Podcasts about State Street

DAMIONLet's start with a softball: Tesla's Europe sales plunge 49% on brand damage, rising competition. Who Do You Blame?ElonLiberals Who Hate ElonTrump 2.0The Tesla board (I'm looking at you Robyn and Kimbal)Apathetic Tesla investorsNobody. Share price is king. MMISS backs Dynavax directors in board fight with Deep Track CapitalDeep Track Capital, which is Dynavax's second largest shareholder with a nearly 15% stake, is pushing on with a proxy fight and wants new directors to prioritize development of the company's hepatitis B vaccine instead of pursuing new acquisitions."Vote for all four management nominees," ISS wrote in a note to clients that was seen by Reuters. "The dissident has failed to present a compelling case that change is necessary at this meeting."Despit that "There has been a stall in momentum" and that "the market has in no way rebuked the company's strategy" even though Dynavax's stock price has fallen 18% over the last 12 months.Who Do you Blame?ISS, for an inability to articulate big ideas with data.Dynavax's current board knowledge profile: while pretty balance overall with science-y stuff like Medicine and Dentistry (14%); Biology (15%) along with a reasonable amount og Economics and Acounting (12%), the board notably lacks Sales and Marketing (0%).Deep Track Capital nominee probably fits that bill: an experienced drug development and commercialization professional most as interim CEO/COO at Lykos Therapeutics, including overseeing the commercialization of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine and marketing and sales at Sanofi PasteurISS, again, for ignoring the presence of 15-year director and Nominating Committee chair Daniel Kisner. Why is this guy allowed to maintain dominance over the selection of new directors?Especially consider the presence of fellow long-tenured director Francis Cano on the committee who is 80 and has served for 16 yearsCano had 29% votes against in 2018, but then only 4% in 2021 and 8% in 2024 The board's atrocious lack of annual elections. While the company celebrities the appointments of two new directors in early 2025, one of them, Emilio Emini, will not be up for shareholder review until the 2027 AGMCan I blame DeepTrack (14%), BlackRock (17%), Vanguard (7%), and State Street (6%) = 44%PepsiCo Is Pushing Back its Climate Goals. The Company Wants to Talk About ItPepsiCo said Thursday it pushed back by a decade its goal to achieve net-zero emissions from 2040 to 2050, as well as a handful of delays on plastic packaging goals, to name a few of the shiftsJim Andrew, chief sustainability officer, said PepsiCo's ability to make progress at the rate it would like to “is very very dependent on the systems around us changing.” He added the “world was a very different place” when it was working on these goals in 2020 amid a completely different political and regulatory landscape.Who Do You Blame?Pepsi's very large board of 15 directorsmost governance experts and research converge around an ideal range of 7 to 11 directors. Which really means 9?Beyond 11, boards often suffer from slower decision-making and diluted accountability.Pepsi's completely protected class of directorsAccording to MSCI data: no current director has received more than 9% votes against since the 2015 AGM. Average support is over 97%Despite hitting .400 overall (peers hit .581): .396 carbon (vs. 473) and .180 on controversies (vs. 774)The fact that the company is named Pepsico and not Pepsi which is kinda irritatingPepsi's Gender Influence Gap of -11%In fact, of the top 7 most influential directors, 6 are men with 68% aggregate influenceThe woman is Dina Dublon (11%), the former CFO at JPMorgan Chase, who has been on the board for two decades. I guess her experience as a director on the Westchester Land Trust is not enough to sway the gentlemen.The Land Trust is chaired by Wyndham Hotels director Bruce Churchill, whose experience at DirectTV must really be crucial in the protection of the natural resources of Westchester CountyWhat Makes a Great Board Director? It's Hard to Define, but It Has Rarely Been More Crucial. Who Do you Blame?The WSJ for still failing to define it appropriately despite being the effing WSJ!Proxy advisory firms, for not having the data that could better inform shareholdersThe SEC/listing exchanges for not requiring data that could better inform shareholdersEvery person in the world who does not use Free Float Analytics data2025 U.S. Proxy Season: Midseason Review Finds Sharp Drop in Shareholder Resolutions on BallotTrump 2.0Darren Woods and ExxonThe anti-ESG shareholder proponents for depressing us with their political theaterApathetic investorsMATTBall CFO to depart after less than 2 years in roleHoward Yu: The departure is not related to any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to its accounting practices, financial statements, internal controls, or operations.Because everyone leaves in less than 2 years when they're happy? Who do we blame!:Ball's Audit Committee - only 29% of company influence, but maybe they're too busy to pay attention to the CFO at all? We know audit committee roles are hugely time consuming, so Cathy Ross (ex CFO FedEx) on two audit public audit committees, John Bryant (ex CEO of Kellogg) on FOUR audit committees, Michael Cave (ex Boeing exec from 787 Max days) on just Ball audit, and Todd Penegor (current CEO of Papa Johns) on THREE boards AND an acting CEOBall's Nominating Committee - 48% of company influence, maybe they suck at their jobs? Stuart Taylor, who's been on the board since 1999, Dune Ives, Aaron Erter, and… Cathy Ross and John Bryant, also on the audit committeeHoward Yu, who departed unrelated to “any disagreement with the Company” on anything he actually did thereCEOCathy Ross and John Bryant93% of U.S. Executives Desire Board Member ReplacementsOld people: There are 14,440 non executive directors in the US on boards with an average age of 63 years old and 2,569 executive directors with an average age of 58.298 companies in the US have at least ONE director over the age of 80. Directors over the age of 80 have on average 9% influence on the board and on average 19 years of tenure - old and no one actually listens to them.Two US directors - Tommy Thomson (82 years young) and John Harrington (87 years young) are on THREE boards eachMeyer Luskin is 100 years old on the OSI Systems board - he is UCLA class of 1949 and has 6% influence after 35 years on the boardMilton Cooper is 95 years old on TWO boards - Getty Realty and Kimco Realty, where he has 53 and 34 years of tenureImagine being a 58 year old CEO and chair of your board and showing up to have to listen to John Harrington and Meyer LuskinOutlandishly outsized influencersOf 24,000 US directors, 591 have more than 50% influence on their boards. Those boards average 7 other people - is there a point to those 7? Connected directors hating on unconnected directorsThere are 575 directors on boards who are connected to 50% or more of the board… A fun example - at Target, 92% of the directors are connected through other boards or trade associations - that's 11 out of 12 directors. Do you think the board just hates Dave Abney for having no obvious connections to them?Shrill womenThere are 7,450 female directorships on US public boards596 have advanced degrees from elite schools80 of them are non executives at widely held corporations with no ties to the company or family with zero known connections to the existing board membersDon't the other directors just wish they weren't there being smart asses?Meta Buys 650 MW of Renewable Energy to Power U.S. Data CentersAES, the woke Virginia based energy company with 5 women and 6 men on the board where 63% of the board has advanced degrees and four of the board members aren't even AmericanArkansas, the woke state that allowed solar energy to get built thereMeta AI, because AI can't even discriminate against renewable energy because it's so wokeMark Zuckerberg, the dual class dropout dictatorMark Zuckerberg, the government ass kisser, MAGA convert, and attendee at the oil state Qatari meetup with Trump who set up this purchase, like, BEFORE the world hated woke, so it's not his fault because he's REALLY super into oil and stuff

