The Future is not that far away

Surfing the Tsunami.

 I happened to come across an impressive novel by Dr. Todd Kelsey,PhD. He is an author and educator whose publishing credits include several books for helping people learn more about technology. He has appeared on television as a featured expert and has worked with a wide variety of corporations and non-profit organizations.

The first chapter was centered around why people should care about artificial Intelligence, or A.I, in the first place. He emphasized that you should actually care and to be honest, I agree with him due to the increasing power of artificial intelligence in this day and age, more specifically, the way it is increasing automation. He further states that AI has already impacted the world in huge ways and is poised to increase its impact. “Hopefully, for the better, but I don’t think we can take that for granted”. This statement is the underlying factor that opened my mind to the tsunami.

Due to the recent advancements of A.I, companies like Boston Dynamics have been able to innovate humanoid robots that act and move just like humans. ATLAS, the humanoid robot of Boston Dynamics, can even do backflips which is incredibly difficult to program, given all the technical hurdles. Yeah, we all joke about the Terminator and human robots, but in reality,  we are not that far away. Everyone across the globe is shifting their focus to improving artificial intelligence. Some experiments are more public than others, obviously.  Looking at Russia, in 2017, they were making some public experiments with a robot named FEDOR. “Robot FEDOR showed the ability to shoot from both hands. Fine motor skills and decision-making algorithms are still being improved”. Although I am a fan of A.I, and the benefits it can have on our society, I cannot help but worry about a robot who can shoot weapons accurately and do backflips.

We are creating robots that can perform better than the average human. My biggest concern with this is the algorithms that are being created to operate these humanoid robotics. What if terrorists somehow get ahold of this technology? We cannot assume that only good people are capable of understanding sophisticated algorithms. This can potentially get into the wrong hands and be used for diabolical reasons. Even with our military,  technological advancements can potentially allow us to have an army of robots in the future doing our dirty work for us. The sky's the limit when it comes to this area, and scientists are starting to make sci-fi movies a living reality.

Surfing the Tsunami

You can actually work yourself to Death!

We all heard of the phrase, work hard play hard.  However, too much labor can have a fatal impact on you. As Americans, we typically love to work. It is how we provide for our families and needs. Full-time employment is characterized as a 40 hour work week. The actual employee spends 47 hours at work each week. In other countries, such as Germany and Sweden, workers typically engage in a 35 work week.

Many executives perpetuate the myth that the need for only four hours of sleep to function at an elite level to meet work requirements is ok. The company Lyft took pride of this myth, due to a woman who continued to drive passengers ,while being physically and emotionally exhausted from the depth of the labor, and turned it into an example to show the success and benefit of hard work. In his recent book, Dying for a Paycheck, Stanford University organizational behavior professor Jeffrey Pfeffer argues that some 150,000 deaths in the United States each year, and as many as 1 million in China, can be attributed to overwork. Some factors that can contribute to this include, sleeplessness and stress which are triggered by damaging work environments and economic anxieties.

In our county's history, most Americans have worked outdoors or in factories, where they sparred with fallen trees, or sky scrapping sized printing machines. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, OSHA, was formed to regulate these physical dangers. Since then workplace injuries have fallen dramatically.

On the other hand, if you are a white-collar worker in an office environment, sitting down for hours on end can cause muscle strains and repetitive stress injuries. Sedentary lifestyles can kill, be aware of that people. the Guardian reported, the researchers found that those “who were sedentary for more than 13 hours a day were twice as likely to die prematurely as those who were inactive for 11.5 hours.”  

Work can also have a damaging effect to our sleep schedules, like sand in an hourglass. Studies show that lack of sleep or poor sleep quality can cause anxiety, a lack of control over emotions, physical pain, and impulsive behavior. Even the tech giant, Elon Musk who is Tesla CEO, appeared to embody this phenomenon. In an interview,  he was talking about his dependence on Ambien to help sleep and supposedly cried later in the interview while discussing the car production challenges his company has faced.

