When President Donald Trump appeared on Saturday night at the Values Voters Summit in Washington, DC, he was speaking to an audience of his most loyal supporters. But for the first time in his administration, he had done something that had awakened the long slumbering consciences of prominent evangelical leaders and their flocks. The week before the annual confab of conservative Christians, Trump impulsively decided to abandon the Kurds in Syria, and by the time the faithful had gathered at the Omni Shoreham Hotel, the Turks had already invaded and embarked on the slaughter of our one-time allies.

Throughout his tenure, white, evangelical Protestants have stood firm with the president; he secured 80 percent of their vote in 2016, and their approval of his presidency has hovered between 69 and 78 percent according to the Pew Research Center. In this relationship, the quid pro quo has been pretty obvious: They vote for him and ignore scandals about hush money for porn stars and children in cages. In return, he gives them conservative judges (and not just on the Supreme Court), an assault on abortion rights, jobs for many of their own in key government positions, a move of the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, and clarion calls to safeguard a selective and weaponized idea of religious freedom whenever he caneven at the UN.

The first signs of evangelical distress began with 89-year-old Pat Robertson, the Southern Baptist minister, founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network, and evangelical superstar, who appeared on his syndicated program, the 700 Club, the morning after Trumps announcement. He said he was appalled by the decision, concluding I believethe president of the United States is in danger of losing the mandate of Heaven if he permits this to happen.

Soon after Robertsons admonition, and condemnations from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Trump acolyte and golfing partner Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the hallelujah chorus of others chimed in. Rev. Franklin Graham, who has been one of the most crawlingly obsequious of Trumps ministers and had embarked on a thinly disguised political tour dubbed Decision America to further solidify support of the president, took to Twitter a few days later:

The backlash has led to a series of quiet moves by the Trump administration to mollify the religious right, reversing the usual dynamic between the two groups. Instead of Christians being put in the position of rationalizing Trumps behavior, here was an instance of the Trump White House arraying itself in godliness to stay in their good graces.

So what happened? Why would the fate of a beleaguered minority thousands of miles away embolden right wing evangelicals in a way that the presidents innumerable other transgressions havent?

One reason could be found praying over President Trump at the Values Voters meeting on Saturday night. Rev. Andrew Brunson was pastor with the Izmir Resurrection Church in Turkey and has been a cause clbre for the religious right ever since he was arrested in October 2016 and told that his missionary work was a violation of Turkish national security. He was accused of being a spy for the ethnic Kurds, tried, and initially sentenced to 35 years in prison.

The evangelical community was outraged. One of its own had been persecuted for his religion by Muslims and turned into a geopolitical pawn. After he became president, Trump, with an able assist from his evangelical vice president Mike Pence pushed for Brunsons release and, eventually, after White House pressure, Brunson was moved out of prison to house arrest. In 2018, Brunson was resentenced to three years in prison, which amounted to time served.

The pastors first stop upon his return to the United States was a visit with President Trump, with whom he prayed in the White House. Southern Baptist minister Robert Jeffresswho recently appeared on a Sunday edition of Fox & Friends warning of a Civil Warlike fracture in this nation from which this country will never heal should the impeachment inquiry be successfulpraised the presidents accomplishment: I join all Americans in sincere thanks to President Donald J. Trump and his administration for their relentless dedication to religious freedom and tough negotiations with Turkey to secure Pastor Brunsons release today. Yet another example of promise made, promise kept by the Trump administration. Praise God!

But now the promise that was made became the promise that was broken. Certainly, Brunsons ordeal illustrated that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan was no friend of evangelical Christians. At the same time, there are many Christians among the vulnerable Kurdish communities in Syria.

There is another factor at work though, one that is perhaps more difficult for non-evangelicals to fully appreciate. I reached out to an evangelical minister friend of mine and asked what he made of the unexpected criticisms from these leaders. I think it gets to a loyalty and betrayal factor, he texted. The celebrity/large cash generating, influential, affinity organizational types place a real premium on loyaltyand often severely punish disloyalty. He explained that this occurs within their organizationsnot surprising given their authoritarian set upand has been essential to maintaining their success and prosperity. Indeed it explains their previously unquestioning loyalty to Trump, because he has delivered on his promises to us: on abortion, pounding on the evil secular, anti-Christian media, elevating our own to cabinet posts.

But when it comes to the Kurds, they are known to have helped us win the war in Iraq and succeed in vanquishing ISIS in Syria, he continued, so people like Robertson would hold that they deserve our undying loyalty. An unusual interplay was catalyzed in which Trump sided with Erdoan, a persecutor of Christians, against the Kurds. He had convinced some of the evangelical leaders that the unsavory world leaders whom Trump has embracedPutin and Kim most obviouslywerent really so bad. But Erdoan was different.

So Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo were deployed to Turkey to try and fix a mess that had clearly gotten out of hand. Again, the choice of these two to carry out the work was intended for both foreign and domestic consumption. They were the highestranking members of the administration, so they demonstrated respect to the Turkish president and a capacity to make a deal. At the same time, they are two of the truest believers, themselves prominent evangelical Christians, whose presence was another reminder that the religious right was in good hands with the Trump administration.

There were other reminders too. The homepage of the State Department website, for instance, when the Values Voters were gathering in DC, highlighted Pompeos speech to the American Association of Christian Counselors in Nashville, Tennessee. The title? Being a Christian Leader.

The same day, Attorney General William Barr stepped up and delivered his own jeremiad at the University of Notre Dame on the subject of religious libertya favorite of the Trump administration. He railed against militant secularists who are not content to leave religious people alone to practice their faith. Instead, they seem to take a delight in compelling people to violate their conscience. He then spiraled into a passionate critique of secular society, ticking off its moral chaos and irresponsible personal conduct as well as licentiousnessthe unbridled pursuit of personal appetites at the expense of the common good. The moral of his story? Religion helps teach, train, and habituate people to want what is good.

On October 27, the chaos following the Trump administrations abandonment of the Kurds will be the subject of a night of prayer organized by Frontier Alliance International, a Christian international medical aid organization. The event will neither be a condemnation nor a defense of President Trump or hisMiddle East policies, the organizers write. We are asking participants to leave partisan politics in the parking lot. We are gathering as Christians to consider and pray about issues that are much larger in scope than the decisions of a sitting President or the evolving dynamics of isolated geopolitical events. We aim to present the big picture, pray how the Lord would have us respond, and catalyze a Kurdish solidarity movement in the United States with the intention of also provoking the international community to do the same. It will be held at the Trump Hotel in Washington.

Link:
Trump's Evangelical Base Is Cracking Over Syria. Now He's Scrambling to Keep His Mandate of Heaven. - Mother Jones

IN THE AUDITORIUM of Avolons Ballsbridge headquarters, a former TV journalist is teaching 120 startup founders the art of shaking hands with prospective investors.

Presentation coach Claire Gillingwater is among the speakers at the aircraft lessors Accelerate I event, a day of workshops hosted in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland last week which is designed to get entrepreneurs thinking about scaling their businesses and fine-tuning their pitches.

Some might scoff at the lesson in soft skills not Dmhnal Slattery, Avolons co-founder and chief executive. In fact, he thinks it should be mandatory learning at universities.

Storytelling should be compulsory subject matter on all degree courses so that you are taught the skills of presentation, youre taught the skills of non-verbal communication, he tellsFora.

Its one of the nearly 30 recommendations contained in Project I, a hefty white paper Avolon produced earlier this year that sets out a blueprint for growing Irelands startup industry.

As part of the fact-finding mission, Avolon sent a team of executives to Stockholm, Berlin, London, Boston and San Francisco to pick up pointers for how the country can become a more attractive location for innovators.

