Weekend Digest: The GOP’s ‘Jurassic Park,’ a 3-D printed car, and sugary drinks edition

TV PREVIEW
On this week’s TV edition of Talk Business & Politics, which airs Sundays at 9:30 a.m. on KATV Channel 7 in Central Arkansas and in Northeast Arkansas on KAIT-NBC, Sundays at 10 a.m.:

Trump vs. Hillary
It’s been a big week on the Presidential campaign front. Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are squaring off for their epic general election match-up. Amy Chozick, national political reporter for the New York Times, provides her analysis of the unfolding race.

Open for Business
Big news in the entrepreneurial world. The Arkansas Innovation Hub merges into Winrock International. What will that mean for startups wanting to open for business? New U.S. programs director Warwick Sabin explains.

Jackpot!
The Arkansas Scholarship Lottery has had a rebounding year, in part due to administrative and strategic changes. What’s been working right? Where will the lottery look next? Director Bishop Woosley shares his perspective.

Tune in to Talk Business & Politics in Central Arkansas on KATV Channel 7, Sundays at 9:30 a.m. and in Northeast Arkansas on KAIT-NBC, Sundays at 10 a.m.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF A WORKPLACE AFTER A TRAGEDY?
Fast Company asks, “In the wake of all too common mass shootings, what should company leadership and HR do to make employees feel safe?”

It’s a safe bet that Monday morning watercooler talk included shock and disbelief over the tragedy that took place in the Orlando nightclub Pulse. Unfortunately the topic isn’t new, as shootings have become more common. And while employees will talk, when should leadership enter the conversation?

“Leaders need to let their teams and managers know it’s okay if people want to talk about it,” says Midge Seltzer, president of the HR consulting firm Engage PEO. “They will anyway; it’s part of the grieving process. Joining the conversation will help you control it, and make it more productive.”

Formal conversations can depend on your location, says Richard Chaifetz, neuropsychologist and CEO of the employee assistance program provider ComPsych.

“If you’re in close proximity to the tragedy, there’s a chance it impacted your employees, their relatives, friends, and neighbors,” he says. “The closer you are to the core of what happened, the more obvious it would be that you need to address it.”

“Informal discussions, however, should be happening everywhere, says Seltzer. “Part of the problem is that we’re getting desensitized,” she says. “Take advantage of a Monday-morning huddle to bring up the topic and gauge employee concerns.”

For more insight and helpful tips, connect here.

A TALE OF TWO CENTRAL BANKS: THE FED AND THE BANK OF JAPAN
American Enterprise Institute reports, “This week’s decisions by the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan (BOJ) underline the very different monetary policy approaches of the two institutions. That difference in turn goes a long way to explaining the very much better economic performance of the US compared with that of Japan since the Great Economic Recession in 2008.

At their meetings this week, both the Fed and the BOJ were confronted with a large and imminent risks to the global economy from next week’s United Kingdom referendum on whether or not that country should leave the European Union. Fearing that a vote in favor of a “Brexit” might trigger a sterling crisis and seriously disrupt global financial markets, the Fed decided to delay a hike in interest rates that it had earlier signaled it would very much would like to do.

This delay seems a prudent thing for the Fed to have done considering recent signs of weakening in the U.S. labor market as well as the fact that inflation is yet to breach the Fed’s implicit 2% target. It is also consistent with the Fed’s very much more dovish approach to monetary policy than that of the BOJ. Very much less understandable was the BOJ’s decision to refrain from a further considerable easing in monetary policy ahead of the Brexit referendum.

Why was Japan’s decision so puzzling and could that decision actually exacerbate the county’s economic condition? Go to this link for perspective.

SHOULD ANALYTICS BE USED FOR PLANNING?
No, according to Harvard Business Review.

