June 15, 2026
Good morning! Is there a better feeling in the whole world than stepping outside, scissors in hand, to see what Herb has to offer…… and, upon discovering his healthy, verdant offerings, snipping a few sprigs in an attempt to achieve culinary ecstasy?
Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Hershey’s reports sales are UP significantly for products related to the making of backyard s’mores…Agree? Disagree? Among the more-often wrongly-used vocabulary words in the U.S. language: Strategy — and its synonyms/ derivatives.
- It’s the Ides of June!
- Arguably famous things making the Ides of June somewhat significant:
- The Magna Carta was signed, sealed, and delivered in 1215 — near what is now Heathrow Airport
- Ben Franklin of Philadelphia, PA conducted his kite/ key/ lightning is electricity experiment in 1752
- George Washington was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the upstart rebels of the Continental Army in 1775
- The Union government seized and appropriated rebel Robert E. Lee’s home in northern Virginia to serve as a national military cemetery in 1864
- Jonas Salk announced a vaccine for polio in 1955
- The Apple II computer was launched by Steve Jobs and friends in 1977
- June 15th starts a ten-days stretch featuring the longgggest and brightest days of summer.
- Convinced yet?
- Question: Would the Ides of March be of any significance without Bill having shined a light on it?
- There would be considerable evidence to expose me as a food snob.
- I am definitely alive to eat person and not an eat to live person.
- Why? How? I don’t know, but…
- … whether it’s a perfectly ripe tomato from the garden, a succulently-grilled salmon with dill from the Herb garden, silky-smooth Eggs Benedict smothered in homemade hollandaise, or a tantalizingly tart rhubarb crisp, I’m swooning over properly-prepared foods.
- “Source the best ingredients and then don’t screw them up!” (John Thompson, c. 1976)
- There is a lot to be said about deciding WHAT to eat after you’ve gone to the market to discover your options — hopefully to your delight.
- Most of us don’t do that.
- Rather, we decide WHAT we think we want to eat and then we attempt to prepare it — often sub par because we started with sub par ingredients…
- Culture is among the Top Ten buzz words in today’s world of leadership.
- It might be buzz word #1.
- It’s like the weather… everyone talks about it, but no one does anything about it.
- (Well, that may no longer be true, about the weather that is, but…)
- A significant ingredient of culture is serendipity — which can’t be created or controlled, but it can be recognized and then replicated and sustained.
- Morale is probably a direct and unavoidable function of culture.
- Many organizations attempt to address morale, but not culture itself.
- A stack of doughnuts in the break room will never assuage a toxic work environment… especially not after the carbohydrate rush wears off…
- Here’s a quip for your throw pillow:
- “Culture is never achieved with a poster on the wall; it’s achieved with focused behaviour expectations paired with accountability.”
- Here’s one straight after my heart — and hunches — and intellect…
- Finally, someone in authority — and with credibility — is suggesting a budgeting process more in-sync with the speed — and the needs — of business.
- Every year, organizations invest thousands of hours constructing their budgets,
- only to find within months the plan no longer matches reality.
- Demand shifts, input costs change, competitors reposition, and new technologies reset productivity benchmarks.
- But, the budget prevails as a sacred document based largely on history rather than on the future.
- “If you stick to a rigid budget, you often find by the time it’s approved the world has already moved on…” (Maloney, Etc., et al.)
- In addition to the traditional budgeting process being inefficient, it is strategically corrosive, backward-looking, and reinforces incrementalism. (Ibid.)
- What could/ should change?
- Scenario-based planning;
- Start with forward-looking strategy, not last year’s budget;
- Reallocate continuously, not annually;
- Harness artificial intelligence and data to look forward, not backwards. (Ibid.)
- There are millions of data suggesting people tip less on weekends than on weekdays.
- That is to say, gratuities left by patrons at a restaurant or elsewhere average a bit less on Saturdays and Sundays. (Ward)
- The reason? There is apparently a correlation between going to church and/or to the movies and consequently tipping less shortly thereafter.
- Dig deeper: The person tipping less is subconsciously aware of having left money at church — and/or at the popcorn counter (whoa!) — and thus proportionately stiffs the waiter or waitress in another subconscious attempt at recouping said expenditures. (Ibid.)
- Do the math… whether you’re on the giving end or the serving end…
- … also, anecdotally check your tendencies related to that $20 purchase of popcorn!
