corporateintel

[corporateintel]

Sniff for Myth

The mantra of modern business decision-making is often tied to the basic concept of data-driven reasoning. If you hold a leadership position within an organization, you know that understanding data is a mandate. Data is the foundation for supporting a thesis, building consensus around a point of view, or building an argument for change. Data won’t tell us everything we need to know, and data can…

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#agreed set of rules #best practices #business decision-making #company culture #constant learning mode #data-driven reasoning #Dead Brand Graveyard #death spiral #grassroots innovation #standard operating procedure #strategic planning

[corporateintel]

Wishes for Spring

Spring offers a time time of hope. The metaphor of winter cold easing to the warmth of spring is powerful, with leafless branches returning to bud break and darker days becoming brighter. It is a time when vast numbers of people around the world celebrate some of the most important religious holidays. Inspiring themes of resilience and renewal surround Easter, Passover, and Ramadan. It should be…

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#bud break #collective imagination #Covid-19 #Easter #lofty wishes #metaphor of winter #Passover #Ramadan #renewal #representative democracy #resilience #spring in the air

[corporateintel]

The Miracle of 18 Years

This tribute to the life of David P. Coon was delivered live by the author on February 4, 2024 in St. Alban’s Chapel at ‘Iolani School in Honolulu. I’m standing in his spot. I remember sitting in any number of locations in those pews starting at about age 12. When he stood here, my eyes were transfixed. This was his spot. The chaplains stood here. Many of our teachers stood here. Years later I…

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#&039;Iolani alumni #arc of childhood #Arthur C. Clarke #‘Iolani School #Big Island #Dave Coon #David Coon #David P. Coon #diapers to Dostoevsky #Disney #Father Coon #Headmaster Coon #indefatigable #legacy #planted seeds #Reverend Coon

[corporateintel]

Why We Focus

There’s a theme running through our workplace this year. It’s as simple as it is profound. It’s not revolutionary; it’s more of a reminder. It’s all about focus. Focus matters. Focus works. Focus wins. The “what” and “how” of focus are somewhat obvious. We need to set clear priorities, narrow our agenda to initiatives that significantly elevate performance, add resources to projects that will…

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#actively debate #bold thesis #burnout #business plans #clear priorities #competitive obsession #creative process #current events #data-driven outcome #distractions #focus #goal-setting #impact #interruptions #lazy planning #market forces #necessity #real priorities #review cycle #unmeasurable results

[corporateintel]

David Coon: An Appreciation

The end of each year is a time for reflection. We often look back on the past year and try to summarize our milestones. Sometimes we set New Year’s resolutions with the best of intentions. At the moment I’m thinking about someone who won’t be part of the new year. That is the way of things, perhaps the hardest part of being human, knowing almost as soon as cognition forms that there are bookends…

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#awe and honor #‘Iolani School #Christmas card #David Coon #healing our world #intellectual curiosity #life&039;s worjk #man of the cloth #Mazel Tov #New Testament #new year’s resolutions #Old Testament #One Team #place of learning #planting seeds #sage on the stage #time for reflection #Vietnam War

[corporateintel]

Weak Thinking

I’ve been a student of philosophy for most of my adult life. It’s a passion, it’s an indulgence, at times it’s an obsession, and it’s a driving force in many of my most consequential actions. Digging through the canon of thousands of years of argument — hundreds of thousands of pages of dense text — can be vastly unsatisfying. It’s not for everyone. It becomes obvious there are far more questions…

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#9-11 #broad intellectual authority #civilized discourse #considered thought #debatable philosophy #Elon Musk #fabricated drivel #free speech #noble premise #Sam Bankman-Fried #self-esteem shields #student of philosophy #TikTok #tone-deaf #World Trade Center

[corporateintel]

Making Sense of the Senseless

It’s a strange time, stranger than any I can remember in the second half of my life. If you try to summarize the number of global issues our nation faces, it begins to feel unprecedented. There is violence on three fronts in Israel arising from the horrific terrorist attacks of Hamas. There is the question of how Iran and Hezbollah will accelerate that conflict. Putin is still waging a brutal…

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#compartmentalizing #education gap #healthcare costs #income inequality #israel #Kim Jong Un #modern medicine #monthly sales quota #passive aggression #Putin #semblance of humor #senselessness #Taiwan #trailing-edge baby boomer #Ukraine #Wall Street Journal

[corporateintel]

The Throes of Attention

Some people suck all the air out of the room. You know the kind. Some people try to suck all the air out of the internet. You also know the kind. What do we miss when the signal-to-noise ratio is self-cancelling? How much valuable information might we be missing when a small cast of characters forever desperate for attention floods the airwaves with endless “look at me” pageantry? I don’t need…

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#Bob Menendez #CB radio #crimes #deception #Elon Musk #FDNY #felony fraud #George Santos #heroes #Hunter Biden #Isaacson biography #Lauren Boebert #Sam Bankman-Fried #signal-to-noise ratio #TikTok attention spans #Ukraine #Voloydymr Zelensky #weather disasters

[corporateintel]

