Serenity Now

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hcBE1UMc44c/XZ6p0hb9nAI/AAAAAAABIW4/XQG5m93RSa8pcM6p4gDRPaTRHr04lGvTACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Edward_Hopper%2B-%2BNighthawks%2B1942.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="873" data-original-width="1600" height="348" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hcBE1UMc44c/XZ6p0hb9nAI/AAAAAAABIW4/XQG5m93RSa8pcM6p4gDRPaTRHr04lGvTACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Edward_Hopper%2B-%2BNighthawks%2B1942.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-size: 12px;"><span style="font-family: "merriweather sans" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif;">Nighthawks by Edward Hopper, 1942 (public domain - <a data-cke-saved-href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nighthawks_(painting)#/media/File:Nighthawks_by_Edward_Hopper_1942.jpg" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nighthawks_(painting)#/media/File:Nighthawks_by_Edward_Hopper_1942.jpg" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a> via the <a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/111628/nighthawks" href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/111628/nighthawks" target="_blank">Art Institute of Chicago</a>)</span></span></em></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> I'm fascinated by words. I enjoy creating turns of phrase (like saying how the legal department is the one that puts the 'no' in innovation), listening to those who know how to wield the English language, and the discovery of odd and arcane words.<br /> <br /> I came across just such a word last week: <b><i>ephemerons</i></b>.<br /> <br /> If you're anything like me, you probably haven't heard or seen it used before, but you can discern what it means.<br /> <br /> Knowing the meaning of ephemeral (temporary) or ephemera (memorabilia expected to have short-term popularity) and the context in which it was used, I could discern it.<br /> <br /> I found it in <b><i><a href="https://amzn.to/33dz0lu" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Writer's Life</a></i></b> by Gay Talese, in which he wrote about being a newspaper journalist (circa 1960). He said:<br /> <br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "We were ephemerons."</blockquote> <br /> Even then — nearly sixty years ago — he knew that what was being chronicled for print in <i>The New York Times</i> was here and then gone in the space of a day.<br /> <br /> In some ways, that seems like a luxury today, when the life cycle of a tweet is hours or even minutes.<br /> <br /> Campaigns, emails to employees, quarterly earnings calls, tweets, texts, Stories (from Snapchat or copycats Instagram/Facebook) — not to mention the insanity of the news cycle — they're constantly surrounding us, threatening to drown us in a sea of information.<br /> <br /> I recently wrote: "<a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/2019/10/too-much-information.html" target="_blank">We used to consume the news. Now it consumes us</a>."<br /> <br /> <br /> What's a well-meaning but fuddled individual to do?<br /> <br /> Well, over the course of the last few days, I've come across disparate pieces of content that all point in the right direction.<br /> <br /> Ready for the answer?<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> It's <b><i>silence</i></b>.<br /> <br /> That's it. Peace and quiet.<br /> <br /> Plus the ability to be comfortable with it and to make use of it.<br /> <br /> <br /> In an interview on <a href="https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/cafe/stay-tuned-with-preet" target="_blank">Stay Tuned with Preet</a>, <i>New Yorker</i> editor David Remnick said silence is <b>an interviewer's best tool</b>. When an interviewer is comfortable with silence, it gives them time to think and it leaves the interviewee an opportunity to fill the gap, which can lead to more revealing answers.<br /> <br /> When I give speeches, one of the tactics I use is the <b>long pause</b>. It's a calculated risk. Some people are afraid of silence when they're on a stage in front of an audience. There are too many speakers who are so excited to share everything they know, and they let everything pour forth at the speed of sound.<br /> <br /> Me? I pause.<br /> <br /> Why? Because it lets people soak in what I'm saying (some of it is deep). But also because it lends more <b>gravitas</b>.<br /> <br /> Try it in a meeting some time, when you have control of the floor.<br /> <br /> People will be on the edge of their seats. They'll be eagerly anticipating <b>what's coming next</b>.<br /> <br /> <br /> I was treated to <a href="https://twitter.com/profgalloway/status/1180890056082505728" target="_blank">a short video</a> of <b>Mister Rogers</b> (aren't all of his messages so simple yet so profound?) talking to Charlie Rose in which he reflected on our boisterous world:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "A lot of people who have allowed me to have some silence. I don’t think we get that very much any more. I'm very concerned that our society is much more interested in information than wonder. In noise rather than sound. How do we encourage reflection?"</blockquote> <br /> <br /> <i>Information </i>rather than <i><b>wonder</b></i>.<br /> <br /> Think about that for a moment. We just mentioned <a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/2019/10/too-much-information.html" target="_blank">General Eisenhower and the power of imagination</a> over sheer data earlier this week.<br /> <br /> What makes your imagination race? What gives you <b>wonder</b>?<br /> <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> [<b>Bonus: I'll have more on this tomorrow exclusively for my <a href="http://patreon.com/scottmonty" target="_blank">paid subscribers</a>. For as little as $5 a month, you can <a href="http://patreon.com/scottmonty" target="_blank">get these updates</a></b>.]</div> <br /> <br /> <br /> We can't wonder if we don't have quiet time. Time to reflect. <b>Serenity</b>.<br /> <br /> Serenity—or <b>tranquility</b>—is perhaps the greatest virtue in life.<br /> <br /> To be tranquil is to be able to sit quietly and enjoy today without a nod to the past or a glance toward the future.<br /> <br /> That observation is trite, I know. But aren't all the great truths of life trite?<br /> <br /> Sadly, not many people can achieve the related mood of perfect serenity. When they are young their eyes are on a distant horizon. When they grow older their memories play tricks with the past.<br /> <br /> And when we're in the middle, living our lives, running our companies, managing our teams, that's the most critical time for reflection.<br /> <br /> In an article in the <i><a href="https://hbr.org/2017/03/why-you-should-make-time-for-self-reflection-even-if-you-hate-doing-it" target="_blank">Harvard Business Review</a></i>, Jennifer Porter wrote:<br /> <br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "Reflection gives the brain an opportunity to pause amidst the chaos, untangle and sort through observations and experiences, consider multiple possible interpretations, and create meaning. This meaning becomes learning, which can then inform future mindsets and actions."</blockquote> <br /> <br /> <b>Reflection </b>leads to <b>meaning</b>, meaning becomes <b>learning</b>, and that <b>informs </b>our decisions.<br /> <br /> <br /> If you're a leader who exhibits <b>emotional intelligence</b> (and I hope that you are), that consists partly of self-awareness, and you can't have self-awareness without self-reflection.<br /> <br /> <br /> Serenity is a precious compound. But because it only exists in the present, it is fleeting. Ephemeral.<br /> <br /> It is hard to capture in the imagination. It's even more difficult to capture in daily motion.<br /> <br /> <br /> <h2> <b>Ideas for Reflection</b></h2> There's no single best way to reflect and be introspective. You'll need to find what works best for you. But here are a few ideas to get you started.<br /> <br /> <h4> <b>Quiet mornings</b></h4> Do you sleep with your <b>phone next to your bed</b>? You should stop that right now. And when you do get up in the morning, don't make your phone the first thing you reach for.<br /> <br /> Begin your day with 15 minutes of <b>meditation </b>or <b>exercise</b>. Or maybe making coffee is a ritual for you. Use that time to turn inward. Don't get sucked into emails, Facebook updates, tweets or anything electronic until you've had time to spend time with yourself.<br /> <br /> <h4> <b>On Paper</b></h4> Perhaps there's a favorite book or devotional you like to read. Or maybe you like to express your thoughts by writing in a journal. Spending time with paper objects can help with reflection.<br /> <br /> <h4> <b>Block Your Calendar</b></h4> If it's not written down, it's not a priority. And if it's not in your daily schedule, it gets neglected. Block time on your calendar when you can spend it by yourself, working on yourself.<br /> <br /> <h4> <b>What You Need</b></h4> As you consider what you'll be reflecting on, consider the questions you might want to answer:<br /> <br /> <ol> <li>What's holding me back?</li> <li>How can I be more helpful to my colleagues?</li> <li>What perspective(s) am I missing?</li> <li>What do I tend to neglect or shy away from?</li> <li>What's working well right now? How can I do more of that?</li> </ol> <br /> <br /> <br /> I hope you'll commit to joining me for a <b>slower</b>, more <b>deliberate </b>approach amidst the knee-jerk reactionaries of the online world.<br /> <br /> Together, we'll parse out what matters and what will make you a better leader.<br /> <br /> The prescription is undeniably simple:<br /> <br /> <b>Less dot com. More dot calm.</b><br /> <br /> <br /> <h2> <b>A Quote to Ponder</b></h2> <blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;"> <b><i><span style="font-size: large;">"It is not by muscle, speed, or physical dexterity that great things are achieved, but by reflection, force of character, and judgment."</span></i></b></blockquote> <div style="text-align: right;"> – Cicero</div> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ucWj6T4Ql2g/XZ6tzW5ohZI/AAAAAAABIXE/rct-6LrAf2ga_foD0f8KNzhtkaaTGeFdwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/FTBT02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1021" data-original-width="1600" height="255" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ucWj6T4Ql2g/XZ6tzW5ohZI/AAAAAAABIXE/rct-6LrAf2ga_foD0f8KNzhtkaaTGeFdwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/FTBT02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> I've got 2-minute videos with something to reflect on. 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Serenity Now

Nighthawks by Edward Hopper, 1942 (public domain - Wikipedia via the Art Institute of Chicago ) I'm fascinated by words. I enjoy c...

