You can't serve me the way I want to be served

"Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic fibers, our actions run as causes and return to us as results." Herman Melville (1819 -1891, also author of Moby Dick)

The Markets

Elections, economics, consumer confidence, regulations, trade, technology, and geopolitics, among other things, are all connected and affect investment decisions. Investors do not like doubt or guessing. On another front. NVIDIA replaced Intel on the S&P 500, a clear message that investor sentiment is about AI and its impact on our list of things that concern investors.

In 1965, the average life span of an S&P 500 company was 33 years; by 2016, it was 24 years and is predicted to be 12 years by 2027. I am pointing out that companies lose relevance faster today, even though they may still be around. They become a shadow of their former selves because their view of the world never changes. But the world does change, and everything that happens is connected.

Personal Log: "On the Brink Of A Dangerous Game"

Last week, I shared a post about North Korea (NK) aiding the Russians in their continued attacks on Ukraine. Over the last few days, another warning has been sent to Kim Jung Un. Any Nuclear Attack would bring about the end of his regime. Nuclear attack, yes, NK is threatening the US. If that isn't enough for you, Russia has asked the UN why it isn't okay for NK to help them when the Ukraine is getting help. Uh..because Russia is the aggressor! And just one more for color: a US congressman believes the US and NATO should attack the NK troops.

It is an unfathomable situation that we are in today. I have always wondered if authoritarian regime leaders have a God Complex or is it Egotheism? Perhaps it's both. Nevertheless, we have a situation that is festering and could become more complex in the next few days as NK troops, about 10,000 wearing Russian uniforms, join the fight.

This story will dominate the headlines as soon as the US election is over. Why? Because the US and NATO view this as an attack by another aggressor. Russia and NK have something in common: both economies are floundering, and their leaders want to rule the world, and if they can't, they would rather ruin it.

However, this has the opportunity to become a Black Swan moment. Most of us have no idea of how fast a global conflict can escalate, and many under 50 have no concept of how close we have come to firing these nuclear missiles at each other or of the horrible things they can do. Many recommend the book "Nuclear War - A Scenario" by Annie Jacobsen. That's why we should worry about politicians who are so cavalier and full of themselves that they can stare down a raging bull and that it will run from them. Russia has lost an estimated 600,000 troops, and NK is piss poor. These leaders are desperate, and they are populist demagogues.

Hopefully, we in the West can all discern the difference between the quest for personal power and promises versus political principles and policies.

Retailing: You Can't Serve Me The Way I Want To Be Served

I have thought about this carefully and do not mince my words. I wrote an article on my website highlighting why retailers can't meet customer expectations. Most attempts to deliver personalized customer experiences fail because they don't know enough about their customers. Smart retailers are focused on "Pragmatic Sales and Service." They tell and sell their brand story, not someone else's. Other retailers try to emulate luxury brands, and they fail at it because it isn't their brand story to tell and sell. I call this "Idealistic Sales and Service." Why is there so much confusion? It's what's usually shared by others who have never led a business and often just pitch the common arguments. And I repeat, they have never led a consumer-facing business where they have to sell and tell the brand story. If a retailer wants to be in business long-term, they must return to Pragmatic Sales and Service practices. You can learn more about that here.

This holiday season, aside from your product and sales strategies. Get your in-store sales and service practices right for the maximum impact.

Politics and Society: Media has power over you and your values.

What if wealthy consortiums are masterfully adulterating your opinions? How? They own the media outlets you read and listen to. They ensure their outlets dismiss everything from climate change to EVS. In other words, these sources for your news are designed to take news releases, either dismissing them or turning them into powerful messages that will turn you against issues and people.?

Should you be worried? Yes!! If these news agencies are right-winged and bent on sustaining their world views and preventing progress. Some have interests in oil companies and energy sectors, and their newspapers trash the EV market. They can influence political outcomes and run polls that shape opinions.

At first, I didn't believe it, so I searched for answers. Several hedge funds and private equity firms have acquired ownership stakes in media outlets, influencing the landscape of journalism and media. There are billionaires and large companies that also affect your opinions. What can you do about it? If you click on the highlighted company, you will be taken to their website or a page that explains who they are and what media assets they own. Some of these organizations are secretive, with only a single page for a website and no additional information. Alden Global Capital Chatham Asset Management Apollo Global Management KKR (Owns Axel Springer) Rupert Murdoch ( News Corp) Jeff Bezos (Washington Post) Bell Media (List of assets in TV and Radio) Rogers Communications (List of assets in TV and Radio) This is just a sample of control over the media. Is this what politicians refer to as fake news? Perhaps. There are a lot of opinions, and investigative journalism is becoming a lost art. Most of it is shaping our ideologies, some of it is creating division and hate. The message to ourselves should be that Billionaires who own all of this don't know what's best for us; they know what's best for them.

Technology Progress: Have We Lost Our Survival Skills?

Do we have the ability to manage if the lights and the technology go off? My wife grew up on a farm. She can milk a cow, ride a horse, and grow and preserve food. Her mother and father taught her. As for me, I am a city dweller. When I went to Greece for the first time to meet both sets of my grandparents, my parents arranged for the cow's milk to be bottled. Of course, I knew that wasn't the case; it was for my younger siblings. But you can't imagine my horror when my grandfather grabbed a couple of chickens from the barn for dinner and wanted me to help him. I will leave the rest to your imagination.

However, the sad news is that for most of us in the Western world, the closest we've come to catching our food is the speed at which we can get it through a McDonalds drive-thru window.

Are you better prepared? Answer this question: do peanuts grow in a tree or a bush? Don't look it up or ask ChatGPT. You would be wrong if you guessed one of these two. Peanuts grow like potatoes in the ground.

So, if we had that black swan moment, could we adjust? Not easily. You see, in most advanced economies like Canada, USA, Germany, etc., only 1-3% of us are involved in farming, according to the World Bank. In other words, we couldn't grow a stock of corn unless we turned to grow-op experts. (I am just kidding)

I believe it is time to learn how to work with AI and manage life without all our amenities. We need to return to grassroots living, pun intended.

GeoPolitics: Climate change and global conflicts

I recommend this Economist video because it offers insights into future challenges. The following is a link to an interactive climate impact map of what will happen globally. CLIMATE IMPACT MAP

It shows how temperatures will change and if you can imagine its impacts. Some of the main challenges we will face are the loss of arable (farm) land, rising seawater, and the loss of available drinking water. It will get bad enough in some places where there will be a mass migration to cooler regions. Some estimates are as high as a quarter billion people. However, it may be more than that once you see how high the temperatures can get within sixty years. It is also important to see how the temperature change will impact India and China. The conflicts could break out over water and arable land. This article also adds context to how this could happen. Council on Foreign Relations

Two closing points: The problem with climate change is that we don't see it as our problem. We think it belongs to the future, meaning we are not considering our great-great-grandchildren and their families when making decisions. The second point is that we can only slow it down. If we do nothing, it could speed it up. We can't stop or predict it completely. We only know it's coming, and the time to plan, adjust, and adapt economically and socially is now.

Artificial Intelligence: AI Personal Assistants or Agents...the next interface is with consumers

This oversimplified image explains how Personal AI Assistants or Agents will work with humans. This will revolutionize many aspects of business and human life. Think about search engines. They have become time-consuming and frustrating, sifting through tons of sponsored content. Now, you can make your queries and receive direct answers. However, the next evolution is also here. As I have said in the past, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI, among others, are in a race to who will deliver the best consumer interface, which will shake up retailing.

Thank you for reading this week's issue of The Business Brief

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