• FOUR KINDS OF LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR account for 89% of the variance between strong and weak organizations. A global survey of 189,000 people in 81 diverse industries concluded that results emanate from “core front-line leadership” demonstrating: (1) Effective problem-solving after information is gathered, analyzed and considered; (2) Emphasizing efficiency & productivity to prioritize highest-value work; (3) Seeking and soundly analyzing different employee perspectives with accurate differentiation between important versus unimportant issues; and (4) Building trust through supportive understanding and showing authentic & sincere interest in colleagues. [McKINSEY ORGANIZATIONAL HEALTH INDEX – 2015]
  • THE RISK FROM CYBERCRIME involves vulnerabilities relating to both information per se (bank accounts, corporate secrets, employee/vendor/customer data), and to control of operations. “When a cyberattack happens, companies are hit not just with losses resulting from customers who stop buying products or services; they also face ancillary costs relating to fixing the problem” (regulatory fines, forensics, consulting costs, etc.) Preventative structure & procedure is obviously far less disruptive & costly, but most cyber-protection decisions “are made based on an incomplete understanding of the cost for varying vulnerabilities… Organizations often fail to take into account all the possible repercussions – e.g. direct revenue losses can be nearly negligible compared to reputational damage incurred, which can lead to future revenue loss – along with having a weak grasp of how the investments in controls will decrease probability of a threat.”  DCG partners can guide organizations to position for optimal cyber protection on a cost-effective basis.  Let us help.   [HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW – Oct 5, 2016]
  • AUTONOMOUS ROBOTS WILL SOON BE DELIVERING RESTAURANT TAKE-OUT AND GROCERY ORDERS in Washington DC. The robot is guided by “nine cameras and an array of sensors, including GPS said to be accurate to the nearest inch.” At four miles per hour, delivery will be limited to short routes until a specially-designed Mercedes van is ready to transport a team of up to eight bots to further locales. “The biggest problem may be with ne’er-do-wells who want to either steal the delivery, or the entire machine, or simply give it a good bashing.” [FOX NEWS.COM – Sep 26, 16]
  • LOS ANGELES WATER CONSERVATION DROUGHT REGULATIONS ARE STILL IN EFFECT, with cost penalties of up to 56% when usage exceeds designated ‘tier’ levels. Outdoor watering remains limited to 3 days per week, and guideline is that 100 gallons of water are consumed by each of the following activities: ten 5-minute showers, five loads of laundry, 8-minutes of a sprinkler, and 78 flushes from a high-efficiency toilet – much fewer for classic thrones. DWP now also sends out letters of how specific property usage compares to “similar households and yard size.”
  • CONCERNED ABOUT CHAOS? THE ‘PREPPERS’ MOVEMENT involves thousands of Americans who “advocate readiness and self-reliance in man-made or natural disasters that could create instability for years” – from a wide range of crises including terrorist attacks, pandemics, hurricanes, earthquakes, forest fires, nuclear attack or solar flare that knocks out the electrical grid, and/or the nation’s “growing political, economic & racial polarization… resulting from our national debt, decline of manufacturing, and size of the welfare rolls.” Many have moved to an area in Idaho known as the American Redoubt, “a pristine place of abundant water and fertile soil, far from crime, free from most natural disasters, populated predominantly by conservative, mostly Christian people with a live-and-let-live ethos, where local governments have a light regulatory touch and friendly gun laws… where they’ve stockpiled food & ammunition in event of a total economic collapse or some other calamity referred to as SHTF – the day Shit Hits The Fan.” Another draw is pricing of home + acres of land generally below $400,000.  [THE WEEK – Oct 14. 16]
  • WORD FOR THE DECADE: “INEPTOCRACY: A system of government where the least capable of leading are elected by the least capable of producing, where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves are rewarded with goods and services confiscated from a diminishing number of citizens that are actually productive.”
  • THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK: “Do not regret growing older. It is a privilege denied to many.”

         Some great one-liners from Clint Eastwood films: http://biggeekdad.com/2015/09/170-great-clint-eastwood-quotes/

         Smartphone distraction on drivers is bolstered by latest stats from the Nat’l Highway Traffic Safety Admin that show deaths spiked 10.4% in the first half of 2016 – over three times the percentage increase in miles traveled – on top of a 7.2% rise in 2015 fatalities.