FCC Chairman no longer wants to be questioned in official hearings about Free Speech, Net Neutrality, Unfair Competition, etc.

Ajit Pai is tired of all the hearings. He prefers to receive complaints and concerns via suggestion box.

FCC CHAIRMAN INTRODUCES TWO NEW PROPOSALS TO MODERNIZE FCC PROCESSES

WASHINGTON, July 22, 2019—Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai today announced that he has presented his colleagues with two new proposals to modernize and streamline the agency’s processes.  Under the first, the FCC would continue the agency’s move toward electronic filing and correspondence by fully transitioning the Universal Licensing System—the agency’s largest licensing system—from paper to electronic format.  The second proposal would expedite the Commission’s hearing processes by expanding the use of written hearings (i.e. hearings conducted without live testimony).

“As the communications marketplace is being transformed by the digital revolution, we must continue to modernize our own operations.” said Chairman Pai.  “That’s why I’m introducing two new proposals to update and streamline our processes for the digital age.  By transitioning more records and communications from paper to electronic format, we can save money and increase our efficiency.  And by streamlining our hearing rules, we can resolve disputes more quickly, which will benefit the private sector as well as the Commission.  I hope that my colleagues will join me in supporting these good-government initiatives.”  

###

Address your concerns directly to: Will Wiquist, (202) 418-0509 or email correspondence to will.wiquist@fcc.gov


Media Relations: (202) 418-0500 / ASL: (844) 432-2275 / TTY: (888) 835-5322 / Twitter: @FCC / www.fcc.gov
This is an unofficial announcement of Commission action. 

Release of the full text of a Commission order constitutes official action.  See MCI v. FCC, 515 F.2d 385 (D.C. Cir. 1974).

Word Class Author & Speaker Whitney Vosburgh (“Work The Future Today”) to Host “Change Yourself, Change the World” Workshops: August 10-11th & 17-18th in Berkeley, CA

Change Yourself, Change the World by Visionary Speaker and Author, Whitney Vosburgh.

In response to a growing call, visionary author and business leader Whitney Vosburgh will be leading two fun, highly interactive weekend workshops in Berkeley, California in August 10-11th and 17-18th.

These workshops will guide you, together with a select number of participants, through the process of awakening to your unique gifts, identifying your “North Star” for a sense of purpose and creating a personalized action-focused pathway that enables you to head into 2020 with enhanced vision and enthusiasm at work and in life.

Each of these two “Change Yourself, Change the World” weekend workshops will take the principles and framework featured in Vosburgh’s two books and provide an immersive experience designed to transform the lives of participants. These inspiring and insightful new books co-authored with Dr. Charlie Grantham — “WORK THE FUTURE! TODAY: Finding your path to purpose, passion and profit” and the accompanying workbook, “WORK THE FUTURE! TODAY 2019 POCKET PAL: A faster path to purpose, passion and profit” — have received praise from a wide spectrum of leaders and readers in the pursuit of regenerative business growth that also provides purpose and meaning.

Sign up soon places are going fast!  Your $300 dollars for this workshop is an investment in your personal growth as well as your career. You will leave with a deeper understanding how to achieve your own preferred work/life balance.

For more information about these workshops, visit: https://bit.ly/2Yn4KYn and https://bit.ly/2XkMVbd, and to learn more about Whitney Vosburgh’s “Work The Future! Today” books, visit: http://www.workthefuture.today

Work the Future Today book and Pocket Pal editions

Enjoy your life and future!

If you can’t attend in August check back at www.workthefuture.today regularly. And, you can buy the books on Amazon or Amazon2

About the Workshop Leaders

Whitney Vosburgh, Change Yourself, Change the World Host

Whitney Vosburgh is co-founder of WORK THE FUTURE! TODAY, a social venture that offers vision, leadership and solutions for maximizing personal, organizational and societal potential, and co-founder of Brand New Purpose, a brand transformation consultancy that creates purpose-built, value-driven opportunities. He is also a consulting Chief Marketing Officer and change agent for Fortune 20 companies and Silicon Valley startups, guiding over $20+ billion worth of M&A, IPOs, sales, pivots and launches. Whitney graduated with an M.A. in Religious Leadership for Social Change from Graduate Theological Union, and with a B.F.A. from Parsons School of Design in New York City. His expertise on the Future of Work has been featured in four books, including a bestseller by Dan Pink, and in “Conscious Company” magazine. When Whitney is not focusing on business consulting, speaking and writing, he can be found making art, which has been exhibited throughout the world. His Tweets can be found at: @brandguru

Marcus Druen, Change Yourself, Change the World Workshop Leader.

Marcus Druen is an expert on individual and business transformation, and has led hundreds of workshops focusing on empowerment and transformation in over 20 countries. His consulting firm, Audacify, is based in the UK. He shares Whitney Vosburgh’s commitment to restore the sense of “shared humanity” to the workplace, at this time when the move to de-personalized “digitization” is proceeding with alarming speed. He also shares the belief that all change begins within each individual. Marcus is a graduate of Cologne Business School.

For more information about these workshops, visit: https://bit.ly/2Yn4YKn and https://bit.ly/2XkMVbd, and to learn more about Whitney Vosburgh’s “Work The Future! Today” books, visit: http://www.workthefuture.today

Are we still living in a merit based society?

San Francisco culture of mutual support helped create great opportunities for entrepreneurs to achieve their dreams.

Since before the formation of this country by great men like Benjamin Franklin one of the best parts of living on this continent is that everyone has a chance to create the life they want to have. Benjamin Franklin is a great example of someone who grew up in a modest home, ventured out on his own to become a very wealthy world leader. Self-educated Abe Lincoln is another example of a young half orphan who made his own way in the world, reaching great achievements as a lawyer and US president. Andrew Carnegie was born into a Scottish weaver’s family that shared a one room house with their neighbors. Yet, later in the US he became synonymous with the Gilded Age. John D. Rockefeller who as the son of a con man and a very religious mother started out as a bookkeeper built one of the greatest wealth an American family ever enjoyed. He is quoted as saying: “The growth of a large business is merely a survival of the fittest”. Even though he was a very tough and sometimes ruthless competitor he ended up donating more than $500 million to various philanthropic causes. Back in his days this was quite a lot of money.

In recent history we have Steve Jobs, the son of a Syrian refugee, was adopted and started his career in the warehouse. Ray Kroc started as an ambulance driver at 15 years old and later started McDonald’s corporation, considered one of the fastest growing companies. Sarah Breedlove, later known by one of her married names Madam C. J. Walker’s parents and siblings were slaves, yet she became the first known African American female Millionaire. Andy Grove spent part of his childhood in a Nazi concentration camp and came to the US penniless when he had to flee Hungary from Soviet Oppression at age 20. Later he became associated with the success of Intel, a company he led to international success as its CEO. Arthur Rock’s dad had a candy store and Arthur’s education was possible thanks to the G.I. bill. Arthur Rock founded one of the first investment firms in Silicon Valley, called Davis & Rock. He is considered one of the founders of Silicon Valley. Eric Hippeau received a wonderful education in France and chose to come to the US to achieve his fame and fortune. He came to the US as an ad sales manager for IDG, before becoming publisher of PC Magazine, CEO of Ziff-Davis, Softbank, and now runs a very successful venture firm, Lerer Hippeau.

