Breaking the cycle of business distrust, Elon Musk’s future forecasting, employee ownership benefits and successful peer forums
24 April 2022 Newsletter
“I sleep on the factory floors during crunch time because if I ask my team to work hard, I also need to experience it. They need to see how much I care.” Elon Musk
Hope you’re Thriving!
I’ve enjoyed a quiet week, with some time away, resting and relaxing. So let’s jump into it.
Edelman Trust Barometer 2022
One of my favourite annual reports came out a few weeks ago – the Edelman Trust Barometer 2022.
Each year I find great interest in how trust in different institutions has changed over the previous years. The Edelman Trust Barometer provides excellent insights into the societal impact on trust through employers, institutions and CEOs, and government and other areas of society.
Some of the interesting insights include:
- 60% of people choose a place to work based on their beliefs and values
- 81% of CEOs should be personally visible when discussing public policy with external stakeholders or work their company has done to benefit society
- Quality information is the best way to build trust
- Family-owned businesses are the most trusted, 9% more than privately held
- At 61%, business is the most trusted institution, but it is declining, in line with broader trends (see image below)
Business must lead in breaking the cycle of distrust. Across every single issue, people want more business engagement, not less by a huge margin. For example, 52% say business is not doing enough on climate change, while only 9% say it is overstepping.
Watch a two-minute summary of the report from Richard Edelman here:
2022 Edelman Trust Barometer: The Cycle of Distrust
How to Get the Most out of Peer Support Groups
This week I came across an HBR article I thought you would enjoy. I was a ten-year member of EO and have seen many other peer support groups both in Australia and overseas; and appreciate the value that forums bring to members. This article outlines the importance of peer forums, why they work, and how to ensure your peer forums are successful.
From the article:
“For years, business leaders have turned to peer forums—groups of four to 10 people with similar interests who meet regularly for confidential conversations such as EO, YPO or Vistage / TEC—to share their problems, find support and insights, and learn and grow. But because such forums are small and private, many people don’t know much about them.
In this article, two authors who have studied forums extensively open a window into them. Then, drawing on their research, authors Groysberg and Halperin explain the different types of peer forums, how they can benefit individuals in various jobs and organizations, and the principles and practices that make them successful, as well as the challenges they sometimes face.”
Read the article here: How to Get the Most out of Peer Support Groups
Employee ownership and work benefits
Over the last couple of years, I’ve seen some fantastic Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP) success stories.
I’ve seen ESOP used quite effectively as a tool to retain staff and lock in the best talent in a growing firm.
I thought you’d be interested in this infographic from The National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO) outlining the benefits of being an employee-owner.
Also, if you’re looking for an Australian based ESOP lawyer, message me, as I know a great one I can recommend.
Elon
So how does that relate to Elon’s bid for Twitter?
Look at the first line of the letter to the Twitter board from the SEC filing found here
“I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy.”
What’s most important about that is that Elon also owns Starlink which is a part of Space X and can bypass all Government monitoring and filtering of the internet. This means that Twitter, described as the world’s town square, would be owned by the same person who can bypass all government internet regulations.
This past week saw the annual TED conference in Vancouver, where Elon was a guest interviewee. It’s a fascinating insight into one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Here are the key points they discuss:
- Twitter, free speech and open-sourcing the algorithm
- Tesla and short-sellers
- Electric vehicles, manufacturing and sleeping on the floor of the Tesla factory
- Elon’s “Master Plan” and accelerating a sustainable energy economy
- His experience with Asperger’s, childhood and how Elon’s brain works
- What the future will look like
Here’s the synopsis and the link to the 54-minute video:
In this unedited conversation with the head of TED, Chris Anderson, Elon Musk — the head of Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink and The Boring Company — digs into the recent news around his bid to purchase Twitter and gets honest about the biggest regret of his career, how his brain works, the future he envisions for the world and a lot more. (Recorded at TED2022 on April 14, 2022).
Elon Musk talks Twitter, Tesla and how his brain works — live at TED2022
This week on The Growth Whisperers podcast
How much of a cash reserve should you have?
There will always be storms that come in, and you must be able to endure those storms. Most people don’t build enough of a cash reserve in their business, or they always spend any spare cash, often running the business without an adequate cash buffer.
How much cash should you have in your business? What is a good or bad cash buffer? Why is it important to maintain a cash buffer in your business?
We answer these and more questions in this week’s episode.
Why you need cash reserves to weather the storms
Episode 106 – The Growth Whisperers
Listen to The Growth Whisperers
Apple podcasts
Spotify
Or watch it on YouTube
If you would like to receive our weekly newsletter as an email, simply complete the “subscribe to my newsletter” form at the top of this page.
Keep Thriving!
Brad Giles
