Just in Case it Matters to You
Weekly Report 14-27
- ARE YOUR EMPLOYEES EVER “FRUSTRATED, DEMOTIVATED OR DEMORALIZED after working hard – only to be told they have done the wrong thing, after having done everything they thought they were supposed to do?” When this occurs, it’s almost always due to absence of clarity in three factors: Vision & Strategy; Execution (who does what, by when); and “Specific & Measurable Outcome Criteria for advancement and pay. What happens is company culture evolving to include paranoia and absence of teamwork, leading to less than optimal productivity & profitability. DCG can help. [BUSINESS INSIDER.COM – Jun 21, 11]
- THE EL NINO CLIMATE PHENOMENON IS BACK THIS YEAR – “a natural cycle of periodic warming in the Pacific ocean which causes hotter temperatures, torrential rain, prolonged droughts, and other extreme weather” causing havoc on a global basis. Other than 2014 being an “extremely warm year, America might actually benefit” however, triggering higher rainfall in drought-stricken California & Western states, a milder winter in North & Eastern states, and “by increasing wind shear, making it more difficult for hurricanes to form and grow” in East and Gulf states. [THE WEEK – Jun 27, 14]
- LATEST CYBER SCAMS: (1) Automated robocalls with a message like ‘I’m calling from Visa Card security to confirm what could be a fraudulent charge on your card. Did you purchase a flat-screen TV yesterday for $2,295? Please press 1 for yes or press 2 for no.’ After the ‘no’ response, the script asks victim to enter card number, expiration & security code. (2) Phishing emails that appear to come from a legitimate funeral home, informing that a close friend has died, funeral date & time. Hackers have already penetrated & compromised the real funeral home’s website, so when concerned friend clicks for details, malware quickly installs to later steal personal info and/or “become a zombie to carry out nefarious acts such as attacking other computers and sending spam.” (3) Phone call to a hotel room (which scammer has randomly picked) saying ‘I’m Bob at the front desk. We perhaps have a mistype on your credit card. Would you mind coming down with it, or reading me now th card number and 3-digit security code?’ (4) Phishing emails with malicious attachments, followed up with a phone call like ‘I’m Jim in accounting and just sent you a spreadsheet. Will you have three minutes this morning to quickly check out just one section involving your area?’ Clicking of course installs malware. Always be skeptical of anyone asking for personal data. [CSO MAGAZINE – Jun 14]
- WE’RE CLOSER THAN YOU THINK TO A ‘TRUTH MACHINE.’ Two companies now claim they can “use Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, which measures & maps brain activity in real time… to determine in which part of the brain a response originates (memory or fantasy section)… and conclusively determine whether or not an individual is telling the truth… At some point, this technology may replace random groups of twelve jurors as the ‘finders of fact’.” If this interests you, check out a wonderful novel by James L. Halperin written twenty years ago, The Truth Machine, which predicted this exact development, along with the disruptions to legal, political, religious, social and economic systems impacted by this technology. [THE FUTURIST – Jul/Aug 14]
- SUMMER HEALTH TIP: “Brushing teeth after eating acidic foods, especially fruit or juices – can weaken enamel, leading to discoloration or greater odds of cracks & chips. Better to swish with water and wait 40 minutes for the calcium in your mouth to re-mineralize weakened areas.” [MENS HEALTH – Jul/Aug 14]
- FOR CLASSICAL MUSIC LOVERS, A UNIQUE TREAT: Join Andre Rieu, the Dutch violinist and conductor known for his waltz-playing Johann Strauss Orchestra, with a true surprise at Belvedere Castle, Vienna: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=656937684343747
- THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK: “Reality as that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn’t go away.”
- “’Peaceful’ Muslims are irrelevant… Political correctness belongs in the garbage.” www.youtube.com/embed/Ry3NzkAOo3s?rel=0
- “The lesson of history is that every great fortune was built upon a great crime, and great men from medieval popes to modern philanthropists have succeeded by taking this maxim to heart.” –Greg Isles
DUITCH CONSULTING GROUP – UTILIZING GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE TO PROVIDE OPTIMAL STRATEGIC, FINANCIAL, OPERATIONS AND MANAGEMENT PLANNING & POSITIONING