What Moneyball Taught Me about Not Jumping to Conclusions

I find it interesting that we simultaneously lament the increasingly polarized nature of public discourse and then contribute to that polarization when we participate in that discourse.  Not that there isn't space for expressing outrage, piling on someone or something that deserves scorn, and publicly giving up on the other side ever “getting it.”  But sometimes those responses amplify the differences we claim to want to bridge.

If our goal is to vent, look good to people we are trying to impress, or take a swing at a popular punching bag, then by all means carry on.  But if our goal is to keep an open mind, establish a real connection with others different from us, or actually make real change, then maybe we ought to listen twice as much as we talk, and put in the work to get in someone else’s shoes before we jump down their throat. 

A characteristic of INTJs (which I am one) is that we approach life as something of a thought experiment.  We interface with issues by expressing multiple positions and unpacking each one, however repugnant or bizarre they may seem at first.  In fact, sometimes it is helpful to play out a crazy or contemptible position, because it helps you get to a better place of understanding.  This is a helpful trait for keeping an open mind when consuming contemporary issues.

I am also aided in my long-time support of my childhood baseball team, the Oakland A’s.  Most teams have long since caught up, but there was a time when the A’s enjoyed a real competitive advantage because they were willing to draft players and execute strategies based on what worked according to the stats rather than what looked good to the baseball purists.  To cite but one example from Michael Lewis’ bestselling book, “Moneyball,” the A’s never gave in to the seduction of physical specimens who look good in a uniform, and were completely comfortable stocking their teams with players who were overweight, funny-throwing, or just plain ugly, but who could contribute to winning teams.

Now, there’s a big difference between a leisure pastime and life-or-death issues like gun control, Supreme Court rulings, and presidential elections.  But the spirit should be the same.  When confronted with a statement or news event that on its face seems abhorrent to your dearest beliefs, it is possible that it is in fact abhorrent.  But it is also possible that it is in fact far more nuanced and complex than “I am good and this is evil.” 

Maybe it’s easier, or we look better, when we rush to judgment and are quick to condemn.  But, even and especially on the day’s biggest issues, reality may be quite muddier than that.  And INTJs and A’s fans aren’t the only ones who can acknowledge that.

Philadelphia Water

Earlier this month, the Philadelphia Water, Sewer, and Stormwater Rate Board (of which I am a member) completed its proceedings for finalizing rates for fiscal years 2017 and 2018.  It was a lot of work for everyone involved, and I am thankful for everyone who put in time to play their part.  Everything is on the record, including technical reports, testimonies, and Rate Board member votes, and you can find it all here.

Not Like Us

Humans are social creatures but they are also leery of those who are different from them.  This discomfort with "the others" appears to be universal, transcending geography, political affiliation, and socio-economic status. 

Wait, universal?  Can't be, right?  And yet, if you deem yourself informed, cosmopolitan, and open-minded, consider the uneasiness you are feeling about being lumped together with those who are less informed, cosmopolitan, or open-minded.  Consider also how often you have thought or declared that you are moving from where you are to another place that doesn't contain so many of "those people" whose ignorance and intolerance you are willing to uproot yourself to be away from.  Sounds a little like you're being ignorant and intolerant of their point of view.

Pretty early on in the gospel according to Mark, there's a story about Jesus' encounter with a leper.  There is a reason lepers are synonymous with being shunned: socially, religiously, and physically, they were to be separated from the rest of us lest they make us unclean.  For Jesus to interact with this leper, treating him with dignity and even reaching out to physically touch him, is a profound salve for this man and a profound statement about what God in human flesh is about. 

Whoever our lepers are, it is an innate impulse for us to want to be separated from them.  For some of us, it is Muslims, while for others of us it is people who think of Muslims in this way.  To make another Bible reference, none of us are able to cast the first stone.  All of us are guilty.  Let's stop pretending that we're somehow above this, confess that we deeply transgress in this area every day, and work hard to build the same connections Jesus did.

Job Opportunity in Wilmington

I spend a lot of work time in Wilmington, and wanted to make you aware of a job opening on something I am working on.  We're helping setting up the first land bank in the state of Delaware, and an important early step is to hire an executive director.  You can see the position description here.  I am bullish on the city and look forward to seeing how things progress in the months and years to come.

We're Moving On Up

Later this week my firm is moving up a floor.  This is about as short a move as you can get, and yet it has been a major production.  Looking forward to entertaining guests once we're settled.

Lazy Linking, 175th in an Occasional Series

Stuff I liked lately on the Internets:

175.1 The economics of restaurants in the age of online dating wapo.st/1UwYvSC @washingtonpost

175.2 Are gender-neutral honorifics the gateway to a more inclusive vocabulary? bit.ly/1WSkBp6 @kottke

175.3 Smithsonian's Natl Museum of Afr Am History/Culture beat its fundraising goal bit.ly/1UTkJl0 @wbjonline

175.4 Silicon Valley's plans to colonize Mars = thought experiment for non-Earth governance structures bit.ly/1XuURPG @qz

175.5 Millennials say they want to live in NYC/SF but based on what matters to them Philly trumps both onforb.es/1W4zovV @forbes

Me, 25 Years Ago

Twenty-five years ago this month I graduated from high school.  It seems so long ago and it was: college, 2 jobs I've worked 10+ years each, wife, 3 kids, ups, downs, and all arounds.

