• FAMILY BUSINESS ADVISORY BOARDS CAN BE THE SALVATION to dynamics that can affect any family group, especially when ownership is spread across a large group of shareholders in increasingly smaller percentages. Those dynamics arise from personality conflicts, concerns about nepotism or abuse of power, as well as challenges of succession, merger or sale – especially differences in perspective about timing, valuation, ongoing financial participation and/or risk. Reality-based and often mediated guidance in developing objectives and process can often make the difference between increasing valuation and preserving the business for next generations, versus having the enterprise lose valuation and even being pulled apart. A well-chosen Board provides honest & objective opinions, while strengthening accountability and strategic thinking – since independent members can ask the challenging questions that family members may not be willing to advance. DCG have decades of experience in forming and/or participating in Advisory Boards. Call us for courtesy consultation.

• IMPLICATIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF BUSINESS AND LEADERSHIP ARE SADLY ADVERSE. A survey of 400,000 Gen Z employees in 160 countries found a 60% decline (compared to earlier generations) in “willingness to stick their heads out unless they have the ‘data’ to back up their opinions. This stems from how they now process information.” Reality is that they’ve mostly experienced information being instantly spoon-fed on their smart phones, during a time that “emphasized transparency & collaboration, so are now unwilling to validate and stand behind their own points of view, without seeking external validation & reference points before making decisions. It’s ironic that the rise in A.I. means technology is thinking more, the newest generation of workers are thinking less.” Prudent Strategic Planning now incorporates HR strategies for developing potential leaders to include “precisely defined procedures, clear consequences rather than abstract goals, concrete & direct language versus big-picture thinking, buddy systems for data validation, and gradual exposure to independent decision-thinking.”  [SMARTBRIEF -10/30/24]
• IMPARTIALITY OF THE U.S. JUDICIAL SYSTEM IS A PRESUMED CORNERSTONE OF OUR DEMOCRACY, and the Code of Conduct for judges clearly requires that family, social, political or other relationships may not influence their conduct or judgement. However, a Wall Street Journal investigation identified over 130 examples where a judge’s stockholdings pointed to conflicts violating that rule, and a recent Northwestern University survey found that firms under securities litigation had overwhelmingly favorable outcomes if they had an executive who had attended the same academic institution at the same time as the judge, plus the more direct the connection was the more favorable was the outcome – such cases were 21% more quickly resolved, 24% more likely to be dismissed, and with 49% lower lawsuit payouts. On the other hand, that survey also suggested that ‘connected’ judges were less likely to offer defendant-friendly outcomes in cases that received wide media coverage. The potentially corrupting influence of these factors on judicial bias should be no surprise to anyone.  [KELLOGG INSIGHT – 10/1/24]
• BETTER LATE THAN NEVER, U.S. DEP’T OF TRANSPORTATION NOW REQUIRES AUTOMATIC AIRLINE CASH REFUNDS if/when carriers: (1) change departure or arrival times more than 3 hours domestic or 6 hours international; (2) change either from a different airport; (3) increase number of connections; (4) downgrade tickets to a lower class of service; (5) change connections less accommodating to persons with disability; (6) fail to deliver baggage within 12 hours of domestic arrival, or 15-30 hours for international depending on length of flight; (7) fail to provide Wi-Fi, seat selection, or entertainment paid for.  Airlines also must now provide live customer service communication 24/7, and cannot substitute vouchers or other forms of refund unless passengers choose to accept. It’s about time!  [TRAVEL PULSE]       
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• THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK: 
• Media Research Center reports that late night talk-show hosts told nearly 1,500 jokes on air about the two presidential candidates, in a ratio of 98% targeting Trump and 2% Harris – a ratio of 40:1.  The mainstream media no doubt dread a second Trump term, but fact is that Trump hatred sells audience and they have a good shot at rebounding from a 3½ year slump in ratings.
•  Three years ago, Boeing Aerospace embraced DEI and incentivized its execs to hit specific DEI targets. Last month, after months of backlash related to several plane incidents which put people’s lives at risk on Boeing flights and criticism for putting its ‘woke’ agenda ahead of safety, the company dismantled its global Diversity, Equity & Inclusion department as part of a company ‘overhaul.’
•  Active military service members are authorized to file a federal write-in absentee ballot, but somehow the Pentagon stockpile of ballots was “depleted and not replenished, consistent with (1) both Biden and Harris refusals to acknowledge that U.S. military members are serving overseas in combat, and (2) the Administration’s actions of mobilizing manpower, resources, and tax dollars to block state-level election integrity measures through lawsuits and smears.” [PATRIOT POST]