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Too Much Information

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tit02LGVLEI/XZtaZ3PbnII/AAAAAAABINU/NNjx6HuxbqEF5vL0UdBEtZTFBjuZPFHbQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Rembrandt%2B-%2BThe%2BParable%2Bof%2Bthe%2BRich%2BFool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1453" height="474" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tit02LGVLEI/XZtaZ3PbnII/AAAAAAABINU/NNjx6HuxbqEF5vL0UdBEtZTFBjuZPFHbQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Rembrandt%2B-%2BThe%2BParable%2Bof%2Bthe%2BRich%2BFool.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rembrandt_-_The_Parable_of_the_Rich_Fool.jpg" target="_blank">The Parable of the Rich Fool</a> by Rembrandt, 1627 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons)</i></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> We're surrounded! By more data than ever before in history.<br /> <br /> But like much of life, it's not how much you have, but what you do with it that matters.<br /> <br /> In the words of Young Sherlock Holmes:<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <b><i><span style="font-size: large;">"A great detective relies on perception, intelligence, and imagination."</span></i></b></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <br /> And so does the capable executive.<br /> <br /> <br /> We're awash in <b>information</b>. It's coming at us from every angle.<br /> <br /> And while there are methods for reducing the onslaught (turn off your phone notifications, go on a digital detox, mindfulness training), it seems that between the news cycle and business data, we can't escape it.<br /> <br /> We used to consume news. Now news consumes us.<br /> <br /> When it comes to making business decisions, usually more data is beneficial. As Sherlock Holmes replied when Dr. Watson asked him his theory of a case:<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <i><b><span style="font-size: large;">"Data! data! data! I can't make bricks without clay."</span></b></i></div> <br /> Wise words. And yet...<br /> <br /> There seems to be a desire for more data and more information in certain areas of business. What we fail to realize is that too much data can actually keep us from making decisions properly.<br /> <br /> Data alone will not solve the problem. With any experienced leader or team, there's a blend of data and experience—call it <b>intuition</b>—that allows for insights.<br /> <br /> <br /> <h3> <b>The Felicity of Facility</b></h3> Some of us have a natural aptitude for numbers that makes data analysis particularly easy. <a href="https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/states-mind/hash-it-out" target="_blank">Charles Baudelaire made this observation</a> about the connection between music and math in <i>Artificial Paradises</i> (1860):<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "Musical notes become numbers; and if your mind is gifted with some mathematical aptitude, the harmony to which you listen, while keeping its voluptuous and sensual character, transforms itself into a vast rhythmical operation where numbers beget numbers, and whose phases and generation follow with an inexplicable ease and an agility which equals that of the person playing."</blockquote> <br /> To some, spreadsheets and reports may seem like a jumble of numbers. To others, there are opportunities that cry out.<br /> <br /> <br /> <h3> <b>Whither Weather?</b></h3> During the planning for the <b>D-Day</b> invasion of Normandy, meteorologists informed <b>General Eisenhower</b> that there was a series of storms heading across the Atlantic that would delay the operation, then scheduled for June 5. Conditions had to be just right: calm seas and clear skies.<br /> <br /> If the operation went ahead as planned, it would have been a failure; if the Allies waited for the next cycle of tides and improved weather, they would have lost the element of surprise.<br /> <br /> However, an updated weather report came through showing a high pressure system that would intersect with Normandy on June 6th. It left a very tight window.<br /> <br /> The Germans saw the same forecasts, but didn't think the brief moment of calm would allow the Allies to advance. <b>Field Marshal Rommel</b> was convinced of this and left for a few days in Paris.<br /> <br /> Later, asked why D-Day had been a success, Eisenhower said, "<a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/07/01/why-weather-forecasting-keeps-getting-better" target="_blank">Because we had better meteorologists than the Germans</a>."<br /> <br /> While this makes sense from a pithy storytelling standpoint, it's actually not true. The meteorologists on both sides of the war saw the same data. But German leadership failed to take into account just how much the Allies wanted to win the war.<br /> <br /> Data will only tell part of the story.<br /> <br /> Leaders need to put the pieces together using <b>perception </b>and <b>imagination </b>to create <b>insights </b>and <b>informed decisions</b>.<br /> <div> <br /></div> <br /> <br /> <h2> <b>Stories of the Week</b></h2> <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">"I have gathered a posy of other men's flowers, and nothing but the thread that binds them is my own." – Montaigne</span></i><br /> <br /> <h3> <b>Listen to the Numbers</b></h3> <b>Podcasting </b>has been with us for a while, and now <b><a href="https://www.vulture.com/2019/09/podcasting-history-three-eras.html?fbclid=IwAR3gSIVC2Wv7q2o2f0C7uABzIO6wcfToBBlBugnBbBfqRH0XDhQFw4k6V1U" target="_blank">we've entered the era of Big Podcasting</a></b>. (Vulture)<br /> <br /> And if you have a podcast, <b><a href="https://blog.pacific-content.com/downloads-arent-the-whole-story-da7a74252b1d" target="_blank">there are more to the numbers than just downloads</a></b>. (Blog Pacific)<br /> <br /> <i><b>My take:</b> Don't get into podcasting for the numbers (it takes a long time to build up an audience if you don't already have one). Do it because you've got a good story to tell well</i>.<br /> <br /> <br /> <h3> <b>Data Isn't the Only Thing That's Piling Up</b></h3> <b>Cars </b>have reached a tipping point in <b>New York City</b>. Is it time to ban them? A fascinating look at <b><a href="https://ny.curbed.com/2019/10/3/20896837/nyc-traffic-history-pedestrian-cars" target="_blank">the history of Manhattan traffic</a></b>. (Curbed)<br /> <br /> <i><b>My take:</b> The good news is there are many alternatives in the mobility space, from public transportation to ride hailing to individual mobility devices (bikes & scooters) to share the burden</i>.<br /> <br /> <br /> <h3> <b>The Gig Is Up</b></h3> The greatest problem of the <b>gig economy</b> isn't technology at all; <b><a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90413617/the-gig-economys-deepest-problem-isnt-about-tech-at-all" target="_blank">it's about the poverty</a></b>. (Fast Company)<br /> <br /> In the historically exploitative low-wage work of <b>food delivery</b>, <b><a href="https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2019/09/20/what-the-apps-that-bring-food-to-your-door-mean-for-delivery-workers/" target="_blank">apps are changing things</a></b>. But how much? “It’s a hustle. Back in the day you used to have hard drugs on the street, guys would pick corners—now it’s just that, with apps.” (The New York Review of Books)<br /> <br /> If you think <b>WeWork </b>is in trouble now, <b><a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/10/4/20898489/wework-recession-real-estate-experts" target="_blank">just wait until the recession hits</a></b>. (Recode)<br /> <br /> <i><b>My take:</b> Frictionless apps mean that we get products and services almost without thinking. And <u>that's</u> the problem.</i><br /> <br /> <br /> <h3> <b>Good News / Bad News</b></h3> More Americans are <b><a href="https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/10/more-americans-than-ever-are-getting-news-from-social-media-even-as-they-say-social-media-makes-news-worse/" target="_blank">getting their news from social media</a></b>, even as they say social media news "worse." Platforms vary by age, but the trend is clear. (Nieman Labs)<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/night/charts-graphs/dusk-dawn" target="_blank">From Dusk to Dawn</a></b>: a book of hours for modern night. The full image is available via the link. (Lapham's Quarterly)<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R8MqUSw1rNM/XZuGgzuaSUI/AAAAAAABINg/OTPvcOuf17oRhU7xzcNyClbaqWLCB5yIwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/from%2Bdusk%2Bto%2Bdawn.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="1573" height="282" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-R8MqUSw1rNM/XZuGgzuaSUI/AAAAAAABINg/OTPvcOuf17oRhU7xzcNyClbaqWLCB5yIwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/from%2Bdusk%2Bto%2Bdawn.png" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> <br /> <h2> <b>For the Curious Mind</b></h2> <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Curiosity is the lust of the mind." – Thomas Hobbes</span></i><br /> <br /> When you're out and walking around in the city (or anywhere else, for that matter), staring at your smartphone <b><a href="https://aeon.co/essays/how-smartphones-silence-what-the-urban-landscape-tries-to-say" target="_blank">detracts from the rich tapestry of your surroundings</a></b>. (Aeon) <i>Heads up. Take in what the world has to offer</i>.<br /> <br /> Don't chase the wrong kind of <b>happiness</b>. Here are <b><a href="https://qz.com/1716835/eleven-habits-of-supremely-happy-people/" target="_blank">eleven habits of supremely happy people</a></b>. (Quartz) <i>Hint: some of the above links relate to this</i>.<br /> <br /> <b><a href="http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2019/07/the-surprisingly-badass-life-of-the-inventor-of-the-saxophone-adolphe-sax/" target="_blank">The surprisingly badass life of Adolph Sax</a></b>, the inventor of the saxophone. (Today I Found Out)  <i>Two words: <b>resilience </b>and <b>persistence</b></i>.<br /> <br /> The fast track to <b>a life well-lived</b> is <b><a href="https://aeon.co/ideas/the-fast-track-to-a-life-well-lived-is-feeling-grateful" target="_blank">feeling grateful</a></b>. (Aeon) <i>Thank you for being here</i>.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <h2> <b>A Heart Replete with Thankfulness</b></h2> <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder." – G.K. Chesterton</span></i><br /> <br /> I'm starting a new section: each week, I'll express my gratitude for someone or something particularly meaningful. (See above)<br /> <br /> This week, I'm grateful for the <b><a href="https://newslettercreators.com/accelerator-course/" target="_blank">Newsletter Accelerator Course</a></b> from <b>Josh Spector</b>. It's a comprehensive course with over 20 lessons, from defining and naming your newsletter to identifying your target audience, increasing conversions and engagement, monetization, and more.<br /> <br /> Stop what you're doing. If you have a newsletter or are thinking about starting a newsletter, this is the only resource you'll need.<br /> <br /> Josh also writes the fantastic newsletter <a href="https://fortheinterested.com/" target="_blank">For The Interested</a>, which you should also check out.<br /> <div> <br /></div> <br /> <br /> <h2> <b>Recommended Reading/Listening</b></h2> <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Let me recommend this book." – Arthur Conan Doyle</span></i><br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rk0IGoIEn30/XZuH-eTAnzI/AAAAAAABINs/mUX2OSAeqeobmZlmjAxWojftPJrccSSFwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/elt.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rk0IGoIEn30/XZuH-eTAnzI/AAAAAAABINs/mUX2OSAeqeobmZlmjAxWojftPJrccSSFwCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/elt.png" width="200" /></a></div> <br /> Who invented pants? How did ‘pink for girls’ and ‘blue for boys’ happen? What do dogs say when they bark? We all have questions about otherwise mundane or obscure things. Don't leave these mysteries unexplained. That's what <b><a href="https://gimletmedia.com/shows/every-little-thing" target="_blank">Every Little Thing</a></b> does. If you have a question that needs answering, call the ELT Help Line at 833-RING-ELT.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--clcV65uOxc/XZuICrYGblI/AAAAAAABINw/Ipes65eFuhUajkXmmhrTCI_rbwAEdow4gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/indistractable.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--clcV65uOxc/XZuICrYGblI/AAAAAAABINw/Ipes65eFuhUajkXmmhrTCI_rbwAEdow4gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/indistractable.jpg" /></a></div> <br /> What could you accomplish if you could stay focused? In <i><b><a href="https://amzn.to/2LrWgGC" target="_blank">Indistractable</a></b></i>, Nir Eyal reveals the hidden psychology driving us to distraction. He describes why solving the problem is not as simple as swearing off our devices: Abstinence is impractical and often makes us want more. In this empowering and optimistic book you'll find practical techniques to control your time and attention—helping you live the life you really want.<br /> <br /> <br /> <div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> <div> <h3 style="font-family: "Open Sans", serif, sans-serif; font-size: 19.6px; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; text-align: center;"> <b><a href="https://scottmonty.us19.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=4b1784f23a77243c11e9bc4b6&id=05d7157b3e" style="color: #280170; text-decoration-line: none;">Subscribe</a> | <a href="mailto:newsletter@scottmonty.com?subject=Sponsorship%20inquiry" style="color: #280170; text-decoration-line: none;">Sponsor this Newsletter</a></b></h3> </div> </div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> <br /></div> <div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> <br /><div style="text-align: center;"> I'm an executive <b>advisor/coach</b>. A corporate <b>conscience</b>. A C-suite whisperer.</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Executives are in constant demand, have relentless deliverables, and try to set a long-term strategic course. All while trying to keep up with trends and deliver short-term value.</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> I bring <b>Fortune 10</b> executive experience and an outside perspective to help you with <b>growth </b>and <b>focus</b>. </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Bring me in to work with your C-Suite, review your team structure, provide strategic advice, or speak at an event.</div> </div> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Disclosure: some links may be Amazon affiliates; we earn a small commission when you make a purchase.</span></i></div> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />

Too Much Information

The Parable of the Rich Fool by Rembrandt, 1627 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons) We're surrounded! By more data than ever befor...

