"Only the first hundred years are the most difficult." | Brigadoon Weekend

Brigadoon Weekend

Your weekly dose of the emerging issues + independent thinkers shaping commerce + culture

October 30, 2021

Ross Rant:

The five-question business model.

Who will you serve?

What will you serve?

Where will you serve?

When will you serve?

Why will you serve?

Business is about service.

Business is about being in service of something or someone bigger than yourself.

Business is always a service business.

Business is about serving a community.

Serve a community.

That's it.

That's a business.

That's a business model.


This week I was listening to a vintner, and she said they have a saying around her vineyard: "Only the first hundred years are the most difficult."

So keep going and remember, time is relative.


Question of the week: Can you work from home in the metaverse?


What a world.... Biden can't pass a shovel-ready infrastructure bill, and Zuckerberg is building a shovel-ready metaverse.

Wild.


For pricing, get to know choice architecture: Good work here from Adele.

Prices for Adele @ Hyde Park London | July 1 + 2, 2022:

— General Admission: £90.45
— Primary Entry: £111.85
— Gold: £273.95
— Diamond VIP Experience: £379.95
— VIP Terrace: £434.95
— Ultimate Bar Diamond and Ultimate Terrace = £579.95

-Marc

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Five Weekend Reads:

Patagonia CEO: Companies should join us in boycotting Facebook
CNN

+ "We believe Facebook has a responsibility to make sure its products do no harm, and until they do, Patagonia will continue to withhold our advertising." -- Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert

The uselessness of useful knowledge: Today’s powerful but little-understood artificial intelligence breakthroughs echo past examples of unexpected scientific progress.
Quanta Magazine

+ "These new forms of AI are very different from traditional computer codes that can be understood line by line. Instead, they operate within a black box, seemingly unknowable to humans and even to the machines themselves."

Why entrepreneurs don’t learn from their mistakes: ‘Fail fast,” see what didn’t work, and try again is the conventional wisdom. But research shows failed founders aren’t any better the next time.
WSJ

+ "Fail once and you’re most likely to fail again. Believing in the myth only sets entrepreneurs up for more failure—and leads to disappointment and frustration."

Verstappen and Hamilton’s title duel enters climax with no margin for error: This season’s F1 championship has produced a fascinating fight to the wire and it would be foolish to predict the final outcome.
Giles Richards

Bottega Veneta mounts a buzzy fashion show in Detroit—But why? Detroit was once called the “Paris of the Midwest,” a name that dates back to a 1705 letter that Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, a French trader, and colonist, sent his boss, heralding the city’s Parisian potential.
WSJ

Quote of the Week:

"How do we democratize access to electric vehicles? That's a very important part of our strategy. Tesla is the only manufacturer that can produce EVs at scale."

-- Mark Fields, who joined Hertz as interim chief executive officer earlier this month, on the announcement of Hertz's $4.2 billion, 100,000 unit Telsa order.

15 songs for this weekend

The Wait - Pretenders
Stone in Love - Journey
Yahweh - U2
Necessary Death - Rotana
Nothing Matters - Mahalo
Feiern - Sven Väth
Spiffy Diffy - Big John Patton
Love and Hate in a Different Time - Gabriels
Redrum - Paris Green
I've Done Everything for You - Rick Springfield
Leather Jacket - Arkells
Name of Love (featuring SPNCR) - Lee Foss + Franky Wah
Black Skinhead - Kanye West
Don't Doubt ur Vibe - Elon “EDM” Musk
Run - Lane 8 + Kasablanca

Listen here.

Brigadoon November Call:

Why nature makes us happier, healthier, and more creative

Florence Williams | Author of The Nature Fix
2:00 pm ET | Wednesday, November 17, 2021
$45 | Brigadoon Members attend free

The ticket price includes a copy of The Nature Fix: Why Nature Makes Us Happier, Healthier, and More Creative.

Sign up today.

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Have a great weekend.

-Marc

Marc A. Ross | Founder + Chief Curator @ Brigadoon

Brigadoon is Global Street Smarts.

