Weekly Report 17-43 : Duitch Consulting Group

AS ORGANIZATIONS GROW with data, analytics and algorithms providing powerful inputs and methods for decision-making, the impact is that “organizational complexity clouds accountability and, as the number of decision-makers rises, leaders are less able to delegate authority effectively.” This situation is compounded by technology which distributes information to so many more people “without clarifying decision-making authority – resulting often in too many meetings and email threads with too little high-quality dialogue as executives ricochet between boredom and disengagement, paralysis and anxiety.” Clearly, strategic planning to best control such outcome involves aligning processes for decision structure and accountability in pre-growth stages, which DCG have effectively helped our clients apply for decades. Call us for courtesy consultation in this critical business factor before the impact of growth precludes optimal management control. [McKINSEY QUARTERLY – Jun 17]

“GLOBALIZATION HAS TURNED ‘CITIZENSHIP’ INTO A COMMODITY… allowing the global elite – including not just jet-setters or ‘doomsday preppers’ (from countries politically unstable or threatened by climate change) but also human-rights violators, money-launderers and other fugitives from justice – to slide unimpeded between countries, moving on when things get tricky.” Some 40 countries now have active ‘economic-citizenship’ or residence programs – providing Passports in return for cash donations, investment in government bonds and/or purchase of property. Thailand’s fee is $10K; Caribbean islands get up to $250K; America’s EB-5 program requires $1 million (but only $500K if investment is in a ‘targeted high-unemployment zone’ with at least ten jobs committed); Britain’s fee is $10 million for ‘fast track’ residence. [ECONOMIST 1843 – Oct/Nov 17]

PAUSE BEFORE CLICKING ONLINE ADS, since many “operate as bait for a scam… ‘Affiliate Marketers,’ hired to promote products of other companies on social media, website & email, are paid each time a customer clicks on the ad (as well as signs up and/or purchases a product) – giving the marketer an incentive to ‘say anything’ and resulting in exaggerated claims or misleading information.” The FTC tries to take action against worst offenders – e.g. a $1 trial offer for tooth whiteners which actually enrolled consumers in a ‘negative option’ scam that cost up to $200 monthly – but it’s a minute fraction of the offenders and always after hoards have been scammed. Caution is always warranted as to potential for false info, and with awareness that ‘clicking-in’ will almost certainly be ‘tracked’ and lead to subsequent unsolicited ads. [MANATT ADVERTISING LAW – Oct 5, 17]

PC RUNNING AMOK UPDATE: Students at Oberlin College recently revolted over “insufficiently authentic Asian cuisine,” equating it to ‘cultural appropriation’; Students at Wesleyan tried to defund the campus paper after it published an article critical of Black Lives Matter for failing to create a ‘safe space’; Students at Berkeley are now demanding that Administrators structure mandatory ethnic-studies classes, hire more non-white or gay faculty, and provide for filing of complaints against professors for ‘biased conduct’ in the classrooms. [THE ECONOMIST – Oct 14, 17] A great humorous video on the lunacy of Political Correctness in elementary schools: https://biggeekdad.com/2017/10/politically-correct-school

“DIGITAL FORCES HAVE COMPLETELY UPENDED THE POLITICAL SYSTEM and, left unchecked, could even render democracy as we know it obsolete… Billions of people have little choice over whether they use today’s now ubiquitous technologies, and are largely unaware of the invisible ways in which a small number of people in Silicon Valley are shaping their lives… The people who run Facebook and Google are good people, whose well-intentioned strategies have led to horrific unintended consequences. The problem is that there is nothing the companies can do to address the harm unless they abandon their current advertising models… Aldous Huxley warned that Orwellian style coercion was less of a threat to democracy than the more subtle power of psychological manipulation, and man’s almost infinite appetite for distractions.” An eye-opening article: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/oct/05/smartphone-addiction-silicon-valley-dystopia [THE GUARDIAN.COM – Oct 6, 17]

THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK: Over three-quarters of Americans – gun owners and non-owners alike – now support banning assault-style weapons and requiring background checks to bar purchases by people with mental illnesses or listed on no-fly/watch lists, according to a Pew Research poll taken last June, before the Las Vegas tragedy. California Gun Laws are already the most comprehensive of any State, with restrictions on assault-weapons; bans on large-capacity magazines, silencers & armor-piercing ammunition; required registration, background checks & waiting periods for purchase of firearms or ammunition; and licensing of all dealers.

Just in Case it Matters to You