In the US if you work hard and smart you can succeed. Yes, it is quite clear that in most cases being well educated or rather being able to educate yourself and re-educate yourself is a prerequisite for success. And yes, it possible to reach amazing success in the United States, regardless of background and family ties.

Is it easier to achieve success when you have a loving and supportive family that can afford to pay for a great education and make wonderful introductions? Of course, it is. Is it harder for children who have to overcome the long-term physiological and psychological challenges of ACE (Adverse Childhood Experiences)? Yes, it is harder. However, it is possible. This is what is unique about the USA. Many businesses in the US are merit based, especially in California.

When communities, business leaders, and educational institutions come together to focus on helping kids become successful adults, entire cities and villages thrive. Providing education that provides students with the life-long ability to learn may be one of the top gifts we can give our local communities. Most thriving towns have benevolent leaders who care about all its inhabitants. Why not bring the leaders in your community together to facilitate a local plan to create a thriving and high-quality place to live and grow up in. Amazing success will be up to the individual, luck, hard work, lots of studying, and the willingness to put in the necessary effort. There are no shortcuts to wealth, short of inheriting it. And as every successful business leader knows making the first money is easier than to hold on to the money and growing the business. This takes management skills, knowledge, competitiveness and most importantly content and satisfied customers.

It is best if we remind ourselves and future generations that only because someone else inherited their wealth, doesn’t make them the only ones who can thrive. With a strong desire to succeed, great networking skills, and the willingness to learn, the road to success is open to everyone in the USA. For self-made people there are no short cuts to success. It takes work and diligence, and the willingness to try over and over until the necessary skills are perfected.

In China during the Han Dynasty in the 6th century BC, when Confucius has a strong impact on culture the society was merit-based. Education became the key for social mobility back then in China. Europe opened its mind to become a merit-based society in the 17th Century and is still waffling about it. The US is the only country that was founded on the principles of being merit based. The West Coast naturally has embraced being merit-based since it was founded by people from all walks of life who were seeking fame and fortune in the 19th century during the gold rush era. Life in the Wild West required that towns people were there for each other and pool resources. This spirit of collaboration has survived in California. This is the reason why living is pleasant and easy. There is a “live and let live” attitude, and openness to new and different ways of looking at things, and the willingness to create teams, tribes, mutually beneficial groups, and everyone who is a good fit and is willing to contribute to the overall good is welcome.

Towns who are willing to support their neighbors’ kids thrive more than towns who live in brutally hierarchical ways without caring about each other. Businesses that receive help from financiers are able to afford an educated workforce. These businesses thrive easier. Invest in educating all kids, invest in your towns future. The investment in lifting the overall level of education of a town pays off within 10 to 15 years. It cannot be accomplished within a quarter. However, if you don’t invest in your city, you wil lend up with a ghost town suffering from unhappy, often drugged and depressed workforce who doesn’t work effectively, nor purchase anything. Every town has a chance to adopt these logical and simple principles if leaders choose to come together for the benefit of the entire population. Check out Oakland, CA it is now safer than Kansas City!

Is it wise for those benefitting from the economy to allow the middle and lower middle class to shrink?

We believe in the American philosophy that free markets help each person rise to the best possible economic achievement for themselves. We are all in favor of a thriving economy.

The economy is thriving particularly well for the top 25% of the American population.  Around the world poverty is at a 100-year low.  According to Politifacts.com who compared World Bank statistics and other studies: “By World Bank figures, Smith actually understated the reduction. We’ve cut extreme poverty by 58 percent using the 2008 definition of extreme poverty, and 74.1 percent by the 2015 definition.”

Many business leaders plan to stay with a company only for a few years and therefore the long term stability of their companies is less important than the managers ability to cash out. If the economy shrinks, employees are upset, the companies are vulnerable to foreign or even domestic competition, it does not affect the manager personally as quickly, as it affects the rest of the economy.

Why might we encourage business leaders to watch the American, European, and Japanese middle-class standards of living?  After all ever more people from the upper middle class are thriving. There are 7.1 million households in this country that have investable assets of $1 million or more. So why be concerned about the middle and lower-income brackets of the middle class?

What does income inequality even mean?

A recent study by the Fed reported in the Wall Street Journal stated that 25% of working individuals say they have no retirement savings at all, and 44% worried that their saving isn’t on track. Among younger workers, aged 18 to 29, 42% have nothing set aside, and only 26% believe they are adequately prepared for retirement. Even more disturbing 40% of Americans said they don’t have enough cash on hand to cover an unexpected $400 expense and 17% reported they did not have sufficient funds to meet their current obligations. This indicates that 57% lived either beyond their means or they did not earn enough. With the unemployment rate solidly below 4% it is most likely the later.

San Francisco has the highest median income in the country. It is reportedly at $110,816.  This sounds great until you realize that how many people are not participating in driving the median income up to these wonderful levels, however they still have to pay the same for housing. The average cost for a 1-bed room apartment is $3,391.12 per month and naturally the rent or mortage for a dwelling fit for a family is even more. This spells trouble for employees who are not in managerial positions, particularly since Numbeo suggests that it takes $4,106.34 for living expenses for a family with 4 members before the rent. Add some student loan payments, the need to save money to take care of their kids the dream of maybe buying a house and it starts to look dismal for those who earn their living as teachers, truck drivers or service personal. This is when reality shows that a shrinking middle and lower-part of the middle class indeed will not foster the consumerism that Westerners have enjoyed for the past 70 years.

When the US economy is turned and/or allowed to be turned into a “third world economy,” the US will become a third world country.

7.1 Millions of extremely wealthy end up living in a country surrounded by 315.9 Million people, some of whom can’t afford to save $400 for their next emergency. Currently more than 50% of the US population earns less than $50,000. In many cases much less 20.3% of US households or every 5th household earned less than $25K per per year. For millennials the outlook explains why they prefer experiences instead of accumulating products. 58% of 35-yr-olds earn less than $50,000 per year and 81% of 25-yr-olds earn less than $50,000 per year. They barely can afford rent. Yes, many move to places that have more affordable homes, however their salaries may drop drop relative to the price of housing.

Yes, there are a few “Unicorns,” companies that make more money than ever. Apple is slated to become the first $1 Trillion dollar company. However the US economy is reliant on small businesses. There are 28,000,000 small businesses in the US and only 18,500 large companies. One half of the US economy is based on and relies on small business. Small businesses are the first to suffer when the middle class erodes. In the 70s 1 out of 5 small businesses folded in the first year. Today 50% of small businesses fail often due to lack of earnings. When the expendable income for so many Americans gets eroded due to the lack of “living wages” the US will turn into a third-world country. Currently in San Francisco and Marin County 1 in 5 is in need of food assistance, and 1 in 4 is at risk of going hungry, according to the San Francisco Foodbank. California is the tenth most affluent State in the US with the nearly 900,000 millionnaires.

