Friends of Dave: Spring Break Issue
WARNING: ABSOLUTELY NO ONE GOES WILD IN THIS EDITION
It's Spring Break y'all (at least for our kids). Back in the day, those two words usually signaled excitement, debauchery, and unhinged fun for many of us. These days, with kids and their various activities, mortgage payments, college tuition and other more grownup concerns, spring break tends to be more appropriately written in the lower case....and cue Debbie Downer....
So whether you are vacationing solo, taking the family to sit on the beach somewhere, doing the old "staycation" (which, by the way, next to "bromance", "amazeballs" and "for shizzle" might be among the most annoying terms in the English language), or simply putting time in the office this week, make sure you take a few moments to soak in that it is now officially Spring -- a time for new beginnings, a time for growth and a time when it is acceptable to swap out your snow boots for flip flops. Remember to take some time to celebrate your uppercase Spring Break days before they became lower case spring break days. It's those memories that keep us young, make us smile, and energize us to do great things.
And for those who are particularly stressed out, or simply unable to to enjoy the "break" part of spring break right now, I have something special just for you. Click here to experience a meditation that I guarantee will change your life. It is a bit on the NSFW side so I encourage you to use headphones, but no matter, because it is for YOU. It's 2 min and 30 seconds well spent. Trust me. You will thank me later.
After you've meditated, enjoy the reading the articles this week. I know there's a lot of stuff here, but you're either on vacation or super relaxed now, so why not, right?
XOXO
Dave
Think on This...
The information war is real, and we’re losing it — www.seattletimes.com
A University of Washington professor started studying social networks to help people respond to disasters. But when she got dragged down a rabbit hole of twitter-boosted conspiracy theories, she started to see what was really happening.
Why The Simple Rule of Thumb Might Be Best (long read) — www.foundingfuel.com
When you are dealing with risk, complex mathematical models and fine tuning them for optimisation work. However, when you are dealing with uncertainty, they don’t work well, because the world is dynamic.
In the age of big data, black box algorithms seem to be the most efficient way to make decisions. But, Gerg Gigerenzer argues that ignoring common sense in the process, while it may maintain job security, can create more problems.
Escape to another world — www.1843magazine.com
As video games get better and job prospects worse, more young people are escaping to spend their time in an alternate reality, one where "dynamic difficulty adjustment" levels the playing field to keep things fun. It's a scary, growing trend that we should not ignore.
The Jamie Dimon Investor Letter (long read)
This is not simply a letter to JPMorgan Chase shareholders -- it provides tons of candid insights on our economy, politics, regulation, the FinTech space, innovation, diversity, etc. that each one of you would find fascinating.
For Your Day Job...
CB Insights State of AI Report (long read)
Comprehensive look at the artificial intelligence space, but well done with visualization to make it a "quick" long read.
Relationships Are Your Greatest Asset — medium.com
How much control do we actually have over the path we carve in our career? The strength of our relationships and how we manage them are a key driving factor.
Sales Forecasting Done Right — medium.com
Sales forecasting is hard. Mark Cranney has figured out how to break it down and make it easier for sales leaders and entrepreneurs. Sales peeps: worth taking a look.
What's The Deal With Micro-Influencer Marketing? — blog.hubspot.com
You've heard of influencer marketing, but have you heard of micro-influencers? Here's how leading brands are successfully leveraging Instagram, Pinterest and Snapchat to drive loyalty -- and how you can too.
How FinTech Will Drive Business Growth For Banks — crmsolutions.crmnext.com
Banks are getting a crash course on being lean and mean from FinTech innovators. However, with the right partnerships, they are learning they can drive growth and at the same time, take customer service to greater heights.
Your Weekly Dose of Randomness...
The American Tale of the Citgo Sign — www.nytimes.com
The commercialization of baseball has long been as American as apple pie and...uh, baseball....Who knew CITGO was short for "Cities Service"? I always thought it was short for "Yankees Suck."
Warren Buffett adorns Cherry Coke cans in China — www.reuters.com
I don't know, I'm still struggling to get over hearing him sing "Somewhere Over The Rainbow"....
Cuban Winemakers' Secret to Affordable Wine — qz.com
“Putting a condom on a bottle is just like with a man,” Estevez told the AP. “It stands up, the wine is ready, and then the process is completed.”
One word: ew.
And The Last Word....
The Sublime Joy of a Don Rickles Insult
For many he was just a guy who was famous for insulting people on late night shows. But if you look a little closer, he was an comic artist -- one whose subjects both revered and respected his craft. Watch the clips here and enjoy, hockey puck.
Got feedback? Questions? Suggestions? Email me: dave@slingstonegroup.com