• ‘LISTENING’ IS QUITE DIFFERENT THAN ‘HEARING’ WORDS, a diminishing trait in today’s world of input competing for our attention. But actively Listening is not only critical for clarity in understanding what others are saying, it also demonstrates respect for others and facilitates the likelihood they will reciprocate by Hearing what you have to say. The primary factors which make us poor listeners are: (1) Multi-tasking, since “our brains process serially, not in parallel, and are unable to ‘take in’ multiple sources of info at once, precluding the ability to listen”; (2) Preconceptions & biases about others which lead to judging & dismissing their input. Ego can also prevent hearing words from people you may perceive as “intellectually or socially inferior”; (3) Thinking you already know what another person will say, especially if you disagree, which leads to “dismissal instead of a conversation, focusing only on the disagreement” without regard for other potentially relevant input; (4) The natural desire to talk, to “appear knowledgeable and smart by sharing what we know, which can make a discussion just about you.” [FAST COMPANY – 1/28/19]
  •  DRONE TECHNOLOGY IS RAPIDLY REPLACING MANY OF THE “MOST DANGEROUS AND HIGH-PAYING JOBS within the commercial sector… by combining technologies involving computer vision, artificial intelligence and object avoidance tech, in autonomous aircraft, ground and sea vehicles that operate autonomously.” Beyond military defense, emergency response, humanitarian & disaster relief, Drones are changing the world we live in: Agriculture, Weather forecasting, Waste Management, Construction, Insurance, Real Estate, Transportation, Telecommunications, Sports, Photography, Tourism, Advertising, Manufacturing & Inventory management, Fitness, Food Services & Delivery, News Coverage, Gaming, Education, Security, and numerous other industries & activities. With a global market currently forecasted above $125 billion, Drones will also be dramatically impacting the investment markets accordingly. Meanwhile, the FFA has just proposed rules which will now allow drone flights overnight in populated areas, which will likely create annoying buzzing from the whine of drone rotors. For a comprehensive analysis: 38 Ways Drones Will Impact Society: From Fighting War To Forecasting Weather, UAVs Change Everything [CB INSIGHTS – 1/24/19]  
  • 90% OF CYBERSECURITY INCIDENTS ARE CAUSED BY HUMAN ERROR, since even strong firewalls are ineffective without proper training for ALL people in the organization. Strategically, allowing people to work “from home, café, or their own device, can boost productivity, morale and perception of freedom. The same goes for vendors or customers who need access to the company’s information systems (e.g. to check order or inventory status).” But providing appropriate processes and controls is critical to protect business assets and aspects. Google encourages implementation of an “only-what-they-need-to-know principle throughout the organization, along with access allowed only from company-managed devices which are at a lower risk of compromise… which can reduce the chances of either inadvertent or malicious human error.” [CORPORATE BOARD MEMBER – 1/25/19]
  •  WITHIN THE NEXT 11 YEARS, FORECASTS from major world organizations – governments, NGOs, banks, CPAs, consultants – estimate that: (1) the U.S. adult obesity rate, currently 40%, will increase to 50%; (2) 25% of U.S. passenger miles will be travelled in shared, self-driving vehicles; (3) Artificial Intelligence will add more to the global economy than total current economic output from China & India combined; (4) worldwide, the wealthiest 1%, who currently own 47% of global wealth, could increase that percentage to 64%; (5) global population will increase by another million people to 8.6 billion, but the 10% currently living in extreme poverty (earning below $2 per day) will shrink to only 6%; (6) global military spending will increase by 50%. [TIME -2/4/19]
  • PERHAPS THE GREATEST IMPACT WILL COME FROM ‘QUANTUM COMPUTING,’ projected to “upend entire industries from telecommunications to advance manufacturing, finance and medicine, literally changing the world.” In simplest terms, today’s computers are limited by the number of transistors (electronic on/off switches) which can be embedded in microchips to process electronic signals. Quantum computers differ in the advanced materials that make up transistors and microchips which allow for processing of massively complex data in fractions of the time. Examples: Optimization of the most efficient configuration for developing new aircraft or determining an optimal traffic pattern for every car in a mega-million population city – projects involving equipment/materials/labor/design/logistics/finances/etc. which could take years of modeling with conventional computers, but with quantum analysis done in a matter of hours. A brave new world is on the way. [CB INSIGHTS – 1/29/19]
  • THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK: “Look at it this way: think of how stupid the average person is, then realize half of ’em are stupider than that.”  –George Carlin

Interesting traffic math: Los Angeles freeway 405 is the busiest of any city in the country, according to U.S. Dep’t of Transportation. Not only that, freeways 5 and 10 – the other busiest roads in California and which lead the country in miles travelled – also serve LA and when added to seven others comprising the LA grid (15, 22, 55, 57 60, 90, and 91) literally add up to 405.