March 20, 2023
Good morning! That’s why they call it the Madnesses. My office is about six feet below ground level, but I have an egress window providing a sliver of natural light and a glimpse of the weather as I labour away. A cardinal visited me the other day and stayed for quite some time; I’m so very grateful. (Are bird names capitalized?) What percent of people do you suppose lick the foil wrapper from the yogurt as opposed to tossing it aside with precious yogurt still on it? You need just one word to understand the Silicon Valley Bank failure: Hubris
- It would appear Boeing is back in business.
- The Canadian Pacific Railroad (remember, The Soo Line is in that family tree) just merged with the Kansas City Southern Railroad.
- Still only in 7th place, the conveyance will deliver goods from Calgary to the Pacific and Atlantic, all the way to the Gulf of Mexico and Mexico City; all aboard!
- What organization has regulatory and oversight authority over this three-nations enterprise?
- Top leaders identify disruptive technology (58%),
- the (macro) economy (56%), and
- geopolitics (47%) as the most important trends to monitor in 2023.
- Counter-intuitively, for me at least, the search for talent (34%) has slipped to just one-third of CEOs choosing it as a top concern. (DeWar, Etc., et al., 2023)
- Late last week for the better part of a day we enjoyed one of those idyllic snowstorms where the neighborhood becomes a snow globe — and it just snows and snows and snows.
- The juncos, chickadees and finches frolicked excitedly and continuously among the flakes as they snacked on sunflower seeds and whatever else they could find.
- Norman, where were you?!
- Have you ever watched one of those large outdoor car stores dig out from a big snowstorm? Impressive.
- Does this need saying?
- “Act early to lower costs and protect the balance sheet so that you are stronger and leaner when the economy begins to turn more favorably.” (Unknown)
- Office spaces are (slowly!) metamorphosing to look and function more like hotel lobbies, coffee shops, and conference centers.
- The latest trend, or a permanent change? (Is any change permanent?)
- Effective communication always begins with W-W-W-W-W-H, but… it gets better and better as you learn to connect on both higher and deeper levels
- Basic journalism is a must: Who — What — When — Where — Why — and How. Start there.
- It’s easy to edit yourself by always auditing ALL of your communication for the five Ws and the H.
- Then, after the basics, add a little bit of color, spice, anticipation, inspiration, motivation, curiosity, hope, connection, gravitas, anecdotes.
- A picture (or a chart) is worth 1,000 words.
- YOUR excitement and/or optimism and/or point of view might be the receiver’s trepidation or dread, dig deep for empathy.
- Visit your audience in your imagination before you hit send… remember the person way in the back of the room.
- And, always remember, Tell the truth, tell it all, tell it now. (Holtz)
- The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has approximately 10,000 members.
- Most of those members are eligible to vote for Best Picture; subcategories of members vote for all the other awards.
- If there are ten (10) nominees for Best Picture, just think about it, as few as 101 humans on the planet are determining what is best.
- The Academy has done a masterful job of drawing us into its very exclusive club while getting us to believe in its power and omniscience.
- For the other awards, it’s a similar ratio.
- The best way to improve your supervision (and motivation/ inspiration/ education) skills?
- Meet more often for shorter bursts of time, and stay focused on the impact the person is having on the big picture.
- Many organizations shy away from interactive accountability — and it’s a big mistake.
- The Benedictines call it Mutual Obedience.
- Healthy, top-of-the-table, achievable, vision-centered, interactive accountability is like fuel in the tank… and the best organizations are always looking for ways to top off their tanks.
- It’s always been true: Among the biggest compliments you can pay anyone is to ask for advice — or, for help — or, for her opinion.