It is true that work provides the means to live, but it is clearly clear that the modern workplace can in fact kill. Being aware of the danger that comes with our desk chair means we can do our best deal with the effects of sedentary, sleepless life styles. Whether we are working a 100 hours a week like some game developers do to meet deadlines, or playing Fortnite for a 100 hours a week.

The New Wave

We all know the potential impact that Artificial Intelligence can have on our future. Companies are starting to turn towards A.I to solve just about any problem that you can think of. Problems that will no longer require human necessity to solve. The power of A.I is crazy and should be respected. Companies are looking into software that help you change your thoughts for the better and analyze a voice for signs of depression. I want to specifically look into how A.I is effecting the area of Mental Health and how companies are using A.I to make there lives easier.

Looking into the field of Mental Health, everybody has mental health and we all need to look after it every day. Artificial Intelligence can step into play to make up for the lack of clinicians. It is described as a way of task-shifting, or simply moving some of the burden of work from the humans to Artificial Intelligent apps that never goes to sleep, and won’t charge you with a bill either. There is an app called TalkSpace, although it connects people with real human therapists, not a chatbot. Patients communicate with professionals via long text messages, audio notes, video messages, or live video conversations. Plus, TalkSpace uses the platform's own de-identified, aggregated data to give the therapists recommendations they can choose to accept or ignore, like suggesting that they send a recorded video message at a certain time, according to Neil Leibowitz, the company’s chief medical officer.

Other research at MIT has a similar focus. Tuka Al Hanai, a doctoral candidate in the computer science and electrical engineering department, focuses on using A.I to detect problems like depression by analyzing audio files, or text, from a person’s voice.

A.I is growing and becoming more powerful day by day. As the next generation, I believe we should all take a look into this and make ourselves aware of Artificial Intelligence and where our world is headed.

https://www.popsci.com/artificial-intelligence-mental-health#page-3

Are Dinosaurs Still Around?

Can birds possibly thank dinosaur’s for their continued existence in the modern world? Birds are very similar to us biologically. Except they have smaller lungs and are obviously much smaller in size.

I found this to be pretty interesting. Not necessarily a business oriented topic, but a good informative piece. A newly discovered fossil was found in China that showed that birds evolved very early , while they were still dinosaurs.  A team of researchers from China and South Africa published a study of what they believe to be lung tissue in the fossil. This is the first time evidence of lungs has been found in an avian dinosaur fossil, and it may help explain why one group of the avian dinosaurs(Ornithumorpha) was able to survive the extinction event that killed the dinosaurs and continue to evolve into modern birds(Eschner). Scientists believe that the evidence of lungs explains part of the morphological sophistication that may have allowed one lineage of Ornithumorphs to survive the great extinction and evolve into birds.

Modern birds typically have the most complex structure and the most efficient respiratory system among vertebrates, according to the paper, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Scientists. The design of  their respiratory system and air sacs means that birds are able to take in much more fresh, oxygenated air with each breath than us mammals can, since even a full breath in our very own lungs still has old air that is depleted of oxygen within it. In a way, you can say that birds are elite athletes with great lung capacity. Which they really are if you think about it

In the absence of soft tissue evidence, paleontologists have traditionally made guesses about organs based on fossilized bones and the dinosaurs closest modern descendants, the crocodilians and the birds. However, there might be more soft tissue out there than the field currently knows not just in new finds like this one from China. Occasionally, paleontologists take a new look at old evidence and discover hat these structures were there all along. Pretty interesting If i do say so myself.

https://www.popsci.com/lungs-birds-dinosaur-survival#page-3

is THC really what we think it is?

With marijuana becoming more and more popular, the legalization of this plant is starting to stretch globally. Canada just recently legalized marijuana, but researchers are wondering about the potential public health effects that comes with smoking a joint. If you a fan of it or not, we all know that smoking pot can potentially lead to health issues.