After earning QB1 for Michigan's 2024 season, Davis Warren isn't just battling defenses—he's competing against a $15M recruit, a stacked QB room, and the pressure of leading Team #146. In this episode, #120 of What Dewey Do?, Davis lays it all out—his path to QB1, winning over Alex Orji, beating rivals Michigan State, Ohio State, and Alabama, and leading Michigan Football into the future.  He unpacks what it means to be a true Michigan Man, his devastating ACL injury, the current QB competition with Bryce Underwood, and how NIL and the transfer portal are reshaping college football.  Davis also shares his full-circle cancer story, from diagnosis to cure, and how it fuels his purpose to give back! Connect with Davis Warren:  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davis-warren-95568b1a6/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daviswarren/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/davis.warren/?hl=en Twitter: https://x.com/1daviswarren2 Ready to feel inspired, focused, and fired up? Tap play and hear why even Davis says, “It's a banger.” Quotes: - Davis Warren: “Run the mile you're in. Focus on what you can control, not what others are doing.” - Davis Warren: “NIL at Michigan isn't handed out. You have to earn it through work and performance.”  - Dewey Steffen: “There's nothing worse than being out and needing surgery, but Davis Warren's response to the season showed real leadership.” Davis Warren is a quarterback for the University of Michigan Football Team and a student at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, pursuing his BBA. Hailing from Manhattan Beach, CA, Davis faced a life-altering cancer diagnosis that tested his resilience and transformed his outlook on life and football. After beating the odds, he returned stronger—both on the field and off—becoming a symbol of perseverance and hope. His journey through adversity has shaped his approach to NIL opportunities, blending purpose with performance. ➡️ WDD TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@whatdeweydopodcast ➡️ WDD Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdeweydopodcast ➡️ WDD Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatdeweydo ➡️ GLW YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GLWealth In Case You Missed It...

George Milling-Stanley, chief gold strategist at State Street Global Advisors, says he expects gold to trade between $3,100 and $3,500 for the remainder of the year, but is making the bullish case for new record price levels as high as $3,900 an ounce, noting that he believes the new bottom level for gold is $3,000 an ounce, up by $1,000 in the last year. Milling-Stanley says gold has been working well as a geo-political hedge, providing ballast to portfolios that have been whipsawed by current economic policies, but he acknowledges that gold has not done a great job in its traditional role as a counter-weight to inflation, because inflation levels have not been high enough for long enough for gold to deliver in that role. Kristy Akullian, head of iShares investment strategy for the Americas at BlackRock, says that Tuesday's consumer price index numbers didn't show the impact of tariff-related price increases, but those could impact the numbers as soon as next month; meanwhile, the current CPI print should encourage the Federal Reserve to stand pat on interest rates and might encourage investors to make a small move up the risk spectrum, focusing on quality and low-volatility investment factors rather than simply looking to minimize volatility. Plus Kerry Sette discusses the latest consumer research out from Voya Financial, which showed that more than one in three working Americans say that the current economic uncertainty and the potential for higher prices caused by tariff policies is severely impacting their ability to save for retirement.  

In this episode of the Rainmaker Podcast, host Gui Costin sits down with Joe Grogan, Head of Distribution for the Americas at WisdomTree, for an energizing conversation on leadership, sales strategy, culture, and the power of treating people like owners. With over 25 years of experience at firms like Fidelity and State Street, Joe shares how his humble beginnings and early exposure to sales instilled a relentless drive that continues to shape his leadership style.Joe's journey to WisdomTree began with a cold call from a recruiter and evolved into a long-standing leadership role at one of the most innovative ETF providers in the industry. He fell in love with WisdomTree's entrepreneurial culture and commitment to transparency, client outcomes, and constant innovation. Today, he leads a 50-person distribution team across the U.S. and Latin America, focused on providing consultative value to financial advisors rather than just pushing products.Grogan walks listeners through his approach to team structure and culture, emphasizing the importance of clear expectations, open communication, and professional development. His team spans national accounts, wires, RIAs, and enterprise channels, with a strong emphasis on career pathing from analyst roles to field sales. Weekly calls, one-on-ones, and a highly transparent performance tracking system help drive accountability while fostering healthy competition.Joe also discusses how CRM and AI tools have transformed his team's efficiency. From automated meeting notes to engagement-based compensation tracking, WisdomTree leverages data to reduce administrative burden and keep salespeople focused on high-impact client interactions. He views CRM entries not as micromanagement but as “gold bars” that unlock insights and create better investor experiences.Leadership, for Joe, is about servant mindset, vulnerability, and long-term retention. He believes in empowering his team, maintaining low turnover through trust and autonomy, and treating teammates like the professionals they are. Rather than managing activity for its own sake, Joe rewards outcomes and teaches his team to think like owners of their own territory.His advice to young professionals? Nail your current role. Master the fundamentals. Don't worry about the next job—it will come if you focus on being excellent where you are. This episode is packed with tactical insight, cultural wisdom, and authentic leadership takeaways from one of the most respected distribution leaders in the business.Tired of chasing outdated leads? Book a demo to see how Dakota Marketplace simplifies your fundraising process with accurate, up-to-date investor data. 

In Episode 194 of the Pu'u Muay Thai Podcast, recorded at Teep Studios in Scottsdale, AZ, Jonathan Puu returns from a jam-packed trip to Ventura, California to share major updates and powerful insights into the future of Muay Thai officiating in the U.S.

This is Derek Miller, Speaking on Business. Since opening in 2023, Lucero Hair and Wellness has quickly become one of Salt Lake City's premier hair studios. With a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere it provides a great place to feel your best. Owner and Cutting Specialist, Joshua Lucero, joins us with more. Joshua Lucero: At Lucero Hair and Wellness, we believe that great hair starts with great people. That's why we're more than just a salon — we're a community built around education, growth and genuine connection. We offer a structured level system for our stylists, ensuring they can build careers they love while providing exceptional service at a range of price points to accommodate all budgets. Being inclusive means we serve all people, with or without hair. Our team benefits from continued education, quarterly coaching and an annual retreat — all designed to help them thrive creatively and professionally. We're also big on visibility and support. Through social media marketing and community involvement, like our sponsorship at Utah Pride, we celebrate individuality and self-expression every day. Whether you're looking for a salon home that invests in your future or a stylist who truly understands your needs, Lucero is here for you. Visit us and experience the difference. Derek Miller: Located on State Street in downtown Salt Lake City, Lucero Hair and Wellness offers a variety of services for clients, with expert stylists and a vibrant atmosphere. Learn more at LuceroHairandWellness.com. I'm Derek Miller, with the Salt Lake Chamber, Speaking on Business. Originally aired: 5/1/25

The guys chat with Michelle from Overtime Cards to discuss the 2025 Topps Industry Summit! Visit Overtime cards at 10600 south State Street in Salt Lake City, Utah or online at overtimecardsandcollectibles.com

