• EFFECTIVE LEADERS “KNOW HOW TO STRIKE A BALANCE between being firm and being fair in times of high stress, which can foster positive work climates that research shows increase productivity, innovation and motivation up to 30%” with since six-in-ten workers saying the largest influence on their personal energy is the behavior of their leaders. Since “the combination of job-related stress and the energy & effort required for self0control (which scientists call ‘chronic power stress’) often leads to counter-productive behavior,” stress control is a critical factor in optimizing effective leadership. DCG have decades of experience in strategies which optimize this outcome, including time management techniques for work/life balance. Call us for courtesy support.  [CHIEF EXECUTIVE – 1/6/22]
  •  ‘BIASES’ IN MAKING DECISIONS AND TAKING ACTIONS result from our brains taking shortcuts in analyzing the flood of constant input, based principally on emotion or fears. The most common biases include: “Confirmation – looking for and listening to input that’s consistent with existing beliefs; Naïve Realism – thinking we have a better grasp of reality than everyone else; Status Quo – tendency to like things to stay the same, even if change would be beneficial; Triviality – giving excessive weight to trivial versus more important issues; Anchoring – letting the first piece of info we hear influence framing or terms of an entire discussion; Self-serving – giving oneself credit for successes and blaming screwups on bad luck or others; Halo Effect – assuming a person with one observed positive trait (e.g. confidence or beauty) also has others; Familiarity – greater credence give to input form people who look/dress in a similar socioeconomic or cultural bracket; Blind Spot – thinking we don’t have biases.” [INC.COM – 1/3/22]
  •  THE NEXT STEP IN NFTs – ‘non-fungible tokens’ which represent items of digital media, now tradable as investment ‘collectibles,’ are shoes and clothing “to serve athletes & creators at the intersection of sport, creativity gaming and culture.” Both Nike and Adidas now sell “one-of-a-kind virtual sneakers and digital artifacts for crypto currency, which include later delivery of the unique (real) tracksuit, graphic hoodie or beanie.” NFTs are simply intangible computer code & data that conveys a (presumably legitimate) piece of ownership in something of perceived value – either online (virtual real estate, video game equipment), tangible (real estate, painting, baseball card, concert ticket), or hybrid (like right to rent a room in a cooperative living space). “Our society has changed rapidly over the past decade, especially because of the 2008 economic crisis and today’s pandemic, with trends coming together to shape a world where NFTs will beat traditional collectibles.”  [IMPACT LAB 12/31 and SINGULARITY HUB 12/22/21] For a fascinating deeper look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUYosiI8k_0
  • WHILE IT LOOKS TO MANY THAT EXTINGUISHMENT OF WESTERN CAPITALISM may be past the point of no return, it’s still possible that Progressive Left agenda has overplayed its dream. While presently dominating the education system, media, cultural institutions, financial centers and government/ military bureaucracies, opposition is mounting against the “wildly impractical claims of Progressives about ‘zero’ covid or emissions, and about confronting ‘systemic racism’ by defunding police, regulating speech, redefining biological sexes, etc.”  Increasing percentages of Americans are becoming outraged as they recognize the fallacy of Leftist strategies & propaganda – especially in view of consistently rising crime waves, inflation, pandemic-spreading migrants, and hypocrisy of educators & financial oligarchs. Chaos reigns but capitalism isn’t yet dead. [UNHERD – 1/4/22]
  • THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK:

            Most successful entrepreneurs are fueled by Passion, necessary to “get them through the challenges, driven by emotional energy – either positive (wonder/ amazement/ excitement/ creativity/ drive) or negative (anger/ frustration/ rage) … Passion is a precursor to the persistence and grit needed to increase odds of success by hard work, countless risks, setbacks and restarts.”  – Peter Diamandis

           “A democracy cannot exist as a permanent form of government. It can only exist until the voters discover that they can vote themselves largesse from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates promising the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that a democracy always collapses over loose fiscal policy, always followed by a dictatorship. The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations has been 200 years. These nations have progressed through this sequence: From bondage to spiritual faith; From spiritual faith to great courage; From courage to liberty; From liberty to abundance; From abundance to selfishness; From selfishness to apathy; From apathy to dependence; From dependence back into bondage.” – Alexander Fraser Tytler

            As ‘Election Integrity’ now increasingly dominates virtually all media coverage, conservative perspective (for those who care) on the 2020 election process:  https://thefederalist.com/2022/01/06/j6-hysteria-is-how-media-and-other-democrats-are-avoiding-accountability-for-their-rigging-of-the-2020-election/