Pointing to recent analytical disasters that cost companies millions of dollars, HBR says, “We must start to think differently about how business, management, and strategic intelligence works. What companies today need isn’t meticulous plans, but to constantly reassess the business and its markets and competitors. In other words, the goal for strategic intelligence is not to collect market information to make plans, but to use that information to generate insights that in turn support ever-changing perspectives. Eventually, these perspectives may result in action. Or not. The test of a capability is not in management action but in management learning. Avoiding a $500 million mistake is surely just as valuable as launching a $500 million product.”

What builds management perspectives? What insights will cause an executive – in R&D or Marketing or Finance – to not only change his or her perspective, but to be able to juggle different perspectives? In his best-selling book, Superforecasting, Philip Tetlock states “The job of intelligence is to speak truth to power, not tell [the powers] temporarily in charge what they want to hear.” But what is truth in an ambiguous world? Is there just one?

Find out at this link.

HOW WILL THE SALE OF LINKEDIN AFFECT SOCIAL MEDIA’S FUTURE?
Forbes posts, “The sale of LinkedIn to Microsoft for $26.2 billion created waves, with people questioning why Microsoft has decided to move into the social media business to the future of social media itself. And that’s the question on everybody’s lips. This could well change the future of social media as we know it.” Learn more here.

TRUMP AND THE GOP’S JURASSIC PARK
Columnist E.J. Dionne opines, “The American people know extremism when they see it.”

This is very unfortunate for Donald Trump. And it is a nightmare for Republican leaders who see more clearly every day how his candidacy has become a trap: They desperately want to free themselves from the moral wreckage Trump leaves behind but are stuck with a nominee who speaks for a majority of their rank and file.”

Those who lack confidence in the public’s ability to make rational judgments often argue that horrendous acts – of terrorism, for example – will shake the majority from its commitment to civil liberties, pluralism and tolerance. This view reflects a profound mistrust of the good sense and ethical discernment of the average citizen.

The paradox is that Trump, who claims to speak for the people, shares this very low opinion of who Americans are. In responding to the Orlando massacre, he broadened his call for a ban on Muslim immigration, suggested that American Muslims are holding back information about potential terrorists and darkly implied that President Obama has secret motives when it comes to Islam.

“Trump thinks that Americans want to embrace a strongman who shoves aside the niceties of constitutional government. The problem for Trump and the good news about our nation is that he’s wrong. The problem for GOP leaders is that supporters of their party are outliers from the rest of their fellow citizens: They side with Trump.”

For the complete post, follow this link.

CLINTON TO UNLEASH TV HELL ON TRUMP
It began Thursday, and POLITICO says, “Hillary Clinton is opening her wallet and seizing the moment.”

Just hours after the votes were cast in the final Democratic primary, the Clinton campaign started reserving advertising blocks in eight battleground states on Wednesday, marking the presumptive Democratic nominee’s first significant attempt to define Donald Trump.

Clinton’s camp has already released one of the spots, which offers a harsh contrast between Trump – encouraging violence at his rallies and mocking a reporter’s disabilities – and the former secretary of state. Other spots are expected to be softer focus, positive ads about Clinton.

“By reserving time in key swing states – at least Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, and Virginia – the Clinton camp is sending an unmistakable message to the presumptive GOP nominee that it intends to press into traditionally Republican territory without spending too much time worrying about defending traditionally Democratic destinations where Trump insists he will compete, said a handful of high-level Democrats close to the Clinton effort.”

Click here for the complete story.

MORE COMPANIES OPT TO SIT OUT TRUMP’S CORONATION IN CLEVELAND
Bloomberg Politics reports, “A growing number of prominent U.S. corporations are opting to drop or scale back their sponsorship of the Republican national convention next month in Cleveland, as the nomination of Donald Trump promises a level of controversy rarely seen in such gatherings.”

Among those to signal in recent days that they won’t sponsor the convention this year are Wells Fargo & Co., United Parcel Service Inc., Motorola Solutions Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co., Ford Motor Co., and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. All of those companies sponsored the previous Republican conclave, in Tampa, Florida, in 2012.

