Monday, July 26, 2021

Notations From the Grid (Weekly Edition): #RandomThoughts On Our World

 As our final  week begins, our team chose some #RandomThoughts about Household Debt and the central role Amazon plays in the retail space:  



CEO Daily

July 6, 2021


Good morning.

It’s Day 2 at Amazon. Jeff Bezos stepped down as CEO yesterday and is preparing for a shot into space. Long-time lieutenant Andy Jassy, who until recently headed up Amazon Web Services, has replaced him. (More on Jassy here.)

In preparation for the handoff, Amazon last week added two new entries to its famed set of 14 leadership principles:

Strive to Be Earth’s Best Employer
Success and Scale Bring Broad Responsibility

This is the belated Amazonian version of stakeholder capitalism. From its beginning, the company has been singularly “obsessed” with serving the customer. In the process, it provided extraordinary returns to shareholders—without ever having to worry much about the bottom line. Bezos famously fought off calls for broader corporate responsibility, sticking to a scrappy “It’s still Day 1” ethos, and arguing a “Day 2” mentality would lead to stasis and decline.

The new leadership principles represent a bow to the realities of the post-pandemic world. There’s a relentless battle for talent going on, fueled by the “work from anywhere” ethos that emerged during lockdown. And there is growing recognition that companies—particularly big ones—need the trust and good will of society if they are to survive and thrive. Bezos biographer Brad Stone wrote in the New York Times this weekend that Jassy’s “defining challenge” will be “to sandpaper the rough edges of Amazon’s business tactics and formulate a humbler image for the company, particularly before the many antitrust authorities trying to unravel the opaque, interlocking parts of the Amazon empire.”

But the question some are now asking is this: Will a less single-minded Amazon also be a less successful Amazon? This is a version of the broader critique leveled against stakeholder capitalism in general: Can a company catering to multiple “stakeholders” do as well as one focused on the simple math of “Total Shareholder Return”?

Over the last few years, I’ve quoted numerous top executives who make two fundamental points about the second question. First, the shift to a more stakeholder-focused capitalism isn’t really a choice—it’s something society is demanding. Amazon’s move further confirms that reality. And second, if properly executed, a strong focus on social benefits can, over time, improve financial results. There doesn’t have to be a trade-off.

Amazon Day 2 will be an important test of both principles. 


 



Alan Murray
@alansmurray

alan.murray@fortune.com

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Notations From the Grid (Special Weekly Edition) : Out & About With Initiatives At hand...

 As a new week dawns, we present some #RandomThoughts on our World and also a preview of a new initiative we're working to get off the ground to get a sense of what we look forward to rolling out:

June's Top Bookshelf Builders

  1. Jonathan A at One World Direct tagged 104 books.
  2. Dennis L at Impact Plus tagged 55 books. 
  3. Samuel C in Scaling Up Coaches tagged 36 books.
  4. Mac M at Pro Food Systems tagged 34 books.
  5. Amber D at Judd Shall Law tagged 27 books.
  6. Steve F in Scaling Up Coaches tagged 27 books.
  7. Tyler C at Carlton Electric tagged 18 books.
  8. Conner D at Impact Plus tagged 16 books.
  9. Donna W at Cosmos Corp tagged 14 books.
  10. Hanna W at Impact Plus tagged 14 books.
More info for June...
2,773 total 'books tagged', 361 books 'added to queue', and 520 'reports approved' throughout the BetterBookClub Nation.
Recent User Q&A about BetterBookClub
 
Q. Why do some books in my profile have a Grey Box Background?
Books with a 'grey' background in your profile are "on your bookshelf", but not "in the company library".  You can "suggest" the book to your company library by clicking the "+" symbol on the tile.  Your club champion/admin will be notified of the suggestion and can accept or decline.

Q. Can points be changed on a book report post its approval?
While the club champion can modify points assigned to a specific book in the club library at any time, once an individual book report is approved, the points awarded to the team member can not be altered.

Q. Can the content of a book report be edited post its approval?
While only recommended for small technical changes, Yes. Club champions can edit the contents of a team member's book report prior to, or post its approval from the book report console.
 

"A reading culture is not about your team reading 'a book', it’s about your team becoming readers."


 










Sunday, July 4, 2021

Notations on Our World (Special #4thofJuly Edition): On this #IndependenceDay 2021


It is the 4th of July here in the United States.

Our team has been on it on this #4thofJuly here in the United States.    The team at the Census Bureau put together a look back at a look forward.   Please enjoy:


United States Census Bureau

Celebrating 245 Years of America
Children celebrating the 4th of July

We're Wishing You a Wonderful Fourth of July!

On July 4, 1776, the Continental Congress approved the Declaration of Independence, setting the 13 colonies on the road to freedom as a sovereign nation. As we celebrate this Independence Day, we reflect on how our Founding Fathers enshrined in our Constitution the importance of statistics as a vital tool for measuring America.

Children celebrating the 4th of July

 

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