• CYBER-RISK IS A KIND OF BUSINESS RISK, ONE THAT HAPPENS IN THE DIGITAL DOMAIN. Most companies tend to focus on cyber Threats, the functional dangers like phishing, smishing and exploitation of vulnerability, which can indeed result in Risk – of “fraud, financial crime, data loss or system availability which then lead to losses of all kinds: financial, reputational, operational, productivity, regulatory related, or equipment… At the moment, attackers benefit from organizational indecision on cyber-risk, including prevailing lack of clarity about the danger and failure to execute effective cyber controls.” Better strategy is focusing on specific high risk potential, and developing “precise pragmatic implementation programs with appropriate controls for the worst vulnerabilities, to defeat the most significant threats that target the most critical areas.” Let DCG help, before your reality check bounces.  [McKINSEY & CO – 10/19]

• ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE COMPOSED MUSIC IS NOW ONLINE. A London startup has released a debut album and plans to upload monthly new product through YouTube, SoundCloud & streaming services. Their A.I. engine “blends text, melody & voice generators to create poetic verses and melodic sequences, which a human curator then puts together… There are very few metrics that determine what is genuinely ‘creative’ and a machine is considered non-creative because it isn’t trying to express a particular emotion and doesn’t imbue its ‘creativity’ with deeper themes – but it’s up to the audience to interpret a piece of work… And A.I. which can take fragments of something recognizable to us, the mix it up and then reassemble it using computer logic, is a fascinating example of humans & machines working together to produce something new.” [DIGITAL TRENDS – 10/12/19]

• PEOPLE TEND TO PERSONALIZE REJECTION of their perspective, suggestions or requests, perceiving it as being a referendum on their knowledge, abilities or relevance. But often rejection is simply a matter of timing or communication process, and persistence is warranted. In the workplace, while “too much tenacity can make you seem like a jerk who can’t let something go, persistence is the key to assuring that certain goals are achieved – the enforcement of intention over resistance,” and usually most effective by “not arguing, which serves to alienate others, but by being sensitive to the other person’s time & pressures, and by providing incremental value with each interaction.” Strategies include: (1) applying varying approaches, e.g. phone, email, text, letter; (2) getting promptly to the point with short & clear comments or questions; (3) calendar pacing of follow-ups, perhaps inviting them to guide the timing; (4) keeping the tone ‘light,’ even giving them an ‘out.’   [FAST COMPANY – 10/10/19]

• THE LITERACY LEVEL OF AMERICAN COLLEGE GRADUATES IS ASTOUNDINGLY LOW. A survey commissioned by American Council of Trustees & Alumni reports a “knowledge crisis regarding basic civic literacy,” with one in eight believing that the New Deal (enacted in the 1930s by FDR) was authored by Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. Other examples of ignorance included less than half aware of term lengths for Senators & Representatives, and one in seven thinking that Antonin Scalia (who passed away in 2016) is currently Chief Justice of the Supreme Court; the same percentage think it’s Brett Kavanaugh. The Report concludes that “alarming results point to a crisis in civic understanding and urgent need for renewed focus on Civics education.” This is the segment of voters now attempting, with media support, to turn constitutional & cultural precedent upside down. [LBN EXAMINER – 10/13/19]
• THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK: C. absurdity continues to spiral. Police in Kansas handcuffed a 12-year old girl, now facing felony charges and a year in ‘Juvenile Detention’ after she made a “finger-gun gesture” at classmates.
• According to the Office of Management & Budget (OMB), in 2020, Federal programs will “transfer income to individuals & families” consuming 68% of all federal spending (and over 14% of the nation’s GDP), under programs subsidizing medical care, housing, food stamps, civil service & railroad retirees, students, and earned income credits.