What if planning for your future wasn't about fear but about freedom? The focus is securing your financial legacy, not just for you but for the people and causes you care about most.  In this episode, #119 of What Dewey Do?, listeners get a clear, straight-to-the-point breakdown of estate planning strategies for 2025.  From wills and trusts to powers of attorney and tax-smart tools like irrevocable trusts and charitable giving, this episode outlines what you need to know now. Business owners get a special heads-up on why buy-sell agreements and succession plans are a must.  Learn how to protect your family, reduce taxes, and take control of how your wealth transfers from one generation to the next. Hit play and learn how to make your money work harder—for you, your family, and your future. Quotes: - Dewey Steffen: “People often assume that estate planning is only for wealthy people, but in reality, estate planning is one of the most important steps that you can take for your future.” - Dewey Steffen: “Estate planning isn't just about protecting your wealth. It's about protecting the people that you care most about.”  - Dewey Steffen: “One of the most rewarding parts of estate planning is ensuring a smooth transfer of wealth to the next generation. But, without a clear plan, things will not go smoothly.”   _________________________________ ➡️ WDD TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@whatdeweydopodcast   ➡️ WDD Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdeweydopodcast   ➡️ WDD Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatdeweydo   ➡️ GLW YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GLWealth In Case You Missed It...  

DAMION1White House blasts Amazon over tariff cost report: ‘Hostile and political act'The White House on Tuesday slammed Amazon for reportedly planning to display the cost of President Donald Trump's tariffs next to the total price of products on its site.“This is hostile and political act by Amazon,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. “Why didn't Amazon do this when the Biden administration hiked inflation to the highest level in 40 years?” Leavitt asked.The Trump administration's aggressive swipe came in response to a report that Amazon will soon show consumers how much of an item's cost comes from tariffs. The amount added as a result of tariffs will be displayed right next to each product's total listed price, a person familiar with the plan told the news outlet.WHO DO YOU BLAME?CEO Andrew Jassy.He's the “boss.”Maybe he feels emasculated?Lowest overall batting average (.308)only 6% influence compared to his boss, Jeff Bezos (67%)Not paid like traditional CEOs (relying instead on his $275M in unvested equity) and the $38M that vested last year; so when he's hanging out withHis buddies like Target CEO Brian Cornell ($20M) eBay CEO Jamie Iannone ($22M) have the total summary compensation bragging rights. Not to mention the sad, unmanly CEO Pay Ratio which is listed as 43:1 for Jassy and 753:1 for the DEI-hating Cornell Jeffrey Preston Bezos (67%)I mean he's the actual boss, right?Executive Chair, founder, former CEO, superstar.Hangs out with people like Katy Perry, has a newspaper, sends penis rockets to nowhere, has pretend funds named after himself like the Bezos Earth Fund and the Bezos Day One FundBoard member and former Pepsi CEO Indra NooyiOr maybe this is a DEI problem? Amazon's Audit Committee is tasked with stuff like operational risks, and legal and regulatory matters. Indra chairs this committeeIndra is also involved with very woke-y/DEI-y:stuff like science (Trustee of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center)Stuff like math (Member of the Dean's Advisory Council at MIT's School of Engineering)Stuff like art (Trustee of the National Gallery of Art)And stuff like giving a shit about people, stakeholder-y capitalism stuff (Director of Partnership for Public Service, whose mission is to inspire a new generation of civil servants and to transform the way government works)Former President Joe BidenAmazon later clarified that the plan to show tariff surcharges was “never approved” and is “not going to happen.” Trump personally called Bezos on Tuesday morning to express his displeasure about the initial report that spurred the heated response from the White House.Trump world's Laura Loomer takes aim at a 'woke' Lockheed Martin and its $2 trillion F-35 programLaura Loomer, the far-right activist who has a direct line to President Donald Trump, criticized Lockheed Martin's F-35 program over the weekend, decrying the US defense giant as "woke" and lashing out against the expensive stealth aircraft.In a lengthy post on X, Loomer suggested Lockheed Martin is delivering F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters that "are simply not ready for combat.""The F-35 program, one of the most expensive weapons programs in history, is plagued by delays, defects, & downright incompetence," she wrote Saturday. She said the US Air Force is accepting jets that lack "functional" radar systems, without offering evidence.She also claimed that Lockheed is "increasingly obsessed with pushing a woke agenda." Like many other US defense contractors, Lockheed scrapped its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in January after Trump returned to the White House.The $2 trillion F-35 program is an appealing target for activists and officials seeking to slash government spending, and it has a well-documented list of problems. The Pentagon's top weapons tester said earlier this year that the program had problems delivering functional software and had fallen behind schedule to test upgraded mission systems.WHO DO YOU BLAME?The 2025 Proxy Statement that mentions “diversity” five times!Of course all five of those instances were in the anti-woke/anti-DEI shareholder proposal introduced by the Bahnsen Family Trust.Not sure how this even made the proxy after Lockheed's anti-DEI move in January: “As we publicly stated following the issuance of President Trump's January 2025 Executive Order on DEI, we will not have goals or incentives based on demographic representation or Affirmative Action Plans. We are actively reviewing our workforce-related policies to ensure they are, and remain, compliant and aligned with the Executive Order and all related applicable legal precedent.”The three-headed white guy leadership group (53% influence)CEO/Chair James Taiclet (25%): $24M in payLead Independent Director and Nominating Committee chair Thomas J. Falk (13%)“Independent” since 2010David Burritt (15%)Longest-tenured director (2008-)Busy beaver: two committees (Audit and Pay); CEO of US. SteelSince this is a woke/DEI issue: the black guy:Nevermind, there are no black people on this boardA woman? It would have to be Debra Reed-Klages (17%)While she has no leadership roles she does sit on the board of Caterpillar, which also removed its DEI policies. What, what?Investors. They should have been holding Lockheed accountable, right?According to MSCI data, average support since 2015 is 95%; no director has even received less than 92% since 2017Say on Pay support is routinely over 90%Starbucks union rejects company's recent offer of at least 2% annual pay raiseStarbucks union delegates involved in contract bargaining voted to reject the coffee chain's latest proposal that guaranteed annual raises of at least 2%, Workers United said. Out of the 490 baristas representing the company's more than 550 unionized U.S. stores, 81% rejected the proposal, which did not offer any changes to economic benefits such as healthcare or any immediate pay hike.WHO DO YOU BLAME?The union, for being greedy.The company pays its baristas about $19 an hour on average currently. That's $39,520 before taxes. A 2% raise would result in an increase of $790.40!InvestorsAverage director support of 96% over past 2 yearsEven 86% support for new CEO Brian Niccol's $96M, including $5M in funny munny cashAnd a devilishly perverse CEO pay ratio of 6,666 to 1.Not to mention Use of Starbucks aircraft for travel between city of primary residence and Starbucks headquarters AND up to $250,000 in personal non-commuting travel per yearWhich brings us to the CEO, Brian Niccol, a guy so wonderful that they scrapped the independent chair nonsense and gave him both titles: CEO and ChairLead Independent Director and Nominating Committee chair Jørgen Vig KnudstorpAveraged over 10% votes against over the past 3 AGMs: which is essentially an investor revolutionHis favorite drink–the Caramel Macchiato–is 250 calories with 33g of sugar: the American Heart Association recommends that women consume no more than 25 grams per dayMATT1Novavax appoints Charles Newton to board of directorsChuck Newton has a background from BofA Merrill, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, and Lehman as an investment banker, and is now CFO at a pharma company. He got his education in business administration and “arts”.Who do we blame for the appointment of Chucky?John Jacobs, CEO and highest influence on the board at 23%New board chair and nom committee chair Margaret McGlynn, who will inherit retiring director James Young's 16% influence to become the most influential person on the board?Too much science?Actual knowledge of pharmaceutical science - Young's retirement means there are only 2 actual scientists left on the board of the 9 members - 6 have finance backgrounds, and 1 is a lawyer.DEI - while Novavax's SEC disclosure says that the 9 person board has 1 male with 2 or more races and 2 women, they actually didn't feel white ENOUGH so they added Charles Newton to have a 100% white board (because black people don't even get malaria, COVID, or flu)They actually claim to have 10 board members when they really have 9Investors - who actually hate this board and can't possibly like it more now?Classified board, last year the new board chair (promotion!) got 52% votes for, the PhD got 58% for, and the guy from the family foundation got 53% for - and yes, exactly 35% of the shares are owned by State Street, Vanguard, BlackRock, and Shah CapitalSam Altman says OpenAI will fix ChatGPT's ‘annoying' new personality as users complain the bot is sucking up to them“ChatGPT's new personality is so positive it's verging on sycophantic—and it's putting people off.”Who do we blame for AI being a big fat suckup?Sam Altman, for being a big fat Trump suckupSam Altman, for having an insipid tech bro personality desperately seeking the fame and attention of the earthSam Altman, for firing his non-suckup board membersSam Altman, for putting himself on the board and surrounding himself with board suckups