So why is it that Avolon a nine-year-old, multibillion-dollar operation majority owned by a subsidiary of Chinas Bohai Leasing has decided to put hundreds of thousands of euro into evaluating the health of Irish entrepreneurship?

Slattery says theres nothing for Avolon to directly gain from the exercise. Neither he nor the company have any equity interest in the startups invited to Accelerate I, for example in fact, Slattery has never even heard of many of them.

The aviation giant simply feels it has a responsibility to examine the state of Irish entrepreneurship given its status as one of the countrys big success stories.

Call it altruism, call it a broader agenda to promote Ireland, call it what you like, I just thought it was opportune to shine a light in a non-politically biased way, Slattery says.

Funding innovation

Many of the findings highlighted in Project I have long been a source of frustration for founders: a lack of early-stage investment, a tax regime that doesnt reward risk-taking, the stigmatisation of failure.

But there is one core finding that Slattery is keen to emphasise; the low percentage of academic research thats commercialised.

That really is the primary funnel for innovation and entrepreneurship in a modern society, he says.

The reality is, we as a nation are not funding at governmental level or indeed privately through corporates giving scholarships enough people to do high-quality, ground-breaking, PhD-level research that could be commercialised.

Compared to the rest of Europe, Slattery says Ireland doesnt fair too badly, but it lags behind the US, where institutions like Stanford University and MIT have a strong track record of turning research projects into commercial products.

If youre putting one-eighth of what Stanford is putting into the hopper, where the chances of success post-commercialisation are low in general, were just never going to be able to compete on a global scale, Slattery says.

Therefore, that ultimate conclusion says that we as a nation have to find a way through public and private support to basically put more and better and brighter people through PhD research in Irish universities.

Slattery is convinced theres little else preventing Ireland from achieving startup greatness.

He says its only a matter of time before the government amends taxation policy to meet the demands of entrepreneurs, such as bringing Capital Gains Tax in line with the UK, where the rate and threshold are more appealing.

The government continues to be lobbied by multiple different stakeholders on this. They know what they need to do. They just havent got there yet, After that, I honestly dont feel that there are very many constraints here, Slattery says.

Even the shortage of venture capital, though not ideal, is manageable.

Capital has just become a commodity. Sitting here in Dublin, you can raise capital in New York, Tokyo if you have a good enough idea. Look at Avolon. Starting in 2010, we raised $750 million in the height of the financial crisis, two European-based investors and one US, Slattery says.

So in this day and age of technology and connectivity, it is not an excuse to say, Oh Im in Ireland and therefore I cant raise money. The VC universe here isnt great, therefore I cant raise money. Thats an excuse, in my opinion.

Broader horizons

Its not uncommon for Irish startups to successfully secure funding overseas. Software startup Utmost recentlyraised $11.2 million in a series A round, while Shane Currans Evervault secured $3.2 million in seed funding.

Oisin Ryan, the chief executive of customer feedback platform ServiceDock, agrees that entrepreneurs should look beyond Ireland to secure capital.

The difficulty, he says, is getting off the island in the first place when youre running a young, bootstrapped company.

In order to meet with relevant contacts overseas you need to start attending events regularly, attending meetups, Ryan says.

Thats hard just on a personal level and a financial level. Theres obviously a lot of cost that goes with that.

But its the kind of struggle thats just part of startup life, he adds.

Ryan says State agency Enterprise Ireland which contributed to ServiceDocks maiden 450,000 funding round last year has proven a valuable support, but there are other issues, such as the countrysEmployment Incentive and Investment Scheme (EIIS), that still need to be addressed in order to attract more deep-pocketed investors to these shores.

EIIS provides 40% tax relief to startup investors. Under Budget 2020, the government increased the annual investment limit in the scheme from 150,000 to 250,000.

Though it is still far behind the UKs 1 million limit, industry pundits hope the nudge will attract more startup investors.

The role of the state

In Project I, Avolon notes that Enterprise Ireland provides the vast bulk of early-stage investment, but suggested the agency lacks the expertise to help startups develop their businesses.

It also recommended that the agency should seek to eliminate all direct company funding and provide funding solely through private VC firms by investing into private funds.

Jenny Melia, divisional manager of high potential startups at Enterprise Ireland, doesnt foresee the organisation moving away from direct investment.

It is hard for companies to raise their pre-seed and their seed funding. Theyre not standing out at the front of the building here and people are showering them with money, she says.

Melia says the organisation has a role to play in linking startup founders with client companies through workshops, events and mentorship programmes.

The networking and the connectedness and linking in to people who have gone before you that to me is where we could have a really strong (unique selling point), she says.

We want to see founders going again, maybe not even again on the management team, but working with entrepreneurs in some shape or form, either as strategic advisers, as a sounding board, as someone they can bring in to do a specific piece of work. That feeds into that whole ecosystem.

Beyond geographic constraints

Connor Murphy, one of the speakers at Accelerate I, says Irelands startup landscape is in good nick.

He is well-placed to judge: after selling tech company Datahug for 13 million, Murphy joined the Berlin chapter of accelerator programme Techstars the network of startup bootcamps that links young companies with corporate giants.

He is currently in the process of moving back home to Ireland but will remain in his role as an investor on Techstars venture partner team.

For us, we believe great entrepreneurs exist everywhere. We believe theres a great group of companies weve invested in, theyre here in Ireland, he says.

He notes that Ireland has had its share of hits on the world stage, namechecking Teamwork.com, Hostelworld, CarTrawler and Ryanair.

Source: Avolon

Murphy believes Irish startups shouldnt be bound by their geographic location.

Dublin is a very international, connected city. Investors and customers arent really here at scale. But if youre a consumer application, you can build a company from anywhere in the world, he says.

Most founders I see in Ireland are very international-focused. They know our market is really small and is not a massive early-adopter If youre looking then to raise your first million, London would look at Dublin as favourably as it would look at Manchester.

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What will it take to turn Ireland into a mecca for entrepreneurs? - Fora.ie

In times of economic stress, it is good to know the basics of personal finance.

Many people turn to books for help, so we decided to go back and review three of the most popular finance books of the last 15 years: Suze Ormans The Nine Steps to Financial Freedom (Currency, $16.99); Dave Ramseys The Total Money Makeover (Nelson Books, $26.99); and Robert T. Kiyosakis Rich Dad, Poor Dad (Plata Publishing, $8.99).

They all have something worthwhile to offer, but after rereading them, I found that all had a glaring omission: a lack of substantive advice on investing. You will have to go elsewhere for an in-depth discussion of how to set up a portfolio and choose among stocks, bonds, exchange-traded funds or mutual funds.

What all three books do emphasize is the need to buttress your finances by doing such things as reducing debt and expenses. And they share a constant refrain: You are ultimately responsible for your own financial success.

The authors have different takes on how to succeed, though. Ms. Orman says trust your instincts. Mr. Ramsey says relentlessly eliminate every last shred of debt. And Mr. Kiyosaki says emulate the rich, who have figured out how to have money work for them.

Oddly, for books centered on bolstering wealth, all three advocate contributing to charity. They say this is the right thing to do in itself, but they also say its worth doing on a spiritual level: The more you share with the universe, they contend, the more the universe will share with you.

Why have the books been so popular? The spiritual content may account for some of it. But the powerful media presence of all three authors has certainly helped.

Ms. Orman had a show on CNBC for more than a decade and now makes corporate speeches on personal finance. Mr. Ramsey has a syndicated radio show, and Mr. Kiyosaki appears frequently on television and conducts seminars.

As for quality, Ms. Ormans book is the best of the three for standard financial issues, though each has an undeniable appeal.

The good things about Ms. Ormans book start with her ability to reduce financial planning to its basics, and with her sensible suggestions on how to reach your personal goals.

