The Independent View: Jackie Salit's Personal Tribute to Ross Perot

Jacqueline Salit, President of IndependentVoting.org, Obituary penned by Jackie Salit in Memory of Ross Perot. It ran in the Washington Post and New York Times

It reads:

Ross Perot pioneered a short-lived national Reform Party that defied partisan norms. Left, center and right came together as independent American revolutionaries to shatter a complacent bureaucracy. The mission was a movement that honored all races, creeds and colors and despised all forms of elitist corruption. We were mocked and maligned by the Establishment, including the NY Times. Though this early experiment in a new politic failed, the need for a radically independent reform force remains more urgent than ever. Rest in Peace, Ross Perot. And thank you.

During Perot's 1996 Campaign, Salit, then Editor of the Patriot News and a Founder of the Reform Party, appeared on CNBC with Weekly Standard Editor John Podhoretz to discuss Third Parties and the Perot Candidacy. Salit commented:

"The statement that he's (Perot) making and the resources he's putting on the table is enabling millions of Americans across the country who want to create an alternative to the Democrats and Republicans to do so...the American people aren't concerned about protecting the parties. They're concerned about finding solutions to the very serious problems that face us and our families."

My time with Perot was in the 1970's. I left the Air Force in 1971. Being in the Information Technology field since 1964, I was asked to go on Three Electronic Data Systems (EDS) Pre-Sale Meetings with him and his Salesman, to observe their Presentations.

I learned that to be successful, you first had to understand how a Company's Operation works, create Improvements to this Flow, before you could Design an Automated System.

From this, I now provide Gap Analysis to Companies to help improve their Business Operations. In 1997, as the CIO and Acting COO of a Company in Seattle, I used a System called Rapid Service Improvement (RSI) to take One week Projects to Improve different Companies Departments Operations and Information Technology.

The idea was to take Selected Workers of a Department and Systems/Developers, to improve the Flow of a Department's Process.

How it Worked:

1. The Workers would take Work Flow and Document an Improved Flow.

2. Get Department Executives Sign-off.

3. Develop the Solution.

4. At the End of the Week, present it to Management and the Department's Full Staff.

5. If Accepted, I would then Develop a Work Plan and Develop the Budget and Timelines.