While business leaders are not immediately and personally affected by the ever lower standard of living of 70% of Americans, shrinking Americans expendable income to Zero is not healthy for the overall economy, as sales for anything that is not a necessity will suffer and this is already happening. Retail is down, housing size is shrinking , large houses stay unoccupied due to the fact that more than 1/2 of households can’t afford the mortgages.

Deloitte just releases their 2019 report is based on the views of 13,416 millennials questioned across 42 countries and 3,009 Gen Zs from 10 countries. While this does not provide a statistically correct sample for each country, it does give us a bit of an idea that could be considered a possible trend. The news is somewhat positive. 60% of the Millennials surveyed were confident that they could reach their own goals if they applied themselves. This could mean they are optimistic, or it could mean that they blame themselves for not being as successful as they wished they were.

Board of Directors may do well to start thinking a bit longer term. If a company doesn’t have a long range vision like most Chinese and European companies do, the US economy may be structurally damaged in ways that will affect its investors and business leaders.

Fortunately there are great examples of how communities can come together to make sure all the boats are lifted. Check out the articles about how Oakland, a city that was beleaguered by inequality problems, pulled together to lift the city out of poverty. It takes vision and it takes the will of those who have the power to effect change.

Today Oakland is a model city that has pulled together to create a new future for all its citizens. Part 4

Jonah Melvon & Adesha will join the Art & Soul Festival this year. The most ethnically diverse fun festival on the West Coast. Great music, great food, great art and good vibes.

The citizens were ready for the change. It started to gentrify without pushing out locals. The East Bay Times reports that the Fruitvale district is a great example that this is possible: “Schildt said it’s possible to invest in a community without causing displacement — particularly if it’s public investment or community-driven. Oakland’s Fruitvale Village is held up as a national model. As Scott Morris reports, the mixed-use development near Fruitvale BART improved the socio-economic well-being of residents in the immediate neighborhood and preserved the area’s racial and ethnic diversity.”

Today 38% of people in Oakland hold secondary degrees, crime is down to the same level as San Francisco, aside of Long Beach California it is the most racially mixed town in the world. When researching the most crime ridden towns in the US no California town made it into the top 30 most dangerous towns in the US. Niche voted Oakland as the 26th best US city to live in.

How did Oakland do it? This is the story that Oakland born and raised artists “Jonah Melvon featuring Adesha” wish to tell. Their song 1099 available on Spotify tells the story of how cities need to pull together to become whole again. Jonah Melvon works closely with business leaders and educational and community outreach organizations to bring about a spirit of “togetherness, love, peace and understanding.” Adesha works with the Boys and Girls Club as a Community Relations Manager. They have lived the story and they want to help cities around the world to help create living conditions that are pleasing for all ethnic groups. It can be done! Oakland is proof that it can be done.

Jonah Melvon believes, as his lyrics explain, that we all need to support local businesses, make education available and accessable to everyone who wishes to improve their lifestyle and take part of a thriving economy. In Oakland, Peralta Colleges came together to provide educational access to everyone at affordable rates. Businesses cleaned up neighborhoods and provide access to comfortable yet affordable housing. Charities pitched in with Kindergardens and Schools. When all people, regardless of ethnic background join forces to create a nice place to live, with compassionate support for those least among us, and businesses create access to well paying jobs through education, mentorships, classes cities can be reclaimed. Today WeWorks, General Assembly, Kickstart Coding, App Academy, Springboard, help young and mature people find ways to succeed.

Most importantly the soul based neighborhood spirit that teaches belief in each of our ability to participate in a thriving economy creates a new mindset. Love is the answer. Diversity is beautiful. By opening people’s minds through the Peralta Study Abroad Programs and by offering genuine assistance the East Bay and especially Oakland are becoming a thriving metropolis again. http://web.peralta.edu/foundation/scholarships-and-grants/

This program is immensely successful and has brought peace and prosperity through education to Oakland. The Peralta Study Abroad program brings students from around the world together and allows them to see the world, broadening their horizons while boosting their confidence.

We can do anything, when we work together. When political leaders, business leaders, eduational leaders, and religious leaders come together with the single purpose to lift up everyone of its citizens success is within reach.

Since 2010 Oakland is a new shining star showing its can do spirit. Now, Jonah Melvon and Adesha want to share how it happened. They want to bring the knowledge that celebration of life, work, and family can bring amazing results and lead to a thriving, safe town. They are supported by Drew Gephart, International Services Manager at the Peralta College Group of fine educational institutions. This group of Junior Colleges serve as feeder schools to UC Hayward, UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco. All we have to do is believe and then act on our beliefs.

Jerry Brown leads Oakland and slowly the city changes to make Equality possible – Part 3

Oakland was named the most ethnically and economically diverse city

Oakland is the most diverse city in the country and the world.

Even before the city “hit bottom” Jerry Brown and business leaders stepped up to create a plan to fix the city. After a six year out of public service Brown returned to public life, serving as Mayor of Oakland (1999–2007). It took a lot of work to attract new investments. The police corruption that plagued cities all across California had to be dealt with.

A group of four corrupt police officers called “The Rough Riders” finally were dealt with after outrage grew too much that the city kept settling law suits to sweep the offences under the table. The clashes between the racially white police and the largely ethnic population caused much dissatisfaction and distortions about the way Oakland was perceived. Politico reported in their March/April issue of 2015: “Oakland’s cops, a legal advocate for victims of police abuse said at the time, might just be “the worst department in the country. Officer-involved shootings were frequent, and often fatal.” In continued: “Complaints of beatings, shakedowns and unwarranted arrests were rampant and cost the city dearly. All told, from 2001 to 2011, Oakland paid some $57 million for claims, lawsuits and settlements involving alleged misconduct by the Oakland Police Department—not just the largest sum paid by any municipality in California, but more than double what San Francisco, with roughly twice the population, paid in the same time frame. The police force seemed broken, brutal beyond repair.”

Accusations of corruption in Oakland were rampant in 2005 the FBI investigated Perata. The East Bay Times reported: Records show Perata’s son’s and daughter’s businesses have been paid at least $750,000 since 1999 by political committees under his direct control, even as Nick Perata and his businesses have been involved in real estate rentals and sales with his father. Also, Perata’s consulting business brought in more than $100,000 in 2003, and between $10,000 and $100,000 in each of the four years before that; his bigger clients during those years included his son’s business as well as two belonging to Staples. The case was stopped by Schwarzenegger’s call for a special election.

The citizens were ready for the change. It started to gentrify without pushing out locals. The East Bay Times reports that the Fruitvale district is a great example that this is possible: “Schildt said it’s possible to invest in a community without causing displacement — particularly if it’s public investment or community-driven. Oakland’s Fruitvale Village is held up as a national model. As Scott Morris reports, the mixed-use development near Fruitvale BART improved the socio-economic well-being of residents in the immediate neighborhood and preserved the area’s racial and ethnic diversity.”

