• LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT HOW WELL OTHERS ACT BASED ON BEING ‘UNDERSTOOD,’ with clarity being the true differentiator between average managers and transformative leaders. When Leaders & Managers focus less on sounding impressive and more on being understood, they unlock trust, inspire action, and consistently drive higher performance. A McKinsey study reports that seven of every ten failed businesses cite ‘lack of clarity’ and ‘poor communication’ as a core reason. So, focus on sounding clear and convincing in a manner which connects to workers is a critical factor in optimizing their performance and resultant impact on productivity & profitability. DCG consultancy can help.

 

  • AFTER LAST MONTH’S RAINSTORMS, HUGE NEW POTHOLES LINE MAJOR STREETS in southern California.  While road crews filled over 42,000 potholes in Los Angeles County alone last year, a backlog of nearly 100 thousand remaining are increasingly causing thousands of tire blowouts. Potholes result primarily from heavy trucks which cause cracks in the pavement, allowing rainwater to seep through, with vibration allowing the wet base material to settle or shift to form a cavity that ultimately caves in. Residential streets further suffer weakness from tree roots which push through the wet pavement, combined with seasonal temperature swings which cause asphalt to expand and contract. Eyes on the road at all times is safest protection.

 

  • ANOTHER PERSPECTIVE ON A.I.: As a technology tool which, for the first time, responds, reflects and challenges how we think, it’s not surprising that people whose work is fundamentally cognitive – accomplished leaders, professionals, creators, Board members – are destabilized.  The reason is “because it forces re-learning without offering a stable end point where mastery feels complete. It’s unfamiliar territory where experiences matter, but without a rulebook this no longer extrapolates cleanly into the future… AI as a co-thinking tool doesn’t just change how work gets done, it exposes how uncomfortable it is to recognize how much we rely on stable patterns of learning, and that artificial intelligence isn’t just another productivity tool, it’s actually a mirror that talks back, and is fast becoming one of the defining skills of the next decade.” [PHILIP TOPHAM]

 

  • OVER TWO-THIRDS OF LEADERS & MANAGERS WHO ‘BURN-OUT’ ATTRIBUTE IT TO WORKPLACE STRESS, and today’s rapid & unanticipated implementation of A.I. is further increasing their risk of ‘Burn-Out.’  Principal Warning Signs and distress signals are being recognized as an increasing combination of behaviors reflecting: (1) Loss of energy & feelings of weariness; (2) Detachment from events & co-workers; (3) Boredom & cynicism of what’s going on; (4) Impatience & irritability; (5) Feeling unappreciated, mistreated, angry; (6) Heightened disconnection from the environment; (7) Lingering headaches/ colds/ backaches (prolonged by stress & emotional tension). The real danger is nonfeeling – the denial that these signals mean anything is wrong – until it’s too late to modify workload & challenges, then Burn-Out hits!  DCG coaching includes focus on WorkLife balance. Call for courtesy consult.

 

                     THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK

 

  • A common phenomenon in hierarchical organizations is that individuals tend to be promoted (often as an alternative to compensation increase) based on performance in their current roles rather than their competence, thus eventually reaching a level where the skills that made them successful in their previous roles do not translate effectively to the demands of the new position. So, it’s at that level, incompetence notwithstanding, is where they end up.

 

  • Latest analysis of most expensive median-priced housing in America last year found seven of the top ten zip codes to be in California.  Atherton is second highest in the country at 8.3M median pricing, along with three areas in Newport Beach, Los Altos, Stinson Beach, and Santa Barbara.  Miami Beach took the top spot at $9.5M median (between cheapest sale at $1.4M and highest at $24M), plus two New York areas. The analysis was based on Federal Reserve Q2 data.

 

  • LATEST TEXTING CODE FOR SENIORS:  LOL – little old lady;  GOM – grumpy old man;  FWIW – forgot where I was;  TTYL – talk to you louder;  GGA – got gas again;  SGGP – sorry gotta go poop;  PIMP – pooped in my pants.