Days of Empathy

Recently I was reviewing a difficult business situation with one of our company’s top problem-solvers. The challenge he agreed to tackle was similar to another he had turned around, and I asked him if his approach was likely to follow the same course. He is a thoughtful fellow with strong character and an abundance of pragmatism in his toolbox. He suggested he would focus without excuse or…

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#economic policies #emerging technology #empathy #Federal Reserve #Lahaina #Maui wildfires #mutually beneficial #news cycle #opportunity cost #path to innovation #value creation #walking the picket lines

[corporateintel]

Critics Don’t Carry The Bag

Those distant from decisions often have many opinions to offer. Sports journalists tell team managers what they should have done in yesterday’s game and what trades are worth making for the second half of the season. Political pundits tell elected incumbents how to vote on legislation if they want to be reelected and opposing candidates what to include in their platforms. Business columnists…

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#actions have consequences #business columnists #buy-in #carry the bag #chess moves #dime a dozen #goods and services #historical context #investigative journalism #John Carreyrou #political pundits #sales quota #sports journalists #Theranos #transformation #turn the page #Wall Street Journal #win or lose

[corporateintel]

Big League Debuts

I get choked up when a baseball player makes his first official appearance in an MLB game. When I say choked up, I mean I viscerally feel what is taking place on the field. I was in Dodger Stadium when Dustin May first pitched. I recently watched Gavin Stone and Bobby Miller do the same on television with no less emotion running through me. Those first starts are the culmination of endless…

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#attempt the impossible #Bobby Miller #Clayton Kershaw #debut dates #Dodger Stadium #Dustin May #Gavin Stone #gifted beyond imagination #MLB #moment of emergence #natural ability #revere talent #The Show #war for talent

[corporateintel]

The Uplifting Wisdom of Fred Smith

I recently enjoyed the privilege of participating in a small group online discussion with Frederick W, Smith, the founder and longtime CEO of Federal Express. Imagine being at the helm of a global disruptor like FedEx for an uncanny five decades. Think someone like that might have a few things to say about the life and times of business, society, and learning? You might be as surprised as I was…

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#applied science #artificial intelligence #big ideas #carbon capture #carbon-neutral #change management #cybersecurity #Federal Express #FedEx #Fred Smith #Frederick W. Smith #generative ai #humility #Marine Corps #New England #public service #reinvention #sense of humor #strategic inflection point #systems risk #thought leadership #Yale University

[corporateintel]

The Pros and Cons of Generative AI

Generative AI refers to the technology that can generate new content such as text, images, music, or videos. Like any technology, it has its advantages and disadvantages. Here are some of the pros and cons of generative AI: Pros: Creativity: Generative AI can generate new and creative content that can be used in various fields, including music, art, and advertising. It can come up with novel…

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#artificial intelligence #automation #ChatGPT #deepfake videos #ethical concerns #generative ai #intellectual property #personalization

[corporateintel]

A Letter Regarding Financial Faith

Dear Financial Community: The failure of Silicon Valley Bank is enormously troubling. Call it an isolated circumstance all you want, but it has further stressed our nation’s dialogue. An echo of other bank failures has followed SVB down the drain. Long lines of anxious customers waiting outside banks are never something we want to see. This was unnecessary. This was bad form. As dependability…

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#ample credit #brand is a promise #commercial lending #economic miracle #FDIC #ground zero #Lehman Brothers #Long-Term Capital Management #Silicon Valley Bank #U.S. Treasuries #virtuous circle #Washington Mutual

[corporateintel]

Cold Call Catastrophes and Catalysts

As the economy comes under increasing pressure, I find myself wading through an email inbox increasingly filled with clutter. I am being too polite. It is filled with garbage. Sadly, much of that garbage comes from sales folk who think they are reaching out to me to generate much-needed business for their companies. Cold-calling is part of a salesperson’s job, I know that, and it is hard. If you…

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#advance work #authentic bond #business opportunity #cold-calling #effective networking #email inbox #enough timesink #first solicitation #offstage readiness #overcoming objections #personal credibility #sales pipeline #salesperson&039;s job #spam #Yeti mug

[corporateintel]

Be In The Room

Over the past weeks, several major companies have announced various return-to-office policies. That means a requirement to be in an office some number of days each week. Thus far I have resisted sending a similar memo because I think for the most part this is best left to the judgment of department leaders who understand their goals, More than that, I am counting on the good judgment of…

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#best work #career horizons #company culture #Covid-19 #crisis management #intangibles #leverage #management paradigm #office politics #read a room #recent college grads #return-to-office policies #software engineering #talk in shorthand #telecommuting #this time is different #unknown job applicant #work-life balance #working remotely #Zoom or Teams

[corporateintel]

When Friends Rally

This will be a bit messier and less polished than my normal work. It’s timely and a moment is upon us. I may edit or add to this later, but I want to share it now. It was a curious Christmas Eve. Somewhat out of the blue, an antisemitic leaflet was left outside our house. It referenced a claim that, “Every single aspect of the media is Jewish” and that “6 Jewish corporations own 96% of the…

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#antisemitism #Christmas Day #Christmas Eve #clear author #diversity #free speech #Hanukkah #mitzvah #progressive worldview #shared values #solidarity #write to breathe