Unrealistic budget cuts, like unrealistic diets, never work, she writes. Pare back modestly here and there, she says, rather than try to make big trims. And Ms. Orman emphasizes often-overlooked aspects of adult life like writing a proper will and appointing someone who will be able make health care decisions for you, in case, at some point, you cant.

While she doesnt offer detailed financial advice here, Ms. Orman, a former stockbroker, does recommend that you own index funds and diversify your holdings.

Unfortunately, the book is a bit out of date. It was first published in 1997, hasnt been revised since 2012 and contains references to events like the Dow closing at 11,000. That last happened in 2010.

Her tone is supportive and intimate, and it frequently veers into the ethereal.

Most unconventional idea: Money is a living entity and it responds to energy exactly the same way you do. It is drawn to those who welcome it, those who respect it.

Questionable advice: Even if you own just one mutual fund, your money is still quite diversified, because you own a little of everything theyre invested in.

That depends on the fund you own. If your only holding is an actively managed small-cap mutual fund, all you own are parts of small-cap companies preferred by that fund manager. You are far from diversified.

Representative sentence: When it comes to money, freedom starts to happen when what you do, think and say are one.

Mr. Ramsey has one major theme, which he hammers home until you want to scream. To the exclusion of virtually everything, he says, eliminate debt.

The only possible exception he allows is a small mortgage that you can easily afford (even then he urges that you pay that off quickly).

If you have any debt, even if your employer will match the first 3 percent you put into your 401(k) annually, Mr. Ramsey says, you should not take advantage of the match. He says it is better to put that money toward what you owe.

Financially, that makes no sense, unless you are paying interest charges of greater than 100 percent on what you borrowed. If your employer is matching your retirement contribution, you are getting a 100 percent return on what you put in. Yet Mr. Ramsey says that while he understands the math, being debt-free is more important.

I dont agree. Advising people to forgo their companys retirement match is one of the many things I didnt like about the book, which was originally published in 2003 and has been updated several times since. The last revision was in 2013.

Mr. Ramsey seemed to have trouble finding enough to say. On the bottom of every page you will find this line: If you live like no one else, later you can live like no one else.

That epigram would be just fine, if stated once. But the constant repetition seems contrived to fill space, as does the unusually large type. (Yes, it was nice that I did not have to use my reading glasses, but still.) Even with those features, the book is barely over 200 pages, not counting 20 pages of worksheets and an index.

His tone is consistently stern and no-nonsense.

Most unconventional idea: Pay off your smallest debt first, even if the other money you owe has a higher interest rate. The quick wins will help you build momentum.

Questionable advice: You can withdraw 8 percent of your retirement savings annually and not outlive your money.

Most experts say a safe annual withdrawal rate is much lower, no more than about 4 percent or, using careful rules, perhaps 5 percent.

Representative sentence: I was given a calling: to show people the truth about debt and money and to give them the hope and tools necessary to set themselves free financially.

Mr. Kiyosaki reminds me of Ayn Rand. He says you should focus relentlessly on achieving total independence from the crowd financial independence, in Mr. Kiyosakis case.

He presents his financial tenets in a narrative structure that resembles a novel, contrasting what he learned from his biological father (get a secure job, work hard, play it safe) and his other dad, a rich entrepreneur who forged an independent financial path while living below his means.

The book was first published in 1997 and updated, most recently, in 2017. As it unwinds, you see Mr. Kiyosaki, who served in the military, shift from a job as a Xerox salesman to his vocation as an investor, ending up squarely on his rich dads path. He soon buys real estate to minimize his dependence on a paycheck and begins to shelter income and minimize taxes by setting up corporations.

Own things that generate wealth, he says. In addition to income-producing real estate, he says, that includes stocks, bonds and royalty-generating intellectual property (inventions, books and the like).

Despite the brisk narrative, the book has a ponderous tone: It reads like a lecture from an economics professor.

Most unconventional idea: Dont focus on your job or career. Think primarily about building personal wealth.

Questionable advice: With low interest rates, and an uncertain stock market, the old adages of saving and investing for the long term make no sense.

Saving and investing for the long term are exactly what most experts say you should do.

Representative sentence: The main cause of poverty or financial struggle is fear and ignorance, not the economy, the government or the rich.

While the lack of detail on investing is disappointing and the perspective is often quirky and sometimes questionable, all three books offer sprinklings of solid counsel: Eliminate debt. Live below your means. Look for ways to supplement your income.

Thats always good advice.

As is this, which came from my immigrant grandfather: Dig your well before youre thirsty.

What he meant was prepare for the inevitable while you have time.

These books are flawed, but if they teach people that much, they have real value.

Originally posted here:
Reconsidering the Advice in 3 Popular Personal Finance Books - The New York Times

1. A Simple Plan by Scott Smith

This is the one book I always recommend, and have for many years. The characters in the book are perfectly normal people, the type you meet every day in your personal and business life, acting in perfectly normal ways. But then the opportunity to reap a tremendous amount of money by just breaking a few laws that will hurt nobody appears, and the novel becomes a darker tome on human nature as everything spirals out of control. What will otherwise law-abiding honest people actually do to get very, very rich? The point of Smiths book is you may think you know the answer--but perhaps you dont.

--Steven Schragis, founder of One Day University, and former national director of the Learning Annex, founder, CEO and publisher of the Carol Publishing Group, cofounder and publishing director of Spy Magazine

2. The Darkside of the Lightchasers by Debbie Ford

The book is based around the premise of us as individuals diving into ourselves to face and listen to our shadows, meaning those different aspects of ourselves that make us uncomfortable and in turn are aspects in other people that make us uncomfortable. It was life-changing for me personally. Through facing and exploring our shadows, we not only open up understanding about our own lives, we open up understanding of the people and world that surrounds us. In the book she says, When we come face-to-face with our dark side our first instinct is to turn away, and our second is to bargain with it to leave us alone. Ironically, its these hidden aspects weve rejected that need the most attention. I first read this book when going through my recovery from anorexia nervosa, but have recently reread it due to everything going on in our nation today. I feel everyone in the U.S. should read this book together at this time to work on ourselves, each other and our communities.

--Ryan K. Sallans, who has provided hundreds of keynotes, presentations and training to corporations, health care institutions, federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, and colleges and universities nationwide and author of Transforming Manhood: A Trans Mans Quest to Build Bridges and Knock Down Walls and Second Son: Transitioning Toward My Destiny, Love and Life

3. Creative Selection: Inside Apple's Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs by Ken Kocienda

"This book gives a fascinating peek into the work behind creating the device that has gone on to define the 2010s. It was an extremely important read for me as a startup founder to see how one of the world's most innovative companies sets goals and delivers a great user experience when there is no preset benchmark. For example, how did they describe or know what a good enough keyboardless keyboard experience was when they didnt have anything that predates it to compare it to? I found this to be a thought-provoking read."

--Keith Ryu, cofounder and CEO of Fountain, an employee hiring and contractor vetting platform that is backed by over $11 million in venture capital and used by companies including Uber, Safeway, Deliveroo and Grubhub

4. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

In this parable of a VC-backed Silicon Valley tech company, [the author] lays out a model for diagnosing and combating organizational dysfunction. The storytelling style employed allows the reader to draw strong parallels to real life career moments and apply the concepts to ones day-to-day. I found the material instrumental in how I think about my executive team and how we imprint the organization as a whole with a strong operating philosophy.

