January 29, 2024
Good morning!
Charles Osgood died — and with him an irretrievable sliver of our humanity, and decency.
Snirt alert!
There isn’t much you can do about it, at least in the short-term, but snirt (snow + dirt = get it?) is at alarmingly high levels in this part of the world.
Limited snow cover, combined with strong prevailing winds eroding precious top soil from farm fields miles and miles away — and the result is snirt.
You can see it in large quantities right now and you’ll track mud indoors if you’re hiking around outside thinking you’re just walking in snow.
(Gross alert; don’t read) — You will notice it when you blow your nose if you’ve been outside for any length of time and especially if it was windy.
Snirt was most prevalent and destructive during the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s before we learned and practiced better soil conservation methods.
- The Number One Barrier to Innovation?
- People don’t feel safe.
- It’s always about perception, isn’t it, rarely aligned with all the facts?
- No idea if Boeing’s woes are any different statistically, per raw data, but man alive, now a front wheel falls off in Atlanta just before takeoff… whew!
- Retail: Where is it headed?
- The largest retail shopping mall in Minnesota, outside the Minneapolis area, has been in bankruptcy for the last four years — with no payments made on an $80 million mortgage.
- But, someone in Texas thought it was a good deal and purchased the property a few days ago.
- Bellwether?
- On the other hand, paid parking is on the increase in downtown Minneapolis.
- Minnesota — world headquarters for Without A Vision Consultancy, LLC — is projected to have a 75% increase in Extreme Heat Days by 2030 compared to a pre-industrial baseline, which means what?
- Commensurate greater stress on the power grid. (Lepore, et al., 2021)
- So, we’re running out of water everywhere around the world — and the Panama Canal is drying up!
- While unprecedented torrential rains produce flooding and devastation nearby — even at the epicenter of climate and weather perfection, San Diego, California.
- Explain, please.
- Brings new meaning to Warner’s quip (stolen by his sidekick, Clemens), “Everyone talks about the weather, but no one does anything about it!”
- What is your preliminary assessment of the so-called artificial intelligence; e.g., ChatGPT?
- Underwhelming would be my word choice.
- But, I am not a frequent user and will admit to knowing very little beyond personal experiences with the electronic monster.
- One thought: The Burden of Truth — and the search for truth — rests more squarely on the shoulders of each individual more than ever in history.
- “You don’t need a global study to tell you employees feel like most organizations’ traditional approach to performance management doesn’t motivate them to do outstanding work.
- In my experience talking with HR leaders over the past five years, only one raised his/her hand when I asked whether… is delivering on its expected outcomes.” (Leschke-Kahle)
- The solution is a radically simple measurement system…
- Work quality — Does the supervisor experience the employee doing high-quality work?
- Work timeliness — Does the supervisor experience the employee accomplishing his/ her work in a timely manner?
- Proficiency — Does the supervisor experience the employee as proficient in the skills s/he needs to do the job?
- Team partnership — Does the supervisor experience the employee partnering appropriately with colleagues?
- Team leader partnership — Does the supervisor experience the employee partnering appropriately with the manager?
- Remember the old, K.I.S.M.I.F. admonition from years and years ago?
- Without A Vision’s suggestion? Use the employee’s written Job Description (Position Description) to evaluate performance and set goals; seems so obvious.
- Wouldn’t work? Then you’ve got the wrong Job Description.
- Skimming through the recent Benedictine magazine, Remember, a Necrology featuring a bold, beautiful display of data caught my eye.
- Turns out the data are being kept by a friend and colleague from long, long ago and I had lost track of her.
- These data — so bold, simple, accurate, stunning — could amazingly serve as a representative template for all of Minnesota, perhaps all of the United States.
- This small community of Benedictine women has buried about 1,300 of its Sisters throughout the last century and a half.
- For the first four decades (founded in 1857) the average age at death was younger than 30…. just think of that… meaning some were likely much younger.
- Then, progressively, each decade of the last century and the first three decades of this new millennium, the age at death increased steadily on a straight line curve to 90.
- When this community was much larger than it is now, it was experiencing the death of one of its people every three days.
- Fascinated? Read more here:
OSB
- Continued from last week — employee satisfaction, productivity, efficiency, effectiveness:
- McKinsey suggests these five questions — if answered honestly — will get you the answers you need:
- (Without A Vision’s quip: And, if not answered honestly, you’ve probably got all sorts of other problems!)
- How likely are you to quit your job in the next 3 – 6 months? (points assigned on a scale)
- Do you currently hold two or more full-time, salaried jobs?
- How satisfied and committed are you to your job, this job?
- How would your supervisor rate your level of performance in relation to expectations for your role?
- What is your level of well-being? (We define this as a person’s ability to experience enjoyable and consistent functioning… physically, mentally, socially, spiritually…)
- How will you celebrate Friday’s Feast of Ground Hogs?