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Keeping Your Employees From Descending into Chaos or Apathy

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-niwxChdtayE/XZZUFdOc7iI/AAAAAAABIKc/M20vpSw90VIaauNPG7jB606DmrE5F8QCgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Henryk%2BSiemiradzki%2B-%2BChristian%2BDirce%2B1897.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="1200" height="308" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-niwxChdtayE/XZZUFdOc7iI/AAAAAAABIKc/M20vpSw90VIaauNPG7jB606DmrE5F8QCgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Henryk%2BSiemiradzki%2B-%2BChristian%2BDirce%2B1897.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Siemiradzki_Christian_Dirce.jpg" target="_blank">Christian Dirce</a> by Henryk Siemiradski, 1897 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons)</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> Can you imagine living in a time when you had no idea who would become your country's next leader or when it might happen? This is what it was like during certain periods of the <b>Roman Empire</b>. (No present-day jokes, please.)<br /> <br /> <b>Caligula </b>was so insane that he was murdered by the Praetorian Guard in 41 A.D. Then <b>Claudius </b>ushered in 13 years of relatively calm leadership, until he was poisoned by his wife Agrippina (who just happened to be the mother of <b>Nero</b>) in 54.<br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://amzn.to/333nclI" target="_blank">Nero's reign</a></b> ended in 68, but not before he left an overwhelmingly negative impression on the Roman people. Although he was a populist, he was known for tyranny and extravagance, excessively spending publicly and privately. The historian <b>Tacitus </b>said that the Roman people found him to be compulsive and corrupt. When Rome burned, he seized the opportunity to blame the Christians for the fire, and burned them alive, motivated apparently not by justice but by cruelty.<br /> <br /> How can regular people live like that?<br /> <br /> On one hand, they just went on with their lives. Because, hey — what are you gonna do?<br /> <br /> <h2> <b>The Opportunity for the C-Suite</b></h2> But as a leader, the last thing you want is your employees ignoring you and mindlessly going about their work. You need to provide stability, hope, and certainty.<br /> <br /> Your job is to share the <b>vision</b>. To <b>inspire</b>. To be a <b>steward </b>of the brand.<br /> <br /> The last thing you want is for employees to have to choose between apathy and chaos.<br /> <br /> And a tangible way to do that is through <b>succession planning</b>.<br /> <br /> When I worked with <b>Alan Mulally</b> at Ford, he made it clear that the most important job of a manager at any level is to prepare the next generation of leadership to take the helm.<br /> <br /> <br /> While it may seem fatalistic to plan your own exit and <b><a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/2018/11/the-reluctant-leader-in-all-of-us.html" target="_blank">you might be reluctant</a></b> to do so, the reality is, your time is limited. Just as Romans were certain they were powerless to do anything about a mad emperor, leaders should be confident in their power to<b> put a succession plan together</b>.<br /> <br /> One of the first steps in the plan is to <b>surround yourself with strong team members</b>. While tyrants don't like to be questioned, the emotionally intelligent leader is comfortable being challenged by people who have complementary strengths. <b>Asking questions</b> leads to <b>better answers</b>, both for our colleagues and for ourselves (oh, how Socrates would be proud!).<br /> <br /> You also want to be sure that those talented leaders feel empowered with a <b>talent development program</b> that extends their leadership qualities.<br /> <br /> And like any parent, the most difficult stage is knowing when to step away from the process. Whether you're holding onto the back of a bike, steadying your child as she pedals without training wheels for the first time, or grooming a new CEO, you need to recognize when you aren't needed in the preparation stages any longer.<br /> <br /> If you're on this journey as an <b>emotionally-intelligent leader </b>already, then it's likely that you have a good sense of <b>self awareness</b>. You knew when to insert yourself into a process and when to back away. And if you've demonstrated that over time, your team trusts you and you trust them.<br /> <br /> <br /> When you do leave the stage — whether it's this mortal coil or your current job — you leave a <b>legacy</b>.<br /> <br /> You'll be judged not only by the <b>results </b>of what you leave behind, but by the <b>processes </b>you followed and the <b>lives</b> you touched.<br /> <br /> Here's hoping that you find the right inspiration to lead boldly, ethically, and openly.<br /> <br /> <hr /> <br /> <br /> P.S. After spending time with people who are clearly more talented than me last week (such people are legion and easy to find), I was inspired to start doing <b>video </b>again.<br /> <br /> Longtime followers may remember the Sunday evening live videos I used to do on Facebook. Between Hollywood award shows and the immense popularity of Game of Thrones, that was doomed from the start.<br /> <br /> Now, I've got a short-form series I'm doing each week (or as the mood grabs me). These are two-minute hot takes on leadership issues that I'm calling <b><i>Fit To Be Tied</i></b>.<br /> <br /> You can follow me on <a href="http://twitter.com/scottmonty" target="_blank">Twitter</a> to see them there, or even better, check out <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZxCvSU94mk" target="_blank">my YouTube channel</a> and see what some C-level executives have said about me.<br /> <br /> And while I have you, <b>can I work with a member of your executive team this quarter?</b> I'm taking on clients for advising and coaching in the communications and culture area, and speaking at company events. I would appreciate any introductions.<br /> <br /> Thanks, and I'll see you on the Internet.<br /> <div> <br /></div> <br /> <br />

Keeping Your Employees From Descending into Chaos or Apathy

Christian Dirce by Henryk Siemiradski, 1897 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons) Can you imagine living in a time when you had no idea ...

