• BUSINESS SUCCESS DOESN’T JUST HAPPEN. It Takes Knowledge, Experience, Discipline, & Imagination. DCG have helped hundreds of clients define and achieve their goals & objectives. Dennis and his team serve entrepreneurs launching new businesses; C-level leadership of successful or troubled companies; high-income/high-wealth celebrities, individuals & families; not-for-profit organizations; professional service firms; as Directors and on Advisory Boards, throughout California & nationwide. Let us, as a strategic and business therapist, help get you from ‘Where You Are’ to ‘Where You Want to Be.’
  •  “OUR BODIES CONVEY THOUGHTS & FEELINGS, SENDING MESSAGES VIA BODY-LANGUAGE SYMBOLS that others pick up and use to make judgments about us.” Tips to gauge emotional intelligence through body language: (1) Handshakes with limpness connote lacking confidence or interest, and too strong signals aggressiveness; (2) Facing Squarely  denotes complete & undivided attention, while turning away indicates discomfort, disinterest, distrust, and/or not being engaged; (3) Standing Up Straight reflects confidence & self-respect, versus slouching which indicates lack of serious intent or caring;  (4) Checking phone or time devices indicates distraction and conveys ‘something more important to do’; (5) Eye Contact leaves an indelible impression, so avoiding it can arouse suspicion as to honesty/completeness of the discussion, and looking down while speaking can be a sign of self-consciousness; (6) Facial Expressions, if too severe, can convey hostility, and forcing a smile or scowling can make others uncomfortable, but a natural smile makes people warm up. [FAST COMPANY – 2/8/19]
  •  “NATURE IS THE LIFE-SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR THE PLANET, the food system on which humanity depends… and Species extinction is an ordinary part of the natural process.” But science suggests that 99% of all species that ever existed are now gone, and that the current acceleration of extinction is leading to catastrophe. Estimates are that over the past 40 years, the number of wild animals has decreased by between 50% for wild animals up to 97% of Bluefin tuna, and that “humans are living through a ‘mass extinction’ epoch during which three of every four species will vanish.” In the case of insects – now some 1.4 billion per human – a 50% projected die-off (from pesticide use, climate change and habitat destruction) doesn’t sound so bad, except that flying and crawling bugs pollinate over three-quarters of food crops & flowering plants, as well as channel nutrients back to the earth, so “insect apocalypse is nothing to cheer… and actually now jeopardizing the future of people.”  [THE WEEK -2/22/19]
  •  PUBLIC SECTOR RETIREMENT PLANS ARE HEADED FOR COLLAPSE. Prior to 2002, policies called for ‘full funding,’ but presently the average level is around 72%. In order to “reduce the burden on today’s taxpayers,” assumptions about portfolio growth are set at nearly 7.5% on average, meaning that over time the return on investments could/would meet that level and provide necessary funds for projected payouts. According to Boston College Center for Retirement Research, this strategy then necessitates allocating some 72% of assets to ‘risky’ investments (particularly equities & hedge funds), a strategy which exceeds the average Private Pension Plan risk allocation level (which professional investors recommend) by at least 10%. So, with a less-than-optimal chance of achieving over-optimistic returns, Public Plans – including social security – are unquestionably headed for tough times and increased future taxes to fund. [ECONOMIST – 2/9/19]
  •  NEWEST REASON TO AVOID CLICKING ON UNKNOWN OR UNTRUSTED LINKS: a newly-detected phishing campaign which uses “malicious PDF documents to spread malware which steals browser & email credentials… using legitimate files either common within the organization attacked, or are widely-used administrative tools… including a decoy document that relates to quotations, shipments & equipment specifications.” Cybercriminals are always a step ahead. [THREATPOST – 2/20/19]
  •  THE FUTURE OF U.S. MANUFACTURING JOBS IS PROBLEMATIC. Take a look at the number of employees whichTesla requires to build a car: http://www.youtube.com/embed/8_lfxPI5ObM?rel=0 And Mercedes:  https://youtu.be/D5f78SK6EnI

      The Congressional Budget Office now projects that over the next 11 eleven years Federal debt will increase by another $13Trillion, increasing the total to $35Trillion, without evident concern from any branch of government. Power to spend is a toxic incentive.

     Humankind has only 15 more years to colonize Mars or face ‘Doomsday’ in 98 years, according to Stephan Hawkings (Cambridge Physics & Cosmology Professor) who passed away a year ago this month. His research convinced him that “our days are numbered by super-artificial intelligence, climate change, asteroid strikes, epidemics and overpopulation.” Just FYI.