• BUSINESS LEADERS OFTEN OVERLOOK THE FACT THAT EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT more than being assertive or charismatic; it also requires being open to insights from those being led! Leadership is functionally a ‘Top Down’ process, but also involves a balance between guiding and being guided by ‘on the line’ working teams. A few reminders for achieving optimal leadership: (1) Embrace active listening skills, attending to nonverbal cues as well as words; (2) Seek diverse perspectives with challenging views, versus reliance on input from ‘yes’ employees; (3) Remain open to learning and acknowledging mistakes; (4) Solicit feedback regularly; (5) Demonstrate authenticity by aligning actions with values; (6) Create and maintain a culture for team members to express ideas and take risks; (7) Call for courtesy consultation in this area of DCG experience.  [NEWSWEEK – 7/13/23]
  • AN INTERESTING FACT FOR CALIFORNIA PARENTS: Under section 25658 of California Code, “any person – including parents – who gives an alcoholic beverage to a person under age 21 is guilty of a misdemeanor.” According to CA Dep’t of Alcoholic Beverage Control, if the minor’s actions then result in someone suffering great bodily injury, the penalty to provider can be $1K plus six months to a year in county jail; if the minor is under age 18, penal code 272 calls for $2,500 fine plus a year in county jail. A simple taste of wine can count.  [SACRAMENTO BEE – 7/23/23]
  • REVERSE AGING COULD BE A REAL POSSIBILITY. The Journal of Aging just published research by prominent Harvard & M.I.T. scientists who claim to have “identified six chemical cocktails which, in less than a week and without compromising cellular identity (in mice & monkeys), can reverse aging in cells and return them into a more youthful state. Preparations for human trials are ongoing… While quacks have a lot to gain from convincing consumers to buy miracle cures, never mind convincing billionaires to underwrite their research, and the reality is that life-extension treatments have remained elusive,” this is a promising new lead.  [FUTURISM NEOSCOPE – 7/18/23]
  • THE LIKELIHOOD FOR LESS CONFUSION IN THE FUTURE ABOUT RIGHT/ WRONG OR BETTER/ WORSE, IS NOT HIGH. “The most important cognitive skill in the 21st century may arguably be not factual knowledge, but Truth discrimination. This requires three categories of skills: working knowledge of a topic, critical thinking to best avoid cognitive biases (like motivation or conspiracy thinking), and media savvy to assess reliability of information sources… Even though we think of True and False as absolute binaries, there is actually a lot of wiggle room in their definitions, and we cannot absolutely remove subjectivity which invites bias. So, we can accept as True a claim that only has a kernel of Truth, or can dismiss as False any claim while knowing there will be some level of imprecision… All of this takes a lot of cognitive work and a high degree of comfort with complexity and uncertainty – none of which are inherent human traits.”  [NEUROLOGICA – 7/18/23]
  •  THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK:

Protecting a child’s innocence should not be political, but somehow has become so among the current battles over censorship and incarceration. “It was once a universal agreement that those who committed crimes against children were the worst criminals to walk among our society. Child trafficking was not a right-wing ‘conspiracy’ and no one felt sympathy for pedophiles.”  But leftist politicians & prosecutors combined with social media have taken the headlines, “as mentally ill use children to full their selfish needs – whether it be a parent pushing gender dysphoria on their child, or men pretending to be women appropriating motherhood to put their illness on display for the world to see… It will take much work to restore the value of life within our society and make crimes against children unthinkable.”  [PATRIOT POST] 

Meanwhile, another California state Bill is progressing which would require judges to consider “racial bias that has historically permeated our criminal justice system” in future prison sentencing – giving black convicts lighter punishments than white convicts for the same crime. “This irrational idea comes from Progressives who consider criminals to be the victims (versus the people they hurt) and that dark skin alone is evidence of their suffering. [WASHINGTON EXAMINER]

And another California state Bill is progressing to allow ‘Speed Enforcement Devices’ – i.e., cameras – to soon monitor traffic in six cities (Los Angeles, Long Beach, Glendale, San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose), on streets with school zones and/or where racing or accidents happen often. Supposedly, the cameras won’t utilize facial recognition, and will be oriented to prevent filming pedestrians or other vehicles. Again, racial bias is involved, so people in low-income neighborhoods who are ticketed would be fined at a lower rate, and also given the option to settle by community service.  [NEWSBREAK]