Blog this to your think tank

What happens in your Think Tank? Oh, you say you’re not in a Think Tank, well why not? You seem to like to think right? Maybe you can enjoy some of the things we discussed in our Think Tank this week, as our topics are very diverse and interesting. For example, we are all consumers in some way, even if some of us are somewhat minimalist. Have you ever considered why we have so many products being recalled?

my product has been withdrawn from the market; What is a recall and what is really happening?

In fact, I’ve found that most recalls are simply “CYA” for the manufacturer to prevent a future lawsuit, usually one or two accidents, that was actually driver error or equipment misuse. In aviation there have always been many Airworthiness Directives, most of them were a waste of time and totally expensive. In the trucking industry, downtime kills efficiency.

Some automakers now use it as an excuse to get everyone back into the dealer showroom to introduce new models and sell add-ons and other preventative maintenance, since 80% of required routine manual maintenance is undone, which it costs the dealer $100 thousand. of dollars per year.

For the back of my Autocar, I bought a small scooter, I have had words with a couple of dealers, how they are fine before the sale, then when there is a problem, everyone changes and they do not give you the time of day and does the service start? No wonder most of those motorcycle dealers change ownership so frequently. When the recalls roll in, they seem to choke and lure you into the showroom to see the latest models.

Another fascinating topic this week was a topic on Korea Town and California’s alcohol laws. In the nuts, fruit and flake state in the west, and mind you that’s what they call it not me, it seems that ‘alcohol free’ sales after 2am are not observed and that in these areas you can buy alcohol . until 6 am The city of Los Angeles does nothing about it, as not to make waves. Why do we allow such things, since it destroys the melting pot of the nation, due to self-segregation and self-government outside the laws of society and civilization?

In Korean Town you can buy Korean Gin, it is a powerful green alcohol, which they sell in Restaurants imported from Korea, you cannot buy it anywhere else, it is quite good if you like that kind of thing. Many of the restaurants where it is sold do not have an alcohol license. Should these laws be enforced or should we remove the laws for everyone else as well? Our nation should not play such double standards, any ideas?

The next topic is quite interesting about the troubled future of Wars in Space. An interesting book our Think Tank read on this topic reaffirmed what many others have said. “Empty Promise – The Growing Case Against Star Wars” by The Union of Concerned Scientists – 1986. Today, we see weapons that can shoot down ICBMs being produced in the US and China practicing shooting down satellites. Space debris aside; Are we preparing for a future of wars in space?

The Star Wars program that Ronald Reagan was promoting during the cold war ultimately helped bankrupt the Soviet Union financially. The ability to eliminate the enemy’s network-centric, GPS, and communication satellite components will definitely be a part of future human warfare. An interesting book to read on this subject is; “The Star Wars Fallacy” by UCS [1984 Report]. Now, with many nations going into space, placing satellites, spying from space, and developing weapons for space, space warfare is coming whether we like it or not; Jorge Lucas was right.

Now, with space laser technology and anti-satellite weapons, it seems that the US Air Force’s roadmap for space defense is all but guaranteed and, along with the Chinese forces being built and their military exploits of the space program, the future is predicted. Obviously, in a war, you need to create a fog and disrupt the flow of information in your enemy’s command and control and we need look no further than Karl von Clausewitz to confirm this.

In the future, much of the escalation sequences will happen so quickly in a space war, due to the rate of fire of the lasers, that AI computers will run the scenario and fire without human intervention or hesitation, so one You must ask yourself, can we trust? the computers? Well, can we trust humans? judging by history, the answer is “Certainly not!”

An additional topic of perhaps interest is how the digital economy has played such an important role in the economic advancement of the United States and in world trade. An interesting book to read on this subject is; “The Digital Economy – Promise and Peril in the Age of the Networked Intelligence” by Don Tapscott written in 1995. This gentleman predicted much of what we see today and how the Internet has evolved and how “business enterprise” software has become in the corporate center.

