to me. Bland food, light exercise, and no-stress work are orders of the day.

In the years that followed that horrific summer, I’ve been in a daily struggle with myself trying to come to terms with my new life. Faith, family, and friends formed the foundation of my miraculous recovery, so I turned to that same formula to guide me through my dramatic life change. Making that change has been an emotional a tug-of-war.

On one side of the rope is a maturing relationship with God and an evolving understanding of my place in life. On the other side is the adrenalin rush and ecstasy that come with working and playing hard. Swaying in the middle of that taut rope are the elusive concepts of happiness and living life to the fullest.

I spent 2011 slowly recovering, rebuilding strength, and refocusing on my relationships with God, family, and friends. The next year marked my return to the chaos of full-time work. When my professional career came to an abrupt and exhausting conclusion in 2013, I was lost and confused. I believed that the last exciting thing that brought joy to my life had been taken away.

But, I was wrong.

By the end of 2014, the spiritual side of the rope began gaining ground. It was another year without the thrill of professional challenges, meatball sandwiches, energetic games of hoop, or multiple mugs of ice-cold beer. I earned less income than in any other time in my adult life. Nevertheless, 2014 was a glorious year.

All of those things that gave me short-term exhiliration finally began giving way to the bliss of living life for no other reason than to celebrate God’s gift. Faith is no longer just an otherworldly concept. It forms the foundation of how I manage my day. My relationships with Sandra and our daughters, extended family, and good friends are becoming more fulfilling and meaningful.

Although 2014 was a turning point in my understanding of life’s mysteries, I still have much work to do. I need to keep trusting in God and putting my life in His hands. There are more family and friends that deserve my love and attention.

As my journey moves on, I know the long road ahead will meander with twists and turns. I’ll follow the path that God created for me and I’ll continue to celebrate life with those I love.

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I’ve been writing about my life journey and posting excerpts every Wednesday in Summer in the Waiting Room: How Faith, Family, and Friends Saved My Life. Check it out at: https://esereport.com/summer-in-the-waiting-room.