"The way to get started is to stop talking and start doing."
Walt Disney
(1901-1966)
American entrepreneur and entertainment icon |
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| The Delaney E-Newsletter
JANUARY 2011 |
Greetings!
Happy New Year!!! Welcome to the first year of the second decade of the 21st century! We've all been through a lot of changes and important events over this past decade, yet it seems like it just flew by. There are two realities that make each new passage of time seem different than the prior period. One is that we're all getting older, and each year typically seems to go by faster than the year before. The other dynamic in place is that the amount of change in the world continues to grow exponentially. Take any period of time, cut it in half, and compare the changes during the first half with the changes in the second half. For example, compare the global and technological changes from the years 1901-1950 with those of 1951-2000. Staggeringly different! Look at 1951-1975 vs. 1976-2000. Again, the latter half was so much more packed with change. How about the decade of 1991-2000 vs. our most recent decade, 2001-2010? Simply amazing! What does it all mean? Well, it's an interesting and complex discussion that's too lengthy for this forum. But here's a simple thought to consider as you start the new year. For a business or a businessperson, if you are not constantly changing and constantly evolving, then your peers and your competition are passing you by. In essence, if you continue to think and do things the way you always have, then you are backing up as the world changes around you. We, as professionals, must evolve every day just to keep pace. Scary thought? It shouldn't be. Every day is an exciting opportunity to learn or try something new. And I wish you all an exciting 2011!
Scott Wyatt
Regional Sales Manager
THE DELANEY CO.
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ROCK'N'ROLL TRIVIA Thanks to all who answered our rock'n'roll trivia question in last month's newsletter. The question was, "Who was the best male vocalist and best female vocalist in a 70's rock band." The responses as follows:
MALE - Robert Plant, the famous frontman of Led Zeppelin was an easy winner with 2nd place honors going to Brad Delp, the late, great lead singer for the band Boston.
FEMALE - A tight "two-horse" race here with Ann Wilson of Heart just edging out Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac by a neck. Or was that a throat?
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Bits and Pieces
GENERATION Y - Also known as Millennials, they are the children of the Baby Boomers who shaped American society for decades. 77 million....that's how many Gen Yers were born over an 18-year span starting in the early 1980s. The Baby Boom was the result of a birthrate that soared after the end of World War II, peaking in 1957 and 1961. Gen Y is big because there were so many Boomer women to have babies, even though the number of births per woman was much lower. The single most important difference between Gen Y and older generations: Familiarity with technology. More than any other population segment, Gen Yers see technology as enhancing the quality of their lives...making work easier, allowing them to manage their time better and bringing family and friends closer. 90% of Gen Yers over 18 use the Internet. Three-quarters of them use social networking. More than 60% of them go wireless...using laptop computers, tablets or handheld devices such as smart phones, to access the Web on the go. They rely on cell phones. Day and night, awake or sleeping, 83% keep phones nearby. Two-fifths of Gen Yers don't even have a landline. And Gen Yers are inveterate texters. A quarter of them send more than 50 messages a day. For employers, Millennials' unique characteristics can be both pros and cons. They're well schooled...likely, in fact, to surpass all previous generations. About one in five Gen Yers over the age of 18 have already graduated from college; But 20-somethings can be clueless about traditional workplace etiquette. They sometimes lack conventional communication skills: Used to texting, some Millennials don't "get" the need for face-to-face chats and may require coaching. On the personal side, relationships are paramount. Gen Yers find jobs through friends...on social networking sites, for example...and want to work with friends. As for their savings and investments, Millennials are more risk averse than previous generations were at the same age. The fact is, they've seen little or nothing of the upside of long-term investing in stocks so can't relate to the potential long-term gains. If their reluctance lasts, Gen Yers may come up short in their golden years. But don't fret too much about that: In most ways, Gen Yers are remarkably optimistic. They're confident about their futures and eager to take on the challenges that life has in store for them. And they're open to change...a good thing, considering how rapidly it comes.
ECHINACEA...NO CURE - The herbal remedy echinacea, believed by many to cure colds, is no better than a placebo in relieving the symptoms or shortening the duration of illness, a new study finds. "My advice is, if you are an adult and believe in echinacea, it's safe and you might get some placebo effect if nothing else," said lead researcher Dr. Bruce Barrett, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin. "I wouldn't say the results of the trial should dissuade people who are currently using echinacea and feel that it works for them, but there is no new evidence to suggest that we have found the cure for the common cold." If echinacea was able to significantly reduce the symptoms and length of colds, this study would have found it, Barrett noted. "With this particular dose of this particular formulation of echinacea there was no large benefit," he said. The report is published in the Dec. 21 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
LISTEN, KID! - A 68-year-old Idaho man has been charged with misdemeanor battery after police say he struck a teen who would not turn off his phone while the plane they were in was taxiing for takeoff. The incident took place last Tuesday evening on a Southwest Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Boise, Idaho, said Lt. Kent Lipple of the Boise police. The man, Russell Miller, was arrested after the plane landed, Lipple said.
HEALTH CARE - In the growing legal battle over the constitutionality of the new health law, Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is likely to be the deciding vote on the key question: whether Congress has the right to make people buy insurance. A lower court in Virginia recently said no, but two other courts have upheld the law. The high court isn't likely to touch the issue until 2012. Still...Employers have no choice but to continue to prepare to comply with the law, even though the eventual ruling might render all of that preparation meaningless. Businesses will have to make decisions on hiring workers and company benefits without knowing all of the ramifications of the eventual Supreme Court ruling.
YEAR IN REVIEW - Talk about a challenging year: 2010 saw the world stricken by natural disasters galore, with deadly earthquakes in Haiti, Chile, China, and Indonesia; the largest accidental oil spill in history; and a massive volcanic eruption in Iceland that disrupted flight patterns across the globe. The U.S. economy is still questionable and the national unemployment rate basically remained the same, just shy of 10%. The Winter Olympics and the World Cup provided some high-profile good news. The November election results ended months of name-calling, questionable "truths" and seemingly endless speculation. The Christmas season brought torrential rains to the western US and a blizzard to the Northeast. The stock market finished the year in positive territory, with the DJIA up 11.02%, the NASDAQ up 16.91%, and the S&P500 up 12.78%. What to expect in 2011? With regard to investing, often times last year's winners are next year's losers. Jumping on a popular "sector" bandwagon has rarely been an effective investment strategy. A diversified portfolio based on personal goals and objectives has been shown to produce effective returns over the long-term. What can we expect on the business front? We can speculate about consumer confidence and demand for our products and services. But I've always believed the words of the Roman philosopher, Seneca, who stated, "Luck is what happens when preparedness meets opportunity." So get out there and get lucky!
Make it a good month!
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INTERNATIONAL BUILDERS' SHOW
January 12-15, 2011
If you plan to visit IBS in Orlando this month, please stop by Booth #W1683 to say hello. It's the perfect time to match faces with familiar names, and to see what's new and different from Delaney in 2011. Hope to see you there!
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