• SUCCESSION PLANS ARE FOUNDED ON ‘HIGH POTENTIAL’ EMPLOYEES whose attributes & skills accelerate them into roles of increasing responsibility. Some key characteristics to watch for involve: (1) Self-management skills in face of change and ambiguity; (2) Consistent pattern of learning eagerly and relatively rapidly; (3) Willingness to develop critical areas of weakness; (4) Receptiveness to feedback, especially criticism; (5) Evidence of building alliances through trust & authenticity; (6) Evidence of emotional intelligence in motivating others & building relationships. Keeping employees who demonstrate these traits is tough, but recruiting them is tougher. And keeping means managing with awareness of their motivations & expectations, in light of Millennial thinking. DCG can help. [GLOWAN.COM NWSLTR – Aug 13]
  • “EVERY REAL ESTATE CRASH IS DUE TO DISSONANCE BETWEEN SUPPLY & DEMAND and the rapid deleveraging after a prolonged period of easy money… which pushes up property values.” The impacts of America’s last crisis in the late 1980s were less severe for many reasons, but primarily that “the first Bush administration took an aggressive approach to resolving debt problems. Regulators rapidly took over lenders and forced foreclosures, creating a flood of private assets for sale. In marked contrast, the second Bush and Obama administrations were far less aggressive. Instead of shutting down insolvent insured depositors and letting markets find bottom, regulators systematically bailed out major lenders and encouraged working with borrowers. As a result, there was never the flood of distressed properties for sale.” [NAI WHITE PAPER – Aug 13]
  • “PERFECTLY SECURE ONLINE COMMUNICATIONS… a massive breakthrough for security of personal data, as well as for nationwide endeavors such as online banking & voting” is close to ready-for-prime-time. Programming which uses “cryptography based on the intrinsic randomness of quantum physics… transporting data by photons of light along a dedicated fiber optic line… is a radically new networked-computing architecture already used in some government and big bank systems… which leaves hackers with no way to figure out the key’s internal coding.” [BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK – May 13, 13]
  • “DEMOCRACY IS UNNATURAL. Human beings are, by nature, tribal creatures. For Democracy to work (and then, just barely), a society must have an educated middle class and a philosophical commitment – developed over centuries – to free speech, religious tolerance, individual liberty, and the checks & balances of a constitutional system. These values are not widely held in most of the Middle East, even by those we’ve bribed with billions of dollars and our finest weapons… These societies will come to democracy in their own sweet time, over the course of decades or even centuries, or not… As is so often the case with elections, the ‘wrong’ side won in Egypt, and its brief flirtation with democracy appears to be over… The sobering realization is that freedom and democracy aren’t inevitable – and that the U.S. has very limited influence in the region.” [THE WEEK -Aug 30, 13]

    o That’s DCG! Do it.

    • DCG-Bulltn-13-36

  • THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK: Today’s graduate with a Science degree asks “Why does it work?” The graduate with an Engineering degree asks “How does it work?” and with an Accounting degree asks “How much will it cost?” The graduate with an Arts degree is too often asking “Do you want fries with that?”

    “Stupidity is the same as evil, if you judge by the results.” –Margaret Atwood Polls showed that in 2012 46% of Americans believe human beings were created by God in their present form, and 811 newborn babies were named ‘Messiah.’

    “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.” –Mark Twain