Curating the emerging issues + independent thinkers
shaping commerce + culture

More @ thebrigadoon.com

Listen: Marc Ross on A Load of BS: The Behavioural Science Podcast | Part 1

“If you liked House of Cards (UK version wins every time) or The West Wing, you’re in for a treat. This week, I welcome political strategist, namesake and keeper of our eponymous tartan and ice shelf, Marc A. Ross to A Load of BS. Marc’s storytelling, his exuberance and his experience at the forefront of global politics glitters through both Part 1 and Part 2 of our conversation.

“Marc is a political nut; he fell in love with Reagan’s campaign in 1984 as a young teenager and has been immersed ever since. You’ll hear in the pod that Marc’s knowledge and interests fly way beyond home affairs; he is no partisan, his outlook is utterly global and he is a keen student of our British system amongst other, believing firmly that a broad lens gives perspective.

“He is the founder of Caracal, a communications and political intelligence firm specializing in international trade, commercial relations, economic diplomacy and global business. He is also the founder of Brigadoon, a global membership network helping leaders make better connections and helping them better understand the emerging issues shaping commerce and culture.

“This only scratches the surface of Marc’s affiliations. Best is to see here for the fullest picture.

“If that quality of build up hasn’t attracted you to subscribe to A Load of BS (if indeed you aren’t already!), then here is your moment. I won’t reveal names just now, but trust me, we have some quite phenomenal individuals joining me over the coming weeks.”

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Marc dropped so much BS; Daniel broke their discussion into two parts.

In this first part, they discuss:

+ Power and influence, vs. control

+ President Clinton's Candy Shop + reciprocity

+ Political attractiveness + M&M's ad strategy

+ Delusions of grandeur: what it takes to be a successful politician

+ Confirmation bias + The West Wing

+ How politics really works beyond the sport of media reporting

So notable political figures referenced:

+ Thomas Sowell: American economist, social theorist, and senior fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution

+ Tom "The Hammer" DeLay: Texan, former Republican Party Majority Leader - my first job in Washington when he was Majority Whip

+ Roger Ailes: former chairman and CEO of Fox News, the media consultant for various American Presidents

+ Henry Kissinger: American politician, diplomat, and geopolitical consultant

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For even more BS, make sure to subscribe to the Sunday BS email - sign up today.

You have a bathing problem.

In more than 500 scientific studies in recent years, researchers have linked time spent in nature with decreased anxiety, reduced risk of obesity, and even reduced overall mortality.

In fact, one 2018 analysis by researchers from Britain's University of East Anglia found nature prescriptions "may have substantial benefits."

"Forest bathing," or immersing yourself in nature, is being embraced more and more by doctors and medical professionals as a way to combat stress and improve health.

The Japanese tradition of shinrin-yoku, or "forest bathing," is gaining more attention in the West.

Florence Williams's best-selling book, "The Nature Fix," has a chapter dedicated to the benefits of forest therapy. And now, it appears that more North American doctors are starting to incorporate spending time in forests into their practice.

The Northside Hospital Cancer Institute in Atlanta now formally offers forest therapy as part of a pilot project collaborating with the Chattahoochee Nature Center.

The New York Times reports, at the University of California, San Francisco, Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland, Dr. Nooshin Razani, a pediatric infectious disease doctor and director of the Center for Nature and Health, has offered a similar program for years. The “Shine” program, linked to the East Bay Regional Parks District, offers “park prescriptions,” a movement that is growing in popularity and aims to improve accessibility to nature for low-income children.

Research from Japan and Korea suggests that spending time in nature, specifically in lush forests, has shown a decrease in stress and blood pressure (especially in middle-aged men). Plus, it improves heart-rate variability and lowers cortisol levels while boosting one's mood.

Additional benefits by exercising in nature, improvements in self-esteem, and overall effects on mood were heightened when there was a stream or other body of water nearby.

The New York Times reports that several theories have been proposed about why spending time in forests might provide health benefits. Some have suggested that chemicals emitted from trees, so-called phytoncides, have a physiological effect on our stress levels. Others indicated that forest sounds — birds chirping, rustling leaves — have a physiologically calming effect.

Regardless of the specifics, from forest trails in Korea to islands in Finland, to eucalyptus groves in California, Florence investigated the science behind nature's positive effects on the brain.