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The Secret of My Succession

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GOIbSWVK5PE/XZLu-o4hktI/AAAAAAABIGQ/eiBoBCT_PsoJbe__fT1dwC8DdW-_Ok7VACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/John%2BTrumbull%2B-%2BGeneral%2BGeorge%2BWashington%2BResigning%2Bhis%2BCommission.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1047" data-original-width="1600" height="418" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GOIbSWVK5PE/XZLu-o4hktI/AAAAAAABIGQ/eiBoBCT_PsoJbe__fT1dwC8DdW-_Ok7VACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/John%2BTrumbull%2B-%2BGeneral%2BGeorge%2BWashington%2BResigning%2Bhis%2BCommission.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption"><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Capitol_rotunda#/media/File:General_George_Washington_Resigning_his_Commission.jpg">General George Washington Resigning His Commission</a> by John Trumbull, Architect of the Capitol, 1817 (public domain - Wikpedia)</i></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> A brief note before we begin.<br /> <br /> I'm changing things up a bit. I'm officially retiring the name "The Full Monty" from my newsletter. It was a good run, but if you've been following along, these updates no longer feature scores of curated stories rolled into one update. There are still stories; just fewer of them.<br /> <br /> Excellent daily newsletters like <b><a href="http://morningbrew.com/daily/r/?kid=7bcbd7" target="_blank">Morning Brew</a></b> and <b><a href="https://nextdraft.com/" target="_blank">NextDraft</a> </b>are much better equipped to keep up with the pace of industry news and provide a mass of curated stories.<br /> <br /> I suppose this change had been coming for a while, but I just wasn't ready to make it (or admit it).<br /> <br /> Where are my thoughts now? On bigger issues: strategy, leadership, integrity, and growth, sprinkled with valuable lessons from history and literature. In short, a chance for more <b><a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/2019/05/the-need-for-serenity.html" target="_blank">reflection</a></b> on what matters most to leaders.<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <b><i><span style="font-size: large;">"It is not by muscle, speed, or physical dexterity that great things are achieved, but by reflection, force of character, and judgment."</span></i></b></div> <div style="text-align: right;"> <span style="font-size: large;">– Cicero</span></div> <br /> I'll be back again later this week. (If you can believe it, some subscribers are even opting for an exclusive <a href="http://patreon.com/scottmonty" target="_blank">third update</a> each week!) I hope you'll take this journey with me and encourage others to do the same.<br /> <br /> <hr /> <br /> We all have a finite amount of time on this earth. And an even more limited time in our jobs, despite a possible desire to remain on longer.<br /> <br /> At times, the <b>ego </b>can get in the way—even in the best leaders. But more so from those who might not be quite as competent. Notice I didn't say <b>charismatic</b>; there are far too many instances where charisma makes up for talent deficit disorder in leaders. <br /> <br /> The <b>Roman Empire</b> lasted nearly 1,000 years, but it had its fair share of leadership issues, particularly in the latter half. Consider:<br /> <ul> <li>The year 69 A.D. was called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_of_the_Four_Emperors">The Year of the Four Emperors</a> (I won't name them all, because it'll get really tedious as we move on) </li> <li>In 193 A.D., the Empire experienced <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_of_the_Five_Emperors">The Year of the Five Emperors</a> </li> <li>And they only had to wait another 45 years for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_of_the_Six_Emperors">The Year of the Six Emperors</a> in 238 A.D. </li> </ul> <br /> What was causing all of this upheaval and a revolving door on Capitoline Hill? Power struggles from within the army and confusion over succession rules.<br /> <br /> In the past week, we saw turnover at some high-profile companies with at least one superstar CEO: <b>Juul</b>, <b>eBay</b>, and most notably <b>WeWork </b><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2019/09/26/four-ceos-were-dethroned-just-this-week-the-days-of-the-powerful-untouchable-ceo-may-be-over/amp/">fired their chief executives</a>.<br /> <br /> Mismanagement, a new direction, incompetence—the reasons are many. But in light of this, the market is experiencing some hiccups.<br /> <br /> An orderly transition matters for all stakeholders, not just investors. Employees, suppliers, customers, shareholders: they all need <a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/2019/06/say-what-you-do-and-do-what-you-say.html"><b>consistency</b></a>, <a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/2019/09/truth-and-consequences.html"><b>transparency</b></a>, and a sense of <b><a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/2018/07/the-5-cs-of-earning-loyalty-amid.html">certainty</a> </b>in an era of change and chaos.<br /> <br /> In handing in his commission as general and later <a href="https://lithub.com/george-washington-citizens-by-birth-or-choice-will-make-america-great/">relinquishing the presidency after two terms</a>, <b>George Washington</b> demonstrated leadership that didn't fall prey to ego (and was very conscious about such appearances).<br /> <br /> Ever since 1797, we've witnessed a peaceful transition of power from our nation's chief executives. As ever, Washington served as an example to them and to leaders everywhere about the need to put ego aside for the greater good.<br /> <br /> <br /> <hr /> <br /> <h2> <b>Industry Stories</b></h2> <i>"I have gathered a posy of other men's flowers, and nothing but the thread that binds them is my own." – Montaigne</i><br /> <br /> <h3> <b>Uncivil War</b></h3> Facebook and YouTube will <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/9/26/20885783/facebook-twitter-youtube-policies-political-content">allow politicians to say whatever they want</a> on the platforms because the tech companies think their speech is "newsworthy." This puts them in the same camp as Twitter. No one wants to be a referee in a political cage match. (Recode)<br /> <br /> <i><b>My take:</b> Fasten your seatbelts. We're about to see the limits of this theory get tested.</i><br /> <br /> <br /> <h3> <b>Missed Information</b></h3> In April 2018, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s CEO, told Congress about an ambitious plan to share huge amounts of posts, links and other user data with researchers around the world so that they could study and flag disinformation on the site. Spoiler: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/29/technology/facebook-disinformation.html">they're not going to make the deadline</a>. (The New York Times)<br /> <br /> <i><b>My take:</b> Surprise, surprise, surprise. Hey, it's only democracy that's at stake. NBD.</i><br /> <br /> <br /> <h3> <b>Putting the Rhythm in Algorithm</b></h3> Teenagers are all about TikTok, the video app that's like a reincarnation of Vine. It's fast. It's quirky. <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/09/30/how-tiktok-holds-our-attention">How does TikTok hold their attention?</a> (The New Yorker)<br /> <br /> <i><b>My take:</b> It's a powerful combination, centered around music and video. And parent company ByteDance is <a href="https://medium.com/whats-new-in-publishing/multi-million-spike-in-pageviews-the-company-behind-tiktok-is-now-shaking-up-news-aggregation-7ad80db372cb">shaking up news </a><a href="https://medium.com/whats-new-in-publishing/multi-million-spike-in-pageviews-the-company-behind-tiktok-is-now-shaking-up-news-aggregation-7ad80db372cb">aggregation</a>.</i><br /> <br /> <br /> <h3> <b>No one: ...</b></h3> <h3> <b>Agency: You Need a Podcast</b></h3> Okay, so even your mother may have a podcast now (mine does, but you need the password to my voicemail to listen to it), but there are still things the noobs need to know. <a href="https://www.adweek.com/digital/the-5-secrets-to-starting-a-new-podcast/">The five secrets to starting a new podcast</a>. (AdWeek)<br /> <br /> <i><b>My take:</b> My own secret (having started four podcasts) and contained in the article above is: figure out what your story is so that it's interesting to people who don't know you. Also, check out the <a href="https://www.podcastoftheyearawards.com/">AdWeek Podcast of the Year Awards 2019</a> (I'm on the jury).</i> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wxAkv5-yyIo/XZLxXSoFkXI/AAAAAAABIGc/AlHUob0CDZMZkaUvQO3PzIxKsC9NXPYYwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/AdWeek%2BPodcast%2Bof%2Bthe%2BYear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="633" data-original-width="1600" height="157" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wxAkv5-yyIo/XZLxXSoFkXI/AAAAAAABIGc/AlHUob0CDZMZkaUvQO3PzIxKsC9NXPYYwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/AdWeek%2BPodcast%2Bof%2Bthe%2BYear.jpg" width="400" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> <h3> <b>Not to be Confused with AdWeek</b></h3> A helpful summary of <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/shamahyder/2019/09/27/what-you-missed-during-ad-week-in-nyc/#c6a36be29af4">seven important takeaways from Advertising Week</a> in New York last week, including improved analytics, the difference in generational perceptions about privacy, and more. (Forbes)<br /> <br /> <i><b>My take:</b> Much of the above information comes from the <a href="https://www.adobe.com/content/dam/www/us/en/avstg/pdfs/voiceofgenerations.pdf">Voices of the Generations</a> report from Adobe. Last week's link was broken, so be sure to check it out.</i><br /> <br /> <br /> <h3> <b>Say WHAT?</b></h3> Amazon announced that Alexa users will be able to <a href="https://venturebeat.com/2019/09/25/amazon-will-allow-alexa-users-to-automatically-delete-voice-recordings/">automatically delete voice recordings</a> after 3 months or 18 months. (Venture Beat)<br /> <br /> <i><b>My take:</b> It's a good move for privacy, but it makes you wonder how much they've been hanging onto to date. Also, don't miss the news that <a href="https://bigthink.com/technology-innovation/alexa-samuel-jackson">Samuel L. Jackson will be the first celebrity Alexa voice</a>. "Say 'what' AGAIN!"</i> (Big Think)<br /> <br /> <br /> <h3> <b>Old On</b></h3> Older generations have the benefit of the long view, a better understanding of strategy, and more world experience. <a href="https://hbr.org/2019/09/the-case-for-hiring-older-workers">The case for hiring older workers</a>. (Harvard Business Review)<br /> <br /> <i><b>My take:</b> I call it #TimelessWisdom. And it's what I apply to the C-suite.</i><br /> <div> <br /> <br /></div> <div> <hr /> </div> <div> <br /></div> <h2> <b>For the Curious Mind</b></h2> <i>"Curiosity is the lust of the mind." – Thomas Hobbes</i><br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.history.com/news/whistleblowers-law-founding-fathers">The first case for whistleblower protection</a> was in 1777. In this case, they were 10 American sailors and marines who had reported improper behavior by the Continental Navy’s most powerful man. He was of "quick temper, misconduct and poor character," and "a man of no principles, and quite unfit for the important trust reposed in him." (History) <i>You don't say...</i><br /> <br /> <br /> Before there was <b><i>Moby-Dick</i></b>, there was the whaleship <i>Essex</i>, which was attacked and sunk by a whale. Only five crew members survived, returning with a tale of <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-true-life-horror-that-inspired-moby-dick-17576/">starvation, madness, and cannibalism</a> that inspired <b>Herman Melville</b>. (Smithsonian)<br /> <br /> <br /> From the times liquor might be served in Fall River, MA to the example of a man who was executed because of a punctuation mistake, in <b><i><a href="https://amzn.to/2n9GZkw" target="_blank">Semicolon </a></i></b>Cecelia Watson provides <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2019/09/30/the-art-of-punctuation/">a brief history of the origin and ultimate acceptance of the semicolon</a>. (National Review)<br /> <br /> <br /> One of my favorite words is <b>flâneur</b>. "<a href="https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/roundtable/between-streets">Between the Streets</a>" is a look at wandering the streets as a spectator who assumes the position of being able to be part of the spectacle and yet command it at the same time. (Lapham's Quarterly)<br /> <br /> <br /> <hr /> <br /> <div> <h2> <b>Recommended Reading/Listening</b></h2> <div> <i>"Let me recommend this book." – Arthur Conan Doyle</i><br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M9OhWF-1898/XZLzeWqYpiI/AAAAAAABIGo/tngUFc8a-ZA4XhVRcGexoDNq3JZ3zM0pACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Lawfare.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1400" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M9OhWF-1898/XZLzeWqYpiI/AAAAAAABIGo/tngUFc8a-ZA4XhVRcGexoDNq3JZ3zM0pACLcBGAsYHQ/s200/Lawfare.png" width="200" /></a></div> <div> <br /></div> <b><a href="https://www.lawfareblog.com/topic/lawfare-podcast">The Lawfare Podcast</a></b> is the weekly audio production of the Lawfare staff in cooperation with the <b>Brookings Institution</b>. Podcast episodes include interviews with policymakers, scholars, journalists and analysts, events and panel discussions on the topic of national security. Given the news lately, it's a good idea to have a companion show such as this to help make sense of everything.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L6zfGBoVOIs/XZLz2JZso1I/AAAAAAABIGw/DJKLuaxsVM0JUShbSdozKhqNh3g_y88rwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Washingtons%2BFarewell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="331" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L6zfGBoVOIs/XZLz2JZso1I/AAAAAAABIGw/DJKLuaxsVM0JUShbSdozKhqNh3g_y88rwCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/Washingtons%2BFarewell.jpg" width="132" /></a></div> <br /> George Washington’s Farewell Address was a prophetic letter from a “parting friend” to his fellow citizens about the forces he feared could destroy our democracy: hyper-partisanship, excessive debt, and foreign wars. He called for unity among “citizens by birth or choice,” advocated moderation, defended religious pluralism, proposed a foreign policy of independence (not isolation), and proposed that education is essential to democracy. <a href="https://amzn.to/2o0ZOX0"><i><b>Washington's Farewell: The Founding Father's Warning to Future Generations</b></i></a> by John Avlon.<br /> <br /> <h3 style="text-align: center;"> <b><a href="https://scottmonty.us19.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=4b1784f23a77243c11e9bc4b6&id=05d7157b3e">Subscribe</a> | <a href="mailto:newsletter@scottmonty.com?subject=Sponsorship%20inquiry">Sponsor this Newsletter</a></b></h3> </div> </div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> I'm an executive <b>advisor/coach</b>. A corporate <b>conscience</b>. A C-suite whisperer.</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Executives are in constant demand, have relentless deliverables, and try to set a long-term strategic course. All while trying to keep up with trends and deliver short-term value.</div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> I bring <b>Fortune 10</b> executive experience and an outside perspective to help you with <b>growth </b>and <b>focus</b>. </div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> Bring me in to work with your C-Suite, review your team structure, provide strategic advice, or speak at an event.</div> <br /> <br /> <i><strong>Disclosure</strong>: Some links may contain Amazon affiliate links; we earn a small commission on your purchases.</i><br /> <br /> <br /></div>

The Secret of My Succession

General George Washington Resigning His Commission by John Trumbull, Architect of the Capitol, 1817 (public domain - Wikpedia) A brief...

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Truth AND Consequences

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G-ooOZ617wQ/XYzJZ_lCxAI/AAAAAAABH8c/FDRo7ePp4hM9RZ6YBEHm-HfOeAa-K6qBwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Gerard%2Bde%2BLairesse%2B-%2BHermes%2BOrdering%2BCalypso%2Bto%2BRelease%2BOdysseus%2B1670.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1265" height="518" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G-ooOZ617wQ/XYzJZ_lCxAI/AAAAAAABH8c/FDRo7ePp4hM9RZ6YBEHm-HfOeAa-K6qBwCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Gerard%2Bde%2BLairesse%2B-%2BHermes%2BOrdering%2BCalypso%2Bto%2BRelease%2BOdysseus%2B1670.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%27Hermes_Ordering_Calypso_to_Release_Odysseus%27_by_Gerard_de_Lairesse,_c._1670.JPG" target="_blank">Hermes Ordering Calypso to Release Odysseus</a> by Gerard de Lairesse, 1670 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons)</i></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> You may be too young to get this reference.<br /> <br /> That isn't a compliment; it's a fact — the game show <b><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_or_Consequences" target="_blank">Truth or Consequences</a></b> got its start on radio in 1941, with Ralph Edwards hosting. It moved to television in 1954 with Jack Bailey until 1956, and then Bob Barker (hey—there's a name you might recognize) hosted it until 1975.<br /> <br /> It was basically a broadcast version of the old parlor game Truth or Dare. A contestant is selected, and they either have to answer a question correctly or perform a stunt. As you can imagine, it was designed for the audience's entertainment.<br /> <br /> As observers and audience members, this is perfect. We love to see people get embarrassed. In many cases on that show, people would purposefully answer the question wrong in order to get embarrassed by the stunt.<br /> <br /> But when you're a consumer, the last thing you want is to feel humiliated or embarrassed.<br /> <br /> If you're paying for a service or product, you want what you're told you'll be getting. It's about <b>meeting expectations</b>.<br /> <br /> <h3> <b>Not So Mm Good</b></h3> In the 'Sixties and 'Seventies, the food advertising industry took a turn. It used to be a free-for-all — using motor oil for syrup, Crisco as a stand-in for ice cream, etc. — until <b>Heinz</b> wanted to break up <b>Campbell's </b>stranglehold on the soup industry.<br /> <br /> So the Heinz folks filed a complaint with the FTC, revealing that Campbell's <b><a href="http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2019/07/that-time-campbells-put-marbles-in-their-soup/" target="_blank">put marbles in bowls of soup</a></b> to make it look more appealing. The result was food advertising regulations that require more attention to realistic presentations.<br /> <br /> <br /> <h3> <b>Watch for Falling Sizes</b></h3> Back in the 'Nineties and early 'Aughts, margins got squeezed in the CPG industry. Brands could only raise prices so much because of price sensitivity. So they did the next obvious thing: <b>they shrunk the package sizes</b>. Voilà, Instant margins!<br /> <br /> Remember that half gallon of ice cream or orange juice you used to get? Check your containers. Because you're now getting not 64 ounces.<br /> <br /> The manufacturers very slyly moved you to getting used to 59 ounces. And now? That "half gallon" of ice cream is 48 oz. — just a quart and a half!<br /> <br /> <h3> <br /><b>The App Made Me Do It</b></h3> When you signed up for <b>Facebook</b>, you didn't expect your data was going to be <a href="https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/home-banner/facebook-purges-apps-after-cambridge-analytica-probe/" target="_blank">abused</a>. When you bought your <b>Volkswagen</b>, you didn't think you'd be adding extra <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_emissions_scandal" target="_blank">pollution</a> to the environment. When you tipped your <b>DoorDash </b>driver, you didn't think the company would <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/why-instacart-doordash-workers-don-t-always-receive-tips-you-n965926" target="_blank">skim</a> those tips for themselves.<br /> <br /> Hey, you know the saying: You can't spell 'tech' without 'ethics.' Oh, wait. Yes you can.<br /> <br /> We're at a point where Big Tech isn't innovating; <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/big-techs-innovations-that-arent-11567033288?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=2" target="_blank">it's exploiting people</a>. (<i>WSJ-paywall link</i>)<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> In every one of those cases, not only were expectations not met, they were laughed at, spit on, and thrown out. And then maybe run over by a bus.<br /> <br /> What happened in each instance above is exactly what happens every time: someone uncovered the truth.<br /> <br /> Thousands — maybe millions — of people felt violated.<br /> <br /> When my parents raised me, they impressed this upon me: If I got in trouble (in school, around the neighborhood, etc.) they wanted to hear it from me first. If they found out from a teacher, a neighbor or someone else, then I'd be in trouble for that, plus what I was in trouble for in the first place.<br /> <br /> A little transparency can go a long way.<br /> <br /> You don't have to reveal your secret ingredients, your patent, or your code. But if you take customers along on the journey with you, they'll appreciate the honesty.<br /> <br /> If you need to make a chance to pricing, packaging, product design, or anything else that's going to affect the consumer, communicate it clearly and honestly.<br /> <br /> <b>Honesty </b>leads to transparency.<br /> <br /> <b>Transparency </b>leads to trust.<br /> <br /> <b>Trust </b>leads to loyalty.<br /> <br /> <b>Loyalty </b>means less turnover.<br /> <br /> Isn't that a more efficient and ethical way to pursue growth? <br /> <br /> --<br /> <br />

Truth AND Consequences

Hermes Ordering Calypso to Release Odysseus by Gerard de Lairesse, 1670 (public domain - Wikimedia Commons) You may be too young to ge...

