• THE PRINCIPAL IMPEDIMENT TO OPTIMAL DECISION MAKING is tendency for ‘quick response’ to the immediate choices presented, without having all information really necessary to make a fully-informed best choice. “Overcoming blind spots requires nuanced perspective on potential risks and opportunities, to increase chances for making better-than-worse decisions… So, strategies used by effective negotiators and mediators include: (1) Interest-based problem solving, versus adversarial bargaining – win/win and lose/lose alternatives as well as conventional win/lose posturing; (2) Soliciting diverse ‘What are we missing?’ ideas to encourage those in positions of less power to offer alternatives without fear of retribution; (3) Creating multiple options which may be appropriate but not-at-this-time… Think of Decision Process as a lighting control, a dimmer with myriad settings (from dim & cozy to bright & clinical) in order to view each decision in the best possible light.” [STRATEGY-BUSINESS.COM – 8/23/21]
  • THE INVENTION OF DIGITAL ELECTRONICS is perhaps the most important technological development in history, allowing the creation & storage of information. Digital data from computers & wireless technologies, through internet, mobile, displays & artificial intelligence applications, now comprise an incomprehensible amount of data. Globally, every day, some half-billion tweets, 300 billion emails, 4 million gigabytes of Facebook data, 65 billion WhatsApp messages and over 720 thousand hours of YouTube content is generated, while required digital storage has been increasing over 60% annually. The largest ‘hyperscale’ data centers are China Telecom and The Citadel in Nevada, together occupying nearly 18 million square feet, housing the majority of magnetic-storage servers “which are globally growing at a 50% annual rate and will eventually exceed today’s planetary power consumption.” [IMPACT LAB – 8/22/21]
  • REGULAR DAILY GLASSES OF WATER TAKEN OVER A LONG-TERM PERIOD are now linked to avoiding heart failure, as well as kidney stones. 6½ glasses daily for men, and 10.5 glasses for women are the amount of daily hydration which can avoid “concentration of sodium, since the body automatically takes steps to conserve fluids, which increases risk,” was the conclusion of latest research presented this week at a European Society of Cardiology conference. [NEOSCOPE – 8/24/21]
  • THE AVERAGE PERSON SPENDS ABOUT 50% MORE TIME LISTENING THAN SPEAKING, and ineffective listening is a predominant cause of miscommunication. This stems from: (1) Absence of focus on the speaker – “mental concentration and emotional responsiveness through body language and audible participation without distracting or interruption” (e.g. nodding or empathetic sounds like ‘mm-hmm’); (2) Misperceiving a situation “objectively when, in fact, reacting to it, and misunderstanding the speaker’s point of view”; (3) Turning the situation prematurely into a debate by “disagreeing, criticizing, questioning, advising, reassuring, or directing the conversation.” To minimize miscommunication, wait until the speaker has fully expressed his/her point fully and remember that “language is imprecise; talking conveys only an approximation of what we mean.” [HCLEADERSHIP ESSENTIALS – 8/25/21]  
  • THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK: Want to hear a truly angelic voice?  https://biggeekdad.com/2018/06/once-upon-a-time/

   “If A is success in life, then A= X +Y +Z.  Work is X, Play is Y, and Z is keeping your mouth shut.”  – Albert Einstein

  “Since the machinery of celebrity recognizes no boundaries, ’Celebrities’ with narcissist tendencies, who thrive on adulation of the masses, set the tone of both public and private life, often rising to positions of eminence.”