CarneyShow 04.29.25 State Street on LaSalle, George Mahe, Dan Moren, RYSE Adventure Park, Frank Cusumano by

In Episode 193 of the Pu'u Muay Thai Podcast, recorded at Teep Studios in Scottsdale, AZ, Jonathan Puu dives into the exciting chaos happening in May for Pu'u Muay Thai!We talk about Eat Sleep Teep 3, our next big semi-contact Muay Thai event taking place on May 17th at Ventura High School, featuring competitors from across California, Arizona, Nevada, and beyond. Plus, Jonathan reveals all the details about Pu'u Muay Thai Ventura's big move to our brand-new upgraded facility just down the street on Main Street in Ventura!This episode covers: 

**** SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT **** For those of you in the New York area, we'd like to invite you to join us for another presentation of "Global Capitalism Live with Professor Richard Wolff" taking place on April 30th. Professor Wolff will be giving a lecture on the impact of President Trump's economic policies and explaining how they are an attack on working people as part of a reflection on May Day. This event will be held in person in the main lecture hall at the Women Building Up campus at 401 State Street in Brooklyn, NY. Seats are limited but you can still get tickets to the event by going to our website:  democracyatwork.info and clicking the link in the banner image at the top of the homepage or by going to: bit.ly/3YEZOu8 This week on Economic Update, Professor Wolff delivers updates on employers that are blocking, delaying, and opposing improvements on general social welfare, the Trump administration putting an end to "affirmative action" for veterans (including those disabled), and how the Trump tariffs are worsening uncertainty with very serious negative consequences. In the second half of the show, Professor Wolff interviews Professors Maliha Safri and Stephen Healy, co-authors of the new book "Solidarity Cities: Confronting Racial Capitalism, Mapping Transformation."   The d@w Team Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff is a DemocracyatWork.info Inc. production. We make it a point to provide the show free of ads and rely on viewer support to continue doing so. You can support our work by joining our Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/democracyatwork Or you can go to our website: https://www.democracyatwork.info/donate   Every donation counts and helps us provide a larger audience with the information they need to better understand the events around the world they can't get anywhere else. We want to thank our devoted community of supporters who help make this show and others we produce possible each week.1:01 We kindly ask you to also support the work we do by encouraging others to subscribe to our YouTube channel and website: www.democracyatwork.info

Find out how they view tech, autos and more with Marvin Loh of State Street

In Episode 192 of the Pu'u Muay Thai Podcast, we sit down in-person at Teep Studios in Scottsdale, AZ with a very special guest: Jason Cruz, the legendary frontman of the punk rock band Strung Out and a dedicated student at Pu'u Muay Thai Ventura. Jason was in town for the Punk in the Park festival in Chandler, AZ, but made time to talk about his powerful journey through music, fighting, and finding purpose.At 51 years old, Jason shares how Muay Thai has transformed his life—and how discovering it with his wife during COVID gave them a shared mission of empowerment, discipline, and community. From touring the world with his band to stepping into the ring at our Eat Sleep Teep event, Jason's story is a unique and deeply authentic one that bridges punk rock and martial arts like few can.Topics include: 

Have you heard of the hot new restaurant on State Street that is open every night until 2 a.m.? Izakaya Kuroyama brings the tradition of Japanese street food to Madison and offers a much needed new option to the late-night food scene. Owner Hugo Leung joins Bianca Martin to explain the culture behind izakaya, characterized by shared small plates, plenty of drinks, and chance to relax after a long work day. Join us every Thursday as we explore Madison's food culture, from the brewers and bakers to the chefs and cheesemakers. Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We're also on Instagram!  Want more Madison news delivered right to your inbox? Subscribe to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter.  Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.  Learn more about the sponsors of this April 16th episode: Prolonlife.com/city - Use this link for 15% off Jones Dairy Farm Goodman Community Center District Council of Madison Out Professional Engagement Network Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Some people quietly amass wealth while others with six-figure incomes struggle to stay afloat. The real difference lies in strategy, discipline, and execution.   In episode #116 of What Dewey Do?, we break down the habits, mindset, and financial strategies inspired by The Millionaire Next Door. We also explain how a simple $125 weekly investment can grow into over a million dollars without needing a six-figure salary.  Income alone won't make you rich—your financial behavior determines long-term success. Learn why smart budgeting, automating savings, and resisting lifestyle inflation are the real wealth-building tools.  Financial freedom starts with small, consistent choices. Tune in to this episode and take the first step toward a more secure future. Quotes: - Dewey Steffen: “Most people spend first and save what's left—if anything. Millionaires do the opposite. They save first, then spend.” - Dewey Steffen: “ Studies show that 80% of financial success is based on behavior, not income. Daily choices, spending habits, and financial discipline separate those who struggle from those who build wealth.”  - Dewey Steffen: “ Money is a tool, not a solution. Think about how many lottery winners and professional athletes go broke. It's not the money you make, but what you do with it once you have it.” _______________________   ➡️ WDD TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@whatdeweydopodcast   ➡️ WDD Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdeweydopodcast   ➡️ WDD Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/whatdeweydo   ➡️ GLW YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GLWealth Thanks for watching! What Dewey Do? is a podcast by Great Lakes Wealth (www.greatlakeswealth.us) and executively produced by Evry Media (www.evry.media.com). Great Lakes Wealth, LLC is a registered investment advisor. The information provided is solely for informational purposes. Advisory services are only offered to clients or prospective clients where Great Lakes Wealth and its representatives are properly licensed or exempt from licensure. No advice may be rendered without a service agreement in place. Securities offered through Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments, Member FINRA/SIPC Headquartered at 80 State Street, Albany, NY 12207. Purshe Kaplan Sterling Investments and Great Lakes Wealth are not affiliated companies. The views reflected in the commentary are subject to change at any time without notice. Nothing herein constitutes investment advice or a recommendation that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. Any mention of a particular security and related performance data is not a recommendation to buy or sell that security or a depiction of past investments made by Great Lakes Wealth, LLC. In Case You Missed It... 

