5 Myths About Strategy
There are lies, there are big lies, and then there are myths. And myths are the worst of the three.
Unless you have sealed yourself off in a social media echo chamber, lies are easy to spot. Except, that is, when the lie is a big one. People hearing or reading big lies start to doubt themselves and think ‘maybe I have got things completely wrong’. That’s why politicians and propagandists tell big lies. They’re not trying to assert a truth so much as sow doubt and confusion about what is true. That’s bad, but a smart person can resist a big lie by looking at the evidence at hand.
Our 6 Must Reads for Honing Focus and Managing Your Time
The first few weeks of a new quarter bring a predictable pattern: We look back on past goals and set our sights on fresh, new ambitions. But while plans are projected in months, we know the true progress happens by the week, day and hour — where all the distraction traps are laid and it’s easier to lose your way.
2018 industrial robot sales barely eke out year-over-year gain
The International Federation of Robotics (IFR), at a press conference here last week, announced preliminary 2018 figures for the industrial sector of the robotics industry. Last year set another record — but just barely. It was only up 1% over 2017. No information was given about service and field robotics.
^ADJ: Is this another datapoint that we have reached the peak of the economic cycle?
The Skip-level 1-1
... One of the things that helped me ride out those tumultuous times was skip-level 1-1s. Skip-level 1-1s are meetings with folks who are at least two levels away from you. For example, if your direct report is a manager, a skip-level 1-1 would be meeting with your direct report’s reports. As it turned out, skip-level 1-1s became an invaluable tool—one of the things that I feel like I actually got right during my tenure as a senior leader.
Lower expense ratios on 21 Vanguard ETFs means more savings for you
^ADJ: I’m a big fan of Simplicity KiwiSaver - especially the difference they are making educating the public about expense ratio’s of investments - thought this was pretty interesting reading from Vanguard
The story that a Chinese businessman could have told
What happened during his financial career is more interesting than the safe rags-to-riches memoir he wrote.
^ADJ: I did not realise the significant of: In December 2012, in the first meeting after the rise of Xi Jinping, its current party boss, the party’s Central Committee issued eight regulations, which within the party have the force of law. The seventh regulation ordered leading Chinese not to “publish any works by themselves” and directed censors to pay close attention to any writings about the work of senior Chinese officials.