Bits and Pieces

Florida Building Collapse: What goes up must come down. The law of gravity has its way in all things. Of course, the downward pull ought not be a devastating event causing loss of life. The condo collapse in Florida is a big deal. There are potential causes galore, not the least of which is poor bedrock access, sink holes, rising ocean levels, and horrendous wind and rainstorms battering buildings all the time. Weathering is a primary depreciator of all real estate. We ought not be surprised by that. However, engineering usually allays those threats with huge error margins.

My suspicion is subsidence will be the primary cause of the collapse. That is the gradual sinking of the building in a soil condition that is not solid enough to sustain the building’s weight, rising tides, ground water levels and weathering.

Florida real estate developers know to build houses on stilts in flood prone areas. High rise developers need to build to bedrock if it exists. If not, build larger pontoons!

Slimmer Despot: Much of North Koreans are underfed and emaciated. It was always a ponder how the current despot could be fat and ungainly in his movements because of his weight. Now that he has slimmed down, he looks better, healthier and fit for heavy duty work. Instead, people are thinking he is drastically ill and lost weight too quickly. What a bunch of nonsense. He is a young man and needed to pare his weight. From the looks of his picture, he still needs to lose another 50 pounds.

He is free to eat anything and everything whenever he wants it. That puts on unneeded pounds and he knows it. Is he sick? I doubt that would be reported. Is he losing weight? The photos say yes. Maybe that weight loss is intentional and due to a healthy regimen. Meanwhile, assume that is the case. Thinking the negative does no one any good anyway.

Mission vs Outcome: I’ve been in strategic planning for 40 years or more. I am continually amazed by people who think defining their mission is the last step, not the first. How can any organization plan for the future if it doesn’t know what it is about and what driving values and forces truly define them? Identifying a desired outcome is helpful in solving problems, but it doesn’t define the organization. Normally the organization comes first. They know what they want to deal with and labor toward. Define that now, at the beginning of planning. Then move on to where the organization should be or look like in 10 or 15 years if the mission is successful. That provides scope and scale of the organization and its mission. It does not define mission.

Outcomes are objectives and goals created as an outgrowth of the mission. Putting goals first is placing the cart before the horse. It might work if the horse is very talented!

June 29, 2021