April 3, 2023
Good morning! If a mythical raptor from the Northern Plains of the U.S. were to engage a fluffy pink bayou tiger, who would win? We battled a bomb cyclone blizzard last Friday to enjoy an old-fashioned rural church basement fish fry with good friends; it had been several years. Fascinating how many of the religions of the world synchronize their calendars this time of year. Are you old enough to remember when gold was $35 an ounce… and it was a fixed amount; you learned the value at school and it never changed? Apparently that’s not true… and I’m both dissuaded and discouraged — and a bit embarrassed. Maybe these data have been adjusted for inflation? Anyway, the all-time low the last several decades was 53 years ago (~$260) and the all-time high was $2,622 in January 1980; now it’s hovering around $2,000. The best-ever year to have invested in gold was 1979 when you would have achieved a 133% return if your timing was right.
- Let’s start using the correct vocabulary: It’s mass murder… cold, brutal, heartless slaughter; executions, massacres.
- Enough of the euphemisms; e.g., shooting… we shoot a basketball… and enough of tallying these tragedies as if precious human life can be measured.
- For the 99.99% of us who aren’t engaged in these barbarous behaviours, isn’t it time for us to do something to get things moving in a better direction?
- With all the finger pointing regarding the macro economy, don’t these pundits realize this is like trying to thread a needle while riding a galloping camel?!
- Major League Baseball has had more changes this spring than it has had since Honus Wagner last played shortstop for Pittsburgh.
- David Brooks scooped us a few days ago, but in fairness we had planned to opine on this before Brooks published his piece, and so we still will.
- The data are in from the University of Chicago — those from 1998 and now from 2023.
- The percentage of adults who say religion is “very important” to them has shifted from 62% to 39%.
- The percentage of adults who say having children is “very important” to them has shifted from 59% to 30%.
- The percentage of adults who say community involvement is “very important” to them has shifted from 47% to 27%…
- … with an unexplained anomaly (increase) from 47% to 62% when data were gathered in 2019. (All of the other categories are straight-line slopes.)
- And, the percentage of adults who say patriotism is “very important” to them has shifted from 70% to 38%.
- (This is the one Brooks mostly opined about… it is perhaps also more difficult to define than the others in terms of what exactly patriotism means.)
- Trending in the other direction? Money and it being “very important” has shifted from 31% to 42%. (All of these data: NORC/ WSJ, 1998, 2019, 2023)
- “Many people shy away from taking creative risks due to fear — of criticism, uncertainty, and career outcomes — which can hinder innovation.
- So, what can organizations do to reward creativity and to promote innovation?
- One way is to create an environment featuring psychological safety where there is humility, respect, honesty, and transparency;
- where failure is destigmatized, and where employees feel free to ask questions, to learn, and to experiment.” (Segel, Etc., et al., 2023)
- Data are no longer just something we use as a part of our daily work; they are how we make decisions, they’re how we create value.” (Christensen, 2023)
- Keep an eye out for Altasia.
- Among others, The Philippines is posting a 6% – 7% real growth in GDP the last couple years.
- How to be better at getting ignored and/or devalued:
- Lengthen your sentences; use more words
- Be a thought recycler, not a thought leader
- Post and Ghost! (Among our all-time favourites!)
- Always ask (or think), “What’s in it for me?!”
- Wait until your plan or your message is perfect to take action
- In the middle of conversations always be planning what you want to say next
- Use as much industry jargon as possible, especially abbreviations and acronyms (Peterson/ O’Grady)