Today's guest is Nasir Qadree, Founder and Managing Partner of Zeal Capital Partners – a venture platform based in Washington, D.C., that's reimagining how capital flows by focusing on inclusion, economic mobility, and systems change.Nasir was raised in Atlanta between two very different worlds – one shaped by his hardworking mother and the other by his father's presence among Atlanta's elite. He grew up acutely aware of who gets access to opportunity and who doesn't. That contrast became his driving force.After earning his degree from Hampton University, Nasir entered the finance world during the 2008 crisis, working at Goldman Sachs and later State Street. But the turning point came when he co-owned a small café that became an informal hub for EdTech founders. He realized he wanted more than just returns – he wanted to drive change.A fellowship with Education Pioneers led to a data role in Connecticut's Department of Education, then to Village Capital, where he led global edtech investments. At AT&T, he managed a $400 million impact portfolio.By 2020, he was ready to build something of his own.He launched Zeal right in the middle of the pandemic, driven by a clear but radical idea: the way we allocate capital is broken. Too much money ends up in too few places — and in the hands of too few people.Zeal's answer is inclusive investing: a five-pronged framework that reimagines how, where, and who we invest in — starting with building diverse fund teams, backing overlooked founders, expanding beyond traditional VC hubs, focusing on sectors that drive economic mobility, and measuring real-world impact.It focuses on three key areas for driving systems change: fintech, health equity, and the future of learning and work. But this isn't about feel-good metrics. Zeal targets 3–4x net gross returns and outperformance.Nasir believes — and the data supports — that diverse teams outperform because they see more. They solve bigger problems. And they go where others don't. Zeal now has $186 million in AUM, with a growing reputation as one of the boldest emerging managers in the country.And for Nasir, this is personal. When he sits across from a founder who's been overlooked, he sees himself — someone who's been on both sides of the tracks and deserves to belong in every room.And that belief isn't just his mantra. It's Zeal's entire investment thesis.Tune in to hear how Nasir is rewriting the rules of venture capital — and why inclusion isn't charity. It's a profitable strategy.—Connect with SRI360°:Sign up for the free weekly email updateVisit the SRI360° PODCASTVisit the SRI360° WEBSITEFollow SRI360° on XFollow SRI360° on FACEBOOK—Additional Resources:- Nasir C. Qadree:LinkedInInstagram- Zeal Capital Partners:WebsiteLinkedInInstagramX (Twitter)- Kauffman Foundation's white paper: ‘Access to capital for Entrepreneurs: Removing Barriers'- ‘Race Influences Professional Investors' Financial Judgments'