The idea for this book rivaled the futuristic predictions of Bill Gates; “The Road Ahead” and “Business at the Speed ​​of Thought” and therefore relevant to the topic at hand. One of the most interesting ideas was the fact that the lines of the industry become blurred, which was a common theme in other books of the time, such as; “Co-opetition” and “Competition is dead” and we still see companies redesigning their market mix, the way they do business, and how to leverage the Internet to increase customer loyalty, profits, and longevity. The digital economy got off to a fast start and crashed, but make no mistake, the digital economy is stronger than ever and this is the future.

Today we hear discussions on the topic of centralized or decentralized companies, government agencies, and military command and control or network-centric systems. But this is nothing new, in fact it might be interesting if you go and pick up a copy of “The Centralized Enterprise: Making the Most of Enterprise Management” by Robert Levinson 1983. Robert states that this is a radical idea = radical decentralization which is .

Mr. Levinson says that decentralization makes business fun, less structured, and with fewer rules and regulations within the organization, making local regional variations more difficult to manage. In fact, in addition to being fun, it shows how profitable it can be too. Having personally run a franchise company in my career; it was surprising how important this book was to some of my decisions as we grew to become a national company. This helped me overcome communication problems and led me to buy a coach to personally visit all our points of sale. A company must never let the entrepreneurial spirit die among its ranks.

So how can a large company cut through the bureaucracy? Well, first you have to act, mobilize, get everyone at all levels to agree on the process to eliminate inefficiencies. Have a revival of risk taking, do away with heavy committees and bring back the entrepreneurial spirit. Pay for new ideas with a bonus system, boost local employee morale and teamwork, and let local decision-making rule the day. Once you get started, you’ll come up with new methods and ideas to move the ball down the field faster and develop new plays to win.

Well, those are all good points and advice from within a company, but what about the other side of the equation? The consumer, how can the consumer influence business? How can consumers become socially conscious? Voting with your dollar, that’s right. Can I be so bold as to recommend “The Green Consumer” by John Elkington, Joe Makower and Julia Hailes? [1998] do you have a good place to start? In fact, you can buy products that don’t cost the environment much. I would also like to recommend “The Green Capitalist” by Tom Burke, a relative classic in Green Movement Circles. No, I’m not a Greeny or Sierra Club guy, just someone who likes clean air and clean water, because I breathe the air and drink the water, we all do.

If one is going to call for political intervention to protect the environment, then one must lead by example and not live in hypocrisy; that means recycling, living well and using your purchasing power in a moral and ethical way. It means conserving water, fuel, not polluting, using alternative energy like solar, but it also means buying organic food, using safe cleaning products, and wearing clothes that don’t cause problems for our Earth. Think about this, because if you complain about oil, air pollution, or the environment, and then drive a 1970 Volvo with leaking rings that allow the engine to suck up oil and pollute, then that hypocrisy is unethical.

Speaking of pollution in the air and water, what are you doing to prevent pollution in your body? You know you are responsible for eating right, so let me remind you to educate yourself as soon as possible on what to eat, when to eat, and how to eat so you can stay on top of your game and not get type II diabetes. Likewise, the information you put into your brain, the stress you allow, and the emotions you evoke are important to your health.

You may be interested in reading “Super Immunity – Master Your Emotions and Improve Your Health” by Paul Pearsall, PhD. 1987. Why do I recommend this book? Well, it seems to me that much of the poor health in our nation is caused by abnormal stress and negative biofeedback. Am I curing modern western medicine? Oh dear no, he’s not the author of the book either, rather letting the reader know that you can improve your health by improving your attitude among other things.

Your body needs to be clean and stress free along with your home. Just as you can improve your health by thinking positive, eating well and avoiding contaminating it, you can also do the same with your home by organizing it. Speaking of which, maybe you’d like to read the book; “Built from the ground up” by Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank, the founders of Home Depot [1999]. Like all books about corporate founders, you’ll enjoy the perseverance, history, and ultimate achievement of creating the largest home retail chain. These founders swore to take care of customers and their teams. The two founders were on the same page toward that goal, often finishing each other’s sentences in interviews. These gentlemen knew how to build their brand and were in it to earn it and deliver all the household items they wanted to the masses while keeping a profit and you know what: It worked.

Well, I hope you enjoyed today’s Think Tank conference and maybe read some of these books and reflect on some of these thoughts as you go through the week. Good morning, good night and continued success.

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