• WHAT DOES ‘SUCCESS’ FOR YOUR BUSINESS LOOK LIKE? Most companies don’t bother with strategic planning or long-term direction, instead focused on ‘working management’ for current productivity, profitability, cash flow and survival. But “imagine you and all co-workers showing up every day with a clear image of (1) what success looks like…in context of the organization’s culture, values & behaviors; and (2) how well the rewards & recognition systems are aligned with that image… When workers know this, they are more engaged, make better business decisions, and tend to stay with a company longer. Aligning an organization with its ‘success model’ is a process that should become a routine part of the culture,” and leadership responsibility includes ensuring this happens. DCG has decades of experience in this arena. Let us help. [GLOWAN.COM NWSLTR – Aug 25, 15]
  • “MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE BRAIN – incorrect interpretations of neuroscientific research – could be sabotaging the effectiveness of many company training programs. The most prominent neuromyths are: (1) that “the trajectory of a brain’s development is more or less fixed after the first few years of childhood. However research indicates that experience can change both the brain’s physical structure and functional organization… Harvard scientists have shown that just eight weeks of ‘mindful meditation’ produce significant changes picked up by MRI scanners”; (2) that brains can be idle. Modern scans show that “irrespective of what a person is doing, the entire brain is generally active, and people can always learn new ideas and skills by forming new or stronger connections between nerve cells”; (3) that dominantly analytical people think from their left-brain and more creative people do so with their right-brain. “This either/or dichotomy is false. The two hemispheres are linked and communicate extensively together, versus in isolation… suggesting that engaging all senses in a variety of ways (e.g. audiovisual and tactile) can help employees retain new content.” [McKINSEY QUARTERLY – July 15]
  • IT MAY NOT MATTER FOR LONG ANYWAY since “cognitive computing and Artificial Intelligence can now help eliminate bias in our decision-making” based on any 100-block of written words (letter, email, speech, article, etc). The IBM Watson-powered Personality Insights site can interpret, with amazing accuracy, in categories like “openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, emotional range, needs and values.” Check it out.   [DIAMANDIS.COM INSIDER – Aug 7, 15]
  • IMMIGRANT ASSIMILATION NO LONGER MEANS AMERICANIZATION. As a result of unceasing levels of (particularly ‘illegal’) immigration, the character of ‘American’ ethnicity will soon “be determined relatively more by immigrants… shifting the balance of ethnic identity toward the language, culture, and ways of life in the sending societies.” This not only diminishes the fabric of our civil society, “as ethnic, racial and religious groups self-segregate,” but increasingly creates conflict as centuries of Judeo-Christian culture gets abandoned in order to “promote multiculturalism, dual citizenship, bilingualism, etc, while instituting countless policies and laws promoting & protecting the practices of balkanized groups and their infinite array of grievances.” The Center for Immigration Studies estimates over 42 million immigrants now reside in the U.S., of which around three in ten arrived illegally and whose children today (few proficient in English) comprise 20% of public school students; Census data shows nearly 750,000 came last year from Mexico alone. Meanwhile, Gallup reports that by two-to-one, Americans want immigration levels reduced, and Reuters reports the percentage at three-to-one. Vote wisely next year.  [PLUNDER AND DECEIT – Mark Levin]
  • SOME 83 MILLION DOGS RESIDE IN ONE OF EVERY THREE U.S. HOMES, each generating around 275 pounds of excrement annually – around twice the waste of an average person. Roughly 60% gets scooped & trucked to landfills at a cost of around $100 per ton, where it releases methane gas; the rest “delivers surprises to pedestrians and/or contaminates waterways, as carnivorous diets create pathogen-rich waste.” Since New York City’s citizen dogs produce around 100,000-tons of turd annually, the city is currently considering a program utilizing small anaerobic digesters to convert the poo into clean bio-fuel energy, which would then power lamps and other equipment in their dog parks. [THE ECONOMIST – Aug 22, 15]
  • THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK:                                                                                                                                                              

Take 2½ minutes to consider the relevance of your PRIORITIES to your QUALITYOF LIFE:   http://play.simpletruths.com/lp/store/?mid=406

Skyrocketing rents in Los Angeles and San Francisco are great for property owners, but have boosted housing cost for renters up to 50% of their income; nationally the average is also over 30% – the highest percentage ever, according to a new report by Zillow.

 GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE FOR OPTIMAL STRATEGIC & FINANCIAL PLANNING, OPERATIONS, MANAGEMENT & MEDIATION