Develop a Voice

March 28, 2022

Good morning! Snow is coming later in the week, so they say.  Better get some yard work done. So, if you’re from downtown New Jersey, is it better to have played and lost or to have never played at all? Wait for it, you knew it was coming:  6GThe Ken Burns biography of Benjamin Franklin — yes, that guy — is coming to PBS on April 4th.

• Physics experiment:  What effect does wind have upon an automobile’s efficiency?
  • Rarely are the conditions perfectly suited for a basic physics experiment in miles-per-gallon automobile efficiency.
  • The road to Minneapolis runs on flat ground in an almost perfect northwest to southeast direction for about 70 miles.
  • The wind was coming consistently from the northwest throughout the morning; velocity unknown, but maybe ~30 MPH.
  • Miles-per-gallon driving to meet a client Friday morning while driving with the wind:  42.7 MPG.
  • Three hours later, the client meeting concluded, miles-per-gallon driving back against the wind:  32.9 MPG.
  • Most controllable variables were constant, including identical net speed, exact route, same amount of city driving vs. highway, no slow or stopped traffic either direction, Etc.
  • Efficiency variable = 9.8 MPG less efficient with an ~30 MPH headwind.
  • 22.95% less efficient to drive into the wind.
    • Leadership metaphors anyone?

Develop a Voice

• There have been seventy-seven (77) different Secretaries of State since the United States became a country.
  • Some served for mere days, most for less time than the president who appointed them.
  • Cordell Hunt must have done a good job, though admittedly I had not heard of him until now.
  • Cordell stayed in Frank Roosevelt’s good graces for more than eleven (11) years; he was by far the longest serving of all Secretaries of State.
  • Got to thinking about this subject because of the recent deaths of Madeleine Albright and Colin Powell.
  • Harry Truman burned through five (5) of them during his seven-plus years; wonder why?
  • Not to be outdone, John Tyler (remember Tippecanoe and Tyler, too?) supervised six of them during a less-than-four-years presidency…
    • … including the Yankee Webster (not the dictionary guy) as his first and the secessionist Calhoun at the end — the two longest serving of Tyler’s six.
  • It’s a pretty important job, wouldn’t you think?  Official, #1 ambassador to the world.
  • The Secretary of State is 4th in line to become president should the first three be unable to serve
  • Six secretaries became presidents of the United States at some point post-Secretary of State.
  • Two became Justices of the United States Supreme Court… maybe more than that… I ran out of research steam just now.
• “It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.”  (Albright)
• “Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.”  (Powell)
• Pre-plague, two years ago, the occupancy of Midtown Manhattan offices was nearly 100%.
  • Today it is approximately 35%.
• Two local economist gurus, Banaian and MacDonald, quarterly provide this local area with valuable data most smaller urban areas don’t enjoy.
  • Thanks, guys!
    • It’s been suggested our part of the world doesn’t experience as much volatility as other areas; fewer roller coaster rides.
    • Like nearly everywhere else, this area’s #1 concern is finding and keeping workers — at all levels and in most sectors.
    • Keeping current with technology is the greatest capital investment concern.
    • For twelve or more years, the local Index of Leading Economic Indicators has trended positive but for a COVIDs decline in 2020.
    • The two researchers report optimism among business leaders is the strongest since 2000, twenty-two years ago.
    • “…our read of survey responses and data are that the local economy has exited the omicron wave of COVID-19 with slight improvements in labor availability and strong expectations for growth among area business leaders, with plans to add both capital and labor in 2022.”  (Banaian, MacDonald, 2022)
• Looking for a culprit in the supply chain struggles?
  • Look no further, according to McKinsey, than outdated software systems — some of it no longer supported — and a reluctance by many to upgrade.