How can we improve attendance when every school has a different process? In this episode, John Dues continues his exploration of Deming's philosophy in action, focusing on chronic absenteeism. As part of their third PDSA cycle, John's team shifts from individual interventions to process standardization—mapping how each of their four campuses handles attendance interventions. The surprising discovery? Each school follows a different process, revealing hidden variation and inefficiencies. By visualizing these systems, the team is not only grasping the current condition but also setting the stage for a reliable, scalable, and effective process. This methodical approach highlights how understanding systems and reducing variation are key to meaningful improvement. TRANSCRIPT 0:00:02.1 Andrew Stotz: My name is Andrew Stotz and I'll be your host as we dive deeper into the teachings of Dr. W. Edwards Deming. Today, I'm continuing my discussion with John Dues, who is part of the new generation of educators striving to apply Dr. Deming's principles to unleash student joy in learning. The topic for today is Mapping the Process. John, take it away.   0:00:26.7 John Dues: Hey Andrew. It's good to be back. Yeah. For the folks that have been following along for the past several episodes we've been working towards defining this problem more narrowly in terms of this chronic absenteeism issue we've been talking about. And for the last few episodes we've been talking about how the team didn't have enough information to write that precise problem statement. And we took a look at gathering additional information by running a couple PDSA cycles in those first two cycles that we've discussed so far. We know we had zeroed in on a handful of students and ran PDSAs with them and their families about their obstacles getting to school. And then we left off talking about how we were going to shift gears in PDSA cycle three. And instead we were going to focus on standardizing our process. So creating a process map for how we intervene with kids with our attendance teams across the network. So that's what the team is currently working on. But just as a sort of quick reminder to folks, and especially if you're watching, we have this model that we've been working through, this four step improvement model where you set the challenge or direction, grasp the current condition, establish your next target condition, and experiment to overcome obstacles.   0:01:48.1 John Dues: And then like we've talked about several times, we're doing this with the team and that includes people working in the system, people with the authority to change or work on the system, and then at least one person with significant knowledge of the System of Profound Knowledge, like an SOPK coach. And we've been using this model that's on the screen to sort of symbolize or I guess visualize what those four steps look like. You're sort of marching up this mountain towards this challenge or direction. And we've also talked about this long range goal that we've had and we've taken a look at some data where we have our chronic absenteeism rate mapped out over the last eight years or so. We have this long range goal. So this is the direction of the challenge where we're trying to take our chronic absenteeism from above 50% down to 5%. We have the data going back to the 2016/17 school year. Then we also talked about how there's this, not surprisingly, there's this sort of pre-pandemic level of chronic absenteeism, which was again too high. It's not where we wanted it, but we have this major shift up where we've seen this significant jump in chronic absenteeism since the pandemic hit.   0:03:15.0 John Dues: So in those four years, 2020/21, 21/22, 22/23 and 23/24 we were up in the 51, 52, even up into the close to the 60% range in chronic absenteeism at the height of the pandemic. So for PDSA cycle three, really doing two things. So, and we're going to talk about this in the episode today. If you remember back way at the start of this series, we looked at something I called a system flowchart. So we'll kind of revisit that and then we're going to take a look at two process maps that were created by two of our school teams to sort of map their current process. And then we'll walk through, sort of we'll take that, we'll walk through what the plan is for this PDSA cycle three. So let's start by looking back at this system flowchart. I'll sort of reorient you to this. So we have up on the, and this is the current state. So up on the top we have the target system which is attendance. And then we have this aim that is sort of a three part aim.   0:04:42.7 John Dues: We want to define strong attendance for students and staff, make sure everybody's on the same page. We want to ensure that students, families and staff have a shared understanding of what it means to have strong attendance. And then we are working on improving and creating systems that identify and remove barriers to strong attendance for students and staff. And then over on the left hand side we have sort of inputs. So these are things that contribute or their conditions that impact our system. And then in the middle we have our core activities. So the things that are happening that impact attendance and then there's outputs, both negative and positive outputs that come out of this system. And then we get feedback from our customers, we do research on this feedback and then we make design if it's a new system or redesign if it's a current system. And some of these things, some of those contributing conditions are, Ohio has a set of transportation laws. You know, there's our school model and our the way we operate our school hours, our expectations regarding student attendance, our various intervention systems, neighborhood dynamics, how far our families live from school.   0:06:03.4 John Dues: These are all things that contribute to our sort of inputs into our system. And then we have these core activities. And remember, we could just zero in on attendance systems. But there are many other parts of our system that impact whether or not kids come to school. So for one, many of our families are always going to be new to our system. So for example, in our middle schools, where they start with sixth grade some number of those kids are going to be from our elementary schools. Some number of those kids are going to come from other neighborhood schools, but they're all going to be new to that middle school. So whether they're coming from our elementary school or not, you have to think about how is the student and family being onboarded to our system. Another thing we're looking at is school culture and trust. You know, how much trust is in there, in the school. Do they have a strong culture between teachers and families or teachers and students, or the principal and teachers? Then there's academic systems how engaging are classes, those types of things.   0:07:05.7 John Dues: Then we have the attendance intervention systems, which is obviously a core focus. We have health and wellness and changes around mindset since we went through the pandemic. And then finally the third sort of, or sorry, the third, not the third, but the sixth core activity that we talked about was transportation. So we've talked about lots of problems with our busing system this year. So that's another thing that has a big impact on attendance. And so what this group, again is working on the core activity is the attendance intervention systems. What's the process for that? But I had mentioned in an earlier episode that we have another group that's working on transportation and busing and how we can improve that. So the whole point of the system flowchart is there's many, many things that go into something like an attendance rate. And many of these things are very challenging. Some are largely out of our control, but much of it is largely in our control. And we're trying to pull the levers that we think are most important when it comes to student attendance.   0:08:09.2 Andrew Stotz: And just one thing on that, one of the things I just find so frustrating and it's part of this class I'm teaching tonight is how do we scale a business. And one of the ways that's critical to scaling is simplifying. And sometimes, like, when I look at all of this complexity, on the one hand, you're like, okay, well, that's our job, right? Our job is to manage complexity. And that's the reason why we don't have a thousand competitors coming in, because it's complex and it's difficult. And on the other hand, it's like the simplifier in me is like, how do we simplify this? You know, like, I'm just curious about how you see complexity versus simplification. And in particular, it may just be in this stage, you're just putting everything up there, and it's just overwhelming. Like, oh, my God, there's so much involved in just fixing one thing, you know? What are your thoughts on that?   0:09:11.5 John Dues: Yeah, that's, I mean, that's a really good question. It's, I mean, I think it is a complex system because there's so many moving parts. And I think part of the nature of a complex system versus something like a complicated system is that when you try to impact some part of the system that has these ripple effects into other parts of the system, many of which are unattended or unintended consequences. So, yeah, I mean, I think one thing we have working in our favor is very stable senior leadership. So we're pretty good at understanding how we all work. We have a pretty good historical knowledge of how our school system has worked over time. And we have a pretty good holistic view of all of this complexity. Not that we're all able to improve it all at once, but I think we have a pretty good grasp of what's going on. And even a team like this there we could move faster perhaps, but I think we're trying to be pretty deliberate about the changes that we're making.   0:10:24.7 John Dues: And we're also deliberate about the levers that we're trying to pull for improvement. And these things change over time. So even something like transportation, I mean, the reason that we're working on that now and that we've chosen to work on that now is because the transportation that we're getting from the district is so untenable. Whereas 15 years ago, when I was a principal in our system, while the busing wasn't perfect, it was pretty consistent. You know, most days it dropped off at about the same time. It picked the kids up at about the same time every day. And while it was nowhere near where you would want it to be overall, it wasn't my biggest pain point as a principal. Now kids are literally missing hours or buses aren't showing up at all. And so we have to figure out a way to make this work. And to your point this was a system when charter schools were set up in Ohio, is just basically like the district, the nearby district, which is usually a big urban district, is going to do the busing for charter schools.   0:11:35.5 John Dues: And there really wasn't any more thought to it than that and so from the district's perspective, they they have to manage a lot of complexity. They have their own schools, they're busing for charters, which there's about 15,000 kids in charter schools in Columbus. And then they're also busing for private schools. And the district itself still has a very large geographic footprint, even though the number of students that attend there are about half what it was 50 years ago. So they have very spread out buildings, some of which are far below capacity, but they still have students attending them. So they haven't shrunk that geographic footprint. So that's a challenge as well. And at a time when it's become very difficult to find bus drivers. So I don't take lightly, like the challenges that the district is facing in this, but we got to get kids to school as a... Just as a basic starting point to be being able to do school well.   0:12:31.8 Andrew Stotz: Okay, keep going.   0:12:33.8 John Dues: I mean, it's also a really good segue. We'll take a look at a couple of the process maps. So we have our four campuses. We have something different going on. So even though our four campuses are geographically pretty proximate to each other, they have four different processes going on with their attendance intervention system. So take a look at this first process map, which is pretty simple from start to finish. What is that? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. It's really nine steps and it really...   0:13:08.6 Andrew Stotz: And for the listeners out there that can't see it, he's got a process map, State Street. And what it shows is some circles and some squares and some tilted squares. I don't know what those are called.   0:13:23.5 John Dues: Yeah, I mean, it's just the circles are the start and end points.   0:13:26.9 Andrew Stotz: Okay.   0:13:27.8 John Dues: The squares are the steps in the process. And then the diamonds are, when there's a... Some decision has to be made in the process.   0:13:37.0 Andrew Stotz: Okay, great.   0:13:38.0 John Dues: So we're not going to go through all of these steps. But if you are watching this is a pretty simple process at one of our campuses, while there are multiple people sort of involved, it's also true that one person is driving a lot of this work. But the point is, especially for people that are watching, when you sort of walk through these 10 steps, you're going to see that this map is going to look very different and less complicated than the map at one of our other campuses. But the point is, especially if you can see things visually that you can tell just by looking at the two maps, there are two very different processes going on. And these two schools, this first one is actually an elementary school that feeds into the middle school. That is the map that we'll look at second, so this is the first process map. And then when we look at the second map, we can see very quickly, just visually speaking, there are far more steps, it's far more complicated. There's far more decision points. There's a lot more detail here, and there's a lot of interfacing between multiple people that all play a role in this particular process.   