Many people view marijuana as a safe drug, and it is often used for recreational purposes across the country. However, our lungs are efficient vehicles for substances to get into our bodies, which is why many drugs and tobacco are usually inhaled as smoke or vapor. Edibles will likely have little to no effect on our lung tissue though. A huge sigh of relief to those who want to use it in its healthiest form. According to UCSF professor Stanton Glantz, the American research community has been asking the federal government for easier marijuana access for a long time now. In the U.S, marijuana remains a "Schedule 1" drug, even though numerous states have legalized it for personal/medical use.

The structure of Marijuana is almost identical to tobacco. The only difference is the active ingredient within both substances. With marijuana it is THC, and tobacco it is nicotine. Most of the other stuff in cigarette smoke is in marijuana as well. That includes substances like formaldehyde, ethylene, and acetone. Marijuana smoke has about 4,000-5,000 chemicals in it which can potentially have a fatal impact on your lungs. It is generally true that marijuana smoke is just as toxic as cigarette smoke. With that being said, people are more likely to smoke 20 cigarettes a day( a pack), as opposed to the unlikely odds of someone smoking 20 joints in a day. Now if your Snoop Dog, or a serious hardcore stoner, then maybe 20 joints a day is the norm for you.

With further research, and the help of the legalization of marijuana, we would be able to better understand the pros and cons of the substance and unlock the mysteries and myths behind marijuana. In the meantime, if you have the excess capital, it probably would not be a bad idea to invest early in this field as more and more states and countries begin to dig deeper into this area for economic and medical benefits.

https://www.popsci.com/smoking-weed-lung-cancer

A Different Path

I always had the ambition to live out the American  Dream, and eventually earn back the most valuable asset that we have in our lifetime, which is time. Even though I am a student of higher education and love my field of study, I never planned on living my whole life and devoting most of my time supporting someone else’s dream inside of a cubicle while he/she is on a beach somewhere living the life that we all deserve. We all have dreams that don't deserve to die as we get older. For me, coming up from humble beginnings on the south side of Chicago my goal was to not only take care of my parents for all the sacrifices they have done to get me to where I am now, but also help develop and uplift struggling communities that don't have a lot of opportunities and resources.

I came across network marketing my freshman year of college during the summer. I had just got back from nationals and my friend wanted me to meet his sponsor for an business opportunity. For the most part I am an open minded since our mind is like an umbrella. It only works when it is open. So after I had this meeting and was explained the business opportunity, I went home and did my own personal diligence. The overview of this business plan was an opportunity to build an organization and leverage your efforts  by first acquiring customers, and then duplicating your efforts through your team(organization) for an lucrative leverage opportunity. For a minor startup fee you were entitled to due business internationally and develop teams across the globe. The company also offered a versatile market of product and essential services to offer customers. Now when I saw this of course I believed pyramid scheme right away. However, by definition a pyramid scheme is a form of investment (illegal in the US and elsewhere) in which each paying participant recruits two further participants, with returns being given to early participants using money contributed by later ones. Fraud can not go on forever especially when there is no product to be sold, no service has been provided, and no true wealth has been created. Eventually those at the bottom will suffer the most due to the fact that it is impossible for the cycle to sustain itself. This MLM company in particular made it clear that without customer acquisition, no money will be made. As a recruit/Independent Business Owner, you can make a profit from the sales of the product or service, so you don't necessarily have to recruit more salespeople below you. While you may be encouraged to recruit other salespeople whose sales would give you more profits, you can stick to just selling the product directly to the consumer if you choose. With this company, you don't even have to worry about inventory. Strictly customer acquisition and they take care of the rest. The growth opportunity is limitless. In other words, a person can climb up the ladder at his/her own pace as opposed to a corporate level entry job. It may be years before you even get considered for a promotion and even then they can lay you off at any given day/time due to a reduction is the "budget".

I related this concept to franchising. As of you, the reader, you may disagree or agree with my comparison of the two, but hear me out either way. Keeping an entrepreneurship mindset, I decided that I wanted to invest in a McDonald's franchise. In order for me to do that the franchise fee is $45,000 with a liquid capital requirement of $750,000. As a franchises, sales does not necessarily reciprocate the money going into your pockets. You have to cover your expenses which include the  payment towards $2.2 million investment to cover the franchise. However, do not allow me to confuse you in any way , good money is still made within that opportunity, but we can all agree that a lot of capital is required to fully own one.

