It’s the cows!

October 10, 2022

Good morning! Happy Feast of Thanksgiving to our Canadian readers… and why not for the rest of us, too? When a cardinal perches in your yard it’s a deceased friend or loved one come to visit. We had this experience yesterday morning; a faithful reader, horse rancher, and friend taught me this.

• How best to avoid the whiplash, nausea, and disorientation of the financial markets?  Look to the horizon.
• It’s important we have data like these:  Retail space per human in the United States has plateaued since the Great Recession in 2008.
  • Prior to that it had increased steadily since 1980 from about 13 GSF per human tl\o nearly 23 GSF.  (MSCI Real Assets, 2022)
  • Purchases of consumer goods not made by humans in retail spaces, or so-called e-commerce, peaked at about 17% of total sales in 2020 and has fallen back to about 14%.  (Ibid.)
  • Meaning?  People are back in the retail centers following the plague — and/or, purchasing less stuff.
• Who needs so-called energy drinks?
  • Apparently, we all do.
  • Sales are up 56% from three years ago.  (NielsenIQ)
  • We have a major manufacturer and distributor of those beverages right here in Central Minnesota.
  • When taking a tour of that local business maybe 15 years ago I recall being told about, but being skeptical about, this coming tsunami; I wonder if even they knew the size of it?!
• They should award a Nobel Prize for relationships.
  • The Peace Prize might come close to being a prize for relationships — impossible relationships.
  • Most relationships are impossible — and the rest are more difficult.  (with apologies to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers!)
  • Four United States Presidents were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, though one while not in office.
  • It’s interesting, the prize has traditionally been given for effort and almost never for lasting results.
    • Do you know why the Norwegians choose this one — and the Swedes all the others?
  • Mikhail Gorbachev got it in 1990… and now look where the Russians are?!
  • For more than a dozen and a half (18) years over the last century the prize wasn’t awarded at all for lack of worthy candidates… just think of that.
  • And, almost 25% of the time the prize was given to an organization and not an individual… sort of waters it down.
  • Anyway, congratulations to Ales Bialiatski of Belarus, this year’s winner.  (He has to share with two organizations, but is the lone specific human.)
• Never be without a length of rope (line).
  • This admonition has stuck with me throughout life.
  • Recently on one of the hikes I stooped to rescue what turned out to be a perfect length (~36″) of 3/16″ nylon rope.
  • I coaxed the sand and grit out of it, limbered it up, and started to tie a few knots and perform the only four rope tricks I know — good ones, though, fun ones.
  • The ends were frayed and so when I was able to find a flame I melted them into smooth little nobules to prevent further deterioration of the rope.
  • There was a day when everyone needed to tie the right knot at the right time for the right reason and in the right way.
  • There is a certain comfort and nostalgia that comes with having rescued that length of rope — and I will keep it with me just in case it’s needed.
  • (Always keep your rope dry, clean, coiled, and properly stored with its ends secured.)
• Here is a discomforting statistic, supposedly true:  The best fast food restaurants achieve 95% accuracy with customer orders.
  • There are fast food restaurants, according to this research, that achieve less than 79% accuracy. (eatthis.com)
  • Do the math:  There is a one in twenty, to a more than one in five chance (~21%+), you will not receive what you ordered.
• Something most of us should know more about:  AI (Artificial Intelligence).
  • “No matter what you thought you knew about AI in the workplace, this book will change your mind.”  (MIT Sloan)
  • The book:  Working With AI, Davenport, Miller, 2022.
• The biggest chunk of the water problem in the drought-stricken southwest?
  • According to VOX:  Cows… I feel betrayed.
  • Makes sense.  When/ If you have five (5) minutes, give this a watch and a listen:  Hay — Cows Eat It, Why Don’t We?!
• Want the vicarious experience of being in the middle of a hurricane?  Ian

Review and Preview down below… a collection of “the best” from past editions… only if you have time:

• • Go figure:  The #1 contributor to a toxic work environment?  Leadership — or lack thereof.  (MIT Sloan, 2022)  Organizational culture is in a very close 2nd place, but guess who has the most influence over culture?!
  • “It’s a terrible thing to look over your shoulder when you are trying to lead and find no one there.” (Roosevelt)
  • “This is to everyone who has been consistent.  You are already ahead of 90% of people.  Keep showing up; consistency compounds.”  (Madan)
  • “Those leaders who are authentic in the face of adversity stand out above the rest.”  (Eades)
  • “Take great care to not wake up in your own museum.”  (Birkenstock)
  • “The task of the leader is to get his (her) people from where they are to where they have not been.”  (Kissinger, 2022)
  • “You think he’s angry now, wait ’til we win him over.”  (Ted — Lasso)
  • “Who am I to judge?”  (Jorge Bergoglio)
  • Ever wish you had a better idea of where you were going — or when, or why, or how?
  • On the topic of vision… since that’s what this Newsletter is all about:
    • “You can’t outsource vision or passion — or for that matter, leadership.” (Andrew)
    • “Without a vision the people perish.” (Habiger, Etc., et al.)
    • “At every crossroads on the path that leads to the future, tradition has placed 10,000 (people) to guard the past.”  (Nobel Laureate, Maeterlinck)
    • “What if our best data are flawed?”  (Dilbert/ Adams)
    • “You can never plan the future by the past.”  (A. Lincoln)
    • Vision is a destination — a fixed point to which we focus all effort; strategy is a route, an adaptable path to get us to where we want to go.”  (Sinek)
    • “Vision is the capacity to see that which does not yet exist.”  (Eades)
  • Probably the best mission statement ever written, way back in 1787:
    • We the People of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America.
  • Clients often ask, “What is the difference between a mission and a vision?  And why do you need one of each?  (Yes, you do.)
    • A mission answers the question, Why do you exist?
      • Your answer should contain both logical and emotional appeal, very briefly stated.
    • A vision is an expression of awe, wonder, inspiration, focuis, possibilities, imagination, intentions, audacious goals… the best-possible outcomes relative to your mission; it draws others in like a black hole vortex or a powerful magnet while inviting them on your journey.  It should result in vertical head nods and goosebumps — or tears of joy.
      • “Vision is the reason we get out of bed each day to come to work.”  (Samantha)
      • A vision answers the question, “How are you going to become bigger, better, stronger, healthier, and happier?”
      • The perfect shared vision should both excite you lots and scare you a little bit.
    • A shared vision is the ultimate motivational and inspirational statement because your carefully chosen words perfectly articulate your message while inviting others to grab hold while making YOUR vision also their own.
    • We do what we can.
    • Very little is forever.
    • Sign on a wall:  May our work, the work of this office — Without A Vision Consultancy LLC — always be focused on results directed toward the achievement of this vision.