Delving into brand-new research, she uncovered the powers of the natural world to improve health, promote reflection and innovation, and strengthen our relationships.

As our modern lives shift dramatically indoors and involve working with and staring at screens, changing how one bathes is essential to performance and productivity.

A walkabout with trees and water, this forest bathing could be just the fix to make you happier, healthier, and more creative.

Make plans to attend the Brigadoon November Call with Florence Williams at 2:00 pm ET on Wednesday, November 17.

Florence is the prize-winning author of The Nature Fix. A contributing editor at Outside magazine, her writing has appeared in the New York Times and National Geographic.

Moving from the mountain air beauty of Boulder, CO, to the urban swamp of Washington, DC, inspired her deep dive into what makes people happy.

The aim was simple: Does place matter, or not so much?

Her global exploration of this question led her to determine that one of the most significant variables was, it is not who you are with or what you are doing; it is where you are.

"How we spend our days is how we spend our lives."

In her book, she points out, "we are experiencing a mass generational amnesia enabled by urbanization and urban creep."

Going on, she writes, "we don't experience natural environments enough to realize how restored they can make us feel, nor are we aware that studies also show they can make us healthier, more creative, more empathetic, and more apt to engage with the world and with each other. Nature, it turns out, is good for civilization."

"Homo sapiens officially became an urban species in 2008."

"Yet as humans shift their activities to cities, astoundingly little planning, resources, and infrastructure go into making those spaces meet our psychological needs.

Make plans to attend the Brigadoon November Call with Florence Williams at 2:00 pm ET on Wednesday, November 17.

Let's have a discussion on how nature makes us happier, healthier, and more creative.

Sign up here.

This picture was snapped by Marc A. Ross at Brigadoon Remote | Scotland 2019 in a forest near Carphin House in Fife, Scotland.

Brigadoon ITK | Oct. 26

AP: Sudan’s military takes power in coup, arrests prime minister

Sudan's military seizes control in coup: DW reports military forces have arrested most cabinet ministers and pro-government party leaders. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok has been taken to an undisclosed location and has called on citizens to resist the coup.

+ As Sudan’s economy spiraled in recent weeks—inflation, for instance, has topped 400 percent—the military seized the moment to "accuse the government of ignoring the people’s needs"

Sudan’s democratic transition is upended by a second coup in two years: Economist reports the generals acted just months before they were due to hand power to civilians.

AFP: US pauses $700 mn in aid to Sudan after military takeover

CNN: Biden sending 13 cabinet members, high-level officials to UN climate summit in show of force

+ On Nov. 1, Biden will be in Glasgow for the 26th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26).

Chicago poised to create one of the nation’s largest ‘guaranteed basic income’ programs: Basic income programs are spreading across the country as critics raise concerns about job openings.
WP

Bloomberg: Hertz orders 100,000 Teslas in rental-market shake-up

+ Company exited bankruptcy four months ago under new ownership

+ Electrification plan to eventually include most of Hertz fleet

+ It’s the single-largest purchase ever for electric vehicles, or EVs, and represents about $4.2 billion of revenue for Tesla

+ “How do we democratize access to electric vehicles? That’s a very important part of our strategy. Tesla is the only manufacturer that can produce EVs at scale.” -- Mark Fields, who joined Hertz as interim chief executive officer earlier this month

+ Tesla shares rose as much as 9.8% to a record $998.74, making it one of only five publicly traded US companies with valuations above $1 trillion

The Hertz-Tesla deal will help normalize electric cars: This could be another step in getting drivers to overcome their anxieties about EVs.
Liam Denning

Rockets aren’t enough. The growing commercial space industry now want to build space stations.
WP

Climber and filmmaker Jimmy Chin talks taste: The director of The Rescue on crampons, Ansel Adams – and decompressing with a Dyson.
FT

In the World Series, Hank Aaron’s protégé faces his former team: “If Henry is watching down, he will enjoy this World Series because of Dusty, above all,” Bud Selig said of Dusty Baker, the manager of the Houston Astros.
NYT

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Curating the emerging issues and independent thinkers shaping commerce and culture.