Group grope decision-making

After all the petroleum companies announced a P1 increase in the price of diesel fuel, there soon followed a media feeding frenzy to find out who among the transport groups would be first to file for a fare increase and how much would the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board or LTFRB would allow. After nearly two hours of interviewing most of the personalities concerned, no one could come up with a straight answer except that they were all going to compute, consult and figure out just how much and how to go about such a fare increase etc.

When I heard the LTFRB spokeswoman mention that they would have to consult with the National Economic and Development Authority, it became clear that the problem will solve itself faster than the authorities can come up with an answer because there will soon be a case of analysis paralysis or “Group Grope” as described by the American Advertising Guru – George Lois in his book Damn Good Advice: “Reject Group Grope"

Think about this: Decisive, breakthrough creative decision-making is almost always made by one, two or possibly three minds working in unison, take it or leave it. Collective thinking usually leads to a stalemate or worse. And the smarter the individuals in the group, the harder it is to nail the idea. Certainly, in my experience as a mass communicator and cultural provocateur, I know this to be absolutely true: Group thinking and decision making results in group grope.”

Given the fact that the petroleum industry has long been deregulated in terms of pricing, we have had sufficient experience with fluctuating prices due to supply and demand. Consequently we have also faced the possibility of potential fare hikes time and again. Apparently no one at the LTFRB, NEDA or the Executive Department has ever thought of developing a “Formula,” scale or chart and a scientific system that easily calculates for fares relative to fuel price increase or decrease.

Put a stop to the “wait and see” mentality of government. The LTFRB should equally protect the interests of transport operators as well as the riding public and not wait for someone to ask them to study/approve fare hikes. If they simply institutionalized the predictive formula for fares, based on fuel prices etc. they can do away with media frenzies, panic or stress to the public. This is one of the few times you people can put to use the MATH you struggled with in high school and college. 

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Twenty-three years ago, my father Louie Beltran died of a massive heart attack. He was 58 years of age. Today, April 4 happens to be his birthday. He would have been 82. Because of his lifestyle, lack of exercise and cardiac complications many people did not expect him to live a very long life. In fact in his latter years, some of his friends labeled him a ticking time bomb. Many people make similar presumptions when it comes to comparative life expectancy between Men versus Women.

We historically assume that it is part of the natural order that men die first, that the head of the house is often the oldest and therefore statistically doomed to croak first. In my house, the same assumptions are made due to the many medical conditions and trauma I have subjected my body over the years. For that reason, my wife is regularly on my case about physical exams, weight loss, doctor visits etc. But one day, it occurred to me that my wife, or women in general, don’t apply the same regimen or discipline upon themselves. They don’t feel anything so why worry – right? Wrong!

After gaining this revelation, I quickly pointed out to my wife Karen that a noticeable number of our friends, particularly our Pastors have lost their wives at an early age. When you’re in your 30s or 40s, the prime of life, you never imagine getting seriously sick or coming down with a deadly but preventable or manageable disease. You’re simply impervious to the thought and that is what kills you, failure to see the enemy. Prevention is better than cure and prevention is often about preventing a disease from killing you.

As a result, we both headed out to Healthway and had a series of tests particularly a thorough blood works to cover all bases especially those that reveal problems for people in our 50 - 60 age group. Such things may not be cheap but getting a heads up can give you a better survival rate if something nasty shows up!

Well, guess what? When the results came via email Karen was slightly worried for me. Ironically my results were vastly improved and NORMAL, perhaps due to the fact that I have gone on a weight loss program, increased my vegetable intake, and strictly followed my maintenance medications. What raised both our eyebrows were Karen’s test results. Mind you, my wife gets sick with the cough or flu, maybe, once a year if at all. She is slim for her age and has always been healthy. But this time: boom! All her numbers were at the border! The thing is she would never have suspected that her numbers are up. This is what catches many people off guard. They don’t feel anything so they don’t test for anything. But this is also why doctors suggest that you go for an annual physical exam.

I’m certain that she was privately miffed by the results but more than that it tells us that it’s time to buy a good pair of walking shoes, swim wear, and to dust off the stationary bike as well as take the dogs out for a walk! The best part of it all is it gives us more together time as we work at being healthy. Please go for the test, you owe it to yourself but most especially to those who love you.

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