A Happy Obsolescence
Most products, however successful, have a life span. Buggy whips, the telegraph and telephone booths, enjoyed long lives but quick deaths when the automobile, the telephone and the mobile phone appeared. Other products failed in their intended use but are found to meet needs in other areas. Rogaine was original developed to treat ulcers. It […]
Econ Recon: GDP: All that Glitters
GDP: All that Glitters…: 2nd quarter real GDP numbers surprised economists, coming in at 2.8% increase versus the consensus expectations of 2.0%. Both economists I follow seem to think that all the glitters is not gold: ITR Economics’ Brian Beaulieu was somewhat surprised by the strength of the GDP increase but shares concern over several components, especially housing, […]
The Origins of “OK” Revealed
We use many phrases without thinking about what they really mean or their origins. Does a day (or hour) go by that you don’t use the word “OK?” But what does it really mean? Do “O” and “K” constitute an acronym? If so, what do the letter mean, and when did we start using the […]
What VPN REALLY Means
The Pandemic dramatically increased the number of people working outside the walls of their company’s physical location. Many may be working at home or in public places like airports, hotels, coffeeshops and connecting through public networks.Many executives and IT professionals believe that equipping their employees with VPNs (virtual private networks) can protect their IT assets […]
The Storm Trooper Problem
The world of organizations is more diverse than it used to be and was a long time in coming. Diversity has several important dimensions but perhaps the one we talk about the least is how organizations can avoid inadvertently sabotaging themselves by hiring too many people that think alike. A recent post in the Farnam Street […]
Give Your Kid a “Schnupperwochen”
Parents naturally fret about their children’s future and in no area, aside from health and safety, is that concern more pronounced that their education. Aside from institutions and degrees, the summer internship has become an especially important milestone. I know many parents who are urging their children to secure next summer’s internship now. Hopefully a successful […]
Econ Recon:
Everything Old is New Again: If Rip Van Winkle had dozed off four years ago during the 2020 Summer of the Pandemic, he might understandably have had grave concerns about the shuttered economy when he closed his eyes and what he would find when he awoke today. Dr. Brian Wesbury in his “Three on Thursday” blog post graphically […]
One Funny Guy:
Bob NewhartRest in Peace1929-2024 We lost a wonderful man this past week: comedian Bob Newhart passed at the age of 94. Newhart built a 60-year career making us laugh in a way that avoided the course, uncivil ad hominem themes of many of today’s comedians (and is therefore much harder to pull off) . In addition to […]
Hype or Hope?
AI is attended by a number of negative fantasies; most notably that it will have an unprecedented negative impact on employment. It seems likely there will be an impact, but is the panic being experienced by many justified? Consulting firm PwC did a deep dive on the topic. It “analyzed half a billion job postings from […]
The Dangers of “One and Done”
If you look at the etymology of the word “success” one of the possible origins is the Latin “succedere” which can be translated as “come after” or “follow up”. How much of your success lies in how well you “follow up”? Former CEO and blogger Karen Caplan warns that the “one and done” syndrome is characterized by failing […]
