TransformingYourCareerTransformingYourself

Myths about a meritocracy and doing the right thing often distract from the realities of power. By time the bloodied or forced out "get it" that power typically is the decider serious damage could have happened. To the institution. To the professional's  career. To innocent bystanders such as the 8.2 billion humans on planet earth. Could this be triggered by the most junior member of the Supreme Court of the United States? That is, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. In a series of articles in The New York Times which examine the styles of the three SCOTUS liberal members - here and here - there's this conjecture: Justice Jackson's iconoclastic approach in that rigid organization: " ... could risk those votes [which contain a toning-down of conservative opinion thanks to the diplomacy of the other two liberals], or further erode faith in a court that may yet stand up to Mr. Trump ..." Justice Jackson's MO includes: Being combative, in-person and in opini...

 We can go back to relaxing that we won't wind up homeless. Yesterday's ambiguous news on interest rates played with the Dow. Today, after a down opening, there's recovery. Dow Jones Industrial Average DJI: ^DJI 47,829.98 Add to watchlist +197.98  (+0.42%) As of Thu. Oct 30, 2025 10:16 AM EDT · Free Realtime Quote (USD) · Market open

 The real problem WPP is facing is not simply loss of accounts to other major players in advertising/markeitng. Sure, that's hurting financial performance right now, as The Wall Street Journal details. Yeah, maybe WPP isn't as nimble on its feet, even with new leadership, as its competitors. But the core threat is only given a brief mention in WSJ. Here's a bit of it: " ... the bigger concern is whether big tech companies’ advances in automating ad campaigns through AI will put the role of ad groups at risk." Throughout business, which used to rely on the creative producers for whatever, there is the opportunity to cut out the middlemen. That ranges from public relations agencies which historically have chured out the press releases to the kind of "Mad Men" advertising/marketing firms which conjure up the catchy ideas and roll out the campaigns. Now AI DIY tools are increasingly available. Investors in those businesses are pressuring them for more and m...

  Dow Jones Industrial Average Index Index: DJI Compare 47,512.80 USD ▲  +305.68 (+0.65%) today October 27, 9:31 AM EDT  ·  Market Open

  It's old hat in worldclass cities like New York that the address of your building creates your signature brand. Classic was the aura public affairs firm The Dilenschneider Group unleashed with its location in the MetLife Building. It rented half a floor. As a contractor to DGI I found it useful to my own boutique to be spotted on the elevator or lobby.  But in this era of so much economic, technological and political disruption - sometimes called the  "post-American" world order  - that branding function isn't enough to be moving the needle in the directions businesses have to head toward. So, the template for leasing a building has to go way beyond any halo effect.  Among the immediate needs is putting together the unique employee experience. RTO is here to stay. And in the post-American world order, with the ramped-up technical competition from China, most employees will be spending more hours in-person on the company site. That probably will never become as...

 The news is good tonight. At least for our individual nest eggs. CNBC reports: "Stock futures rose Sunday evening as investors looked ahead to a widely expected interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve and a raft of Big Tech earnings reports." At 8:15 PM New York Time, Dow futures are up 290 points.  As The Wall Street Journal observes many of us aging are sitting pretty financially. Not that we are holding on to wealth. But we can pay our bills, along with a trip now and then. It's unlikely we will wind up homeless.  Our portfolios are diversified so that a crash won't wipe us out. We have the reserve not to have to depend entirely on Social Security, with its awful 2.8% COLA for 2026. Some of us are still working, into our late 70s. But, we get it, as WSJ hammers, that the generations which have come after us could be on the brink of losing hope. Especially Gen Z.  That's not only in the US. Worldwide is a "youth movement." They are primarily members ...