• ‘BUSINESS PLAN’ HAS BECOME A GENERIC BUZZWORD offered by many consultants who provide spreadsheets, power-point slides, narratives of arguably questionable value, and at hefty cost. DCG version of a viable and critical ‘Business Plan’ is quite different – a few page summary after in-depth Strategic Analysis relating to: (1) Business purpose, tangible goals and action plan to achieve them over a realistic period (generally 2-3 years); (2) Why and how the company is positioned to succeed, with reality check on risk factors; and (3) Prioritized steps including financial expectations which focus the intended reader (execs, board, key employees, financiers, etc.) on their role(s) & relevance. If/when ‘details’ are appropriate, these are presented in Appendix format. Clear strategic direction is always a critical factor in business success. Take advantage of DCG courtesy consultation.

• COGNITIVE DECLINE IS NOW LIKELY STAVED OFF BY PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, and “what we do while we vegetate matters.” Latest research (published by Nat’l Academy of Sciences journal) suggests that “watching TV is probably a lot worse for long-term cognition outcomes than many other leisure activities, and the boob tube seems to be strongly correlated with developing dementia… while using computers may be a key way to help counter increased risk of dementia.” Researchers at USC and Univ. of Arizona studied over 145,000 seniors (60 and older) over twelve years, including nearly 2.5% who watched TV sitting down, versus cognitively engaging sedentary activities like using a computer, to reach this conclusion. [FUTURISM/ NEOSCOPE – 8/25/22]

• “HAS A PUSH FOR ELEGANT MINIMALISM OVER SIMPLICITY and a craze for smartphone-like tech turned cars into needlessly distracting machines?” Swedish research across twelve models of new autos found reaction time on a 2005 vehicle “far outperformed the modern infotainment screen equipped cars.” Testing requiring four tasks cut the reaction time by half – requiring 1000 feet versus 2000 feet on majority of the touchscreen dashes. Reality is that: (1) “Traditional buttons, knobs, and switches have a tactility that allow drivers to intuitively find and adjust them while keeping their eyes on the road, while a slippery touchscreen does not; and (2) Analog controls are also permanently positioned, whereas a touchscreen may require additional navigation to reach a feature.” [FUTURISM – 8/18/22]

• FOR EVERY HOT DOG INGESTED, HUMANS LOSE 36 MINUTES OF LIFE. According to University of Michigan researchers in epidemiology & nutrition, it’s also 12 minutes lost for every soda, 9 minutes per double cheeseburger; 8 per slice of pizza, and 6 for a helping of bacon. Another finding was that substituting 10% of daily caloric intake of beef & processed meats for a mix of whole grains/ fruits/ vegetables/nuts/ seafood “could increase lifespan of an average U.S. consumer by 38 healthy minutes of life per day” – around 12 days per year. https://theconversation.com/individual-dietary-choices-can-add-or-take-away-minutes-hours-and-years-of-life-166022

• THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK:

Latest covid rates reported in June by health department websites in half the States showed that Vaccinated people exceeded Unvaccinated in number of cases, hospitalization and deaths – “clear evidence that vaccines are not working to prevent the disease or deaths.” Overall incidence rates were more than double, with deaths over five times. In California, Unvaccinated cases & hospitalizations attributed to Covid approximated 52%, and deaths 59%. [EPOCH TIMES]

WOKENESS continues to stupefy: (1) The Governor of New York wants prisoners to “stop feeling ashamed from the stigma of being in jail,” so the state will now refrain from calling convicted prisoners ‘inmates’; (2) The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority wants to abandon the term ‘homeless’ – preferring ‘people experiencing homelessness’ which is less “dehumanizing”; (3) The epitome of wokeness, albeit satire, is encapsulated in Police Chief Apologies – https://biggeekdad.com/2022/08/police-chief-apologizes/