December 20, 2021
Good morning! Spoiler alert = Northern Hemisphere-centric: Why do you suppose we feel warmth, coziness, snuggly, joyful — exuberance even — as it gets darker and darker, yet when light starts to return tomorrow and especially when it gets to mid-January we transition to deep despair rather than hope based on evidence? Even more so in February? Ice alert, ice alert… it’s as if the weather suddenly remembered it forgot to lay down a layer of treacherous ice in November to haunt us through March — and so let’s do it in December, there’s still time. Let’s have the temperature go to sixty degrees (F), rain lots, even thunder, lightning, and tornado — and then real fast plunge to ten degrees (F). That should make hiking next to impossible… let’s do it.
- Many of the great ones are exiting stage left, some with a flourish, others more gently and quietly.
- Jane (Schmid) Ruether was a mentor, a scholar, an outstanding teacher of cumulatively 3,000+ kids, a dedicated daughter, devoted wife, Mother of six children.
- A chemist-turned-tenacious teacher of mathematics, civics, and history, she commanded respect, earned it, and got it.
- She was 89 and died last week; many will miss her, few more than I.
- There are precious few in-depth stories on the subject of cheese — good cheese.
- To the rescue: The December 2021 edition of The Smithsonian tackles the history, culture, artisanship, geography, terroir, and passion for Roquefort.
- This is not a simplistic, patronizing two page spread, but rather a missive spanning fourteen (14) pages of the magazine, with awesome photographs.
- Fromage at its finest!
- Now, where do we get some, the real deal Roquefort, that is?
- Lists can be interesting, useful, annoying, sometimes accurate, often not.
- According to the Drucker Institute, these are the 2021 All Star Companies when factoring in traditional data as well as sustainability goals as set by the United Nations:
- Intel Corporation
- Nvidia Corporation
- Cisco Systems, Inc.
- Procter and Gamble
- HP, Inc.
- A ranking by The Drucker Institute of The Management Top 250 lists Microsoft Corporation as the runaway leader using 34 data inputs provided by 14 third-party sources.
- Sounds pretty impressive, doesn’t it, in terms of maybe having some validity?
- Hmmm; I don’t know, but I don’t have anything better.
- Since there are 250 companies and Microsoft scores 105 (out of IDK what’s a perfect score?), I wondered who would be 52.5, half as good?!
- And, no company scores that low, so…
- Which company is exactly in the middle; half good and not half bad?
- Turns out there are lots of ties, so choose from among these tied at #123 – #127:
- Cardinal Health, Cigna, Eaton, Kellogg, and Waste Management (all scored exactly 60).
- Best place(s) to work (again, according to third party sources)? Nvidia, Salesforce, Adobe, and Microsoft… with 246 others rank-ordered after those four.
- Of course, no small businesses or privately held companies are on this list, so use caution and your own brain.
- The United States are all about private businesses, and small ones at that, but we’re rarely in the news — probably don’t want to be.
- For example, nowhere on the list can you find Without A Vision Consultancy LLC!!
- You can read all about these data at The Drucker Institute or at WSJ.com/managementtop250
- Until a few days ago I had not heard the term, Green Collar. Had you?
- Fatigue caused by the COVIDs plague is real — very real.
- Don’t let it get the best of you.
- What are you doing to stay healthy? Or, at least as healthy as is reasonably possible?
- “We’d love to be done with it, but it’s not done with us.” (Malcolm)
- What does it mean to hold space? “It means we are willing to walk alongside another person in whatever journey they’re on without judging them, making them feel inadequate, trying to fix them, or trying to impact the outcome. When we hold space for other people we open our hearts, offer unconditional support, and let go of judgment and control.” (Attribution Unknown)
- Looking for a really high quality movie?
- Look no further than Sandra Bullock’s The Unforgivable. Wow!
- Superb cast, haunting story, Cloudy/ rainy/ dark/ cold/ salmony Seattle as the setting, fabulous acting (prediction: Bullock will win Best Actor).
Recruiting for a Job
- The following is a Paid Advertisement:
- The right person for this job is probably not reading these musings, but YOU probably know someone who knows someone who knows this person.
- Please help us to find this perfect person.
- A client needs a part-time worker who is physically able to lift 50 pounds, wield a sledge hammer, trustworthy, detail-oriented, highly self-motivated, can read a map, cares about accuracy, and takes pride in her/ his/ their work.
- The successful candidate will welcome a somewhat irregular schedule and will enjoy being outdoors in all seasons, from the summer heat to the cold Minnesota winters.
- Signage coordination and placement is the bulk of the work.
- A clean driving record is important as the work involves driving to various locations within a 50 miles radius of St. Cloud, MN on a regular basis.
- Vehicle provided by employer.
- Please contact me for additional information.
- This notice is provided courtesy of Without A Vision Consultancy LLC.
