A D-Day Leadership Lesson….Lifestyles of the Rich….Why $ 3 Billion for Headphones is Not Stupid….Econ Recon: Recovered or Recovering?

Friday, June 6 was the 70^th Anniversary of D-Day: The Allied Invasion of Europe

“This operation is not being planned with any alternatives. This operation is planned as a victory, and that’s the way it’s going to be. We’re going down there, and we’re throwing everything we have into it; and we’re going to make it a success.”

General Dwight D. Eisenhower

(1890-1969)

Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in Europe during World War II

A D-Day Leadership Lesson

The D-Day Invasion was one of the most remarkable achievements in military history. Of course, that success was never assured. Allied Supreme Commander Dwight Eisenhower’s necessarily projected great confidence to the men he led, planning for victory without any alternatives, all the while recognizing in his secret heart that failure was a real possibility. His choice was to act decisively, to not allow his men to consider that failure was an option, and preparing to take full responsibility in the event that possibility became reality. Take a few minutes to read both the message he sent to the troops as they embarked towards Normandy, and the draft of the message he had ready if the invasion had not succeeded.

It has been said that success has many mothers, and failure has others to blame.  A signature of true leadership and courage is the nobility to take full responsibility for failure when it occurs. Thankfully, General Eisenhower’s statement of personal and total responsibility never needed to be sent.

 Lifestyles of the Rich – They really are different

Forbes reports that 68% of the 400 Americans on their “billionaires list” are considered “self-made” billionaires, meaning they built, rather than inherited, their fortunes. What separates the wealthy from the poor? It seems to be a lot more than money. They behave differently as well. They set goals; use all the time they have more effectively; they read; they don’t watch much TV, and they certainly don’t watch reality TV; they raise their children differently, and they live healthier life-styles in ways that are not related to the income differences. Compare your habits to the habits of the world’s wealthiest people. Maybe having these traits won’t make you as rich as self-made billionaires Oprah or Howard Schultz, but they might be worth a shot.

 Why $ 3 Billion for Headphones is Not Stupid

Apple’s $3 Billion outlay for headphone maker Beats  has a lot of people scratching their heads. How can Apple ever sell enough headphones to justify this investment? This one page article from Forbes suggests the very simple step that will make this deal pay for Apple. Hint: It’s just Apple being….well…. Apple!  

 Econ Recon:  Recovered or Recovering?

It’s been five years since the recovery from the economic trauma of the fall of 2008 began. On Friday the Department of Labor announced that total employment is back to where it was at its pre-recession peak in January 2008. According to a CNN report, “It took two years to wipe out 8.7 million American jobs,  but over four years to gain them all back.”

While there are more jobs in the country than ever before, the numbers belie the fact that today’s larger potential labor force would require an additional 7 million jobs for the overall employment picture to be similar to that of six years ago.  The CNN report gives an interesting executive summary about the new dynamics of the labor force.  We may think we’re back to where we were, but it’s not the same place.