--Ryan Disraeli, cofounder of TeleSign, a global software company that protects online websites and users through various mobile identity services which has raised $78 million in funding, has annual revenues of more than $100 million and employs hundreds of people

5. The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Jim Dethmer, Kaley Klemp and Diana Chapman

When I stepped into the Executive Chairman role at Terminus, I really challenged myself to model conscious leadership, as presented in this book. Conscious leaders are present and intentional, emotionally intelligent, and genuinely open to alternative interpretations of challenges; they take personal accountability for company outcomes and embrace each challenge as a learning opportunity. In contrast, unconscious leaders lack personal accountability, cling to old models or past experiences, and see themselves as victims of their circumstances. These 15 commitments have inspired our team to think openly and creatively as we continue to grow rapidly, and have really helped me to set a tone of flexibility, agility, and curiosity throughout our organization.

--Tim Kopp, executive chairman and CEO of Terminus, a marketing platform which ranks No. 61 on the 2019 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in the U.S.

6. Good to Great by Jim Collins

"The 'Flywheel Effect' concept within [this book] was one of the biggest influences while starting my company. Collins asks the reader to picture a 5,000-pound, 30-foot wide wheel. The task is to roll the flywheel on its axle as fast and for as long as possible. It takes a lot of effort to roll the wheel even an inch. But as you push, the wheel continues to move, until it has built enough momentum to complete a full rotation. The lesson is this: a good-to-great transformation doesn't happen overnight, or with a single action. For Kissflow, gaining our first 100 customers was like a team moving the flywheel one inch at a time. You have to keep pushing it in an incremental effort to move the wheel faster."

--Suresh Sambandam, founder and CEO of Kissflow, digital workplace software that more than 10,000 customers across 121 countries use to manage and automate work

7. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle

This book answered a lot of questions about my thoughts, the past and my worries about the future. I found it to be quite enlightening and spiritual at the same time with many aha moments. Being a self-critiquing, type A personality type who drives myself to be the best at what it is I do, this book explains why the past is the past and the future is the future and there is nothing I can do about either other than take a new perspective on what my thoughts and worries really mean. This book really drives home the fact that worrying about the future or agonizing over the past is just wasted time and causes distraction from what you can achieve now.

--Dax Cornelius, partner and CEO of Bastion Collective, a marketing solutions company with more than 260 employees

8. Being Peace by Thich Nhat Hanh

When working with employees and customers, its important to have patience and an open mind because you work with a wide range of personalities, backgrounds and traditions. [The authors] experience and take on the world has really helped me see the world differently. I immediately became aware of how little I understand about the people and the world around me. As a result, I have more compassion for myself and others and I am less quick to judge and jump to conclusions. These traits have helped me professionally when communicating with partners and growing [my company] globally with customers all around the world.

--Jason Tan, cofounder and CEO of Sift, a San Francisco-based technology company that fights online fraud with machine learning which is used by more than 34,000 sites and apps

9. Outsizing by Steve Coughran

Strategy is always easy to talk about but can be much more difficult to execute in practice. [This book] offers a great perspective on how to drive strategic thinking, strategic planning, and most importantly strategic actions across all areas of a business, from startups to established organizations [Its] a great playbook for any growth-focused team in an evolving industry.

--Clayton Bain, cofounder and CEO of Salucro, a worldwide healthcare payment technology and fintech company serving over 500 organizations

10. Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang

No book makes imagining the future more fun, alarming, delightful, and wonderful all at the same time. This collection of short stories is really a collection of thought experiments played out in narrative form: What would happen, if in the near future Not only is this sci-fi at its best, but it inspires us to give thought to where we are headed as a civilization, giving us permission to both imagine what is next and be proactive in designing new products, spaces and experiences. In addition to being a go-to, Chiangs eponymous short story inspired the film Arrival which is also one of my favorites in the genre.

--Noah Waxman, founder and head of strategy for Cactus, a design innovation firm that has worked with Nike, Mount Sinai Hospital, Facebook and others

11. The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff

My journey into a healthy lifestyle came from the 80s aerobics movement. When studying to become a certified instructor, I became grounded in how proper exercise and eating fueled a healthy body and lifestyle. I would say mindfulness was a different story. I began to learn mindfulness from reading and studying the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi in grad school for their non-violent approach to social change that was deeply grounded in Buddhist teachings. The Tao of Pooh was the book that opened up a gateway to other writings about mindfulness, and I return to it as a reminder to stay present, happy and calm.

--Randy Fiser, CEO of the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) which has 25,000 members

12. Lone Soldier by Alex Gordon

"This soon-to-be published book by Alex Gordon, details the experience of a 'lone soldier,' which is a term given men and women from all over the world who voluntarily choose to join the Israeli army. For me, Alex's story exemplifies selflessness and how the act of giving can actually be receiving. After experiencing the profound loss of his mother when he was a teenager, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery, first to darkness and then on to find that serving others can bring purpose and fulfillment. His journey as a troubled teen from the streets of Manhattan to the role of an elite Israeli paratrooper in the mountains of Lebanon is an inspiring celebration of love for family, heritage and self-worth. [This book] reminds me that even through the day-to-day hustle of the world it's important to give back to not only our loved ones but also to humankind, as with servitude comes great self-joy.

--Leena Jain, global chief marketing officer of Humanscale, a privately-held workplace furnishings company with $500 million in revenue and more than 1,200 employees in 50 offices around the world

13. Legacy by James Kerr

The book is about how the most successful sports team in the world, the All Blacks, can teach us how to be better business leaders. The book gave an insight on tactics and psychology that could be used in a business environment to improve performance. A typical takeaway from the book, for example, is about embracing expectation, rather than being intimidated by it. By embracing expectation, you learn to thrive under the challenge, to aim higher, and to avoid crumbling under pressure and delivering a mediocre outcome. Business is a game just like Rugby, and it is all about winning and beating your competition.

--Derek Paton, VP of international sales at Zinwave, an in-building wireless telecom equipment manufacturer with more than 600 installations in 26 countries

14. Brave, Not Perfect: Fear Less, Fail More and Live Bolder by Reshma Saujani

I recently read this book after watching Reshma Saujanis TED Talk. It has inspired me to change how I approach various daily interactions in my life, from tough contract negotiations to family conversations. Its a great reminder that perfect is boring and that in order to grow, you must take risks and learn from your failures. I get a little less perfect and a little braver every day.

--Ingrid Kelly, strategic alliances at HP and chairperson of the steering committee at Mopria Alliance, a non-profit organization formed to provide standards and solutions that enable print and scan to be universally compatible and consistently easy for users

15. The Peregrine by J.A. Baker

On the surface its a field study on falcons, but almost immediately the author immerses you in the lives and environment of his subject matter. You feel every little detail and appreciate the smallest nuance. I read it as a reminder that everyone I interact with -- customers, family members, people I pass on the street -- are all the leading characters in their own books, with stories that are full of detail, nuance, happiness, tragedy, complexity and everything else, and certainly worth taking the time to appreciate.

--Ben Vaught, CEO of DemandStar, an online network which connects hundreds of local and state government procurement offices with hundreds of thousands of local and national suppliers

16. Pitch Anything by Orin Klaff

This is an exceptionally daring look at owning the frame in any meeting. What I love about this book, is that Orin teaches and prepares the person walking into the room with the exact behavior that will get a yes every time. And what he has tested and proven over and over is that when you learn how to pitch anything, the CEOs, Netflix executives and bosses end up pitching you, because the delivery of what you have to offer becomes irresistible.

--Tricia Brouk, internationally award-winning director, film maker, executive producer of Speakers Who Dare, curator of the Speaker Salon, founder of The Big Talk Academy, and former producer of TEDxLincolnSquare

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

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16 Great Books for Anyone Who Wants to Get Ahead in Life - Inc.

CEOs have some specific skills and habits that make them successful business leaders. The rest of us can take a few pages from their playbooks to make our retirement plans a success as well.

In my 33 years as a financial professional, Ive been privileged to meet and get to know a number of CEOs.

What Ive found is, as you might expect, they tend to be smart people. But Ive also discovered something else about them when it comes to investing: They have different habits than many other clients.

