Friends of Dave: It's March Madness
Next to opening weekend of football and the last day of my kids' summer break from school, the NCAA Tournament is hands down my most favorite time of year.
When else can you say it is perfectly acceptable for anyone to adjust meeting schedules around their alma mater game times, openly wager with co-workers, or loudly shout/groan/cheer from their cubicles when they watch a live streaming (network debilitating) feed of some teenager (from a school they know nothing about) hitting a buzzer beater to win a game? There's a reason they call it 'Madness' -- and I love it.
People can say it kills corporate productivity, but I say it does the opposite: the NCAA Tournament makes work fun and brings people from all parts of an organization together. Maybe as multi-week sporting events go, the Olympics can come close. But with no shameless betting and mostly taped delayed action, it comes a distant second (and only happens every two years). Face it: even the most introverted head of HR, buttoned up controller, nerdy engineer or demure executive assistant can instantly turn into a raving lunatic if they called the 13 seed upsetting the 3 seed in the first round. And who doesn't like seeing that?
So if anyone wants to know how to make America great again, I say change the channels on all of the office flat screens from Channel 1/CNBC/Bloomberg/local cable news for just a few days during March and let the people enjoy the Madness. The world won't end.
With that, good luck to everyone who filled out brackets. If you are really into the Madness, I suggest you check out Nate Silver's Five Thirty Eight site with real time predictions and probabilities of game winners. Cool stuff.
And yeah, please also check out the stories below I found (and wrote) and shared especially for you. Enjoy!
XOXO
Dave
For the Deep Thinkers...
Every Business Is A Data Business. — medium.com
Here are my own original views on the evolution of business. Simply by existing, every company produces data as a bi-product of operations, and it is time companies start adapting to monetizing it.
The Enduring Wisdom of a 1972 Book About Tennis — nymag.com
Check out why some sport legends and business leaders credit The Inner Game of Tennis as the reason they are able to stay cool under pressure.
But that’s the thing about tenacity: sometimes you have to make the big bet, say it out loud, then throw yourself in so there’s no going back.
Interesting look at the concept of tenacity by Dennis Crowley, co-founder of Foursquare. As he describes it, tenacity can unveil itself in many forms: as identity, confidence, focus, grit, culture, and as a private truth.
The Increasing Significance of the Decline of Men — www.nytimes.com
Putting the politics mentioned at the end of the article aside, some compelling facts and analysis here that helps provide color as to how drastically things are changing for men in the workplace and society.
Why Is Silicon Valley So Awful to Women? — www.theatlantic.com Tech companies are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to improve conditions for female employees. Here’s why not much has changed—and what might actually work.
For The Startup Aficionados...
The No Excuses Culture — steveblank.com
Accountability is one of the key tenants to the success of any business. Here's one way you can implement a "no excuses" culture in any organization.
For The Marketing Nerds...
The New Age of Marketing — medium.com
Branding is back, folks. Performance marketing. Social media marketing. PR. Branding. Look at your unaided awareness numbers. If you don’t know what that means, go figure it out.
For the FinTech Folks...
How Future Consolidation Will Change the Value of a Bank — www.bankdirector.com Future bank mergers and acquisitions likely will accelerate the reduction in branches.
For the Data Geeks...
Using Analytics, Data and Visualization to Effectively State Your Case — datafloq.com
In a world where entrepreneurs, corporate managers, and key business stakeholders are becoming analytical, nothing can be taken for granted when it comes to data management and presentation.
Your Weekly Dose of Random Knowledge...
Climate shaped the human nose, researchers say
No excuses. And I think Pinnochio might beg to differ.....
Humans Made the Banana Perfect—But Soon, It’ll Be Gone — www.wired.com
The history of coffee provides surprising insight into the future of the world's most popular fruit. Unconfirmed: in the near future, people will go to a special store to order a double peeled, iced skinny grande mocha-nana so that they can get a frozen chocolate banana. And it will cost only $13.65.
Chocolate Facts: A History Lesson — time.com
Jacques Torres has opened a museum devoted to the history of chocolate in NYC. Spoiler alert: there is absolutely no mention of Oompa Loompas.
And The Last Word....
What it's like to be a college basketball mascot during March Madness — www.sbnation.com
All I can say is it's probably a good thing the UNC School of Arts has never made the NCAA Tournament....
Got feedback? Questions? Suggestions? Email me: dave@slingstonegroup.com