A New Species

October 20, 2025
Good morning! “Poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.”  (Chesterton) And you thought the soybean farmers were under duress…… the grape farmers are suffering from a 15% decline in the sale of their produce compared to just four years ago. Entire vineyards are being uprooted from the fertile soil as wine drinkers are sipping the beverage less and less.  (Cooper)I was about to compare this tragedy to that of the ancient non performing fig tree, but then realized I had my metaphors mixed, a common malady.

• There is no joy in Mudville — nor in Milwaukee… but there is HOPE in Toronto.
• Could we be headed for another Boston Tea Party — but this time for coffee?
  • In 1773 Bostonians loved their tea but weren’t interested in paying more for it, much less because of a tax; i.e., tariff — and so they dumped said tea into the harbor in protest.
  • Coffee prices are skyrocketing, up more than 40% in the last year, according to Cook (The Atlantic).
• I did not know this:  If you plant an apple tree from the seed of an apple, it will grow into an entirely new species never before having existed on the planet.
  • As a result, there are literally millions of different kinds of apple trees growing haphazardly in fields, forests, yards, and in a few orchards.
  • But, most of us know only a few varieties because they are the ones grafted and cultivated to continue a specific genetic line that can’t be achieved with seeds.
• I don’t know what it means or if it matters, but…
  • … a 70-year-old is three times less likely to purchase Christmas (Hanukkah) gifts this season than a 25-year-old.  (August 2025 data McKinsey)
    • 22% of 70-year-olds and older will not purchase gifts, as self-reported.
• I volunteered to do some basic grunt work at a pre-school event last week.
  • Caring for young children is not among my strengths, though I enjoy observing and helping.
  • Anecdotal at best, there are no hard data, but it would appear the young Moms are doing 90%+ of the work.
  • Is there a more difficult job in the entire world than caring for young children?
  • It is nothing short of miraculous to think the vast majority of young children in our society survive to adulthood.
• “We can’t reach old age by another (person’s) road.”  (Twain)
• One of my kids has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for many years,
  • He playfully, but seriously and importantly, often intones the purpose of his work:
    • “The right drug at the right time for the right patient for the right reason for the right price…”
  • I don’t know if I have it exactly right, but… (he will correct me since he is a faithful reader)
  • … it is an excellent way of articulating mission, vision, and strategic imperatives all in one mouthful — no pun intended.
  • Business leaders in today’s economic and political environment(s) would be foolish to not coin a similar intonation for staying on course and profitable.
• “All that work, and what did it get us?!”

1. (We’ve seen it often in our work — and this list of six is an excellent synthesis.)
2. Leaders feel frustrated when transformations fall short, but they can achieve their goals by avoiding six common pitfalls.  (Welchman, Etc., et al.)
   1. As unbelievable though it sounds:  Goals aren’t clearly linked to the transformation
      • The train continues on the same track it was always on paying little attention to the new tracks constructed for it
   2. New units lack clarity about strategic imperatives (goals)
   • Here it is again:  Communication
   1. Technology and data changes are pursued separately from organizational changes
   • Silos anyone?  Go to the meeting, but then go back to your desk to keep working on YOUR big project
   1. Budgeting, prioritization, and resourcing work flows are not aligned to the operating model (Organize to value)
   • Ain’t this the truth?!  Budgeting is off to a corner of the room disconnected with the desired transformation
   1. Culture and leadership remain unaddressed
   • As an old friend said, “Culture eats strategy for breakfast — or lunch.”
   1. Top-down leadership in the transformation is lacking (the how — and always the bugaboo = makin’ it happen!)

• With your permission — and patience — here is another snippet from the draft of my book, How Do You Know?
• From the chapter, BE READY:  “I will prepare and some day my chance will come.” (Abraham Lincoln)
  • During the late summer of 1980 my then-boss informed me a movie star had moved into the neighborhood and that I should be sure to meet him.
  • My job at the time was marketing/ promotion/ fund raising/ recruitment for Sts. Peter & Paul School – along with still teaching half-time.
  • My boss was sharp as a tack but had spent most of her life in the convent and apparently didn’t know the difference between a movie star and a rock ‘n roll teen idol.
  • I phoned this person shortly after her tip and we agreed to meet for coffee at Ember’s.
  • Only later did I connect all of the amazing dots, but I was ready and knew what to do when this world famous Dad of one of my students sat with me over a cup of coffee.
  • Admittedly I was somewhat selfish as I thought to myself, if we respectfully nurture a friendship with the world-famous Bobby Vee we can achieve more with one event than for all events combined in the entire history of the school.
  • Thus was born, Bouncin’ Back with Bobby Vee (a play on one of his hits, Rubber Ball…) which occurred at the Sunwood Inn to a packed standing room only audience on March 14, 1981.
  • That evening remains perhaps the best of my life.
  • A few months later we changed the concept and the name to Rockin’ ‘Round the Clock, which over a number of years generated more than $1 million.
  • Those few exciting months of meeting, getting to know, and working with Bobby Vee, his wife, Karen, and his kids, coincided with nine months of being engaged to my future wife.
  • Looking back it was a time of tremendous blessing – because I was ready when relationships with both my fiancé and Bobby Vee appeared in front of me.
• “I will prepare and some day my chance will come.”  (Mr. Lincoln)
• (Continued next week, maybe… you might be tiring of this, and I’m no Chuck Dickens)