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The Cracks Are Beginning to Show

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--xNWrJviGLU/XYLspDMKTcI/AAAAAAABHpU/PMHRplF3Q9YcgoVirhhMATuojE4Odvt3ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Johann%2BChristian%2BDahl%2B-%2BAn%2BEruption%2Bof%2BVesuvius%2B1824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1077" data-original-width="1600" height="430" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--xNWrJviGLU/XYLspDMKTcI/AAAAAAABHpU/PMHRplF3Q9YcgoVirhhMATuojE4Odvt3ACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Johann%2BChristian%2BDahl%2B-%2BAn%2BEruption%2Bof%2BVesuvius%2B1824.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/438159" target="_blank">An Eruption of Vesuvius</a> by Johann Christian Dahl, 1824 (public domain - The Metropolitan Museum of Art)</i></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> There's something in the air.<br /> <br /> It feels like we're at the beginning of a major inflection point.<br /> <br /> What's the driver? My personal observation is that there has been too much malfeasance, ineptitude, and misconduct<span style="text-align: right;">—in short, hypocrisy</span><span style="text-align: right;">—</span>on the part of many leaders, companies and government officials.<br /> <br /> And the public has had enough.<br /> <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.”</i></b></span></div> <div style="text-align: right;"> — Thomas Jefferson</div> <br /> <br /> Trust is the foundation of any relationship<span style="text-align: right;">—friends, spouses, partners, employees, customers</span><span style="text-align: right;">—all require trust for the relationship to work. If employees don't trust that you'll treat them well and pay them fairly, they'll walk. If a customer can't trust you to make a consistent product or to back up your claims, they'll find another entity selling something similar.</span><br /> <span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span> <span style="text-align: right;">More forensically, as defined by <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trust" target="_blank">Merriam-Webster</a>, trust is: </span>“<span style="text-align: right;"><b><i>reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something</i></b>.</span>”<br /> <span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span> <span style="text-align: right;">Three of those words pop out to me:</span><br /> <ul> <li><span style="text-align: right;">Reliance</span></li> <li><span style="text-align: right;">Character</span></li> <li><span style="text-align: right;">Truth</span></li> </ul> <br /> <span style="text-align: right;">There's a certain sense of the old-fashioned with them. <b>Reliance</b>: that you can count on someone to keep their word. <b>Character</b>: what someone stands for. <b>Truth</b>: dealing in honesty.</span><br /> <span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span> <span style="text-align: right;">Those three traits used to be commonly held assumptions about people. I'm not sure exactly when, but such traditions seem to have escaped us. </span><br /> <span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span> <span style="text-align: right;">Perhaps it has something to do with the digital world, and our ability to dehumanize so many of our transactions and interactions. Or perhaps the internet has amplified the negative aspects of our human nature.</span><br /> <span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span> <span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span> When <b>Business Roundtable</b> updated its Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation, <b><a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/2019/08/why-businesses-need-to-prepare-for.html" target="_blank">it sent a signal</a></b>. While there were some cynical views as to whether businesses could effectively hew to this new line, there was something of an expression of relief<span style="text-align: right;">—that corporations recognize the need to do more than just make money.</span><br /> <span style="text-align: right;"><br /></span> This valiant campaign for simple doing the right thing has come at a time when we're beginning to see business-as-usual: public outcry or backlash is happening in a number of areas.<br /> <br /> <br /> <h2> <b>Where It's Happening</b></h2> <span style="text-align: right;">In the last month or so, there have been stories in the news that are related to government, business, and leadership that encapsulate the sense of frustration mentioned above. Here are a few examples.</span><br /> <br /> <h4> <b>Fall Well</b></h4> Jerry Falwell, Jr., the chancellor of Liberty University, is not a minister like his father, but his institution is an evangelical Christian university. That didn't stop Falwell from accumulating power, self-dealing, and intimidation. In "<a href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/09/09/jerry-falwell-liberty-university-loans-227914" target="_blank">Someone's Gotta Tell the Freakin' Truth</a>," one insider shared that the culture of fear is so great that people there “won’t rat him out,” but the authors of the article added: “That’s beginning to change.”<br /> <br /> <h4> <b>Unicorn Feces</b></h4> You've heard about the WeWork prospectus and IPO (it was the topic of the essay in <a href="https://us19.campaign-archive.com/?u=4b1784f23a77243c11e9bc4b6&id=af385f95db" target="_blank">The Full Monty #278</a>). It's been the topic of multiple pundits (such as <a href="http://twitter.com/profgalloway" target="_blank">@ProfGalloway</a>, who coined the phrase "unicorn feces") and business publications, and has been under so much pressure that the valuation of the company dropped 75% over the past two weeks and now <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/09/16/weworks-on-again-off-again-ipo-delayed-again.html" target="_blank">the IPO is delayed</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> <h4> <b>An East Wind Coming</b></h4> As Hurricane Dorian approached the United States, the president misstated that it would hit Alabama ("with 95 percent chance probability") and then officials at NOAA, who had original corrected him, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/09/09/759209532/noaa-chief-scientist-says-move-to-contradict-agency-and-back-trump-was-political" target="_blank">issued a statement to back him up</a><span style="text-align: right;">—a political move from as scientific organization. But then NOAA's acting chief scientist <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2019/09/09/noaas-chief-scientist-will-investigate-why-agency-backed-trump-over-its-experts-dorian-email-shows/" target="_blank">slammed the agency for doing so</a>.</span><br /> <br /> <br /> <h4> <b>Just Say No</b></h4> Joi Ito resigned from M.I.T. after <i>The New Yorke</i>r ran a piece on the <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-an-elite-university-research-center-concealed-its-relationship-with-jeffrey-epstein" target="_blank">M.I.T. Media Lab accepting donations</a> from convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Kara Swisher <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/08/opinion/joichi-ito.html" target="_blank">summed up</a> the supposed moral dilemma of Ito and M.I.T. this way: "If you can't manage to say a hard no to a predator of young girls, I am not sure what to say." When Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig asserted there was nothing wrong with it <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/14/business/lessig-epstein-ito-mit.html" target="_blank">as long as it was done anonymously</a>, the internet came down on him.<br /> <br /> <br /> <h4> <b>Hold Up, Partner</b></h4> Gun violence has been in the news in a more acute way after back-to-back shootings in Dayton and El Paso. So much so that an unprecedented <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/09/12/760144527/145-ceos-call-on-senate-to-pass-commonsense-bipartisan-gun-laws" target="_blank">145 CEOs called on Senate to pass common-sense bipartisan gun laws</a> and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/04/business/dealbook/walmart-gun-sales.html" target="_blank">Walmart</a> decided to stop selling ammunition for assault-style rifles in its stores. In addition, NASCAR has gone so far as <a href="https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/461302-nascar-bans-some-firearm-ads-as-part-of-gradual-shift-on-guns" target="_blank">to turn down certain firearm ads</a> for its programs.<br /> <br /> When NASCAR and Walmart think things have gone too far, you know we're at an inflection point.<br /> <br /> <br /> The first step for companies and other entities to take a new approach is to be honest with themselves and with their stakeholders.<br /> <br /> Some pundits have called for brands to "take a stand" on societal and political issues, and some brands have done so. But to do so just for the sake of doing it is misguided; taking a stand has to be meaningful and have some kind of deeper significance.<br /> <br /> For example, if Walmart made this decision a few years ago, it wouldn't have seemed appropriate. But after a horrific shooting happened in their store and affected their customers and associates, they had a moral obligation to consider this differently.<br /> <br /> Ultimately, this is about standing up for what's right. We need integrity, and decent and moral leadership now more than ever, and it can come from any corner: business, religion, government, and more.<br /> <br /> The Bible (one of those classic texts) sums up what's expected of us:<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <b><i><span style="font-size: large;">“admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak...examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.”</span></i></b></div> <div style="text-align: right;"> — Thessolonians 5:14-21</div> <br /> <br />  Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, that kind of common sense is pure wisdom.<br /> <br /> <br />

The Cracks Are Beginning to Show

An Eruption of Vesuvius by Johann Christian Dahl, 1824 (public domain - The Metropolitan Museum of Art) There's something in the ...