Education in Trouble

Even in 2009 SF Gate reported that Schwarzenegger decided to California ranks 47th in per-pupil spending, according to “Quality Counts,” a report issued Tuesday from Education Week, a national newspaper specializing in public schools. It showed that while the national average is $9,963 per pupil, California spends $7,571, according to the report. Vermont spends the most, with $15,139. Utah spends the least, with just $5,964 per pupil.

Around the state, school administrators have begun looking at how many employees they can lay off next year and which programs they can cancel.

Equality is making comeback and business leaders join in to make it happen – Part 2

Oakland went through a period of decline during in the mid 20th century

https://youtu.be/Pp7Id9Qo3fU

Then came the 50s, 60s, and 70s which were a very tough time for Oakland. The city became every more dangerous, crime-ridden, and unlivable. First West Oakland was destroyed by the Nimitz Freeway and the Cypress Viaduct. Many homes and businesses were destroyed creating a period of poverty for West Oakland. Then in the 1960 West Oakland suffered from the construction of BART and the Main Post Office Building on 7th Street. Again local businesses suffered, more jobs and entire neighborhoods were replaced.

Oakland become the home of the motorcycle gang the “Hell’s Angels” named after Howard Hughes movie, and eventually grew ever more corrupt and crime ridden. Eventually it became the market place of Fred Mitchell who ran a crime symposium changing Oakland into a hotbed for the sale of Crack Cocaine, a very harmful substance that ruined many people’s lives. Additionally, the crime wave sent a lot of middle class inhabitants packing and many of the people who remained lost business. They eventually were unable to keep buildings, street, school and the city services in good repair. Crime attracted more crime and the lack of policing opened the door for more crime.

By the end of the 70s crime was twice as high in Oakland than it was in San Francisco. Most of the Police Officers were white, frightened and entitled. As a result police brutality created ever more problems. This in turn brought impoverished communities together to forge alliances such as the Black Power Movement to help each other by “policing the police.” They created kindergardens and food pantries for the poor, but grew ever more militaristic. Unfortunately, this turned the city into a gang run town, the Symbionese Liberation Army, the Crips and the Bloods, the People and the Folk, the 35th Street Gang, Norteños, Border Brothers and Sureños.

From the 1980s to 2000 Oakland suffered from a Crack epidemic that is now rivaled by the Opioid Crisis

By 2010 it was estimated that Oakland’s population of gang members had grown to over 10,000 members. The situation of both, the crime level, corruption and problems with the police became untenable.

Education

Even in 2009 SF Gate reported that Schwarzenegger decided to California ranks 47th in per-pupil spending, according to “Quality Counts,” a report issued Tuesday from Education Week, a national newspaper specializing in public schools. It showed that while the national average is $9,963 per pupil, California spends only $7,571 per pupil and three times that much on prisoners. Vermont spends the most, with $15,139. Utah spends the least, with just $5,964 per pupil.

Around the state, school administrators have begun looking at how many employees they can lay off next year and which programs they can cancel. Then citizens, business leaders, charities, and religious groups decided to get involved.

Equality is making a comeback and business leaders are joining in. Your town can succeed as well. Part 1

Oakland was a thriving town about 100 years ago. It went through many phases and now once again is a thriving town.

Oakland might be a poster child for our future.

Oakland had a most impressive long history as a thriving industrial center.

Oakland was first incorporated as a town in 1852. It had always been a popular place for thousands of years before by the Muwekna Ohlone who were part of the original Californians the Miwoks who spent winters near Temescal Creek and Lake Merritt for thousands of years. In 1772 the Spaniards occupied the land in the name of their king. Peralta, a Spanish soldier was deeded 44 thousand acres by the Spanish crown and his deed was confirmed when Mexico declared their independence. The land was divided up by his 4 sons. As much of California this region was covered by Oak trees and this is how it eventually got its name. During the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in the mid 19th century during the gold rush Mexico gave up the land to the US. Ever more and more squatters ignored the land ownership and a team of Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo roving soldiers led by three men from nearby San Francisco established “Contra Costa.”

In 1853 John Coffee “Jack” Hays took up residence while he served as the sheriff in San Francisco. On March 25, 1854, Oakland was once again incorporated as the City of Oakland with Carpentier one of the San Francisco war lords as the Mayor. However he was quite corrupt and was quickly voted out of office and replaced by Charles Campbell as Mayor on March 5, 1855. Thanks to the fact that the several railroads ended up in Oakland it quickly became a major industrial hub. In 1868, the Central Pacific ended at the Port of Oakland. The Long Wharf also served as the terminus for the Transcontinental Railroad and the Southern Pacific, which was localed initially at  16th Street Station located at 16th and Wood.

In 1902 a deep channel was created for large ships and this is how Alameda become an Island separated from the mainland. Due to the earthquake and subsequent fires in San Francisco in 1906 the population doubled. This is when Mayor Frank Kanning Mott launched the “Beautiful City project” establishing the many parks, lakes and oak rimmed boulevards the city enjoys to this day. In 1914 he founded the Oakland Civic Auditorium which cost $1.4 Million dollars. It was used briefly as a hospital during the 1918 flue epidemic. Oakland was one of the most wonderful places to live and jobs were plentiful. Employers included General Motors, Chevrolet, Chrysler, and several other major auto companies.

Motorama “Dream Car” by Chevrolet 1954

The city also housed companies such as Kaiser, Bechtel, Phelan, Dreyer’s, Rocky Road Icecream, Western Union, Del Monte, and too many others to mention here. The high employment rate and associated growth of a strong middle class allowed Oakland to fashion itself into a world class city with the Golden State Theatre, Fox, Blumenfeld, Orpheum, Turner & Dahnken, the Grand Lake and the Paramount among others. By 1949 Oakland had a seating capacity of over 43 thousand theatre goers. Theatres came and went including the Hippodrome, Lurie, Premier and Roosevelt. Thanks to the start of commercial aviation Amelia Earhart , the Alameda Navel Air Station, and the 1930’s Howard Hughes’ movie the “Hell’s Angels” Oakland was one of the romanticized the epicenter of the West Coast.

“Michael Tchong’s Latest Book, “Ubertrends — How Trends And Innovation Are Transforming Our Future Released”

Ubertrends - How Trends And Innovation Are Transforming our Future by Michael Tchong - March 25, 2019

“Michael Tchong’s Latest Book, “Ubertrends — How Trends And Innovation Are Transforming Our Future Released” 

Las Vegas, March 22, 2019 — Michael Tchong, a renowned speaker, trend forecaster, and startup entrepreneur launches his third book, entitled “Ubertrends — How Trends and Innovation Are Transforming Our Future.” “Ubertrends” tracks civilization’s leading edges that are vaulting us into a radically transformed future.

As author Michael Tchong explains in his book, “Ubertrends form in the eye of the storm. As the forces collide with the future, they shapeshift society. When channeled with innovations, Ubertrends unleash a torrent of tsunamis.”

Aimed at business executives, startup entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, financial analysts, as well as anyone who needs a stronger grasp on a developing future. Published by Ubercool Innovation, “Ubertrends” succinctly analyzes and illustrates some of the biggest waves cascading through society today.

It traces these Ubertrends back to seemingly inauspicious historical incidents that play a much better-understood role in the formation of today’s culture.