They fall into the category of what I affectionately call busy clients. They take an active role in all aspects of their investments and leave little to chance. One of these busy clients routinely calls me to ask: What can we be doing differently? Another will wonder: What is the smart money up to?

The point is they arent passive, letting their retirement plans be buffeted by whatever economic winds blow through. They are thinkers, taking the same traits, habits and vision that make them effective in running a company, and applying those to the way they manage their investment portfolios.

What works for them also can work for you. You can (and should) be the CEO of your retirement. Here are a few tips for getting started in that direction:

CEOs know things dont just happen. They understand their company and the individuals within it all need performance goals if they and the business expect to thrive. You need goals with your retirement planning as well. Maybe its a particular retirement age youre aiming for. Maybe its a specific amount of savings you need to make retirement work. You should set goals and, like any good CEO, be prepared to make adjustments if your expectations arent being met.

CEOs like to ask questions because they need information lots of information to make decisions that will affect the health and future of the organization. Being inquisitive is important to you and your retirement as well. So ask away. Whats the performance history of your investments? What fees are you paying and how much are they? Is there an investment strategy you havent tried thats worth considering? How much should you expect to withdraw each month from your savings during retirement?

A successful CEO needs to be open to new ideas and new concepts; otherwise, they get left behind while their competitors flourish. You arent so much worried about competitors when it comes to your retirement, but you do need to be willing to adapt when necessary as factors related to you specifically, or the economy in general, change. For example, as you age, youll want to look at reducing the risk in your portfolio. The aggressive investment strategy that made sense when you were 35 is probably too big of a gamble when you are five to 10 years away from retirement.

You can bet CEOs take what they do seriously. (One study by Harvard professors found CEOs work an average of 62.5 hours per week.) No, you probably dont need to put in 62.5 hours a week planning your retirement. But you do need to take things seriously as you consider investment options, your retirement timeline, when its best to begin drawing Social Security, and anything else that might come into play. After all, its your retirement and future at stake.

Its easy to let whatever is happening at the moment command your attention. This problem needs solving now. That opportunity presents itself now. But top CEOs arent just preoccupied with the present. Far from it. They spend as much as 50% of their time thinking about the long-term future. You might not need to divide your time in quite the same way, but you do need to give serious thought to a few topics that will be part of your long-term retirement future. If things like health care, insurance and estate planning have been in the junk drawer of your financial plan, ignored while you deal with pressing issues of the day, its time to take them out and do a deep dive into them. You might be surprised what improvements you can make.

The bottom line is CEOs do things differently; thats one of the reasons they end up being CEOs. They are charged with creating and maintaining the success of a company, so if they dont develop certain habits and ways of thinking they risk failure.

In much the same way, even when you seek the advice of a financial professional, you ultimately remain in charge of your retirement. As the CEO, it falls to you to make sure you achieve the success you need to make retirement a fulfilling and relaxing time.

Eric Springer of Brookstone Investments in Grand Rapids, Mich., has more than three decades of experience as a financial professional. His firm offers both wealth management and business financial planning. Eric is a fiduciary and holds Series 6, 63 and 65 securities licenses.

Comments are suppressed in compliance with industry guidelines. Click here to learn more and read more articles from the author.

This article was written by and presents the views of our contributing adviser, not the Kiplinger editorial staff. You can check adviser records with the SEC or with FINRA.

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Be the CEO of Your Retirement - Kiplinger's Personal Finance

WESTERVILLE, Ohio (AP) Just a month has passed since the last presidential debate, but the state of the Democrats' 2020 race has shifted.

The political world is suddenly consumed by an escalating impeachment inquiry, one of the leading Democratic presidential hopefuls is recovering from a heart attack and Joe Biden is no longer the only front-runner. The evolving storylines will play out on national television Tuesday night in battleground Ohio, where the largest debate group in modern history 12 candidates will share the stage less than four months before the first 2020 primary votes are cast.

Six big questions heading into the debate, to be carried on CNN:

CAN BERNIE'S HEART ATTACK BECOME A POLITICAL ASSET?

Less than two weeks after being rushed to the hospital, 78-year-old Bernie Sanders must convince voters that he's physically strong enough to survive the intense campaign ahead and, more importantly, one of the world's most demanding jobs. Supporters suggest the Vermont senator can use the health crisis to his advantage by refocusing the conversation on health care. Others are hopeful he can use the experience to open up to voters on a more personal level, something he tried to do early in the year with little sustained success. Health is a delicate issue, but Sanders was aware that his age was a political liability even before his recent health scare.

HOW WILL WARREN HANDLE THE FRONT-RUNNER FOCUS?

According to polls, Elizabeth Warren enters the night as a front-runner for the first time, essentially tied with Biden. If recent days are any indication, she could be in line for far more scrutiny than she received in the first three debates. She has an opportunity to stand up to her critics, which could help improve the perception that she's among the least electable Democrats in the race. It's no small task. On one side, she's getting hit for being too liberal. On the other, she's getting hit for being a capitalist. She's also facing new questions about her biography that strike at the core of any successful candidacy: authenticity.

HOW WILL BIDEN DEFEND HIMSELF AND HIS FAMILY?

Biden enters the night already on his heels, having lost his sole claim to front-runner status thanks to Warren's rise. At a pivotal point, he must now execute an effective strategy to move past baseless allegations fueled by President Donald Trump about Biden's son's business dealings abroad. Should Biden fail to navigate the delicate issue, he risks being haunted by the controversy into the general election should he be the nominee. In Biden's way is his own temperament. The 76-year-old Democrat is well known for being defensive when challenged. Look for him to get some help from fellow Democrats, like Julin Castro or Beto O'Rourke, who have lashed out at Trump's tactics against Biden recently. But there are also wildcards onstage who may lean into questions about the younger Biden's work for a Ukrainian energy company while his father was vice president. If he loses his cool onstage, Biden could win the argument and still walk out a loser.

WHAT IS THEIR FOREIGN POLICY?

Foreign policy has often been an afterthought in the previous debates, which has allowed candidates with little experience on the world's stage to breeze past a hugely consequential subject. Recent events in the Middle East will almost force that dynamic to change Tuesday night. The Turkish invasion of Syria, a move apparently blessed and then condemned by Trump, is still ongoing. Democrats and Republicans alike have condemned Trump's uneven leadership on the issue, but there will be new pressure on the Democratic presidential contenders to outline their own specific plans for the region and beyond. A lack of foreign policy experience took a toll on Sanders in his first presidential bid, while Warren has devoted the vast majority of her detailed plans to domestic issues. Biden's team sees foreign policy as a strength given his extensive experience on the world's stage, but he's also hobbled by several foreign policy missteps not the least of which is his 2002 vote to authorize the use of force against Iraq.

IS 12 TOO MANY?

Even with only 10 on the stage in past debates, moderators have been challenged to foster meaningful exchanges that help voters navigate differences among the candidates. Will two more make it even worse? Some candidates certainly think so. So far, the crowded stages have largely produced status-quo debates in which few candidates have enough time to help or hurt themselves significantly. That's been good news for the top-tier candidates and not-so-good news for those struggling near the bottom. Given that this could be the last opportunity for several lower-tier candidates on the debate stage because of tougher qualification thresholds, those in the bottom of the pack must find enough oxygen to break out any way they can.

IT HAS CONSUMED WASHINGTON, BUT WILL IMPEACHMENT CONSUME THE DEBATE?

All the candidates onstage have endorsed the impeachment inquiry into Trump, which has consumed much of the political world in recent weeks. But some Democrats have embraced the divisive process more reluctantly than others. Warren, for example, called for Trump to be impeachment nearly six months ago, while Biden announced his support for impeachment only last week. Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard was also late to sign on, warning that the impeachment process would further split an already divided nation. It's unclear how impeachment may shape the debate on Tuesday, but what Democrats say or don't say about removing a sitting president less than a year before the election could come back to haunt the party when Democrats eventually take back the White House.