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Fame and (Mis)Fortune

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9KC4_SdWi04/XYUyf-qLPtI/AAAAAAABH34/1g99uEzvZ7EPiqXD3NbeDcxXFMtWDJmrQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/John%2BWilliam%2BWaterhouse%2B-%2BThe%2BLady%2Bof%2BShalott.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1172" height="490" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9KC4_SdWi04/XYUyf-qLPtI/AAAAAAABH34/1g99uEzvZ7EPiqXD3NbeDcxXFMtWDJmrQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/John%2BWilliam%2BWaterhouse%2B-%2BThe%2BLady%2Bof%2BShalott.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="http://the%20lady%20of%20shalott%20by%20john%20william%20waterhouse%20%28public%20domain%20-%20wikimedia%20commons%29/" target="_blank">The Lady of Shalott</a> by John William Waterhouse (public domain - Wikimedia Commons)</i></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> How much do you value the close relationships in your life? You know - friends, spouse, children, parents. What would you do if they just—<i>poof</i>— disappeared one day?<br /> <br /> It seems that fame-driven or ego-driven decisions, along with an absence of authenticity, can result in abandonment. Where those we care about might abandon us if we abandon our principles.<br /> <br /> It made me think of the poem "Myself" by Edgar Albert Guest:<br /> <br />     … here in the struggle for fame and wealth<br />     I want to be able to like myself.<br />     I don't want to look at myself and know that<br />     I am… bluff and empty show.<br />     I never can hide myself from me;<br />     I see what others may never see;<br />     I know what others may never know,<br />     I never can fool myself and so,<br />     whatever happens I want to be<br />     self respecting and conscience free.<br /> <br /> <br /> <b><a href="https://www.thecut.com/2019/09/the-story-of-caroline-calloway-and-her-ghostwriter-natalie.html?utm_placement=longreads" target="_blank">The tale of Caroline Calloway</a></b> might seem like an odd one, but in fact, her situation is neither unique nor modern. Calloway is the internet-famous Instagrammer who rocketed to stardom, signed a mid six-figure book deal, and then let it all crash down.<br /> <br /> The article above was penned by <b>Natalie Beach</b>, her former friend and ghostwriter, who laid bare the true facts behind this cewebrity. Calloway made a reputation for herself as a gilded lily of a fairy tale, but she duped her fans and publisher alike as it all came crashing down.<br /> <br /> Actress <b>Felicity Huffman</b> was recently sentenced to a prison term for her role in paying for her daughter's SAT scores to be rigged. While many thought that the term was too light, Huffman at least provided <a href="https://apnews.com/849f4ac327b14a2ba5fb89abdf01ab4b" target="_blank">a forthright and honest apology for her actions</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> These two cases that involve celebrity and special treatment, but the difference is that Huffman was more contrite and accepting of her responsibility. But both women have been exposed for their fraudulent behavior and are pariahs.<br /> <br /> It's a lesson in the struggles of fame: fame, once tasted, can poison the mind and good judgement. It doesn't matter whether you're Hollywood famous, Internet famous, or neighborhood famous; it's human nature to let it go to your head.<br /> <br /> The challenge of course is <a href="https://dailystoic.com/avoid-special-treatment-like-the-plague/" target="_blank">to fight it</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> In the early 1800s, <b>Lord Byron</b> struggled with the new and powerful effect of fame. This was a time when the public would crowd around poets and authors, even showing up outside of their houses or stealing objects.<br /> <br /> Byron's fame distorted everything around it and he found himself as<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "one of the earliest beneficiaries of a new kind of entrepreneurial celebrity forged in the furnace of rapid industrialization and no longer dependent on the authority of conquest, church, or heredity, Byron embodied a phenomenon that was new and unnerving in the range of emotions it could elicit and the power seemingly at its command." (<i><a href="https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/celebrity/public-man" target="_blank">Lapham's Quarterly</a></i>)</blockquote> <br /> Byron hired a doctor, John William Polidori, who was also an aspiring writer. As they spent more time together, Polidori became resentful of Byron's success and of his constant mocking of the doctor's efforts. He became brooding and violent, and Byron ultimately released him from service.<br /> <br /> The doctor would eventually have his revenge though, writing a tale about a an aristocrat who preyed on women. This work was <br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "an emphatic view of fame as a predator that grows strong through the sacrifice of superior values, while simultaneously condemning a celebrity-hungry society that exults in the ephemeral qualities of charisma and talent."</blockquote> <br /> <a href="https://www.laphamsquarterly.org/celebrity/public-man" target="_blank">The full history</a> is filled with more details, but the point is clear: there's something about this unquenchable search for fame that it compromises our good judgement.<br /> <br /> Something to keep in mind whether you're an "influencer," hiring influencers, or are someone who actually is able to move the masses to action.<br /> <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <b><i><span style="font-size: large;">“What a heavy burden is a name that has become too famous.”</span></i></b></div> <div style="text-align: right;"> — Voltaire  </div> <br /> <br /> <br />

Fame and (Mis)Fortune

The Lady of Shalott by John William Waterhouse (public domain - Wikimedia Commons) How much do you value the close relationships in yo...

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ReWork: The Principal Unprincipled

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Gu5HSOQ4F0/XYV8V11gLWI/AAAAAAABH4U/bTiP75648rUklpzmsMF5K7WPUue_IAHSACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/William%2BHodges%2BResolution%2Band%2BAdventure%2Bin%2BMatavai%2BBay%2B1776.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="906" data-original-width="1280" height="452" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2Gu5HSOQ4F0/XYV8V11gLWI/AAAAAAABH4U/bTiP75648rUklpzmsMF5K7WPUue_IAHSACLcBGAsYHQ/s640/William%2BHodges%2BResolution%2Band%2BAdventure%2Bin%2BMatavai%2BBay%2B1776.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Adventure_(1771)#/media/File:Hodges,_Resolution_and_Adventure_in_Matavai_Bay.jpg" target="_blank">Resolution and Adventure with fishing craft in Matavai Bay</a> by William Hodges (Wikipedia, public domain)</i></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> Even if you've had anything to do with the business world over the last three years, you've heard of WeWork.<br /> <br /> Their IPO has been massacred, from people like <a href="https://www.profgalloway.com/wewtf" target="_blank">Scott Galloway</a> (No Mercy / No Malice) to <a href="https://stratechery.com/2019/the-wework-ipo/" target="_blank">Ben Thompson</a> (Stratechery). A big focus has been on the ridiculous valuation: <b><i>$47 billion</i></b> at one point — then last week <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/wework-parent-weighs-slashing-its-valuation-roughly-in-half-11567689174" target="_blank">readjusted to about half that amount</a>, and then <b>SoftBank</b>, WeWork's largest shareholder, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/wework-pressured-by-softbank-to-shelve-ipo-report-2019-9" target="_blank">suggested putting the IPO on hold</a>.<br /> <br /> What's going on?<br /> <br /> Personally, I think we're looking at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pets.com" target="_blank">the Pets.com</a> of the modern era. In 2000, the online pet food company (great idea, poor timing) was the canary in the coal mine for the Dot Com era. With stratospheric valuations on negative margins, we're seeing companies like WeWork, Uber, and other unicorns defy logic.<br /> <br /> As I <a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/2019/08/why-businesses-need-to-prepare-for.html" target="_blank">noted last week</a>, there's a mismatch of incentives. In this case, the only incentive investors have is getting the company to an IPO. As <a href="https://www.profgalloway.com/wewtf" target="_blank">Galloway noted</a>, the bankers "<i>stand to register $122 million in fees flinging feces at retail investors visiting the unicorn zoo</i>." The little investor has no chance.<br /> <br /> There's something else going on: with the covers pulled back (thanks to the IPO prospectus), we began to see a pattern of unethical behavior, lack of governance, and sheer greed at work:<br /> <br /> <ul> <li>WeWork paid its own CEO, Adam Neumann, <b>$5.9 million for the “We” trademark</b> when the company reorganized itself earlier this year (he has since returned the money). I would think that as CEO, anything he trademarked related to the company would rightfully belong to the company anyway.</li> <li>WeWork previously gave Neumann loans to buy 10 properties that WeWork then <b>rented back from him</b>.</li> <li>WeWork hired a number of <b>Neumann’s relatives</b>, and <b>Neumann’s wife</b> stands to be one of three members of a committee tasked to replace Neumann if he were to die or become permanently disabled over the next decade.</li> <li>Neumann has <b>sold $700 million in stock</b> prior to filing the prospectus. Now if that doesn't scream no-confidence, I don't know what does.</li> </ul> <br /> <br /> More than the questionable financials, there's something else afoot here. Yes, investors seem to be backing away. But it feels like there's more to it.<br /> <br /> Call it something of <a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/2019/09/the-cracks-are-beginning-to-show.html" target="_blank">an awakening</a>.<br /> <br /> <br />

ReWork: The Principal Unprincipled

Resolution and Adventure with fishing craft in Matavai Bay by William Hodges (Wikipedia, public domain) Even if you've had anythin...