These waves are responsible for a host of effects rippling through society. Ubertrends is a well-illustrated compendium, featuring some 273 images, that will help readers connect the dots, providing more context to how the future is unfolding.

For example, did you know that our busy lifestyles are the result of an Ubertrend that has roots in developments that took place in Massachusetts in 1946?

This Ubertrend, Time Compression — The Acceleration of Life, is the hurricane force behind the success of both FedEx and Starbucks, while propelling a whole host of other trends, from energy drinks to yoga.

Unlike most trends, Ubertrends change population values, which contributes to permanently altered consumer behavior.

The eight Ubertrend and innovation forces are:
Casual Living — The Evaporation of Decorum 
Digital Lifestyle — Marriage of Man and Machine
Generation X-tasy — Been There, Done That
Fountain of Youth — Rejuvenating Body, Spirit and Environment
Time Compression — The Acceleration of Life
Unwired — Untethered and Unfettered
Voyeurgasm — I Like to Watch
WAF — Ascent of Woman
Innovation — Reinventing Business and Life
Ubertrends - How Trends And Innovation Are Transforming our Future by Michael Tchong - March 25, 2019
Ubertrends – How Trends And Innovation Are Transforming our Future by Michael Tchong now available.

“We live in an age that requires constant innovation,” says Michael Tchong. So gaining tactical market insights is more critical than ever. To shed light on the forces driving disruption, readers are taken on a spellbinding, roller-coaster ride through the “landscape of now.” “Ubertrends” shows how a multiplicity of phenomena, primarily technology trends, is reshaping society in often remarkable ways.

Visit Ubertrends.com and download a free 20-page Ubertrends preview. Michael’s speaking site, MichaelTchong.com as well as his blog, Ubercool.com, are other resources for those interested in staying on top of current consumer and innovation trends.

About Ubercool Innovation
Ubercool Innovation LLC is a thought leader innovation incubator founded by author, entrepreneur, adjunct professor, motivational speaker and trend forecaster Michael Tchong. Ubercool Innovation is a “do tank” — it doesn’t merely talk innovation, it practices what it preaches. Michael addresses audiences globally with insights on emerging trends and innovations. He is a four-time entrepreneur and the founder of ICONOCAST, CyberAtlas, Atelier Systems and MacWEEK. For more information, call 800-WAY-COOL (international: 415-335-7615) or visit https://ubercool.com.

Big Business and Customer Experience Attitudes – Google

Google is one of top three companies in the world and the customer experience is unreliable.

Sundar Pichai CEO, Google Inc
Sundar Pichai CEO, Google Inc.

Today’s news clip from 360 Law:

“The U.S. Supreme Court appeared skeptical of whether Google Inc.’s so-called cy pres settlement of a privacy class action was fair, under which $2 million went to class counsel, $5 million went to third parties chosen by class counsel and the company, and zilch went to the 129 million Google users who made up the class.

Google’s earnings more than doubled over the last 5 years, their  share Price went from $513.52 to  $1,090 this morning.

I use google as a customer.  I like their email program services for business and at home, not for mass mailings mind you.  That services is very overpriced and doesn’t come with core features.  I have a separate service provider for that.  I also use google analytics, its pretty ok. It should be considering they make their money by tracking web traffic. It could be quite better from my point of view. Google’s big issue is that their instructions are horrible.

I like to be treated well, by knowledgeable, well-trained people who have a humane attitude.  I am not alone.  Customer Service  or more precisely our Customer Experience is now so bad that it is quickly becoming the  New Frontier in generating or negatively affecting ROI.

Google at its absolute worst. 

I rent cloud space.  I guess because  one of my drives  is linked to a free Gmail account the young man displayed an attitude problem.  He assumed it was free even thought it was not. Maybe he didn’t have access to my account details? Or was too lazy to look?  He claimed that when Google Drive lost much of my data, that was:

a) because I only use the  consumer version.  Never mind that I pay twice than what I pay for the business version that I also use.
b) I could not have lost data from before 2012 because they didn’t even offer google drive before then.

Customer service should not drive up your blood pressure, nor should it make you angry.

The young man’s attitude was horrible. He was rude, arrogant and clearly not very bright. The idea that you may back up other storage that included data from prior years entirely escaped his universe of thoughts.

For the business drive I got a young man on the phone – after looking forever to find a phone number – who was clearly able to read his script and while he was not the brightest person I have ever encountered, he was diligent,  thorough and polite.  He got the job done, eventually, after studying the manual and talking to his boss a few times. Due to his positive attitude I was able to remain patient and polite more easily.  Attitude matters!

Google has its shares of problems.  Every large international company has problems.  Google apparently has hired horrible Ku Klux Klan loving men who created havoc for the company.  More here.

The above mentioned lawsuit very much reflects the conversation I had with the Google Drive young customer experience man – he was rude, intellectually challenged, and despite the fact that I am a paying customer, his attitude was inhumane.  The young man for the business account which costs less was diligent and polite.  On the big business side people are down right courteous.

What I glean from this is that Google does not believe that we are all created equal.

I am the same person with three different level of services and I am treated entirely different in each scenario.  This should not be!  Does it really  matter whether I call as an individual or as a business client?  Please, Google hire better people and  train them better.  By having more than one type experience with a large company I can’t trust you in any area of your business.

Google  has  a hierarchy of value systems  or let it fester and they don’t promote women through the glass ceiling.  You  should, you would do better.

Mr. Pichai, trust is build on a relationship that allows each person to count on the other person to do the right thing.  The Supreme Court of this land ruled that “Corporations are People.”  So Google, why can I only rely on you if your employees consider me worthy, and why does it change from scenario to scenario?

How about just one link with help to get to the right person? I want a better customer experience.

Customer Support Woes – Microsoft’s CX is terrible due to lack of training.

On hold with Microsoft.  What a waste of time.  What a way to irk customers.  Steal their time with faulty products, lack of service and put them on the phone with an untrained macho Philippine young man with a fake name.  “Jared” he called himself.  His lack of English belies that fact.  I am glad that most Indians are now allowed to use Indian names. Anyway what I learned is this:

Microsoft = Hypocrisy.

The 22 minutes I wasted today are better than the 6 1/4 hours it took last time. Today  I got nothing resolved, but gave up quicker.  Yet, I am so upset.  My cortisol levels have sky rocketed, my adrenaline level is in need of rigorous exercise to get them back down. CX is the future.  Everyone including Microsoft agrees.

I ask Jared:  “How long have you worked at Microsoft.  2 Years. Are you an expert on Excel.”

Jared claims that he was trained for more than 1 year.  However, he cautioned me right away, that he is not trained on using the product.  He is merely able to provide help with the installation of Microsoft 365’s  program.  Not with solving anything that may go wrong with it.  When I described the problem he first explained that it is Facebook’s fault.  While there are many things Facebook could improve about themselves, I don’t agree with him that being able to save Facebook Analytics xls documents sometimes, but not always is a Facebook issue. The conversation immediately went beyond the young man’s scope of understanding. I asked for a supervisor.  He never came.  Maybe he was never notified.  Who knows?  Well, we only know that Microsoft doesn’t care about my Customer Experience.  I am having a terrible one.

