Week of January 9, 2017

“If we are intended for great ends, we are called to great hazards.” 

John Henry Newman

1801-1890

Essayist, Novelist and Theologian

Warren Buffett’s 50% Rule

We think of Warren Buffett’s success as being due to his prowess as a stock picker.   You might be surprised to hear the advice that Buffett gave to a group of Columbia Business school students that he predicted would enhance their value in the market place by 50%.   This one page article from INC reveals what the Sage of Omaha considers to be the single greatest skill to boost your career.   Good advice for you and the young people in your life.

The Three People You Meet at Work

Vistage Speaker on recruiting Ed Ryan once remarked that “we invite employees into our organizations and human beings show up.”  Wharton Business School professor Adam Grant author of “Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success”  (highly recommended) suggests that these human beings show up at work in three different flavors.  

Which one are you?  Which categories do those important to your success occupyFind out in Professor Grant’s 13 minute TED Talk. 

The Parenting is Just Beginning

Here’s a 15 minute video that anyone who raised a Millennial, or now has to supervise one, ought to watch right now (like drop everything and watch it RIGHT NOW).  Simon Sinek rocketed to fame on the wings of his book “Start with Why and related talks.   In a recent interview, he shared the serious concerns he has about Millennials, how they got to be the way they are, and why corporations will have to undo the damage and finish raising them.  Check out the video: Simon Sinek on Millennials in the Workplace. 

SMART goals….or WISE goals?

We’re only 8 days into the New Year but for many the answer to the question “how are your resolutions holding up?” may well be answered in the negative.  New Year’s resolutions, and other goals often come to naught; not because they are the wrong goals, but because they weren’t created or managed properly.   

Goal setting methodologies like SMART goals  (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, time-bound) and other have been around for a long time. But do they work?   A short article in HBR suggests that there are “3 Popular Goal-Setting Techniques Managers Should Avoid.”     Check this and reset your goals and those of your subordinates while the year is young.

Econ: Recon:  The “Trump Bump” Revisited

Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the forty-fifth President of the United States on January 20.  Since his election, the economic news, especially the stock market, has been positive.  Will this continue?   Economist Brian Wesbury seems optimistic about the new administration but worries about spending.    Alan Beaulieu of ITR Economics recently told a group CEOs in Denver the US Economy should “continue to march forward regardless of politic winds.”

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