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Six questions that loom over the crowded Democratic debate - Chattanooga Times Free Press

Editor's note: New Times is following eight Grizzly Youth Academy students through their journey at the military-style school down a new path toward academic and personal success. This is the second installment in the seriessplit in two parts, with four cadets this week and four next week. The first installment, "Pushing for Better," was published Aug. 22.

It's just past 10 a.m. on Sept. 19 at Camp San Luis Obispo, home of the California National Guard and the Grizzly Youth Academy, and the sun is already beating down on the pavement. Paul Piette, the academy's Grizzly Challenge Charter School principal, is showing New Times around the "wagon wheel."

The wagon wheel is a group of classroom buildings arranged in the shape of a circle. The platoons march to the middle of the wagon wheel, and line-by-line the cadets are dismissed to their respective classrooms. At this time, one or two cadets run inside the wheel from one room to another.

Cadets must run in a clockwise direction, similar to a wheel in motion, to get to their classroom or to take a bathroom break.

It's part of the structure they're taught through the programthe cadets told New Times that running to their destination isn't their favorite thing to do. In their life before Grizzly, for some school wasn't their favorite thing to participate in every day either, but that sentiment has since changed.

In order to qualify for the Grizzly Challenge Charter School, a prospective cadet must be at risk of dropping out of high school or have already dropped out, according to their credit deficiency and truancy. Their academic standing is an indicator, Piette said, of what's really going on in their life.

Their academic standing could be a symptom of family issues, such as divorce, death or loss, or substance abuseeither in a family member or in the cadet; family or neighborhood dysfunction, such as abuse or neglect; social economic issues of poverty; or gang issues.

Ultimately, through circumstances outside of their hands or circumstances they've created, Piette said, the cadets have developed a set of habits, behaviors, and beliefs that at one time perhaps helped them cope with their life. Those behaviors, he said, have now put them at risk and on a limiting path.

"They come to us with lots of challenges, and we're here to work with every single issue that they might have; we really don't have a limit to that. We're happy and willing to address anything that can affect their habits and their beliefs about themselves in the world, so they can be successful outside of here," he said.

Through the Grizzly Youth Academy, a partnership between the California Military Department and the Grizzly Challenge Charter Schoolthrough the SLO County Office of Educationcadets not only catch up on missing credits, but the classroom is designed to focus on curriculum that's relatable to them and can be useful in their futures.

When New Times first interviewed the cadets of class No. 43 in August, the group consisted of nine kids who would be followed through the program. For this round of interviews, the number has dropped to eight. The cadets share how they view themselves changing and the difference in their educational experience.

Nidia Valenzuela, 16, said that when her family came to visit for Family Day, her mom couldn't stop crying.

Her brother Luis, 18, who is also attending the Grizzly Youth Academy, said they were tears of joy for the both of them.

"She probably thought I wasn't going to think about changing my life or change at all. So I definitely think they were happy tears. It makes me feel good that I made her proud and that I'm actually doing something," Luis said.

Nidia said she has a slightly different feeling about the expectations their mom had for her. With four older brothers, she's the only female in their immediate family.

"I feel like I have a little bit of pressure to do well, but I know it's because she wants the best for me," Nidia said.

Family Day was a reminder for Nidia to continue working toward a better lifeand it helps that her brother is at Grizzly with her.

The male and female platoons are kept separate, so the Valenzuela siblings don't get to talk to each other. Instead, the two keep in touch by writing letters. The content of the letter can only be on one side of the paper, so Nidia said she writes really small to fit as much as she can on a sheet.

But her greatest sense of comfort comes when she sees her brother during the day. They exchange a look every time their platoons line up in formation at the wagon wheel. She said they make eye contact and slightly move their heads in acknowledgementsomething they shouldn't really be doing; they're supposed to just look forward.

"I don't know, I just can't help it," Nidia said with a laugh. "But when I see him, I just feel like I have more support here."

She's also found a sense of support in run group. As part of this group, she's run 5 miles, and at the time of the interview, she was gearing up for a 10K.

"It's been tough because during a run I keep thinking, 'I don't want to do this,' or 'I'm going to quit.' But after I finish, it's great, because every time I feel like I've accomplished something," Nidia said.

Before Grizzly, Nidia was smoking weed, which made it hard to run track, so she stopped running altogether. Now she's found that her breathing has gone back to normal, and she doesn't feel like she gets out of breath as quickly as she once did.

During this second interview, Nidia was a little less shy and smiled a lot more when she talked about her accomplishments. Her brother did too.

Luis felt that he changed too; his attitude toward adults is different. He didn't really like listening to what adults had to say because he felt they didn't know what they were talking about.

"I see now that there are adults here who are trying to help me and help me change. But it's the little things they do that makes me think this way now," he said.

Those little things include the positive energy that all the teachers, counselors, and cadresan officer that's responsible for training the rest of the unithave toward him and the other cadets. Luis said they're making the first move and reaching out to him to see if he needs help in any way. It makes it a lot easier, he said, to feel comfortable not only asking for help, but listening to what they have to say.

In terms of his academics, Luis said he'll be able to make up most of his missing school credits, and the rest he'll finish at a continuation school back homebut he won't have to spend too much time there.

"I'm pretty sure I'm going to get a job while I finish school. Mostly because I know I'll just feel better if I have a job and keep busy instead of having a lot of free time that could potentially lead to me falling back into old habits," Luis said.

Family Day was an emotional day for 18-year-old Stephanie Recio-Soltero because she was able to hold her 10-month-old daughter again.

Recio-Soltero described the day as a dream from the minute she ran up to her family to the moment she parted with them at the end of the event. The one thing that stuck with her was how her daughter reacted to her after nearly two months of separation.

"I grabbed her and hugged her, but I noticed she was making a pouting face. She wanted to go back with the people that are taking care of her right now, my mom and my tia [tia means aunt in Spanish]," she said.

It hurt, Recio-Soltero said, because she felt like maybe her daughter was feeling abandoned because she had come to the academy.

"I just held her the whole time though; I didn't care. It was good to see her," she said.

Having to leave her daughter behind has made Recio-Soltero think about how to continue her education without leaving her daughter again.

Through the Grizzly Charter Challenge School, she'll be earning her high school diploma, so post Grizzly she plans to attend a community college. This way she can balance raising her daughter and receiving higher education in order to get a job.

This aspect of her future is one of the things she talks about with her counselor, who has been very helpful.

"She's very easy to talk to, and she listens to what I have to say. I'm really close to her," Recio-Soltero said.

Her counselor has also been working on filling out a baby book with Recio-Soltero, something that Recio-Soltero and her daughter can reflect on in the future.

She also talks to her counselor about her fears of life after Grizzly. When her family came to visit and were filling her in on life back homeLompocshe realized something.

"It sucks knowing that I'm going to go back to the same reality. But the only thing that's different is me," she said. "I thought, I don't know, for some reason I thought coming here was going to change everything."

She said she worries about the old friends who might be waiting for her back home or the temptations of doing drugs again.

"I feel really good right now, and I don't think about drugs or anything like that. But I feel like I might end up meeting up with [old friends] to say hi because friends are friends to me," Recio-Soltero said.

She quickly corrected herself though, and said some of her old friends wrote to her, but she hasn't written back because they shouldn't be part of her future. She constantly reminds herself that.

Recio-Soltero brightened up when she reported that she's a guidon for her platoon, which means she holds the flag that signifies her unit designation. Because the cadre chooses the cadet for the position, she feels proud of the recognition.