If the program is already installed,  he explains, then Microsoft can’t help.  He told me that I am welcome to ask other Microsoft users in the “community.”  I asked  him, if there is a glitch with the product, such as many times I can save a document but sometimes I can’t – I am on my own?  He assured me:  “No, no, you are not on your own, I am suggesting that you speak with others in  the community.  Often other users who have similar problem can talk to you and listen to you.  I can’t. ”   When I told him that this is preposterous, he said you can also try to find solutions by watching YouTube or by going to a support site, like ansheishlscam.  I said I beg your pardon.  he repeated ansheishlscam or something like that.  I suggested the he spell it for me since I could not make out the answer.  He seemed entirely stumped at that point.  Apparently they didn’t teach him how to spell word aside of not reaching him how to pronounce them.

I asked him where he is from.  He answered that he is in  the Philippines.  I have had wonderful experiences and philosophical discussions with a Philippine Art professor and his mom in the past.  I know that Jared is not the only person representing the Philippines, but he is certainly representing the CX experience of Microsoft.

I can’t understand his accent.    I had asked to speak to his supervisor.  He had kept me on hold for 16 minutes and then told me that his supervisor was busy with another disgruntled customer.  No, he didn’t really say “disgruntled” he said “valued.”

The problem with Customer Service contracts is that people get paid by the minute.  The companies, Microsoft in this instance,  don’t seem to care if the customer gets help or if you are merely put on hold. I imagine that “big data” shows that calls in the Philippines are shorter than those in India.  I know because last time when I didn’t have to luxury of hanging up because I needed the software installed – I was on hold for over well over 5 hours – only to be told that they wanted to call me back in an extra 22 hours.

I asked whether he could help with a Skype glitch while I was waiting.  Realizing that I was being silly as soon as the sentence came out of my mouth.  Since I joined this 365 subscription, my Skype credits disappeared because my email is in use for this account  already.  Completely irrational frankly, since I have been a customer with Microsoft since 1980 and used Skype since 2004.

Microsoft  touts their AI capabilities and how it  provides “finished services to customers” – but clearly Microsoft is not using their own AI platform or it doesn’t work at all.  My service was neither “finished” nor did it exist. Clearly Microsoft can’t keep track of customers, like me.  Sad.  Or, probably, Microsoft just doesn’t care. I has the credit card booking the money out of the bank account each month.  So there is no more need to actually give a functioning product.  They refer me to the “community” whatever the heck that is?    I googled Community & Microsoft and got this:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum  – a place where frustrated people who don’t have a clue can vote up and down of how frustrated they are with the non-existing answers.  Swell.

I actually think it is not a technology problem, but an attitude problem.  The new Indian born CEO Nadella doesn’t give a hoot about his customers. If he did they would not have all these issues.  They want those issues to complete the retreat from consumer based business.  HP tried that and shot themselves in the foot, big time.  They did the opposite.  They focused on the printers and stopped supporting their techies sub contractors who built their company in the first place.  Not realizing that most people are both – consumers and business people.  Love that Epson Printer after years of using and recommending  HP for everything and my clients.   I use a MACs now. Love Apple’s customer service,  I really do.  They genuinely care,  they speak English and are culturally “with it”  and highly trained.  Love them.

Microsoft, certainly is not the only US bred tech company, that seems to suffer from hypocrisy.  They are just one of the largest offenders.   And it is not that the company as a whole doesn’t know that customer service is important.  In their blog they sing the praises about importance of a positive Customer Experience. In reality however they clearly don’t care at all.

What they say:

Microsoft Logo

Social media can have a positive influence on your brand and your product. It can also drive a stronger bottom line. Case in point: loyal customers spend 67% more than new ones.1 Customer relationships that lead to loyalty and trust are the foundation of a brand’s success. At Microsoft, the Customer Experience Center (CXC) is dedicated to building deeper customer relationships. etc.

My Microsoft customer experience was horrible and the company clearly has no interest in walking their talk.  What goes on my nerves is when people talk one way out of this side of their mouth and the other way out of the other side.  I can’t stand hypocrisy.

I prefer people who are consistent. Microsoft is in decline – angry and upset customer are not a good sign for their future health.  As an angry and upset customers I probably will share my story with more than the average 15 people for negative, and 5 people for positive experiences.

Well, the health advice is working.  I feel much calmer now.  I wasted an awful lot of time.  Maybe I should start working with better customer experience experts and show Microsoft and those other phony companies, how it’s done.   Maybe in the end this  frequent and horrid customer experience is just the inspiration I needed.

PS:  Special thanks, to Yussuf.  You were great last time we spoke and you solve my install problem in 33 minutes flat.  Microsoft should promote you over these uncultured, untrained stone-age macho men who wasted 6 hours and 15 minutes of my time, before I played CX roulette and found you.  If people like you, Yussuf, were in charge of Microsoft, the company would have a chance to thrive again.   The way it is run right now, it will go down as a mere footnote in history.

Made in Germany – will it stay a strong brand without the US partnership?

https://bmw-grouparchiv.de/
BMW HISTORY

Europeans are starting to accept that they will have to go it alone and figure out how to deal with their own issues – now that the “Partners in Leadership” pact that lead the world is dead and gone.   Since the end of World War II – Germany gladly tamed its own internal monsters by relying on this partnership with the US.  Germany has followed the US, partnered with the US, implemented US strategies, fully trusting that the promises Reagan, W.H.Bush, Bill Clinton, W. Bush, and Obama made to the Germany and by extension to the EU. Now the world has to come to grips with the current change of direction that sometimes feels like a betrayal by the US. As Thomas Kleine-Brockhoff explained to Juurd Eijsvoogel, in the NRC News.

“Now Germany is faced with the horrible truths as Germany has no nuclear weapons. The country is completely dependent on the American security umbrella. That awareness was of course there earlier, but only in abstract. Trump’s harsh attitude here has caused an acute sense of complete powerlessness in Berlin. The world is no longer about Europe. The problem why America engages here dates back more than seventy years ago. In itself it is understandable that America wants to shift its attention to other parts of the world. We could have seen that coming. You also saw it with previous presidents.”

 

Trump’s wishes to focus the US inward.  He wants to cut the country off from the world and seems merely eager to please Putin, Kim Jong-Un, Xi JinPing, and the Saudis.  He welcomed Duterte and Erdogan, and the right-wing leader of Poland and Hungary.  He disregards all the leaders of democratic nations and voices his dislike of most European, NAFTA leaders and Australians.

The West is floundering.  Blaming immigrants, closing borders will not be the most constructive way to run a country or economic region.  It doesn’t matter whether we are talking about the US or Europe.  The US wants to close its borders to immigration instead of strengthening the middle class. This policy will not succeed regardless of whether the US succeeds in offending the rest of the world and shutting itself into its tiny fortress.  Without a growing population and without international trade every country will move backwards.  The policy of breaking promises and committing inhumane and egregious acts will backfire for many years to come regardless of whether it is carried out in the US or in Europe. All we have to do is watch the Middle East and Africa to see that conflict doesn’t pay many dividends, except to weapons’ dealers, mining operators and eventually construction companies.