None would comment publicly on the reason for the decision or say whether Trump played a role. Many said they wouldn’t support the Democratic convention either. The Cleveland host committee, which raised much of the money it needed more than a year ago, says that fundraising remains on track.

“Big corporations usually shy away from partisan politics, but they often support conventions to promote their brands and schmooze with state and federal officials. Trump’s nomination threatens both of those priorities, according to Republican operatives who advise companies on political activities.”

For the complete read, plus analysis, connect to this link.

SUGARY DRINKS GET TAXED IN PHILLY
Fortune reports, “Philadelphia has passed a tax on sodas and other sugar-added and artificially sweetened soft drinks, becoming the first major American city to pass such a levy.”

The Philadelphia City Council on Thursday voted 13-4 in favor of a bill that became known as the “soda tax.” It will impose a 1.5-cent tax per ounce for soft drinks and other sugar-sweetened beverages include fruit drinks, sports drinks, flavored water, and energy drinks. The tax goes into effect at the beginning of next year. Notably, it excludes baby formula, any product that has a base that is majority milk, and some other healthier offerings predetermined by the city.

How much will the tax increase a 32 ounce serving and where will the “soda tax” proceeds go?

Find out at this link.

L.A.’S WORKING CLASS HISTORY EMBODIED IN ONE BUILDING
“Born as the Olympic Auditorium 91 years ago, it sits quite literally at a crossroads of L.A. subcultures,” says the Los Angeles Times.

It was L.A.’s biggest and most populist entertainment complex for much of the 21st century. A boxing arena, a roller derby rink, a wrestling mecca, a punk rock playground and, most recently, an evangelical church on the dilapidated corner of 18th Street and Grand Avenue.

Now it’s a reminder that not every aspect of L.A.’s entertainment history is pretty, polished or the product of Hollywood magic.

“It had roller derby, it had fights,” and now the Olympic Auditorium’s story will be made into a documentary.

“The Olympic is connected to Hollywood in some ways, but what’s most interesting is its connection to these other parts of the L.A. story that don’t often get told,” says Steve DeBro, an L.A. native who’s spent the last few years researching the history of the Olympic Auditorium for a documentary he’s making about the venue.

“It’s the story of L.A.’s working-class people, it’s the story of Mexican Americans, of Aileen Eaton (the Olympics’ most successful promoter), who succeeded in a very macho man’s world,” DeBro says. “Despite that movie stars went there, it’s just as important to me that guys who were laborers went there to blow off steam on a Thursday night to watch boxing. Or went to see wrestling on a Wednesday. All these stories connect to our past, a past which L.A. is really good at forgetting.”

Click here for more on this historical venture.

A 3-D PRINTED SELF-DRIVING CAR YOU CAN TALK TO IS ON PUBLIC STREETS
Fortune reports, “As automakers, tech giants, and ride-hailing companies like Uber race to develop autonomous vehicles, one small Arizona startup’s 3D-printed self-driving shuttle is already on the road.”

On Thursday, Local Motors unveiled Olli, a 3D-printed self-driving shuttle that can carry up to 12 people. It will be used on a limited basis on public roads starting today in National Harbor, MD, a planned mixed use development a few miles south of Washington D.C., the company says.

“Watson, IBM’s machine learning platform, is the brains of Olli.”

Meet Olli and learn what the developers are planning next by clicking on this link.

RETHINKING A CITY FOR NEW COASTLINES THAT DON’T EXIST YET
Fast Company says, “By the end of the century, some of San Francisco’s million-dollar apartments and multimillion dollar houses will be underwater. A recent report calculated that property worth a total of $77 billion is at risk from rising seas in the city.”

Around the city, more than 200,000 commercial and residential buildings—along with major infrastructure like the airport—are at risk from either temporary flooding or permanent loss due to sea level rise if the city does nothing to prepare. Even more dangerously, the risk extends well inland, and isn’t limited to property directly on the coast.

Will the city be prepared?

Go to this link for the full read plus a projected map of the areas that could be most affected.