Staying Competitive in the Amazon Era

Shifting focus a little bit from the previous topics, I want to analyze the marketing and business strategy that Costco is using to be the greatest retailer in the world. Although market dominator, Amazon, generates the most revenue, Costco is actually a larger retailer than Amazon and all other retail companies. Yes you read that right!Costco, not Walmart, nor any other retail companies in the market.

The best thing about this is that they aren't scrambling around looking for new innovations to reshape their business to keep up. Instead, Costco has been sticking to what they know and what has been successful for decades. Costco has been able to remain competitive by keeping a lid on costs and using membership fees to offer better prices than competitors.  Costco has about 93 million loyal members, with about 90% of their members renewing their subscriptions annually. They also offer gas and an online shopping experiences for consumers that cannot be duplicated by any other competitor. They offer about 10,000 products on their website and app, including expensive items such as furniture, which you would not find in their brick- and- mortar locations.

Costco business model is set up so that they can be the last to raise prices, and the first to lower them. Although Amazon’s platform allows many consumers to save time and replace physical shopping through an online store or E-Commerce, Costco showed to be a retailer that customers are not willing to cut from their list of store visits. Suppliers also show that they want to keep a strong relationship with Costco by often negotiating for the best deals, even when prices(Inflation) rise, due to brands being able to trust that Costco will use the cost savings to keep price tags in stores down. Ultimately boosting their sales. Everyone is happy at the end of the day. It is a true win win for everyone. Business and Consumer.

Leadership-MGT

Having strong leadership is essential to the success of those who our counting on the actions of the one in charge. A leader is one who influences others around him/her to attain goals and understands each and every member on their team to a certain extent. It is important to understand everyone’s personal objectives and how they handle adversity. Using a democratic leadership strategy would help in the long run when it comes down to making a final decision that everyone can agree upon, and how to properly encounter different individuals with the understanding that everyone is different. As an employee, would you rather have your voice and ideas being taken into consideration, or just allow your boss/leader to act in a autocratic way. Vice versa, as a leader, which method would be most effective and beneficial to the company’s overall success?  Or even a sports team. You often see this problem in businesses/organizations that fail or are struggling.

Appointing someone to a leadership position who is not cut out, or simply have the traits to be a good leader can be poisonous to any business. However, people still get these positions and fail to lead their team or organization the right way. You can be the smartest person in the world, got a perfect score on your ACT, 4.0 throughout college, Dean’s List, all the formal education in the world, but still end up being a terrible leader.

I am a firm believer that being a good leader starts from within. It starts with you and your mindset. You have to first be true to yourself while leading. Basically be authentic. How do you expect people to follow you and be successful if you aren't true and real with yourself? As mentioned before people are different, and therefore they can lead in different ways,  but still benefit the group as a whole. A leader can be primarily vocal and uses their vocabulary to motivate and drive others. These are your typical “motivational speakers”.

A well-known speaker, who emerged during the civil rights movement, was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was notorious for his ‘I Have A Dream’ speech. Dr. King was iconic for motivating citizens, who were being treated unequally ,to protest in a peaceful manner and not retort with violence. On the contrary, You then have leaders who would rather lead by example. Work from the shadows in a way. They aren't typically as outgoing and vocal, but gets tasks done. They are often more independent and sets the example by their actions and work ethic. People would look up to them simply because of their work ethic and results that these individuals bring to the table. However, the best of the best out there, not just talking business, but all areas of life.

The best leaders are the ones who are not only able to just foresee a vision and achieve it, but one who can duplicate and create other leaders in the process.  Imagine yourself being able to duplicate yourself throughout your organization or sports team, a team full of good quality leaders who are all on the same page. Everything from production to chemistry improves across the board. It is almost like you are leveraging your efforts in a way through duplication and development of new and upcoming leaders. It is definitely an overall win for the organization.



