Category: Current Issues

HOMO DEUS – A Brief History of Tomorrow

“For the first time in history, more people die today from eating too much than from eating too little; more people die from old age than from infectious diseases; and more people commit suicide than are killed by soldiers, terrorists, and criminals combined.” “The average human is far more likely to die from bingeing at McDonald’s than from drought, Ebola or an al-Qaeda attack.”
     Yuval Noah Harari, book Homo Deus; A Brief History of Tomorrow, 2017

What was that? It can’t be right!  Yet in the last few decades, we have been able to move closer to managing famine, plagues, and war. We haven’t overcome them, but we have significantly decreased their effect on us. If we do solve these, what will we work on next? That is the topic of the book “Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow” by Yuval Noah Harari, a Ph.D. of history from the University of Oxford.

What about immortality? If we can overcome the big three; hunger, disease, premature death, aren’t we trying to extend life? If the right to life is humanity’s most fundamental value, death would violate that right. Death would be a crime against humanity.

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Are We Raising Bullies and Wimps?

A Tennessee middle-schooler, Keaton Jones, was on a video where he lamented about being bullied at school. The video pulled at our hearts as he asked, in a cracked voice, why some kids are bullies. Keaton stated that he was teased because of his looks and for being different.

Keaton is not alone. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that twenty-eight percent of students in grades 6 – 12 have been bullied at some point. Looking at just cyberbullying, the number of those bullied went from 18% in 2007 to 34% in 2016. The increase in suicides by those tormented has increased so much we added a new word for it: bullycide; a combination of bully and suicide.

A bully is a person who is habitually cruel to smaller or weaker people. There are several actions that a bully uses: name calling, making fun of, pushing, spitting and stealing, along with excluding them from activities or groups. Kids who are bullied are more likely to experience depression, anxiety, loss of eating and sleeping, a drop in their grades and less interest in activities, to name a few. Being bullied can have a negative effect that will stay with children, even when they become adults.

There are also effects that bullies carry with them as adults. Kids who torment others are more likely to get into fights, vandalize property, drop out of school, abuse drugs and alcohol, have poor relationships and have criminal convictions. Whether a child is the bully or being bullied, there is a lasting negative effect that can be played out when they are adults.

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Sexual Harassment Has Two Sides

Sexual harassment at work is a huge topic right now. The outcry of women fills the news even more than the bashing of President Trump. Women are screaming about men inappropriately touching, speaking, or wanting sexual activity from them.  This is not a new issue; it’s one that has come to the forefront.

A lot of women who are employed outside the home have been sexually harassed at work.  Whether he’s her boss or someone she works alongside, women deal with uncomfortable and sleazy advances.  It happens in every industry. Undoubtedly, the thought of losing her job crosses her mind.

When the advances come from a boss, women have to think what it will do to her career. Will she get passed over for a promotion, receive a poor review, or lose her job. Advances from a co-worker cause a woman to worry that others will hear about it, ruining her reputation, or separating her from the team.

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The Office of the President of the United States

The President of the United States is a powerful and highly respected position. It is the office that makes it so, not the man. There are specific protocols that go with the office. We stand when the President enters the room, we address him in specific ways, we surround him with security and there are special honors and courtesies we extend to him. All these are done because of the position. Men will come and go, but the office will remain the same. We honor the Office of the President of the United States, which is why we have these formalities.

The Office

Then why is there still upheaval about our current President, Donald Trump! Like it or not he is our president. Every election some people will have their choice elected and some won’t. It can be upsetting if your candidate doesn’t win. It’s not uncommon for people to voice their opposition right after the election. It happened with President Barack Obama, and it’s happening to President Trump. What’s puzzling is that a year later Americans are still harassing President Trump. Why?

It’s not good enough to say that your candidate didn’t win. No one would be upset about that this long after the election. If people are still upset, why? A fire goes out after a while unless something is fueling it.

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Customers Are Always Right – Not Anymore

Your goal as a business owner is to serve your customer. You want to take care of them so they will return. To make that happen, you give them special services or pricing.  The idea is to turn the customer into a repeat buyer instead of a one-time shopper.

This mentality doesn’t work today. The consumer is not the person you have catered to in the past. You are now a supplier to purchasers who have a “me” attitude, wanting to tell you what the deal will be. You can give away the farm, but it won’t be good enough.

The behavior of our society has altered from what it was even ten years ago. People make judgments on others without knowing anything about them. Verbal attackers interpret what they think the speaker means. They translate what is spoken by their own definitions without even knowing the person, and the problem is escalating.

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Words Can Never Hurt Me

There is an old children’s saying, “Stick and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me.” When we were kids we said it after another child insulted us. It was a way to tell them that we weren’t hurt by what they said. Deep down inside we might have admitted to ourselves that what they said did hurt.

Words are powerful and can impact our lives. Proof of this just happened, which cost a person his life. But was it the person who said the words guilty of manslaughter or did the person who received the words commit suicide.

Recently, 20-year old Michelle Carter has been found guilty of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 2 ½ years in prison. This is an unprecedented case in that Carter sent texts to her friend, Conrad Roy III, telling him to kill himself. Roy, who was 18, rigged a generator to his pickup truck, jumped in the vehicle and died of carbon monoxide poisoning. The fatal incident occurred in 2014 in Massachusetts. There has never been a case of manslaughter where words alone caused someone’s death.

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SMALL IN NUMBER, BIG IN DAMAGE

Last week I wrote about how two companies had to deal with small-scale groups of people who speak out. The first example the business caved to the few and the second business closed its doors. You can read the article, “Your Company May Be Next” here. In both cases, the organizations stepped away from their business model and gave in to those who speak the loudest.

That reminded me of what happened to Chick Fil A a few years ago but with a different ending.  Continue reading “SMALL IN NUMBER, BIG IN DAMAGE”

WHAT IF IT HAPPENS TO YOUR COMPANY

The Story of Two Businesses

After being forced to change the design of their businesses, the companies reported dramatic loss of sales and even bankruptcy. Though they did everything right, they still were unable to survive. They had a plan based on a target customer, had the funding and the location they needed. Yet an insignificant population prevented them from succeeding.

Just because you talk the loudest doesn’t mean you are right.

Story #1

We can determine who will be in a movie theater by what the movie is rated. If it is rated G there will be kids present. Rated R and we don’t anticipate kids there.  Continue reading “WHAT IF IT HAPPENS TO YOUR COMPANY”

BOY IF YOU DON’T STOP

Aubrey “DRAKE” Graham is a Grammy-Award winning R&B/Hip-Hop artist. His unique style of soft rap that deals with difficult subjects has propelled him on Billboard charts. Recently his work was rewarded when he received 13 awards at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards. This is the greatest number of accolades ever given to an artist in a single year at this event.

Thirteen awards means giving thirteen acceptance speeches. The one that stands out is the second one. After giving shout-outs of appreciation to Vanessa Hudgens, Nicki Minaj and Ludacris, Drake gave a shout-out to his father, Dennis Graham.

Drake’s dad, a drummer who worked with Jerry Lee Lewis, attended the event wearing a purple suit and purple shoes. He looked exceptional. Drake yelled out to his father, “Boy, if you don’t stop!” That started a frenzy of comments because of the phrase. Continue reading “BOY IF YOU DON’T STOP”

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