According to Grizzly Youth Academy officials, during Family Day, Alexandria Regalado, 16, was discharged from the program by her family who stated that they needed her back home.

When Dezarey Cerna, 16, came into the charter school's main office, she was a little rushed and her cheeks were slightly pink. She carried a bag with a red cross on it and a large backpack.

She was recently assigned the duty of carrying the medical kit for her platoon. If any of the female cadets need a bandage or a feminine product, Cerna has got them covered.

Her large backpack held all of her school supplies and books. When asked what her favorite class was, she had an immediate response. Algebra.

"I understand it more. I'm always, well not always, but I always finish my class work first. After that I can do extra credit," Cerna said.

Before Grizzly, Cerna sat in the back of her classroom, not giving the teacher or lessons much attention. She also didn't do the assignments. She said she feels differently about the classroom setting now.

"I think it's because here, they don't let you fall behind. If you try to give up or say things like, 'I don't get this,' [the teachers] don't let you give up," Cerna said.

Instead, her teachers help her and her classmates pinpoint what they need help with.

"If I feel like I'm falling behind, if I don't get it, or if I get frustrated, they take me aside and help me," she said.

It's something Cerna isn't used to, but she said she appreciates it.

Once she completes the Academy, she'll only have 20 credits left to make up; she'll have to decide whether she wants to do that through independent study or by going back to her high school.

"I don't know what I want to do because I'm missing my senior year, but at the same time I kind of have a feeling that if I go back to that school I might go back to my old ways," Cerna said.

After completing her senior year, Cerna's next big decision is whether to continue living with her grandmother in Greenfield, California, or to move to Hemet with her aunta phlebotomist. Either way, one thing is certain, she's determined to go to college to continue her education wherever she is.

When New Times first met Cerna, she contemplated following the footsteps of her aunt, but she said that her new appreciation for Algebra has motivated her to consider becoming an Algebra teacher. She's not worried though; she said she feels like she has the time and, now, the tools to figure out her career goals.

This story will continue next week with the remaining four cadets, so be on the lookout for New Times' next issue. Reach Staff Writer Karen Garcia at kgarcia@newtimesslo.com.

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Personal growth: Grizzly Youth Academy cadets share their stories of taking steps towards growth, accepting support, and continued endurance - New...

Last week, Boeing and Porsche signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly explore thepremium urban air mobility market.The word explore suggests they think premium UAM remains some ways off.Given that Porsche doesnt exactly target fleet buyers, some have speculated this partnership will produce aflying sports car.

So are Porsche and Boeing going to build personal vehicles for the high net worth crowd?If they follow the economics, this alliance will focus on creating fleet aircraft with a healthy dose of performance and luxury cues for the wealthy.

Porsche GT3 RS on display during a exotic sports car show in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, on September 22, 2019. (Photo by Creative Touch Imaging Ltd./NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Personal vs. Fleet Sales Models

There will be a flying sports car market for individuals who wish to fly (and drive) the vehicle themselves.Terrafugia, FLUTR,AeroMobil, andPAL-V have vehicles in process targeting this market. These flying cars have list prices starting at $200,000 and can cost more than $600,000.Flying sports cars could change travel patterns to vacation homes or eventually even work in certain circumstances.They will probably represent an offshoot of the supercar market or the very top end of the car market. I cant wait to fly one, but the market in units will be relatively small for affordability reasons.Think thousands of units per year.The entire luxury car market in the U.S. will beabout $10 billion in 2019, but nearly all of that market is for cars below $150,000.In contrast, Porsche Consulting suggests the eVtol market will total$32B market, by 2035.

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND - MARCH 06: PAL-V Liberty flying car is displayed during the second press day of the 89th Geneva International Motor Show in Geneva, Switzerland on March 06, 2019. (Photo by Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Fleet models can drive the cost to enter the UAM market much lower than the alternatives and thereby stimulate the market. Instead of paying $200,000 plus up front for a vehicle, wealthy individuals could pay a reasonable cost per trip.

However, even a fleet UAM model with high levels of utilization and seat occupancy wont immediately support massive substitution for auto traffic.Today, driving a large sedan, the type of vehicle that a black car service might use, costs around about$0.72 per vehicle mile.At an average occupancy of1.67 people (not including the driver), the cost per seat mile falls to $0.43/seat mile. (Of course, for a black car service the cost would be much higher to pay for the driver.) At Elevate this year, Uber predicted that at inception UAM cost per seat mile will exceed$5.70 per seat mile.At scale Uber projects a cost of $1.86 per seat mile for a UAM with all four seats occupied.These estimates assume the UAM programs hit their targets and dont take into account that the same technical innovations that make the decline in seat miles costs for UAM possible will also drive down the cost per seat mile of automobiles.

The superior operating economics for fleets, the high purchase costs for personal UAM vehicles and the time and effort required to get a pilots license will ensure that UAM manufacturers sell many fleet vehicles for every personal vehicle they sell.As a result, fleet vehicles should become the priority in Boeings and Porsches capital investment plans.

Market Sizing and Who Will Fly in UAM Vehicles

The fleet market for UAM vehicles will grow off the base of UAM applications that helicopters fill today and then into the black car market.After years of dormancy, the commuter helicopter business has started to grow withVoom creating a moderate success in Sao Paolo and Mexico City and Blade building a nice business in New York.Uber recently joined the fray by starting services in New York and has announced service in the Bay Area.Helicopters currently cost around $1,200 per flight hour to operate, or between $9-10 per seat mile for a six-passenger aircraft.That is 70-80% more than Ubers projections for its initial UAM service for a four-passenger aircraft (depending on whether you measure by cost per flight hour or cost per seat mile basis).Cutting that much cost could cause these markets to grow by three times or more.Most of these customers will come from more expensive car services.Uber Black, for example, typically costs over three times UberX and as UAM costs fall some black car customers will naturally choose to step up.

The Bell Nexus concept vehicle is shown at the Uber Elevate Summit June 12, 2019 in Washington, DC, one of the vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicles or flying cars that will be part of Ubers fleet for aerial ride sharing. - Uber on June 11

People often use helicopter services even though it costs more and doesnt always save time.Recently,The Drive echoed the classicNew York Times taxi helicopter race article from the 1970s using Ubers new helicopter service to go to JFK.Their case study showed that public transport took less time than Ubers service while acknowledging times might vary depending on the complexity of multi-model connections.In theBloomberg version, the rider in the helicopter spent $364 for two people and took 43 minutes to arrive despite the eight-minute flight time.In the end, the attractiveness of the service from a functional standpoint will probably depend on the time of day, which drives traffic congestion, and the proximity of the origin or destination to the helipad. However, in addition to these specific time and geographic advantages, helicopter services have also grown because they are a premium product.

The Role of Customer Experience

Today, helicopter service is a product for those with very high budgets. In the future, however, the people who will use these services might look a lot like people who buy one of Porsches more affordable sports cars.Wealthier individuals who value their time and businesspeople in a rush value premium experiences and status.Less hassle, lounges, and priority boarding remain valuable in commercial aviation even in the era of low-cost airlines, and these needs are often reflected in customer experience design for services likeBlade.

A helicopter lands on the roof of a building in downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil on June 23, 2017.Airbus' subsidiary Voom gives an alternative for those willing to avoid Sao Paulo's heavy car traffic, offering a helicopter service similar to the car

Unlike the commercial aviation market where airlines (for example Eos and Max Jet) were not able to successfully customize entire aircraft to premium segments, vehicle design will likely play an important role for fleet UAM models.On the one hand, wealthy clients will continue to find performance cues and luxury design attractive just as they do in the luxury car market. While the well-off UAM customer might not have the money for a Porsche 911 GT3 RS or a flying sports car and they may not personally fly their UAM vehicle, they will not want to fly in the UAM equivalent of a Yugo.For proof beyond cars, one only needs to look at competition in the private jet market always an aspirational area for the well-to-do.One could argue that flight speed makes little practical difference for most flights (except perhaps by increasing fuel bills), but nonetheless, it remains an important differentiating feature for private jets. Interiors also play a key role in differentiating for private aviation and Porsche Design Studio has worked in this area previously to leverage its expertise from autos. Porsche has also worked with Delta Private Jets on the ground leg of private jet trips to create seamless, premium experiences. On the other hand, fleet operators also care deeply about the cost of operation, so fleet UAM will use these cues while controlling operating costs.

