May 27, 2024
Good morning! The message goes out to the ~665,000 men and women who were killed in combat while serving in the military throughout this country’s existence. There are no good words to adequately convey gratitude and admiration to those who gave the last full measure of devotion for the preservation of our Republic and its Constitution, and so we will paraphrase Mr. Lincoln.
- Check in — Connect — Chat
- What’s the count? How many rhubarb-themed meals and/or desserts have you had this spring?
- A favourite restaurant just down the road is featuring rhubarb/ strawberry bread; didn’t check to see if it also had pie.
- Among the great pleasures of life is mowing the lawn — when the mower is working, the sticks are picked-up, the air temperature and humidity are within range, and the grass has grown to the perfect height so as to make it obvious where you’ve been and where you still need to go.
- Somewhere in there is a pretty good metaphor.
- Getting tired of the Cicadas, aka locusts?
- Fry-up a batch, they’re tasty, some claim they taste like chicken, others claim shrimp-like flavours.
- It seems there is a resurgence of interest in Benjamin Franklin, Michael Douglas notwithstanding.
- The latest edition of The Smithsonian doubles down on Ben and his enormous influence on our fledgling Republic.
- According to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a single adult living in the Twin Cities, MN/ U.S. needs to earn $46,800 annually ($22.49/ hour) for a living wage.
- For a family of four — two working adults, two minor children — it’s $131,000 ($31.48/ hour for EACH of the two adults).
- Minnesota’s own government-centric estimate is $105,000 per year for that hypothetical family of four ($25.24/ hour for each full-time adult).
- The legal minimum wage in the Twin Cities is $15.57/ hour — or approximately $32,000 annually for a full-time worker.
- Your best bet for finding work consistent with a living wage? Nursing, of course, and there are more openings than candidates.
- Next best: Truck drivers and heavy equipment operators. (MN D.E.E.D., 2024)
- McKinsey Health Institute’s global survey of 41,000 people finds spiritual health matters to many, regardless of age, country, or specific religious beliefs. (Coe, Enomoto, Etc., et al., 2024)
- Spiritual health encompasses having meaning in one’s life, a sense of connection to something larger than oneself, and a sense of purpose.
- Finding this meaning is associated with resultant strong mental, social, and physical health. (We would add, emotional.)
- While assessment of spiritual health ranges widely across ages and locations, the survey in 26 countries found that across generational cohorts the vast majority of respondents said spiritual health ranged from ‘somewhat important’ to ‘extremely important’ to them.
- Social, public, and private stakeholders can explore ways to help people find purpose and space to reflect on their lives.
- This includes employers seeking to help individuals find meaning in their work.
- Who knew?!
- We hope to explore this topic further with our Without A Vision Consultancy clients.
- “Artificial Intelligence can do useful things that make workers more productive.
- But if anything, it will generate MORE tasks for workers than it is likely to eliminate.” (Cappelli, Etc., et al., 2024)
- Example: It’s hardly artificial intelligence, but consider the ways in which a physician uses technology, multiple tools, and additional people to track a patient’s treatments.
- Guess what? A ChatBot needs constant positive reinforcement and challenging assignments or it will quickly evolve toward mediocrity. (Snow)
- Remind you of anyone?
- “People don’t know the invention of the mannequin destroyed thousands of jobs for people who look good standing around in clothes.” (Carrrillo, 2024)
- “To maximize cash flow over the long term, organizations need to shake free from an incremental approach and shift resources NOW to invest where the growth will be.
- Studies show companies that actively reallocate resources outperform those that don’t.
- Making bold moves is a lot harder than it sounds… even the most brilliant executives fall prey to common decision biases…” (West, Etc., et al., 2024)
