November 20, 2023
Good morning! Happy Birthday, Joe! This past Saturday might have featured the best-ever day of weather in Central Minnesota; it was spectacular! Full disclosure: Fifty or more years ago we scouted our next opponent — as they did us — in order to gain every advantage possible. Don’t know about you, but among the more wonderful feelings in the world is slipping on a pair of old jeans and a favourite college sweatshirt as the sun rises on a perfectly gorgeous Saturday morning in November — and then rewarding yourself with that feeling all day long.
- No idea how they get these data, but later this week more than 60,000,000 U.S. citizens will travel to/from somewhere for the Feast of Giving Thanks.
- And actually when you think about it, that’s not very many considering it’s only about 16% of the population leaving their domiciles.
- About half of those will travel by airplane and most of the other half by automobile.
- Very few will travel by horse — and a few will probably hike or ride a bike or travel by train.
- If you’re feeding ten or fewer people you should pay no more than $62 according to the United States Farm Bureau.
- And, speaking of travel, the roads are still filled with cars and people most days; the daily commute is alive and well for most.
- The Atlanta commute has decreased the most since pre-plague (9.8%) among big cities while Denver and Chicago have decreased about 7.5%. (Replica)
- Why in our culture is a tie (draw) such a disagreeable thing?
- If you haven’t read it, Google-up Jurgensen’s fascinating interview with Martin Scorsese.
- Counterintuitive? China leads the world in clean energy investment, double that of the United States and eclipsing the rest of the world except for Europe. (Int’l. Energy Agency, 2023)
- If you are still betting against a soft landing in favour of something more harsh and dramatic, have you given thought to folding your tent?
- On the other hand, most forecasters are betting against a robust retail bonanza these next thirty days.
- Adjusted for inflation, the 2023 retail results promise to be the worst of the last fifteen years. (Kapner/ Bain, 2023)
- Reasons: Warren’s trains are light on the rails — stockrooms are full — consumers out of cash — December job openings low — Bargain hunters rule the day.
- Minnesota’s darling child, Target, continues to struggle a bit… what does Bullseye have up his sleeve? (Or, in his dish?!)
- Counterintuitive? None of the top five spots to downhill ski in North America is in Colorado.
- At the same time, three of the next five spots (#6 – #10) are in Colorado. (Smith, Corrigan, 2023 )
- These data are subjective, of course, but apparently squeezed into some sort of objective rubric.
- British Columbia scores highest when it comes to skiing — with California, Wyoming, Utah, and Oregon close behind.
- (P.S. I’ve only skied once in my life, about 55 years ago — and it wasn’t at any of these locations.)
- Dare we go here? The tradition of tipping (To Insure Promptness) has exploded into chaos recently.
- Gratuity, if you prefer, in other words, gratitude for prompt service.
- Among the reasons the practice is confusing, awkward, and chaotic is the prevalence of the touch screen for credit card transactions.
- Many of those screen prompts are point-of-sale and offer little opportunity to reflect or react — and so, should I give a 30% tip? (Sure? Wait…)
- Will we next be asked to tip the pump when we pump our own gas? (Maybe we already are?!)
- Someone fix this, please.
- We love all of the new movies being promised and the other entertainment options available between now and the end of 2023…
- But, why cram all of these wonderful events and activities into such a short span of time?
- Why not spread them out over twelve months instead of making it impossible to enjoy even half of them?
- Someone must have studied this?
- And now, we have another blockbuster to which to look forward: Brad Cooper’s Maestro — coming soon.
- Will it be as big as Amadeus? Or, is Mozart in a category all his own?
- And Napoleon, don’t forget Napolen… still haven’t seen Oppenheimer OR Barbie, dangit.
- What to get the biggest bang for your marketing dollar? One word: Personalization.
- One more word: Data. One more word: Measure.
- And, always remember, it’s much less costly to KEEP a customer than it is to find a new one.
- Effective marketing is an investment, not an expense… be smart and know this, practice this.
- Three thoughts on leadership:
- Repetition is the mother of skill. Repetition is the mother of learning.
- The vast majority of people don’t put in enough repetitions to develop skills that can be repeated under the most intense pressure.
- Sustained professional success requires a relentless commitment to developing your skills.
- Collecting the skills you need takes intentionality, deliberate practice.
- It takes great skill to do the right thing at the exact right time.
- Skill is doing the right thing at the right time with the right amount of effort.
- This kind of skill doesn’t happen by accident, it happens because you have built your skills in this way… focus on the fundamentals. (Informed by Eades, 2023)
- Flashback: Are you ready to drive a bus filled with students when one of its wheels falls off?
- How do you know?
- Repetition is the mother of skill. Repetition is the mother of learning.
- “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for a newer and richer experience.” (E. Roosevelt)
