February 12, 2024
Good morning!
It’s the Year of the Dragon.
Only once every several years will Abraham Lincoln’s birthday fall on a Monday — and this is one of those years.
Such a fascinating, intelligent, courageous, and complex man — first on my list of who I’d invite to that hypothetical dinner.
Question is, Mr. Lincoln at what age?
And then, one-on-one, or another guest or two?
- To dust or not to dust? — that is the question.
- Is this a custom going the way of the Greatest Generation?
- Whether to permit those pesky particles to pile-up in perpetuity, or to occasionally send them pirouetting into the atmosphere to settle once again on pristine surfaces?
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Who knew?!
There is a publicly-traded company focused on bowling — and it recently paid a five cents dividend. Bowlero if you want to get in on it.
- In the market for a $100,000,000+ home?
- Get in line.
- The demand is far-exceeding the supply and thus prices are sky rocketing.
- If you’re planning — or hoping — to win a medal in the 2024 Olympics, your gold, silver, or bronze trophy will contain a chunk of steel chiseled from the Eiffel Tower.
- With 5,000 medals all needing a chunk, let’s hope the chiseling engineer knew what s/he was doing.
- To get around by automobile in any major city is an exercise in patience, persistence, and frustration.
- New York City averages approximately 20 MPH, the slowest in the United States, compared to the fastest, Oklahoma City, which averages about 50 MPH.
- Minnesota’s metro area is smack-dab average at about 30 MPH. (TomTom Data/ Axios, 2024)
- (Note to self: Drive the Cross Bronx Expressway at 6 AM on a Sunday morning… Moses would be proud… not even a slow-down at 70 MPH across the GW)
- Plain and simple, we aren’t getting enough sleep.
- Minnesota and Maine are among the better sleepers, but most of the country (up to 70%+) is not getting nearly enough sleep. (Apple)
- Defined as at least seven hours each day. Why do you suppose this is?
- Is it better to select a CEO who is an outsider or an insider?
- Surprise, surprise, it depends.
- In a perfect world, perhaps a little bit of both? (Constable, 2024)
- “Hybrid CEOs perform better than insiders or outsiders because… they are knowledgeable about the company culture… and they have an outsider mindset, open to more new ideas…” (Du)
- Although virtual work has been beneficial, there are still struggles, such as communication among teams and maintaining a shared culture.
- According to a 2023 Chronicle survey, leaders said their work places still need help to maintain a shared culture and apply new technology.
- “It’s not about the glass ceiling; it’s about the broken rung, meaning the transition from entry level to management.” (Weddle)
- “The new cohort of workers entering the workforce is craving apprenticeship and in-person mentoring and leadership.” (Hancock)
- If you have a healthy Board/ CEO relationship in your organization, count your blessings.
- We work with many where that isn’t true.
- It’s worth working on it — together; it usually takes outside help to make progress.
- The agenda is deep, broad, and never-ending, but it must start with trust, mutual respect, and most of all, wait for it, wait for it: Shared Vision.
- We like this snippet as food for thought: “Boards should be sifting through low-likelihood, predictable surprises…
- … and identifying a handful of high-consequence ones to pressure-test against the operating model.” (Usher, 2024)
- Say it ain’t so, Joe!
- How long do you suppose it will be before there is a major sports wagering scandal, really major?
- “Guys, we don’t need you to shop for a heart-shaped necklace, we need you to go to therapy.” (St. James)