While initial market sizing estimates might seem aggressive without lower costs, Boeing cant ignore the UAM fleet market.UAM will probably start from a base where it serves a relatively small core market of wealthy individuals and business people that prefer UAM service to expensive car transport options.Over a longer period, UAM will fulfill its promise as a mode of mass transportation.Whoever wins the initial premium market will have a strong, aspirational brand it can take to the mass market. Porsche represents a great starting point either as an ingredient brand to the long-term UAM brand or as a UAM brand on its won. In addition, to win this segment, the vehicle will need a luxury, status-oriented design to go with the premium services.Porsche is the perfect partner to help Boeing get there on both of these dimensions.

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Why Porsche And Boeing Likely Wont Make A Personal Flying Sports Car - Forbes

C is for cookie, that's good enough for me. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

When we discuss the cost of school choicecharters, vouchers, and even homeschoolingwe usually focus on the economic impact, the loss of local control, or the policy impact on educational institutions. But on the classroom level, there is another real impact.

Robert Pondiscio touches on it in his new book about Success Academy charters schools, How The Other Half Learns:

The most common objection to charter schools and publicly financed charter school initiatives is that schools of choice siphon resources away from traditional public schools. One such resource is engaged and invested parents.

And, one might add, engaged and invested students. Every classroom culture is shaped not just by teachers and building administration, but by the students in the classroom. Students can have a huge effect on the tone of the classroomis there a steady pressure to achieve, or is acting smart just not cool? Particularly in high school, students learn about peer effects, about how to lead and how to elevate leaders. Strong students can raise a classs achievement level in ways that a teacher can not.

Most of us have stories. I learned to play trombone in high school in large part from trying to keep pace with the upperclassman who was my section leader. For four years, everyone in my core classes chased the two most intelligent, hardworking women in our grade. As a high school teacher, I saw the same effect over and over again. I could lay out expectations and standards and rubrics, but it is students (and sometimes by extension, their parents) who will answer the question, How seriously should we take any of this? That leadership will come from the strong students in the room. There are few things as exhilarating as teaching a class led by a core group of students whose attitude is, You just teach as fast and far as you can, because we want to see it all, and we will keep pace with you every step of the way, and so will the rest of these students. Right?

But what if those leaders arent there? Ive taught those classes, too. You make your best pitch and the students look around and conclude that nobody else is working all that hard, so theyll just take it easy, too. (Mr. Greene, Im not an over-achiever or an under-achiever, a student once told me. Im an even-achiever.) It is a huge challenge to light a fire under a room full of Cookie Monster students.

When stronger, more committed students leave a school, they leave that school with a bit less student leadership, a bit less positive peer effect. Their choice costs their former school something in the school culture and environment. That becomes more troubling when the strong student leaves for a school that doesnt offer any real benefits above and beyond the original public school.

The policy implications of peer effects are many. Can we even hope to measure these peer effects in any meaningful way, or will researchers just resort to using standardized test scores? If we can identify them, should we attempt to distribute good students evenly across the system? And how wildly inappropriate is it to treat students as a school resource rather than individuals working on educational goals of their own?

This is a tension thats almost impossible to resolve. It is hard to argue that a strong students family should keep her in the public school to serve a greater good, yet it seems clear that should she go to a charter, a private school, even a magnet or home school, there is a cost to the students who stay. Its a personal choice, but it has more than personal consequences, and they are hard to discuss in an age in which we have lost the language of civic obligation. But at a minimum, we should acknowledge that there is a cost here, and somebodyeither the school or the student or, in the case of students who choose a school no better than their old one, bothis going to pay it.

More here:
The Other Cost Of School Choice - Forbes

Walmart is launching a new service that will deliver groceries and put them away in your fridge starting in three cities Tuesday.

InHome grocery delivery is a membership program that is being rolled out at an introductory price of $19.95 a month. It requires shoppers to purchase a $49.95 smart door lock kit or smart garage door kit, which comes with free installation and one month of free unlimited grocery delivery.

"It's a service we plan to grow and scale aggressively" Bart Stein, Walmart senior vice president of membership and InHome said in an interview. Stein said these first three cities "represent variety of factors across demographics, stores and more operationally that set us up the best and quickest to scale nationwide."

Launching in Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Vero Beach, Fla., the pilot program was initially announced at the company's shareholders meeting in June. The company hopes to expand it nationwide, but wouldn't say when or which cities its eyeing as potential test markets if the launch is a success.

Grocery sales have been a key driver of sales and traffic for the world's largest retailer in recent years, representing more than 55% of its total sales. In the most recent quarter, CEO Doug McMillon said the retailer was gaining market share in food and called out its various grocery programs, including free online grocery pickup, unlimited grocery delivery for a fee and this new InHome program. At the end of the second quarter, the retailer had more than 2,700 grocery pickup locations in the U.S. and over 1,000 delivery areas.

Here's how the new InHome delivery service will work:

To deliver groceries, Walmart is requiring employees to have at least a year of service with the company, background checks, motor vehicle record checks and extensive training that includes how to best rearrange groceries in a packed fridge. Customers will need to restrain household pets during the delivery window as well.

To ensure safety, Stein said Walmart partnered with technology companies to create a smart lock system.

Walmart is working with Level Home, a company Walmart has invested in that was founded by former Apple and Nest engineers.

The technology startup developed new smart lock that turns a consumers' existing deadbolt lock into a smart-lock, without changing the aesthetics of inside or outside of door and allows the homeowner to retain the current keys. The conversion to a smart-lock operates over Bluetooth technology to generate a one-time access code that is only available during a specified delivery window.

When the Walmart employee is ready to make the delivery, the one-time access code can only be activated if the corresponding camera worn on the employees uniform is turned on, live-streaming and recording the delivery.

For garage delivery, Walmart is working with Nortek Security for the smart garage door access, which attaches to existing garage door lift and connects to a smart phone. Like the kitchen delivery option, access will only be available during specified delivery window and only available if the employee's camera is activated for live streaming access and being recorded.

For now, items available for the InHome delivery program are only those that are currently available in the Walmart grocery app, which is between 30,000 and 35,000 items which will vary by the store that fulfills the order. While it is largely grocery items, there are some general merchandise items available like health and beauty, batteries, over the counter mediation and first aid.

In December, Stein said the retailer will offer the option for consumers to leave items ordered on Walmart.com on the kitchen counter for returns, and the Walmart associate will take the return. Further details will be shared at a later date.

"We are cooking up other cool stuff, but we can't talk about today" Stein said.

The InHome delivery program was an idea originally launched in New York with a group of 10 employees as part of the retailer's Store No. 8 technology incubator program. It is the first idea out of the group that is now graduating into the broader Walmart corporate structure, under chief customer office and executive Vice President Janey Whiteside.

Meantime, JetBlack, a concierge text-message based personal shopping service is another Store No. 8 program the retailer announced during its 2018 shareholder events that may have a different future. The Wall Street Journal reported Walmart is talking to investors about potentially spinning it off. JetBlack is still in pilot stages in New York City and is reportedly losing around $15,000 per member annually.

Excerpt from:
Walmart will now put groceries right in your fridge, starting in 3 cities Tuesday - CNBC