0:14:55.4 John Dues: And it's not that one is right and one is wrong. It's just that when you have these two campuses doing it differently, there very likely is inefficiencies.   0:15:06.8 Andrew Stotz: And are they mapping the same thing? And they...   0:15:10.6 John Dues: Yes, it's the same process. It's how they intervene as the state requires for kids that have some type of attendance issue. And there's different thresholds that mean different parts of the process kick in as a result. But they're operating within the same state process that you have to follow. But even so, you can see that they have a very different sort of illustration of what that process looks like. And if I had the other two campuses, we'd have four separate versions. And remember all these steps and you know, all these decision points. There's documents that exist. There's meetings that happen. There's agendas for those meetings. There's agendas for meeting with parents. There's letters that have to be mailed. And so you can imagine if everybody is creating separate forms, separate meeting agendas, keeping this information in different ways. There's probably a way to design this that's far more effective and efficient by pulling from the four different processes to create one process. And oh, by the way, if you do that, it makes training easier for anybody new that's going to take on some of the clerical roles or some of the interfacing with parents.   0:16:26.9 John Dues: And then if you have one process that you're working from, then you can also share best practices as they emerge as you're working. But if you have four variants, it's much harder to share that information.   0:16:43.4 Andrew Stotz: And you know, it's questionable whether this is a core function. It is an important process. Is it the core?   0:16:54.8 John Dues: Yeah, I mean, I would say it's a, I guess depending on how you define core. I mean, it's a required process. It's a process that the state requires and a lot of the sub steps are required components. Now, interestingly, this, the setup for this attendance intervention system came out of some legislation called Health...House Bill 410. And it's been in place for maybe five years or so, four or five years. And they're changing it right now. So there's new language.   0:17:30.2 Andrew Stotz: Just when we got it set.   0:17:32.2 John Dues: Just when we got it set. But we at least know the likely changes that are coming. So Ohio operates on a two year budget cycle. So in this new budget that will likely pass on. Well, it has to pass by June 30th. Right now there's language in there that changes this process for schools and actually gives schools way more leeway. So we'll sort of be ahead of the game because we're going to have our own process mapped and you know, we can remove some of those things that are a little more cumbersome on the school teams. And to your point, those things that were compliance related but didn't have really impact on improving attendance, we could just remove those now. We'll have some more freedom there.   0:18:13.8 Andrew Stotz: I mentioned about the core thing because there's a great book I read called Clockwork by Michael Michalowicz and he talks about identifying what is the core function in your business and then really focusing in on that. And it's interesting because one of the benefits of that is that if you don't do that, you can get caught up in every process like, and then all of a sudden it's just everything is seen as equal.   0:18:43.6 John Dues: Right. Yeah.   0:18:44.6 Andrew Stotz: Anyways, keep going.   0:18:45.9 John Dues: Yeah, it's one of those weird things and I'll stop sharing. Yeah, that was the last visual. But that's one of those things where like I said for the last five years or so these things have been required. And I think you'd be hard pressed to find a school system that would say these, the way things are outlined as requirements for schools to do on this front are not effective but people do them because they're required. And you know, I think with this updated language, we'll have some more flexibility to do this how we want to do it.   0:19:20.4 Andrew Stotz: And how does this, just to clarify how it fits into that mountain diagram, this is trying to assess or deal with the obstacle or is this the current state? I noticed that it said current state for the process map. But is the purpose of what you're... The original one you show. But is the purpose of what you're doing trying to overcome the, identify and overcome the obstacle?   0:19:46.8 John Dues: Well, I would say this is a part of grasping that current condition. You know, we did that early on in terms of that system flowchart, in terms of what the whole system looks like. And now what we're doing is learning about the processes at each individual school. Well, I'd say when you map out a process like this, and I think people would probably, my guess is, is that senior leaders would often say, well, no, we have a process and you know, everybody follows the same thing. And then if you actually mapped it like that, step by step, what you would see is tons of variation, tons of variation.   0:20:23.9 Andrew Stotz: So one of the benefits of that is it's not only, it's about facing the reality or understanding the true current state. Like everybody can say, no, no, no, we all know what the current situation is. No, we don't.   0:20:41.2 John Dues: No, you don't. And every time I sit with a team and make these process maps, we'll say, okay, what's the next step? And you know, maybe a couple people will pipe up and then someone inevitably goes, well, no, wait a second, that's not what we do. What we do next is X, Y or Z. I mean, it's... And that happens over and over and over again with this with this process just seems to be a part of it. It's not a bug. It's actually a feature of this mapping exercise.   0:21:08.5 Andrew Stotz: And many people try to solve these problems by just jumping in rather than taking the time to really, truly understand the current state. You know, what's the risk of the action taker?   0:21:22.7 John Dues: Well, yeah, I mean, I think what happens a lot of times is like when people don't really understand a process like this is they start blaming people for things that aren't going right. That's what typically happens.   0:21:35.8 Andrew Stotz: I want people to take responsibility around here.   0:21:38.3 John Dues: We have to hold people accountable, but you can't hold them accountable to a process that's unknown. Right. It's not well specified, but that's what typically happens. So, so yeah, so the objective for this PDSA cycle, so we're on this third cycle. So those first two were focused on talking to individual kids, interviewing with individual kids. And we said well let's actually look at our process for how we're intervening from a school perspective as a team at each of the schools and let's standardize that process.   0:22:13.1 John Dues: So that's what we're doing. We're sort of mapping it from start to finish, gathering feedback from key stakeholders as we sort of map a standardized process that works across all four schools. And really one of the things that we're doing right now is we're saying can we develop a process? And we have these four dimensions that we're looking for to sort of meet. One is functional, one is, is it reliable? Third, to your point about the business talk you're giving tonight is is it scalable? You know, does it work across the entire school and across the entire school system? And then is it effective? And we're basically, the attendance improvement team basically is going to put together the process and then they're going to put it in front of our senior leaders and we're going to rate sort of the process across those four dimensions and they've sort of predicted what they think is going to, how it's going to hold up when it's sort of tested by those senior leaders.   0:23:12.8 John Dues: So that's kind of what we're doing right now. So step one is mapping the four campuses and then we're going to map one standardized process, at least a rough draft. And again, so once that initial network wide or system wide map is created, we're going to put it in front of that senior leadership group. We're going to give them a brief survey, sort of a Likert scale across those four dimensions and see, see what they think basically. So that's our next step right now.   0:23:40.6 Andrew Stotz: Exciting, exciting. I want to tell a little story to wrap up my contribution here and that is after many years of living in Asia, I started to realize that everything's connected in Asia, people are connected. If you want to be mean to somebody, it's going to come back around to you. And if you want to push on somebody, it's going to come back around because everybody knows everybody. And I like to picture it like a circle. Let's just say a bunch of people in a circle facing the same direction. And then let's say they all put their right arm on the right shoulder of the man or woman in front of them. So now we have a circle that's connected in such a way. And if you think you're going to get something done by squeezing on the shoulder of the person in front of you, the problem you're going to face is that that's going to transmit all the way around the circle until all of a sudden you're going to be squeezed. And that is my visualization of the way influence works in Asia. Yeah, but I feel like it's the same type of thing when you just say, I want to hold people accountable and we need responsibility around here.   0:24:57.8 Andrew Stotz: What ends up happening is that the only choice that someone has is just to squeeze on the person in front of them. And when they do that, it just transmits a squeeze all the way around. It builds fear, it builds distrust and all of that. And so that. That was a visualization I was having when you were talking.   0:25:16.4 John Dues: Yeah, I mean, I think... And it can be convicting a little bit there. There's a Dr. Deming quote that I'll share to sort of wrap this. Before I do that, I think again, I go back to we... There are these unknown things about how to improve attendance. And so this PDSA, this plan, do study, act cycle, we're using one, again, was intervening with kids and trying to work with a handful of kids that had attendance issues and just see what works and what doesn't. We've shifted gears in this third cycle to something very different. But this is all part of one comprehensive effort by this team to put this new system in place. And all of these pieces of information are important, but this and this mapping, the process thing I think is a great... And I think maybe a lot of people wouldn't think about that as a PDSA to plan a new process, but you can absolutely use it in that way. But the Dr. Deming quote that I think of when I do process mapping is "if you can't describe what you're doing as a process, you don't know what you're doing."   0:26:21.7 John Dues: And I think that's true. Again, it's not to convict people, but I think often when we say, well, that's this thing is going wrong, we need to hold people accountable. And then you ask that person that's making that claim, well, what is the process for this thing? And they often can't tell you. Or they do, it's so vague that nobody could.   0:26:45.3 Andrew Stotz: Or they say, that's not my responsibility. My responsibility is to hold you accountable for getting the result.   0:26:51.4 John Dues: Right. Yeah. And, and, and many people, many organizations don't write these things down. You know, they don't write them down and share them with folks. So that's just some of these simple things are as part of the power making things exciting.   0:27:05.1 Andrew Stotz: Exciting. Well, yeah, how about we wrap it up there and so what are we going to get next time?   0:27:10.7 John Dues: Yeah, I think so. What we went through quickly here at the end was the plan for this PDSA cycle. So by the time we get back together, will have the process map for the system and we'll have had the feedback back and we'll be able to compare that to what the group predicted.   0:27:28.8 Andrew Stotz: So ladies and gentlemen, we're watching it in real time unfold the applications of Dr. Deming's principles. And isn't that what we want? You know, obviously we love theory and we love ideas, but we really need to be all thinking about how we apply these things. And so from my perspective, I'm really enjoying this series and I'm learning a lot. And as I mentioned before, I've been improving some of my thinking and some of my teaching in particular, based upon the discussions that we've had. So on behalf of everyone at the Deming Institute, I want to thank you again for this discussion and for listeners remember to go to deming.org to continue your journey. And also you can find John's book, Win Win: W. Edwards Deming the System of Profound Knowledge and the Science of Improving Schools on Amazon.com This is your host, Andrew Stotz. And I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Dr. Deming. I know you've heard it before, but I'm going to say it again. Until we have joy. "People are entitled to joy in work."

