Be Bold, Say What Needs to Be Said

 I don't talk about my work on my blog, because if I do, it becomes my employers blog, and this is mine.  But what I do 40-50 hours a week influences what I write, and the experiences there often inspire me.  I recently circulated for comments among coworkers a draft article.  I circulated it because it is bold, it says thing that I think need to be said, something many people know happens, but few speak up and call it what it is.  In the opening paragraph I say the first step in change is admitting we have a problem, we have a problem and it is time we become the agents of change. 

I received comments back from a couple of people.  One with a few technical corrections, and the other saying, if you say that people are going to be upset. I will do some edits, and explain why I am being bold, but sometimes we need to say bold things that some people will be upset by.  The people that will be upset are so invested in the problem, that they don't see the problem. I will make it clear that the system I am writing about works most of the time, but when it fails, it hurts people and that needs to be changed, and the changes may require changes in the system that works well for most, but destroys the lives of others.  Like the sheet of ice above, perfectly smooth, except for the rocks sticking out.  We need to address the rocks that break the perfect surface.     

Some times, we need to be bold, and say what needs to be said. One of the joys of getting closer to retirement, is feeling less constrained about saying what needs to be said, for fear of hurting someone's feelings.