• POLARIZED DIVERGENT POLITICAL BELIEFS CONTINUE TO INFECT MANY WORKPLACES – over 90% according to a Resume Now report, which also found most workers believing that “leadership’s political bias influences policies & promotions, and over half actively avoiding colleagues with different political views.” While conflicts rooted in deeply held values many never be resolved, they can be managed to lessen the adverse impact on productivity, when leaders apply a Conflict Resolution process which: (1) allows and enables different positions to be articulated and ‘heard’ without judgement or hostility; (2) identifies the core issues which are causing tension, along with core principles upon which most can find some common ground; (3) then allows developing strategies & actions to acknowledge different points of view to create a more inclusive and collaborative workplace. DCG have successfully assisted clients in Conflict Resolution for decades through our Mediative process; let us help.  
  • THE HIDDEN COST OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE is that while A.I. unquestionably makes us more efficient and productive, “it’s an illusion of control. The challenge has become how to harness A.I. without surrendering the very skills that made humans adaptable, since the more we offload to machines, the more we risk losing our skills, judgment and adaptability. Yes, A.I. can write persuasive emails and even generate business strategies, but the most important decisions – the ones that lead to breakthroughs, revolutions and paradigm shifts – are rarely the result of pure data analysis. Yes, faster and more reactive for short-term efficiency, but not necessarily wiser, and which have made us more dependent – like GPS having dulled our sense of direction, and spellcheck having chipped away our ability to spell. Efficiency alone doesn’t create knowledge, foster insight, or lead to wisdom.”   [BIGTHINK.COM]
  •  DOJ IS INVESTIGATING THE ‘GREENHOUSE REDUCTION FUND,’ a $27 billion pot managed by EPA for “so-called Climate Equity, to justify handouts of billions of dollars riddled with conflicts of interest and corruption – $20 billion of which was rushed out the door to eight non-profit groups with connections to the Obama & Biden administrations after the election was lost but before Trump took office, akin to ‘tossing gold bars off the Titanic.’ Moreover, the contracts call for zero oversight, and contain a trigger clause that money is to be immediately released if the Trump administration attempts to recoup it.” Government in action…  www.thefp.com/p/a-20-billion-slush-fund-nonprofits
  • HIGH ON THE LIST OF PROPOSED FEDERAL BUDGET CUT PRIORITIES IS MEDICAID which covers some 72 million people, consumes over $680 billion annually – much as fraudulent payments to health-care providers – providing payments to anyone earning below $21,000 of whom around 40% are covered starting at birth and 60% are now in nursing homes. Nearly two-thirds are employed, but 8% are “of working age and able-bodied but unemployed without an excuse,” 19% are listed as with illness/disability or their caregivers, and 7% are in school.  [ECONOMIST]

THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK:

  •  LA County fires in January consumed over half of properties in Palisades/ Malibu/ Topanga Cyn/ Santa Monica, nearly half in Pasadena/ Altadena, and affected 60% of their businesses according the County Economic Development Report just released. Fastest recovery (if everything is coordinated perfectly) could be 2029 and latest supposedly by 2034, dependent on many many factors – like the first projected start date for reconstruction of one local public school is now calendared over three years away in 2028. [BREITBART]
  •  The primary reason it so often seems that Government is unresponsive to timeliness or consistency involves over 90,000 distinct and overlapping governing entities (towns/ cities/ counties /states) along with some 18,000 law enforcement agencies (federal/ state/ tribal).  Americans function within a tangled mess of inefficiency, redundancy, delay and administrative clutter which, combined with the political expectations and demands of citizens, corporations, and not-for-profit organizations collectively result in general dysfunction. [THOMAS FREY]