August 16, 2021
Good morning! The dog days of summer have nothing to do with the dog lying around lazily in the shady backyard because it’s too hot to do anything else. Plus, this summer in this part of the world has been too HOT — and dry — since spring.
The aphorism goes back to ancient Greek times when the dog star (Sirius, the brightest star in the late summer sky) shone brightly overhead.But, as with almost all things, we evolve and the old becomes new again. Speaking of which, there is more to Ecclesiastes than Turn, Turn, Turn… there is a season… (Seeger, as inspired by Solomon)
“There is Nothing New Under The Sun” What did Solomon mean by that? Was he depressed? Bored? Philosophical? Theological? Merely wise?
“A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever. The run rises, and the sun goes down, and hastens to the place where it rises.All streams run to the sea, but the sea is not full; to the place where the streams flow, there they flow again.” What would Solomon — or Pete Seeger for that matter — make of today’s world?
Make the most of the roast
- Growing up on the farm we never wanted for food.
- Truth is, I could have done with a bit less butter, cream, and fatty beef (so delicious!), though I did temper those with plenty of garden vegetables and homemade bread.
- Only with hindsight have I been able to glimpse the sacrifice it must have been for my parents to slaughter a steer or a hog; chickens were ubiquitous and the usual go-to.
- When we did slaughter we feasted on heart, tongue, and liver for a few days — fresh. Tongue was my favourite from among those three.
- Most of the animal was processed into what was called ground beef or ground pork — probably because it would stretch to feed more hungry mouths, nine of us total.
- When we had a beef pot roast, sometimes to enhance the Sunday meal — or at thrashing time to feed the ravenous workers — it was a big deal.
- We used ALL of the roast — first for pot roast, then for a stew, then for brothy beef barley soup, then for leftovers, then for a thin gravy over potatoes — and then finally a bone and gristle for the dog.
- This recollection of my childhood reminds me of how important it is to make the most of each chance that comes your way.
- You might not have the top job or the starring role, but if you get a chance to do something, anything at all, make the most of it.
- Do your best. You never know what might come of having done your best.
- As our theatre friends are fond of saying, there are no small roles, only small actors.
- Make the most of the roast.
- I am not throwin’ away my shot! (Miranda)
- What are you reading?
- Recommend: First Friends (Ginsberg, 2021)
- Humans need humans and Presidents of the United States are no different — no different… read all about it.
M.I.T. Sloan School
There is nothing new under the sun (Solomon — and then Drucker, 1954)
Read the whole story: Sloan School
Great strategy considers more than customers and investors
Financial capital is no longer the scarcest asset. Increasingly, companies compete and succeed on the basis of customer attention, employee talent, and intellectual property.
Value creation with employees
Build business models around the insight that delivering a memorable customer experience depdns on caring for the people directly responsible for that experience.
Ritz Carlton: We are ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.
Value creation with upstream partners
Supply chain management has evolved in complexity becoming a key element of strategy… look no further than the automobile industry right now.
Value creation with downstream partners
Increasing value means delivering solutions and not just products or services
Value creation with communities
Expectations about corporate social responsibility and the role of business in society have shifted.
Triple bottom line: Profit — People — Planet
A broader perspective on value
By finding ways to increase the value delivered to employees, business partners, and local communities, companies have created new markets, developed new relationships, and enhanced their standing with customers. (Drucker, 1954 — and Hunsaker, Knowles, Baris, Ettenson, 2021)
Well, well, well, if it isn’t the consequences of my own actions! (Molitor)