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The Ethics of Ride-Hailing

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OvHxuIyveHo/XXkqple_N8I/AAAAAAABHh8/m137U8DgJ1AlSyxq6xwOnjn1uf-z9Pb2wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Jacques-Louis_David%252C_Le_Serment_des_Horaces.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1218" data-original-width="1539" height="506" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OvHxuIyveHo/XXkqple_N8I/AAAAAAABHh8/m137U8DgJ1AlSyxq6xwOnjn1uf-z9Pb2wCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Jacques-Louis_David%252C_Le_Serment_des_Horaces.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oath_of_the_Horatii#/media/File:Jacques-Louis_David,_Le_Serment_des_Horaces.jpg" target="_blank">The Oath of the Horatii</a> by Jacques-Louis David, 1784 (public domain - Wikipedia)</i></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> The ride-hailing industry—Uber, Lyft, and their counterparts—is the personification of the current version of the American Dream: cheap convenience.<br /> <br /> Traditionally in the service business, the offer to the client goes like this:<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Good. Fast. Cheap.</span></i></b></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <b><i><span style="font-size: large;">Pick two.</span></i></b></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> What's happened with Uber (the poster-child for this movement) goes beyond that. With Uber, you get all three!<br /> <br /> And that's unsustainable. At least in the current configuration.<br /> <br /> Uber's business model is built on the notion of cheap labor. When Uber went about establishing itself, the goal was to dominate the market — don't forget that <i>uber alles</i> means "above all" — they offered cheap rides to customers and financial incentives to bring drivers on.<br /> <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <b><i><span style="font-size: large;">“Ethics were not a hallmark of Uber’s first decade.</span></i></b><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>”</i></b></span></div> <div style="text-align: right;"> —Mike Isaac, <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2LpFCaC" target="_blank">Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber</a></i></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: center;"> <br /></div> There are far too many ethical aspects of Uber to explore in this piece; we'll just focus on their relationship with drivers.<br /> <br /> <br /> <h2> <b>Burning Cash and Relationships</b></h2> In each market, Uber spent whatever necessary to hook riders on their service. Like a drug dealer, they'd make the product cheap and irresistible. And then, once you're hooked, they change the terms of the deal.<br /> <br /> Surge fares are well known, and despite some high-profile anomalies, riders generally accept them because of the convenience.<br /> <br /> But the more impactful changes in the deal happened on the driver side. In a report from Jalopnik, they showed that <a href="https://jalopnik.com/uber-and-lyft-take-a-lot-more-from-drivers-than-they-sa-1837450373" target="_blank">Uber was keeping <b>35 percent</b> of fares from drivers</a>; in <a href="https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1543151/000119312519103850/d647752ds1.htm" target="_blank">Uber's S-1 filing</a>, they stated their take was closer to <b>20 percent</b>. The <b>Open Markets Institute</b> wrote that the findings “support the argument that their business model is built on large scale labor exploitation.”<br /> <br /> This might be a good juncture to note that Uber's S-1 also contains this bold (and patently false) claim:<br /> <br /> <ul> <li><b><i>We do the right thing</i></b>. Period.</li> </ul> <br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/23/business/how-uber-got-lost.html" target="_blank">According to Isaac</a>, Uber executives<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> “had major blind spots because of their fixation on growth, their belief in technological solutions, and a casual application of financial incentives that often inflamed existing cultural problems.”</blockquote> In other words: profit and growth, at all costs.<br /> <br /> This is the kind of misguided prioritization that <a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/2019/08/why-businesses-need-to-prepare-for.html" target="_blank">the Business Roundtable change</a> is designed to address. The new Statement on the Purpose of the Corporation indicated that employees, customers, suppliers, communities, and shareholders should be the focus of businesses.<br /> <br /> <h2> <b>Drivers Are Contractors, Not Employees</b></h2> Uber has made no secret that it doesn't value drivers. Early on, Uber's goal was to move to autonomous vehicles (drinking the Silicon Valley Kool-Aid that predicted driverless cars everywhere by 2018). In order to get there, Uber had to dominate the market, and one way to do that was with cheap labor.<br /> <br /> The evolving gig economy provided the perfect vehicle for gaining cheap labor. Coupled with a culture of disdain for municipal laws and regulations, Uber just went about its business with little regard for all of the above.<br /> <br /> Much of the culture of the company came from the founding CEO, Travis Kalanick, who was ousted in 2017. Dara Khosrowshahi replaced him and set a new tone for the company, attempting to make up for past sins.<br /> <br /> But one thing Uber—then and now—does not abide is drivers being recognized as employees. For years, they've fought the concept, even <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2019/6/27/18759387/uber-lyft-drivers-misled-companies-political-campaign" target="_blank">misleading some drivers into petitioning against their own rights</a>.<br /> <br /> In recent months, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/29/technology/uber-lyft-ballot-initiative.html" target="_blank">Uber, Lyft and DoorDash pledged $90 million to fight legislation</a> that would recognize their drivers as employees, not contractors. Think about that: $90 million that they could put toward employee benefits that they'd rather lobby with. I recognize that they want to save money for the money-losing enterprises they oversee, but I'm just saying "<b><i>We do the right thing</i></b>," am I right?<br /> <br /> <br /> And speaking of <b>DoorDash</b> — what kind of company <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/why-instacart-doordash-workers-don-t-always-receive-tips-you-n965926" target="_blank">steals its employees tips</a>? NBC and then the New York Times had stories about how the company used tips given within the app to subsidize worker pay.<br /> <br /> Oh sure, they've since <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/7/24/20708212/doordash-delivery-tip-theft-policy-change-tony-xu-tweets" target="_blank">vowed to end the controversial practice</a>, but who needs to be told that doing that is wrong?<br /> <br /> These businesses suffer from a crippling lack of ethics and integrity.<br /> <br /> If you're following along at home, <a href="https://ctt.ac/HO5QY" target="_blank"><b>integrity </b>means doing the right thing, even when no one is looking</a>. (click to tweet)<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MS9S9pmi7kk/XXktiQR8y5I/AAAAAAABHiM/OYCRBYLMlrY5144OrzjlhBS10q_deoclQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Integrity%2B-%2BOath%2Bof%2Bthe%2BHoratii.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1218" data-original-width="1539" height="506" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MS9S9pmi7kk/XXktiQR8y5I/AAAAAAABHiM/OYCRBYLMlrY5144OrzjlhBS10q_deoclQCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/Integrity%2B-%2BOath%2Bof%2Bthe%2BHoratii.png" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> <h2> <b>Who Leads the Change?</b></h2> While the Business Roundtable statement is high-minded and noble, we need to be completely clear-eyed about the prospect of change. Left to their own devices, CEOs are unlikely to make a shift particularly if it's a publicly-listed company.<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://amzn.to/34u0Mff" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="331" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fJEukrc3ISs/XXkpVA4lclI/AAAAAAABHh0/ldAxSAwv1LMrTqsrbuFLoPcF_li6gKdeQCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/enlightened.jpg" width="132" /></a></div> That's the main takeaway from James O'Toole's <b><i><a href="https://amzn.to/34u0Mff" target="_blank">The Enlightened Capitalists</a></i></b>. CEOs who are beholden to stockholders and shareholders will still be under their thumb. Companies that are owned outright by their executives have more leeway.<br /> <br /> Absent that arrangement, who's responsible for ensuring things change?<br /> <br /> <br /> <ul> <li>Well, the <b>New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission</b> has already jumped into the fray, raising minimum wage for drivers to $17.22 after expenses.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>The U.K. already ruled that <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/10/31/uber-loses-appeal-against-landmark-uk-workers-rights-ruling.html" target="_blank">Uber drivers needed to be considered as workers</a> rather than as self-employed.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>And this week, <b>California </b>legislators approved a landmark bill <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/11/technology/california-gig-economy-bill.html" target="_blank">that requires companies like Uber and Lyft to treat contract workers as employees</a>.</li> </ul> <ul><ul> <li>UPDATE: Uber says <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/ethics-ride-hailing-scott-monty" target="_blank">it won't comply with the new law</a>, claiming that "drivers’ work is outside the usual course of Uber’s business."</li> </ul> </ul> <br /> <br /> <br /> But these are one-offs, and the companies aren't naturally predisposed to acting in such a magnanimous manner toward their "employees."<br /> <br /> Perhaps they should have thought of that before they structured a business model primarily <a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/2019/08/why-businesses-need-to-prepare-for.html" target="_blank">designed to benefit investors</a>.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Beyond the financial bottom line for investors is this moral dilemma for consumers: We need to ask ourselves what price we're willing to pay for the goods and services we get.<br /> <br /> If we want to enjoy cheap products and transportation, then we need to accept the moral trade-offs we might have to make. If we want to live by a certain set of principles, then we may need to alter our habits or ask more out of the brands we patronize.<br /> <br /> As to the C-suite, it needs to ask itself if it's okay with the status quo and chasing growth at all costs. If not, then commit to some changes that get out ahead of regulations. If serving investors is to remain the primary purpose, then just admit it.<br /> <br /> Otherwise, stop with the lip service of "doing the right thing."<br /> <br /> It's insulting to everyone.<br /> <br /> <br /> Thanks, and I'll see you on the Internet.<br /> <img data-cke-saved-src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/4b1784f23a77243c11e9bc4b6/images/58ebec54-8677-4787-8cd2-c2d9924aa723.png" data-file-id="124337" height="97" src="https://gallery.mailchimp.com/4b1784f23a77243c11e9bc4b6/images/58ebec54-8677-4787-8cd2-c2d9924aa723.png" width="225" /><br /> --<br /> <br />

The Ethics of Ride-Hailing

The Oath of the Horatii by Jacques-Louis David, 1784 (public domain - Wikipedia) The ride-hailing industry—Uber, Lyft, and their count...

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How to Solve the Conundrum of Tech's Pandora's Box

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nqNtUIDhJjI/XW3w35um9nI/AAAAAAABHaQ/wCwQL0PcoU4RD8cIKCsfj2BkUWCV8MqwgCLcBGAs/s1600/James%2BBarry%2B-%2BThe%2BBirth%2Bof%2BPandora.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="800" height="326" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nqNtUIDhJjI/XW3w35um9nI/AAAAAAABHaQ/wCwQL0PcoU4RD8cIKCsfj2BkUWCV8MqwgCLcBGAs/s640/James%2BBarry%2B-%2BThe%2BBirth%2Bof%2BPandora.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: start;"><i><a href="https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-birth-of-pandora-204422" target="_blank">The Birth of Pandora</a> by James Barry, 1804 </i></span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; text-align: start;"><i>(ArtUK - Creative Commons</i></span><i style="font-family: "times new roman";">)</i></span></td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <i>The Birth of Pandora</i> brings to life the mythological story of the gods' revenge on humans. <b>Prometheus </b>stole fire from heaven, and <b>Zeus </b>took revenge by presenting Pandora, the first woman, to Prometheus' brother Epimetheus. (Prometheus got a whole other set of nasty things visited upon him personally.)<br /> <br /> In the painting, the gods are contributing to Pandora's creation, including the three cherubs approaching with the jar. Pandora opened this jar (later translated as a box) she gave to Epimetheus containing sickness, death and many other unspecified evils which were then released into the world.<br /> <br /> In modern times the idiom Pandora's box means "<b>Any source of great and unexpected troubles</b>," or "A present which seems valuable but which in reality is a curse."<br /> <br /> <h2> <b>Pandora's Box Today</b></h2> We received our own version of Pandora's box about 15 years ago. If we think of Big Tech as the all-powerful Zeus or Jupiter, at whose temple we worship, and of these late teens/early 20s college dropout founder whiz-kids as Prometheus, we're holding the Pandora's box of social media platforms.<br /> <br /> According to an <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/poll-americans-give-social-media-clear-thumbs-down-n991086">NBC News / Wall Street Journal poll</a>, the American public isn't too keen on social media companies like Facebook and Twitter. In fact, sizable majorities say these sites do more to divide the country than unite it, and that they spread falsehoods rather than news.<br /> <br /> Some of the highlights:<br /> <ul> <li><b>Six in 10</b> Americans say they don’t <b>trust </b>Facebook at all to protect their personal information.</li> <li><b>Eighty-two percent</b> say social media sites do more to waste people’s time, versus <b>15%</b> who say they do more to use Americans’ time well.</li> <li><b>Fifty-five percent</b> believe social media does more to spread <b>lies and falsehoods</b>, versus <b>thirty-one percent</b> who say it does more to spread <b>news and information</b>.</li> </ul> <br /> Bottom line: if America was giving social media a <b>Yelp </b>review, a majority would give it <b>zero stars</b>.<br /> <div> <br /></div> <div> This is a serious problem. Not just for Big Tech and its own issues with reputation and regulation. But for society.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> We've got what amounts to a public utility via multiple platforms (lest we forget, Facebook owns four of them) that have effectively spiraled out of control. In granting netizens the ability to communicate as freely and anonymously as we wish, these platforms have brought out the best and the worst of human nature.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> What's more, it's not clear that <b>regulation</b> is going to do anything to rein this in. And the founders themselves don't seem to be able to claw back or control their creations. The end result is that we're left with an imperfect world in which to operate our businesses (nothing new there).</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> <h2> <b>One Solution</b></h2> </div> <div> Given that this is what we have to work with right now, why not make a commitment to <b><span style="color: red;">less </span><span style="color: red;">advertising</span></b> and <b><span style="color: #38761d;">more community-building</span></b>? That is, put fewer resources into competing for what little attention is left out there, and instead create a sense of belonging for your customers.</div> <div> <br /></div> <div> Put your efforts into <b>retention and relationship building</b> rather than chasing down someone who might not want to hear from you in the first place.</div> <div> <br /> You already know that it's more cost-effective to market to existing customers than to constantly scramble after new ones. Why aren't you putting that knowledge to use?<br /> <br /> <br /></div>

How to Solve the Conundrum of Tech's Pandora's Box

The Birth of Pandora  by James Barry, 1804  (ArtUK - Creative Commons ) The Birth of Pandora  brings to life the mythological story of ...

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Why Businesses Need to Prepare for the Gathering Storm

