“God is here. This truth should fill our lives, and every Christmas should be for us a new and special meeting with God, when we allow his light and grace to enter deep into our soul.”
- Josemaría Escrivá (Spanish Roman Catholic priest who founded Opus Dei, an organization dedicated to the teaching that everyone is called to holiness by God, 1902-1975)
“The Supreme Court has ruled that they cannot have a nativity scene in Washington, D.C. This wasn’t for any religious reasons. They couldn’t find three wise men and a virgin.”
— Jay Leno
Social Trends for 2024 and Beyond
Peter Drucker once said that demographics are the “future that has already happened.” Vistage speaker Marc Emmer looks at the aging of America, and other demographic related trends such as healthcare, inequality, diversity ,and education and how they will affect small to mid-sized business.
This particular series is being made available to non- members as well. Spend a few minutes reviewing Social Trends for 2024 and Beyond and be sure your strategies take advantage of them.
Links to the previous three installments on Ecological, Technology and Economic trends can be found at the end of the article. Thanks to Mr. Emmer for this excellent annual series.
The Four Day Way
Many executives are struggling with the dynamics of the work from home phenomenon (WFH) that Covid made necessary for more than year. Employees like the flexibility and know the war for talent makes a company with a work from home policy attractive, but employers worry about productivity, accountability, and the impact on company culture.
Vistage employment law expert Hunter Lott recaps “one company's results from their experiment with a shorter workweek as a strategy for increased productivity. Based on what happened, the company has no longer any plans to return to the old schedule based on what they saw from their test.”
Check out his latest “Take 5” video, “The Four Day Work Week” for a recap of pros and cons. Work from home is here to stay. This may help you develop a strategy that makes sure you win.
An additional article from “The Nation” “ may also be of interest: “The World’s Biggest Trial of a Four Day Workweek Shows: It Works.”
Bill Gates on AI: “The Biggest Revolution”
If anyone should have an informed perspective on software it’s Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft.
The man who brought you DOS (remember that?), the Office Suite and much more has shared his thoughts about AI in a recent post on his Gates Notes blog. Mr. Gates offers some much-needed clarity for those trying to understand AI and explores how it will impact various activities and sectors.
He writes “AI is about to completely change how you use computers…bringing about the biggest revolution in computing since we went from typing commands to tapping on icons.”
Econ Recon:
ITR Economics’ Brian Beaulieu recaps four major indicators (“tells”) of the economy and what he thinks they portend for a recession and its potential severity, in 2024 in his latest Fedwatch
A Note From Scott:
Friends,
I wish you all a VERY HAPPY and BLESSED Christmas and Hanukkah.
I hope you take time this season to pause and reflect on the many blessings we have. For me, part of a poem found in the book of Psalms in the Old Testament expresses my gratitude: GIVE THANKS TO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD, HIS LOVE ENDURES FOREVER (Psalm 118:29). I hope you have a renewed sense of God's love for you, and you in turn express your love and gratitude to those around you.
Warm regards,
Scott