Similarly in the EU, the ill-fated Dublin-Agreement burdens Greece and Italy as the point of entry states with all the problems of integrating immigrants.  Naturally this doesn’t work, it could never have worked.  Without a healthy immigration policy the EU will suffer terrible economic consequences.  It is already a tiny region when compared to China, India, Latin America and North America. Without immigration, the population and therefore the economy  will shrink, burdening the ever fewer young with the cost of caring for an expanding older population.

Ronald Barazon states in his article in the DWN: ” With a realistic attitude that emphasizes the need for immigration, meets foreigners positively, but does not close their eyes to problems and needs, a constructive policy should be possible.

The US and Europe are partly responsible for the prevailing chaos. The interventions of recent years – from Afghanistan to Iraq to Libya – have been driven by a very positive effort to eliminate brutal dictators in these countries. However, not a flourishing democracy followed, but the abolished rulers were replaced by numerous other brutal actors who are now triggering the waves of refugees. Currently, too many politicians are misusing immigration as a means of concealing their many failures in other areas. “

Strengthening the middle class works wonders for stability.  That role falls on investors and business leaders. Politicians are too dependent on donors and simply carry forth policies that are in the best interest of a few wealthy donors. Only when global business leaders realize that an eroding middle class erodes ROI, will the world move in a better direction.  Perhaps things have to get quite terrible in terms of ROI before business leaders and politicians get personally affected enough to choose change. In Europe that time is now.

Trade Wars: What will the multi-billion dollar trade wars accomplish for the US?

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-art-of-the-deal-royalties-trump-2017-6
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-art-of-the-deal-royalties-trump-2017-6

Trump Supporters are exhilarated about their US created global trade wars 

Trump supporters approve of the US presidents actions, words and attitude at historic levels. 90% approve of everything Trump does or says, not everyone agrees.  Yet, many wonder whether the GOP actually is following a plan:

“Yes, they have a plan. No, I don’t think it will work,” said Bill Reinsch, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “The plan is always push harder, demand everything and offer nothing.”  Source:  South China Morning Post

European’s, especially Merkel, are frightened by the changes imposed on the EU. The situation depends on the individual global companies business strategies.  Many European and Asian companies are baffled by Trump’s strategy.  For many decades they have listened to many US presidents and their “Partners in Leadership” promises and in the spirit of collaboration have created hundreds and thousands of jobs for Americans in the US.

https://global.handelsblatt.com/mobility/vw-bmw-daimler-trump-import-895206

Das Handelblatt’s, Lukas Bay, reports: “The US president has threatened European automakers such as VW, BMW and Daimler with a levy. He’s forgetting that the Germans have huge plants in the US.  At the time, he warned that BMW and other carmakers could face a 35 percent import duty for cars not built in the United States. He targeted BMW because it is building a new plant in Mexico. Trump doesn’t seem to realize that the BMW plan in Mexico is there to meet rising demands for cars in Latin America.” BMW actually exports cars made in the US by American workers.   Source:  Das Handelsblatt

Der Spiegel reports:  “Executives at Siemens, the global engineering giant, are still relatively relaxed at company headquarters in Munich. Siemens operates its own plants in the U.S. for products with high steel or aluminum content like trains, gas turbines and ultrasound equipment. In theory, at least, its subsidiaries could buy raw materials or semi-finished products locally to circumvent the punitive tariffs. But that does not apply to special alloys that are not produced in the U.S. They would have to be imported from Germany and would be slapped with the additional tariffs.  The biggest concern is not the impact the trade tariff’s have on the US – German trade – it is only 4% for many companies so they can withstand that comfortably.

The bigger issue that companies and countries are grappling with is cheap steel that is now diverted from Russia, India and Turkey.  Since these companies were not given a temporary exemption they have dumped their inferior products in the EU for super low prices.  The EU is more worried about the effect these inferior steel will have on the EU brand around the globe as cheap inferior products are making it on the market.  It will not affect the US either in trade nor in taxes.

In Germany for instance 95% of all wealth is created by small and midsize firms. This is the reason why Germany is thriving and able to withstand economic upheaval.  Germany has a very strong middle class that has been growing jobs.  In the US the Middle Class has been eroded by corporate welfare laws that favor large global conglomerates.

Griffin Motivation signs with Eagle One Insights to rapidly expand their Corporate Incentive and Empowerment Programs

Griffin Motivation - CorporateSpeaker www.griffinmotivation.com
Griffin Motivation – CorporateSpeaker www.griffinmotivation.com

West Jordan, Utah, June 11, 2018  EagleONE Insights signs Griffin Motivation to expand Corporate Incentive and Empowerment Programs

Mike Hutzel, CEO is excited that Griffin Motivation has signed up EagleONE Insights: “Jeff Griffin and I fully agree that Griffin Motivation’s offer matches up nicely with EagleONE Insights’ and our core values. We  create programs to penetrate our clients’ specific marketing venues. Our methodologies focus exclusively on a quantifiable ROI for our clients.”

Griffin Motivation provides a pathway for fast growth companies  to embrace exponential growth with enthusiasm.  Jeff Griffin empowers companies to achieve success faster by teaching a practical and doable way to tap into their companies’ own teams hidden strengths.

Mark Jenkins, the CEO of Petersen Inc., asked Jeff Griffin to come and present at their mid-year company meeting.  Petersen brought all the welders, their executive, and sales team together in one of their hangars.  Before Jeff presented his transformational message and life-altering experience Mark Jenkins reviewed the vital signs of the company and reminded the team of their year-end goals. One number stood out to Jeff Griffin because it was both big, bold, and exciting!  It was also the main reason for his invitation to speak.  Petersen committed to bring their sales up to 80 million dollars.  They were at 33 million mid-way through that year. A 47-million-dollar gap! Jeff Griffin delivered his transformational message and received a standing ovation from a group of blue-collar workers.  Petersen’s VP of Sales told Jeff Griffin after his speech: “This is exactly what we needed.”  By the end of that year they reached their goal AND exceeded it by 10 million dollars.

Jeff Griffin knows all about what it takes to build self-motivation, discover new strengths, even during moments of despair, and turn it into an action plan that works.  With his thrilling life story, which he shared in his popular book “I’m Possible” he shows how he overcame despair in his own life as a paraplegic and turned his handicaps into a system of motivating factors that work.   Unlike more “traditional” management workshops claiming that a team is only as strong as its weakest link Griffin Motivation teaches that each person can move from “it’s impossible” to” I’m Possible” and tap into the amazing hidden strength each person already has inside. Corporate Managers are raving about the impact Jim Griffin’s workshop had not only on their workers self-esteem and team spirit but also measurably on their bottom line:

 “Jeff’s story is amazing, he shares his experience in a manner that has you laughing at one moment and tugging at your heartstrings the next. I highly recommend Jeff as a motivational speaker especially if you are looking for a powerful message of courage, positive attitude, faith, hope, dreaming big, hard work and never giving up. Listening to his story is amazing but “seeing” his story is even better!

