• ‘MISSION CREEP’ happens when projects grow in scope, sabotaging productivity and often failing to meet delivery timetables or objectives. A business adage called ‘Parkinson’s Law’ is that “work expands to fill the time allotted for completion” which, combined with human nature for procrastination and tendency to lessen effort when working on Team projects, hugely impact effectiveness. Key steps in minimizing this likelihood are: (1) Clearly outlining Objectives and Drivers at the outset – particularly roles, responsibilities, milestones for decision-making and deadlines; (2) Clarifying ‘wiggle room’ parameters that the project weeds to stay within, to maintain time, scope & budget. DCG have decades of expertise in strategy, structure, infrastructure & operations for efficiency and effectiveness. Call or refer us for courtesy consultation.
  • “TO SAY THAT ELECTRIC VEHICLES ARE ZERO-EMISSION AND COST EFFICIENT IS INVALID” for several reasons, including (1) Production – every EV battery requires “digging up some 500 pounds of earth crust, processing 25K pounds each of brine for lithium and ore for copper, 30K for cobalt and 5K for nickel; (2) Their key mineral ingredient – lithium, where China controls a third of world production utilizing predominantly coal for fuel, has seen prices inflated nearly five times in the past year and 850% in last 16 months; (3) Energy Storage – Requires about 60 pounds of batteries to store the energy equivalent of one pound hydrocarbons, which supply over 80% of the world’s energy, an amount that if stored in the form of oils would be longer than a 3,000 mile line, growing by height of the Washington Monument every week.” [PRICKLY PEAR.ORG – 3/29/22]
  • STATISTICS BASED ON SURVEYS OF PEOPLES’ BELIEFS AREN’T VERY REALISTIC, since people believe what they see – based on their life experience and especially on TV screen plotlines and commercials. Even when survey participants recognize their assumptions may be biased, the tendency is to adjust their estimates closer perception of what the mean point would be (i.e. 50%), which doesn’t align any closer to reality. Examples of mis-estimation from a recent YouGov survey include statistics measuring their beliefs about Identity in America: that 60% of couples are interracial – versus 10% actual; that black population exceeds 40% – versus 13% actual; that 27% of Americans are Muslim and 21% transgender – versus less than 1% each. “In common-speak, most people aren’t bright, and they will take wild stabs at reality based on perception, rounding the mean.” [RED STATE – 3/29/22]
  • HAS YOUR ESTATE PLANNING STRATEGY BEEN UPDATED for optimization of estate tax avoidance, and/or consideration for potential resentment among heirs with respect to asset allocation or limitations? For example, presently the 40% federal Estate Tax applies to ‘value’ of assets at death above $12M, however a ‘Bypass Trust,’ allows double that amount when assets are transferred directly to a spouse, as well as protecting assets against reckless spending by children or other heirs, and protection from creditors or descendants of any subsequent person the spouse might marry. Call DCG for courtesy consultation in this critical but often overlooked area.
  • THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK: “We spend the first twelve months of our children’s lives teaching them to walk and talk and the next twelve years telling them to sit down and shut up.”  

     A ranking of the ‘Safest States in America,’ reportedly based on 55 relevant metrics, found California to be 19th place in both Workplace Safety and Emergency preparedness, 24th in Financial Safety, 29th in Personal & Residential Safety, and 39th spot in Road Safety.      https://wallethub.com/edu/most-stressful-states/32218?utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter

     For those who remember Woodstock, an outstanding journal and legendary photos:   https://www.pastchronicles.com/fast-gallery/legendary-woodstock-photos-that-will-go-down-in-hiistory/8/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=futurism.com&utm_campaign=MR_GE_PC_US_All_0302_WoodstockPhotos&utm_term=137027766874&utm_content=feed&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI76vryrzs9gIVxl5iCh1MuAgPEAEYASAAEgKf5_D_BwE&ac=2

      And for those who marvel at Mind Reading ‘Magic’ : https://biggeekdad.com/2022/03/dna-read-simon-cowells-mind/