-Calvin Jordan
https://www.linkedin.com/in/calvin-jordan-754573109/

Just Do It! Politics or Business?

“Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything” came from the most polarizing player in sports after the company, Nike ,featured Colin Kaepernick on their 30th anniversary ad campaign. By doing this, Nike is the center of attention on a serious controversial issue, a position that most companies have sought to avoid due to the negative impact that it can potentially have on their business.

Drafted in 2011, Kaepernick has long been a Nike brand ambassador. Kaepernick’s first public kneel was during the playing of the national anthem in 2016 to protest police brutality and mistreatment of people of color by authority figures when he played for the San Francisco 49ers. This protest not only started a trend of players across the nation ,through all levels competition, taking a knee, but also raised a din in American culture, sparking huge debates in sports,politics,business, and even entertainment. It has been two years since Kaepernick played an NFL game and the topic is still being discussed today. This led to the nation being divided into supporters and non supporters. People reacted to his protest with everything from Boycotts from the NFL to full-out support. The current President of the United States even spoke on this topic on his campaign trail, as critics began to exploit the protest for being disrespectful and unpatriotic to the US flag. After Kaepernick stopped playing for the 49ers, he filed a grievance against NFL owners under the league’s collective bargaining agreement. They stated that, “they colluded to deprive him of unemployment rights in retaliation for his leadership and advocacy for equality and social justice and his bringing awareness to peculiar institutions still undermining racial equality in the United States”.

Ok, so what does all of this have to do with the actual business itself? Well when Nike first Air’d their new ad, Many people were upset by this and started to throw out, burn, and cut their Nike gear. The #BoycottNike was trending on Twitter and Jon Rich, who is from the country band Big and Rich, tweeted,” Our Soundman just cut the Nike swoosh off his socks. Former marine. Get ready @Nike multiply that by the millions”. Bloomberg reports did show that Nike shares did slip as much as 3.9% in the early stages of this Ad.However, just a few days later , reports showed that Nike cap was at an all time high. This does not just directly affect Nike as a business, but all of the other businesses that sell Nike in their stores and have partnerships with the company. They all get negatively affected if more non-supporters  emerge than supporters. So this was a huge business decision to make for the company. However, it is not unprecedented for Nike to take a political stand on an issue. NIke had an “Equality” campaign in 2017 in which the company donated to numerous organizations and highlighted issues like the representation of the LGBTQ, Native Americans, and Aboriginal communities.

It is hard to recall the last time a big company made a marketing decision as complex as Nike just did with this one. Therefore, Nike decision was not only just a business decision, but a political one as well. This decision by NIke was a difficult managerial (upper level) decision. It certainly involved risk, uncertainty, and conflict , all which are characteristics of managerial decision making. The reason why the decision was risky is for obvious reasons. Nike could have potentially loss a lot of their customer base due to the appearance of Colin on NIke’s ad. Even the president of the United States spoke out against this issue and disagreed with the kneeling at the national anthem. It is a very touchy subject, and was extremely risky. It could be safe to say that Nike management team was definitely a little uncertain of the commercial ad and had some sort of conflict before finally reaching a mutual agreement to launch the project. It took a lot of research and understanding to figure out whether or not the advertisement would have a negative or positive impact on the company. Millions of people tune in on Sunday nights to watch NFL football. That is a lot of eyes , and when people see players choosing to take a knee for the national anthem rather than stand, they either support it or disagree with it. Nike struggle was to understand the society as a Macro, and determine if the ratio was in their favor or not.

This was a huge move for Nike and I believe that it will elevate their company far past other competitors. Nike has a strong reputation for doing the right thing and will always back their athletes no matter the pigment of your skin or your gender. They are always trending on social media, and are starting to reach business platforms as well. The question I have is, do they really stand for social justice and equality for all, or is this just an act to make them more money in the long run for looking like the “nice guys” who did the right thing despite all odds?

Freedom Writers

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