–    Mark Jenkins – Chief Executive Officer, Petersen Inc. + 500 employees

EagleONE Insights provides access to more companies to Griffin Motivation’s powerful messages.  Mike Hutzel’s team meets clients where they are and goes on the journey with them to where they want to be. The teacher, Jeff Griffin, is now listening to his own advice and is stepping it up own enterprise.  EagleONE Insights is ready to show the world what happens when each of their team members act on the inner strength of: “I’m Possible!” and moves to the “We’re Possible!”

###

About Griffin Motivation

Jeff’s real-life results and professional training gave rise for speeches, customized workshops, and personalized training sessions.  Now Griffin Motivation brings these hard-won insights to corporations who want to tap into the inner hidden strength of their employees, foster a strong can-do team spirit. The Griffin Motivation workshops have been tried and tested in the sports world for many years and are now available to companies.  Jeff Griffin was given a life sentence to live life from a wheelchair. He has accomplished some extraordinary things. He played in the 2004 Paralympic games in Athens, Greece, and is a silver medalist in Wheelchair basketball. He’s a (NWBA) National Champion, and a four-time All-Star MVP. He also won the St. George Marathon, has two Guinness Book of World Records, and wrote an award-winning book titled I’Mpossible: Desire. Dream. Do.  He recently ran 5 miles on the elliptical bike!  His company’s message is compelling since he captivates his audience with authenticity and humor.  www.griffinmotivation.com

About EagleONE Insights

We help our clients build trust by respecting and truly understanding their customers.  EagleONE Insights’ proprietary sales and sales support process of the 3-E Impact?, ENGAGE, EVOLVE & ELEVATE, gives our clients our 3-E ImpactSM in every mission.  Our strong professional team of subject matter experts collect data, analyze it and provide our clients with deep strategic insights. We deploy the latest technology to get the job done on time, on budget, with precision.  We take great pride in understanding our clients’ needs and helping them to grow their revenue streams and the reputation of their brand. This allows our clients to focus on keeping up with market trends while we grow revenue and add revenue streams.  We believe that by working with our team, people of integrity, we have a strong foundation by which to facilitate our client’s success. Our joint effort improves our clients’ ROI on a consistent and long-term basis.  www.eagleoneinsights.com

Company Direct Contacts: 

Griffin Motivation, Jim Griffin, CEO
jeff@griffinmotivation.com or 385.288.1218

EagleONE Insights, Mike Hutzel, CEO
Mike.Hutzel@eagleoneinsights.com
O: 513.847.0410   C: 513.505.6693

Check in with your friends and family. Make sure they feel loved.

Photo of Older Lady by Aris Sfakianakis
Photo of Older Lady by Aris Sfakianakis

We are apparently living in a loneliness epidemic.  Over the past 80 years our culture has changed a lot and over the past 30 years industrialized nations  may have lost our cultural bearing.

I learn recently of a lady in Japan who died and only after her corps smelled terrible did the neighbors realize that she had passed.  In Japan they have a word for “dying alone,” they call it  Kodokushi.  Several hundred thousand people pass away, without a relative or friend who cares about them.  I thought it was terrible and I was shocked that a nation of over 100 Million people would not care for their families or neighbors.   Then I found out that over 45 Million people in quasi “First World Nations”  are lonely.  That doesn’t sound very  “first world.”  It is embarrassing and a sign we need to rethink our lives.

Recently I joined the marketing effort of Vigilint Biosensors, a company that has designed affordable smart watches that allow parents to check in on and communicate with their children and loved ones.  The Vigilint Family Assistant is an app that you can download that links to the kids or elderly parents Vigilint Smartwatches.  When I started reading up on the topic I couldn’t believe it.  OMG.  It is a world wide epidemic.  Apparently over 40% of people in the US report that they are feeling lonely.  And experts think that the actual number is higher.  How can that be?

Loneliness is deadly.  Literally.  First of all it doesn’t feel very nice.  Remember how you felt when your first girl friend or boy friend didn’t call you back for several hours, when you first started dating and you were not sure whether they really loved you yet?   That feeling.  It feels like that.  Most unhealthy.

Apparently it is genuinely unhealthy to feel lonely.  Vivek Murty, who served as the 19th Surgeon General in the US, shared that one of his more shocking experiences as SG was loneliness:  “I met middle and high school students in urban and rural areas who turned to violence, drugs, and gangs to ease the pain of their loneliness. I sat with mothers and fathers who had lost sons and daughters to drug overdoses and were struggling to cope alone because of the unfortunate stigma surrounding addiction.”  He went on to say: “During my years caring for patients, the most common pathology I saw was not heart disease or diabetes; it was loneliness. The elderly man who came to our hospital every few weeks seeking relief from chronic pain was also looking for human connection: He was lonely. The middle-aged woman battling advanced HIV who had no one to call to inform that she was sick: She was lonely too. I found that loneliness was often in the background of clinical illness, contributing to disease and making it harder for patients to cope and heal. ” (1)

Vigilint Biosensors has been created by a bunch of highly successful Silicon Valley Semiconductor engineers, who created microchips for mobile phones that measure vital signs. Is the person moving, is the person where they are supposed to be? It also allows you to talk to them through their affordable VB wrist watch. They will not lose their phone, since it is tied around their wrist.  Brilliant I say!

And apparently it not only reduces the stress of the parent, it also reduces the stress in the kids and the elderlies.  Social connections are so vital to our health. Apparently stress increases the cortisol level which is some kind of hormone in our bodies.  Loneliness increases the stress hormone called cortisol very much.  This causes inflammation which according to Time Magazine is responsible for stress-related difficulties including obesity, diabetes, metabolic disorders, heart diseases and other disorders. (2)

So this weekend, hug your mom, your grandmother, your dad and your kids, and make sure you check in with your neighbors.  Apparently for young and old  loneliness is an epidemic and nearly every second person feels lonely.  Smile, say hello and ask:  “How do you do.”  And mean it.  Increasing your social circle may be the best medicine against:  “Kodokushi.”   And I am sure you agree, none of us want to have that.

Instead talk with your family regularly.  Even if they are all grown, talk at least once a week, but more often if possible that is the only way you have enough time for a genuine relationship. Only regular contact let’s you know what is going on in their lives and for them to know what is going on in yours.  Bob Black once wrote a great tagline:  “Reach out and touch someone.”  If you can’t do it physically, do with via a text and even better a conversation.

There are plenty of people to call.  The New York times claimed that about one-third of Americans older than 65 now live alone, and half of those over 85 do.  Loneliness can be fixed.  We need to reintroduce the concept of TLC and talk to each other.   I love the quote that Vigilint Biosensors execs use:

Vigilint Biosensors is about moving people from the Internet of Things to the Internet of Caring. 

Love that!  Happy trails and if you feel lonely reach out.  Call someone you haven’t talk with in a while. Remind them of the good times you had.  You will be surprised how happy it will make them to get your call after all these years.  Tell them you remember them and you feel good about your memories.  It works.