It is trendy to think about what would I tell the 18-year-old version of myself if I could go back in time.  But I have no regrets about my high school days.  I had good friends, I went to a good school, I hit the books hard, but I also had a good time.  I stayed out of the kind of trouble I wanted to stay out of, and may or may not have gotten into the kind of trouble I did want to get into but no one has any evidence.  In short, I'm not sure I would've changed anything about my high school experience, with the lone albeit glaring exception that I wouldn't have sweated as much about whether or not I looked dorky in glasses.  (Obvi I did, and I should've just realized that I did but that that didn't really matter.)

And that, in a nutshell, is what makes me thankful for the life I've lived.  I realize that others didn't have nearly as good of a high school experience, and that that bad taste has lingered for a long time.  As for me, my high school teachers set me up to go to a good school and gave me both content and an ability to and love for content absorption.  And, I am still in touch with many of my closest friends and consider them among my closest friends to this day.  Indeed, others I wasn't as close with in high school I have drawn closer to since then, thanks to the wonders of Facebook and the bonding experience of being a parent or running a business or just going through the vagaries of life.

In sum, I am feeling full and happy with this chance to reflect on 25 years.  I regret not being able to see my classmates more often and more easily.  But I don't wish to go back in time to change anything. 

My Healing Heart

We're at exactly the halfway point of what is expected to be a 90-day healing period for my heart, after I had my catheter ablation procedure in late April.  So far, so good.


My pulse is faster than normal but apparently that's normal and actually an indicator that my probability that I'm past my irregular heartbeat is high.  I am feeling some tightness in my chest but that is likely due to normal inflammation and ibuprofen appears to be keeping that in check.

I've been slowly getting back into my exercise routine.  I'm way far away from pre-surgery levels, and there have been some days I've gone backwards instead of forwards, but nonetheless it's good to test my heart a little more each week and have it be OK after.  After all, you only get one heart, so it's good that this one is holding up so far.  Thanks to all for their prayers and encouragements.

Do It in Private

In our social media and reality TV obsessed world, here's a good litmus test for your spirituality, which is when you do something good, whether and how you tell the world about it.  There is obviously a place for trumpeting your deeds, to encourage and exhort others to do the same.  But there's also a way in which having to announce how great you are is bad for your soul.  Jesus suggests as much, as recorded in Matthew 6:

“Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.  So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.  But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.  

"When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.  And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.

Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.  And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

“Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you."

Pride is an insidious soul-killer.  It is celebrated in our culture and it is hard to shed in even the most mature believer.  Touting your good deeds is often borne of a need to feed your ego.  (By the way, you can also take pride in your ability to do something good and not have to tell the world; that's how insidious pride is.)  If you're a social media over-sharer like me, it's good every once in a while to do something good and keep that to yourself.  It'll be good for you.

What Am I Working On

As has become my custom every three months, here's what I'm working on now at work. I won't repeat anything from last time that I happen to still be working on, and for confidentiality's sake I have to blur some of the details for some of these studies.

Feasibility study for a shared-use food manufacturing facility.

Enrollment trend analysis for a private K-12 school.

Comparing a burgeoning commercial real estate sub-market with its peers around the country.

Making the case for eds and meds in a small city.

Recommended Reads, 24th in a Quarterly Series

Ah, the comfort of a good book to read in silence...

Raisin in the Sun (Hansberry).  So Chicago.

A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Carson).  Fascinating to digest both the words and the context behind them.

Things Fall Apart (Achebe).  Such a Nigerian classic.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking (Cain).  Loved the research on how introverts and extroverts are wired.

The Evolution of God (Wright).  Cultural and political influences on how different people perceive the divine over time.

Five Billion Years of Solitude: The Search for Life Among the Stars (Billings).  If there's life elsewhere in the universe, is it even possible to connect with it?

Fail Forward

I was inspired by my friend Steve Tang's commencement speech to the Class of 2016 at Philadelphia University.  I appreciated his message about the importance of failure and especially his willingness to speak personally and specifically about his own failures in his professional career.

It reminded me that a driving force in the success of another role model of mine, Della Clark at The Enterprise Center, was her own struggle as an entrepreneur.  These hardships strengthened her resolve and character, and gave her insight and motivation to be an advocate for countless entrepreneurs in West Philadelphia and throughout Pennsylvania.

Both of these great people are fundamentally important influences in my life and incredibly big contributors to our modern Philadelphia.  We all would do well to heed their example.  Don't be afraid to fail, put yourself in situations where you might fail, and linger over your failures so as to pick out the lessons embedded in them.  These are hard things to do, but they will make all the difference.

The G Word, the R Word

A big city industrial waterfront is repurposed into billions in mixed-use development and it's smeared as "gentrification."  A strategically important corner in my neighborhood is now home to a thriving restaurant and it's smeared as "gentrification."  Around these parts, "the G word" is just about as dirty a name as you can call something.

It is obviously a topic of great interest and importance.  And, there is lots of room to argue what it is, why it happens, whether it is good or bad, and whether and how local governments and community-serving organizations can influence whether and how it happens.

But let's be clear.  You cannot talk about gentrification without talking about race.  And you cannot talk about race without talking about the unfortunate, unconscionable, and enraging ways that people of color and particularly African-Americans have been treated in this country.

If there's anything I have learned from living in Philadelphia for 25 years, it is that history matters.  No, many of us were not alive during Jim Crow and urban renewal and deseg.  But many in our gentrifying neighborhoods were, and even if they weren't their parents and grandparents were.  And so, rightly or wrongly, there is a sense that this movie's been played before, and it doesn't end well.

Again, there's lots of room for productive conversation about what is going on, what's really good for folks, and what can actually be done to facilitate and protect and balance.  But if you are going to enter into any conversation on this topic without acknowledging the role of race or respecting the historical black experience in America, then that is not a real conversation.