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_fzbubbeljo/XWiamJPLnDI/AAAAAAABHWg/YCfvsYYtkdI5rYVno50FYNUeABsjd0z4wCLcBGAs/s1600/Jacques%2BLouis%2BDavid%2B-%2BTennis%2BCourt%2BOath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="921" data-original-width="1400" height="420" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_fzbubbeljo/XWiamJPLnDI/AAAAAAABHWg/YCfvsYYtkdI5rYVno50FYNUeABsjd0z4wCLcBGAs/s640/Jacques%2BLouis%2BDavid%2B-%2BTennis%2BCourt%2BOath.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Tennis Court Oath</i> by Jacques-Louis David, 1793 (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tennis_Court_Oath_(David)#/media/File:Serment_du_Jeu_de_Paume_-_Jacques-Louis_David.jpg" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>, public domain)* </td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <b><i><span style="font-size: large;">“It is always more easy to discover and proclaim general principles than to apply them.”</span></i></b> </div> <div style="text-align: right;"> ― Winston Churchill, <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2L5hKZz" target="_blank">The Gathering Storm</a></i></div> <br /> <br /> There's a backlash coming.<br /> <br /> We've all seen talk about the tech backlash, with firms like <a href="https://amzn.to/2UiFjkB" target="_blank">Amazon, Google, and Facebook</a> in the cross-hairs of pundits and government officials. That's centered around their consolidated power and use of data. And it's a topic that deserves consideration.<br /> <br /> The backlash I'm predicting is a different one. It's rooted less in operations and more in culture.<br /> <br /> The origins of this backlash are many, and I'll outline some of them below.<br /> <br /> <br /> <h2> <b>This Time, It's Personal</b></h2> The era of social and digital media was supposed to draw us all together. We were tired of being treated like just another number or a cog in the system—we were told w'd be able to talk directly with brands and get our voices heard!<br /> <br /> What's happened in the interim is that brands have continued down a well-worn path and have simply rolled out all of the old advertising styles on new platforms. What are we left with? Feeds that are choked with ads.<br /> <br /> Meanwhile, misinformation is growing and we don't know where to turn. We use the buffer of a screen between us and other netizens to unleash caustic and vitriolic attacks. We experience many emotions online, but anger seems to be the one that gets the most traction.<br /> <br /> Then, perhaps we pause and look out the window, wistfully and <a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/2019/01/the-kinds-of-interactions-that-grow.html" target="_blank">hazily recalling the days</a> when the bank vice president knew your parents' first names and would greet them at the local branch. When a firm handshake and eye contact could tell someone a great deal about your character. And when your word was your bond.<br /> <br /> But we're far removed from that world now. And we'd do anything to reclaim it.<br /> <br /> <br /> <h2> <b>Trust Buster</b></h2> Trust (or lack of it) is a significant issue with many people, all around the world. There's a wide difference in the level of trust that the general public and the informed public have in business, NGOs, government, and the media, according to the <a href="https://www.edelman.com/trust-barometer" target="_blank">2019 Edelman Trust Barometer</a>.<br /> <br /> There are fears related to job loss (both general anxiety over the economy as well as over automation and A.I.), people don't believe the system is working for them, and they see opportunities for certain classes of people that aren't available to them.<br /> <br /> Mike Isaac's <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2LkConh" target="_blank">Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber</a></i> makes it clear that venture capitalists are playing a very different investing game than the rest of us. All of the early investors are seeing massive returns, even though Uber isn't profitable. Anyone who invested in the I.P.O. on the first day of trading won't see the same kind of return, however.<br /> <br /> So V.C.s have a very different goal than other investors: they hope to successfully bring a company to market. There's less concern with ensuring a company is profitable than there is about the process of taking a company public. Their fiduciary duty is focused on their shareholders (those who invest in their funds) rather than on the future shareholders of the public company's stock.<br /> <br /> With this kind of arrangement, it's easy to see why the average person would feel that the system not working for them.<br /> <br /> <br /> <h2> <b>Business Roundtable Turns the Tables</b></h2> Last week, Business Roundtable, a business association made up of CEOs, dropped a bombshell on the industry with a change in their Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation.<br /> <br /> For decades—really, since 1970, when Milton Friedman penned a commentary in <i>The New York Times Magazine</i> that <a href="http://umich.edu/~thecore/doc/Friedman.pdf" target="_blank">the social responsibility of a business is to increase profits</a>—businesses have placed their focus on the benefit to shareholders.<br /> <br /> It should be no surprise to anyone who follows the path of CMOs, who now have the shortest tenure and are constantly under scrutiny for short-term growth. Nor anyone who follows the market following the reporting of quarterly numbers. Wall Street hammers companies that don't perform well quarter to quarter. When in reality, <a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/2019/01/if-youre-committed-to-transformation.html" target="_blank">companies need time to absorb the massive changes</a> that customers are demanding, thanks to the expectation of cheap and fast services and goods that non-competitors like Uber and Amazon have created.<br /> <br /> Now Business Roundtable says that businesses need to reexamine their priorities. Their new <b><a href="https://opportunity.businessroundtable.org/ourcommitment/" target="_blank">Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation</a></b> says that shareholders are now part of a collective that also includes employees, suppliers, and customers.<br /> <br /> It would seem to be common sense: if you treat your employees, suppliers, and customers well, it's good for business and the bottom line.<br /> <br /> This assumption was already embedded within Friedman's work; it's just that greed and the prioritization of short-term growth overtook things, and in interviews, he focused on the profitability.<br /> <br /> Friedman wrote that the responsibility of a corporate executive<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "is to conduct the business in accordance with their desires, which generally will be to make as much money as possible <b>while conforming to their basic rules of the society</b>, both those embodied in law and those embodied in <b>ethical custom</b>." [Emphasis mine.]</blockquote> <br /> We've seen bursts of this in the last two decades, with corporate social responsibility efforts, and with recent forays of brands taking social stands on societal and political issues. And <a href="https://bcorporation.net/" target="_blank">B Corporations</a> have proved that businesses can do well while doing good.<br /> <br /> However, some of these efforts have felt too transactional—riding a wave of popularity rather than being embedded in a company's culture. Perhaps it's time to hire someone to help <a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/2019/08/conscience-for-hire.html" target="_blank">examine the corporate conscience</a>.<br /> <br /> It's something that as a former Classics major and someone who has devoted time to studying history, literature, and philosophy, I have come to embrace in my consulting work. It has given me the ability to understand the consistency of human nature and the cyclical nature of society and culture.<br /> <br /> <br /> <h2> <b>Regulate This</b></h2> Regulations exist for a reason. They're meant to allow the government to put in place restrictions that curb what would otherwise be immoral, illegal or unethical behavior by companies.<br /> <br /> Why can't we trust companies to do the right thing on their own, you might ask? Simply put, because human nature, which is prone to the temptations of greed and expediency, takes hold. The larger a company gets, the easier it is for individuals to think they might flaunt customary behavior and get away with things.<br /> <br /> Case in point: between 1947 and 1977, General Electric polluted the Hudson River by discharging PCBs into it and devastating the environment. In 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act and GE has since cleaned up the river. GE's argument was that the practice was perfectly legal at the time. But ask the average person if littering was acceptable, and they might have a different answer. Because it was a large entity, there was less moral responsibility.<br /> <br /> Today, as the government is rolling back regulations to make business practices easier—from allowing more methane emissions by energy companies to lowering fuel emissions standards for vehicles—we're seeing companies taking a stand and adhering to the cleaner level of previous regulations rather than accepting the newer, lower standards.<br /> <br /> Imagine that! Large organizations, whom many might otherwise look at cynically, are respecting the environment, not because they have to, but because it's the right thing to do.<br /> <br /> But there have been certain activities that companies have taken in the last few decades that were legal and unregulated, yet were done in such a way that they might be opaque at best or deceptive at worst. Example: as margins got squeezed in the CPG industry in the 'Nineties and early 'Aughts, they were forced to find profits in crafty ways. So rather than raise the price of orange juice, they slyly changed the half gallon container (64 ounces) to 59 ounces.<br /> <br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kK33YcF8ZIE/XWiXofUnQWI/AAAAAAABHWM/5hfBA4GivX82rHNsrlHQVqsL0GC6QFCPQCLcBGAs/s1600/1904-Standard-Oil-octopus-cartoon-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1200" height="426" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kK33YcF8ZIE/XWiXofUnQWI/AAAAAAABHWM/5hfBA4GivX82rHNsrlHQVqsL0GC6QFCPQCLcBGAs/s640/1904-Standard-Oil-octopus-cartoon-1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Standard Oil octopus (political cartoon, <a href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Standard_oil_octopus_loc_color.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a>)</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <h2> <b>Playing Clean-Up</b></h2> In some ways, this phenomenon is nothing new. What we're witnessing from the last 50 years, with a shareholder-first (or -only) mentality, is simply the natural evolution of business practices, given the conditions they existed in.<br /> <br /> In <i>Physics</i>, Book IV, Chapter 8, Aristotle wrote of <i><b>horror vacui</b></i>, or as we commonly know it, "Nature abhors a vacuum." And that's exactly how business behaved: it filled a vacuum.<br /> <br /> We've seen this happen before. When Ida Tarbell wrote her nineteen-part series <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2NGxy6K" target="_blank">The History of the Standard Oil Company</a></i> for McClure's Magazine, which was published in book form in 1904, she was exposing the activities of John D. Rockefeller's convoluted empire. Rockefeller was one of the smartest industrialists of his time, and he managed to do everything within the bounds of the law at the time.<br /> <br /> But exposing Standard Oil's business practices made it clear that antitrust laws needed to be passed and that the company needed to be broken up.<br /> <br /> Similarly, Upton Sinclair's <i><a href="https://amzn.to/2NIXIpt" target="_blank">The Jungle</a></i> exposed the operations of the meatpacking industry, to the horror of Americans. The unsanitary and unsafe conditions, health violations, and other poor working conditions he described gave rise to public concern and the eventual reforms, such as the Meat Inspection Act.<br /> <br /> It seems like it would have been common sense to operate the above businesses in an ethical manner, but absent the proper laws and thanks to public backlash, changes were made under Theodore Roosevelt's presidency.<br /> <br /> Roosevelt was particularly concerned with the greed of sheer profit-chasing, and white-washing by philanthropy.<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "Too much cannot be said against the men of wealth who sacrifice everything to getting wealth. There is not in the world a more ignoble character than the mere money-getting American, insensible to every duty, regardless of every principle, bent only on amassing a fortune, and putting his fortune only to the basest uses ... Such a man is only the more dangerous if he occasionally does some deed like founding a college or endowing a church, which makes those good people who are also foolish forget his real iniquity. These men are equally careless of the working men, whom they oppress, and of the State, whose existence they imperil. There are not very many of them, but there is a very great number of men who approach more or less closely to the type, and, just in so far as they do so approach, they are curses to the country." – "True American Ideals," <i>Forum</i>, 1895</blockquote> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DUujJIVNF5A/XWiZ8nw6_WI/AAAAAAABHWY/Dx6T2EEVyjEshKQeApgFwvbG2E8cdWi1QCLcBGAs/s1600/John%2BSinger%2BSargent%2B-%2BTheodore%2BRoosevelt%2B1903%2Bcropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="955" data-original-width="1405" height="434" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DUujJIVNF5A/XWiZ8nw6_WI/AAAAAAABHWY/Dx6T2EEVyjEshKQeApgFwvbG2E8cdWi1QCLcBGAs/s640/John%2BSinger%2BSargent%2B-%2BTheodore%2BRoosevelt%2B1903%2Bcropped.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Theodore Roosevelt</i> by John Singer Sargent, 1903 (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt#/media/File:Theodore_Roosevelt_by_John_Singer_Sargent,_1903.jpg" target="_blank">Wikimedia Commons</a>)</td></tr> </tbody></table> <br /> While Teddy Roosevelt is remembered for his trust-busting, he was also fair-minded in his approach and he appreciated capitalism. But he wasn't a pushover. In his <a href="http://stateoftheunion.onetwothree.net/texts/19021202.html" target="_blank">State of the Union Address</a> in 1902, he issued a warning that is one not unlike Business Roundtable's statement last week:<br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> "Our aim is not to do away with corporations; on the contrary, these big aggregations are an inevitable development of modern industrialism. ... We are not hostile to them; we are merely determined that they shall be so handled as to subserve the public good. We draw the line against misconduct, not against wealth."</blockquote> <br /> And therein lies the core of what I believe the public is clamoring for: drawing a line against misconduct.<br /> <br /> We want ethical companies.<br /> <br /> We want leaders with a moral compass.<br /> <br /> We want to feel like we're on a level playing field.<br /> <br /> We want to be able to trust again.<br /> <br /> The new direction from Business Roundtable is nod toward the past. We'd like to think that businesses will do their part in this effort in the future.<br /> <br /> But it's going to take time and trust.<br /> <br /> <br /> I'll have other thoughts on this topic in the weeks ahead. I hope you'll <a href="https://www.scottmonty.com/p/subscribe.html" target="_blank">subscribe</a> to get updates.<br /> <br /> <br /> *<i>The Tennis Court Oath, shown at the top, was a foundational event of the French Revolution. David captured the gathering of the middle class, who had sworn an oath for national unity regarding individual freedoms.</i><br /> <i><br /></i> <i>Links may include Amazon Affiliate links.</i><br /> <br />

Why Businesses Need to Prepare for the Gathering Storm

The Tennis Court Oath by Jacques-Louis David, 1793 ( Wikipedia , public domain)*  “It is always more easy to discover and proclaim ge...

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