• “DISRUPTING AND REINVENTING A BUSINESS IS A CHALLENGING TASK, but is the only way to survive during these exponential times.” One creative strategy is to evaluate current operations through the eyes of “millennial entrepreneurs who are smart, hardworking and naïve – exactly the qualities you want in someone who is trying to reinvent a system.” Without preconceived notions of how systems are supposed to work, millennials tend to question any & every area (customers, employees, contract advisors, suppliers) to identify substantive challenges: obstacles to efficiency, quality, competition, complaints, etc. By querying and simply observing how the business operates, they will most often have fresh-look ideas about how processes could be done better or done differently, which then provide input for consideration of financial and operational impacts. Failing to plan is planning to fail. DCG can help. [PETER DIAMANDIS BLOG – Aug 30, 15]
  • TODAY’S COLLEGE GRAD FEMALES TO MALES RATIO IS AROUND 1.3 TO 1, resulting in four college graduate women to every three men and, according to U.S. Dep’t of Education, will increase to 1.5 to 1 within eight years. Since “classism is bigger than racism in dating… these numbers represent a demographic time bomb for marriage-minded women who, research shows, are less willing to marry across socioeconomic lines; also, because lopsided gender ratios incentivize men to play the field and delay marriage… This oversupply of women influences today’s post-college ‘hookup’ culture, and further creates a marriage crisis among communities who are religiously inclined to wed (particularly Mormons and Orthodox Jews). [TIME – Sep 7, 15]
  • ‘LEASING’ ONSITE WORKERS THROUGH AN OUTSIDE ‘AGENCY’ saves paperwork and avoids certain employer liabilities – or did so until last week, when the Nat’l Labor Relations Board ruled that “an operating company is a ‘joint employer’ subject to union organization and labor claims of the Agency’s workers.” Big impact if the ruling stands. [SIEFFLAW.COM BULLETIN – Sep 15]
  • “SUCCESS BY THE YARD IS HARD, BUT IT’S A CINCH BY THE INCH… Lots of folks make attaining what they want a lot more difficult than what’s necessary, leading to lack of confidence and poor self-esteem, contributing to poor choices and getting stuck.” Reversing this negativity loop starts with re-gaining personal confidence by working to create ‘victories’ and positive results in small doses, one step at a time. Relatively simple techniques include: (1) “Doing what’s right, not what’s easy”’; (2) Continuous learning through attendance, participation and being involved; (3) Paying consistent attention, listening actively, then responding with assertive but selfless support; and (4) Focusing on what’s right versus what’s negative or neutral. Remember that in most workplace situations “your next raise will be effective when you are.” [DEVELOPMENTAL EXCELERATIONS NWSLTR – Sep 3, 15] 
  • “INDUSTRIALLY-PRODUCED TRANS FATS” found in margarine, snack foods and packaged baked goods are now deemed to be the bad stuff which increase risk of premature death by over a third. Newest Canadian research from studies of more than a million people “contradicts decades of conventional wisdom” that saturated fats – from animal products: meats, butter, cream, etc – were the evil cause for risk of heart-attack, diabetes, and especially stroke. Saturated fats contribute strongly to obesity and poor health, but are no longer considered a direct cause of early death. [THE WEEK – Aug 28, 15]
  • OVER 2,000 AMERICANS SUFFER A ‘STROKE’ ON AN AVERAGE DAY, one every 40 seconds, of which 75% are first-time attacks. Most happen “when a blood clot blocks an artery that feeds oxygen to the brain” resulting in paralysis, blindness, cognitive dysfunction, long-term disability or death (America’s fifth leading cause). Three-quarters of strokes happen after age 65, but when strokes can be treated timely – diagnosed & under medical care within three hours – clots can be removed before permanent brain damage occurs and many strokes can be reversed, so recognizing the condition and getting help are the critical factors: (1) Signs & symptoms begin with sudden numbness (especially on one side of the body), confusion, severe headache, trouble seeing or walking; then (2) Acting F.A.S.T. – acronym for FACE- when one side droops on a smile; ARMS – when one arm drifts downward as both are raised; SPEECH – if slurred repeating a simple phrase; TIME – calling 911 for an ambulance if any of these signs occur. One proactive point: a Univ. of Massachusetts Med School study found that “low Vitamin D levels had twice the area of dead brain tissue after a stroke” so Vitamin D can’t hurt.   [LIFE EXTENSION – Sep 15]
  • THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK: “The speed in which a woman says ‘nothing’ when asked ‘What’s wrong?’ is inversely proportional to the severity of the shitstorm that’s coming…

THE FOLLY OF POLITICAL CORRECTNESS: a 1½ minute video: http://conservativevideos.com/in-just-seconds-comedian-perfectly-exposes-political-correctness/