Two Guys

07/03/24 • 8 min

I recorded and wrote this prior to the presidential debate. When I couldn’t publish it before the debates, I was going to abandon it. But in view of what occurred, I’m publishing the recording and show notes now. In the upcoming debates, no notes will be allowed, and the moderators can mute the microphones. Moderators have had undue influence on past debates, becoming the inappropriate centers of attention. Think Meghan Kelly. It will be even easier now. One of the candidates is 78, and the other is 81. One has no vice presidential nominee as yet, and the other appears to be continuing with Kamala Harris, who was chosen originally solely because of her identity and her ability to gather votes to beat Trump. She has failed at every major initiative given to her since then. Trump often digresses into blather. Biden often falls victim to confabulation, where things he’s invented to fill memory losses become real to him. He was not at the top of his law school class, despite his claims that he was, but was 74th of 85 students and failed one course, having been found guilty of plagiarism. Trump degenerates into crazed diversions, at one point talking about being electrocuted when his teleprompter failed. This is an age of threat from China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran. Are these two guys (and Kamala Harris) able to handle the simultaneous anti-US maneuvers of these leaders of this evil axis? Neither of these two guys would be acceptable as the CEO of a major organization, not to the search firms, not to the governing committees, not to the boards. Is this the best we can do in this great country? These two guys? Of course not.

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Innovation

The only way to “coast” is when you’re going downhill. Even on a plateau, you have to pedal to keep moving. However, there is a way to “coast uphill.” To succeed, businesses must keep growing. And to keep growing, they must innovate. No business can grow simply by solving problems and “fixing” things (or, worse, blaming people). Problem-solving keeps you afloat, but it doesn’t raise the water level or get you into a boat. There are three kinds of innovation, and we speak in this session about what they are, why they are important, and who exemplifies them. As social proof, we discuss avatars in these areas, from the Wright Brothers to Fred Smith and Jeff Bezos. Innovation is not the result of “skunk works,” outdoor experiences, or building sand castles. It is the result of a constant focus on improvement, finding promoting actions to enable it, and exploitative actions to capitalize on it. There was only running, no passing in football, until someone decided to try throwing the ball. The high jump was a standard competition with inches of difference until Dick Fosbury decided to jump over the bar head and back first, which everyone now does at much higher levels. How much more exciting is basketball with the advent of the three-point line? Schumpeter called innovation “creative destruction.” And I call it “applied creativity.” Learn why herein.

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Honestly

My wife wasn't feeling well, so I went out to eat at 5:30 and brought her something back. When I do that, I bring my iPad and read a book at the bar. I finished, the takeout arrived in a shopping bag, and I drove home. At 10 pm I thought I'd play some Angry Birds before going to bed but realized my iPad was gone. I used "Find My iPhone" to determine that it was still in the restaurant. Although after hours, they answered the phone. "We have it right here," said a manager, after a brief search, "come around to the door by the bar, it's open. We're cleaning up." They were cleaning up, and the same bartender from five hours earlier came out and handed me the iPad. We chatted, I thanked him, drove home (and played Angry Birds). That's the way it's supposed to work, right? Friendly people, honesty, using technology as a help to solve something. Yet we keep valuables locked in hotel safes, we're careful about where we keep our wallets or carry our purses, and some stores don't accept any cash larger than a twenty-dollar bill. Shoplifting is one of the major expenses for retail stores. We're advised to use a complex password on our smart phones because thieves are stealing them, cracking simple codes, and cleaning out bank accounts. It's a shame when once-common acts of honesty and courtesy stand out because they're exceptions to our expectations and no longer the rule.