Bill and TED’s Excellent Playlist; Untouchable Day; Two Word Dress Code; Econ Recon

  • April 15, 2018
  • Posted by: Stephen Johnson
  • Category: Vistage
No Comments

“The three hardest tasks in the world are neither physical feats
nor intellectual achievements, but moral acts:
to return love for hate; 
to include the excluded, 
and to say, ‘I was wrong.’ “

Sydney J. Harris
Chicago Sun Times Journalist

Bill and TED’s Excellent Playlist

Microsoft Founder Bill Gates not only revolutionized, some say invented, the personal computer industry as we know it, he is also making a significant impact on the world through the Gates Foundation run by him and his wife Melinda. Whatever his endeavors, he has learned to rely on facts. To wit, this short article from Inc Magazine provides links to 9 TED talks that share facts Mr. Gates feels all of us should be aware of. Beware, some of your closely held beliefs may be challenged!

An Untouchable Day

This short article by Neil Pasricha, the former Director of Leadership development at Wal-Mart, is worth your time, especially if you are a CEO or senior executive.

If, as Peter Drucker said, time is the one resource we can’t buy more of, then it is theoretically priceless. Mr. Pasrichas develops one of Dr. Drucker’s suggestions from the latter’s “The Effective Executive and has dubbed it “The Untouchable Day.” After you read this short blog post from HBR, you’ll understand why he says “you need an untouchable day every week.”

A Two Word Dress Code

Most company handbooks have some guidance regarding work attire; often very prescriptive and some feel very limiting. Mary Barra, the CEO of GM, wanted to keep things simple, so over the objections of HR, she dictated a two word policy.  Would this policy work at your company?

Econ Recon

Ignoring the Hand: Like many parents, Brian Wesbury has taken his children on visit to college campuses as part of the very important decision concerning where to continue their post-secondary education. We often hear about the protests on college campuses and what the students and faculty are saying about the world outside the academy. What concerns Dr. Wesbury is what he wasn’t hearing on the campus tours he attended. Find out why he thinks we ignore the invisible hand at our peril.

Disappointing Profits: Check out this short analysis by ITR Economics Connor Lokar regarding  2017 corporate profits and their impact on the economy for 2018 (possibly negative) and the effect of tax reform (possibly positive). How will your business fare?