In Episode 191 of the Pu'u Muay Thai Podcast, we're coming to you straight from Bangkok, Thailand with a special crossover segment from CHOK Chats—hosted by content creator and RWS commentator Joe Comerford, joined by Jonathan Puu and Josh Soliva.This wide-ranging, no-filter conversation digs into the realities of training and fighting Muay Thai in Thailand, the cultural expectations for foreigners, and the ongoing issue of influencer fraud—people selling online content and courses without real experience.We discuss:

Maggie and Tim are joined by legendary actor Bruce Campbell to talk about Psych S8 E9: Nightmare on State Street. They also talk about the perks of being a member of The Elks Club, what it was like for Bruce to work as a PA on a set with Frank Sinatra and some of the great props from Psych that they still have today! This episode is sponsored by Lume: As a special offer for listeners, new customers GET 15% ALL Lume products with our exclusive code - and if you combine the 15% off with the already discounted starter pack, that equals over 40% off their Starter Pack! Use code PINEAPPLE15 for 15% off your first purchase at LumeDeodorant.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Shamus Toomey, Editor in Chief and co-founder of Block Club Chicago, joins Bob Sirott to share the latest Chicago neighborhood stories. Shamus has details on: South Loop's Ace Hardware To Close Next Month: The final day of operation for the State Street store is May 24. Chicago State University Names Bobby Rome II Its First-Ever Football […]

In Episode 190 of the Pu'u Muay Thai Podcast, Jonathan Puu visits the stunning Marrok Gym in Bangkok, Thailand, for a powerful in-person conversation with co-owners Mimm and Golf, alongside special guest Josh Soliva. This episode dives deep into how Marrok is reshaping the Muay Thai and MMA landscape in Thailand—focusing on fighter empowerment, fair contracts, and long-term athlete development.Jonathan explores:

Beth Bishop, Development Director from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of SW Idaho, joins Morning Light with an update on the Subaru raffle and the construction happening on State Street.  

In Case You Missed It...

Epic Brewing has been a mainstay in Utah's craft beer scene since opening in 2009.

Spring election season is almost over. We're just days away from voting on a Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice, a constitutional amendment, every Madison City Council seat, and more. But there's more to the news than just the election. On this week's Friday news roundup, Madison Minutes newsletter editor Rob Thomas tells us who's hot and who's not in Badger athletics. Host Bianca Martin digs into the city's State Street pedestrian mall experiment (will it continue?!). And of course, executive producer Hayley Sperling gives one more election news roundup and reminds you to vote. Mentioned on the show: Pingeton selected to lead Badger women's basketball program [UW Athletics] Everything You Need To Know About the Statewide 2025 Spring Election Races [

Host Nigel Grant sits down with Elliot Hentov (Chief Geopolitical Strategist, State Street Global Advisors) to discuss critical trends shaping the global economy and financial markets. From the key policy drivers impacting the US economy in 2025 and China's evolving economic strategy, to Europe's fiscal challenges and the geopolitics of energy, they explore what these dynamics mean for investors. Plus, Elliot shares insights into the future of digital assets and how blockchain technology may influence global investing. This podcast is provided for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice or an offer for a particular security or securities. The views and opinions expressed by the speaker are those of his or her own as of the date of the recording, and do not necessarily represent the views of State Street or its affiliates. Any such views are subject to change at any time based upon market or other conditions and State Street disclaims any responsibility to update such views. These views should not be relied on as investment advice, and because investment decisions are based on numerous factors, may not be relied on as an indication of trading intent on behalf of State Street. Neither State Street nor the speaker can be held responsible for any direct or incidental loss incurred by applying any of the information offered. Please consult your tax or financial advisor for additional information concerning your specific situation. This video cannot be used for commercial purposes, and should only be used in the specific countries as restrictions exist with some products and services marketed globally.

In Episode 189 of the Pu'u Muay Thai Podcast, Jonathan Puu exposes the harsh realities and hidden truths about fighting in Thailand—things most fighters never hear before stepping into the ring. If you've ever dreamed of fighting in the birthplace of Muay Thai, this episode is a must-listen to understand what you're really signing up for.

Madison is said to have more bikes than cars. And with 200 miles of bike trails in the area, there's a lot for cyclists to explore. So as spring gets in gear, we turned to biking aficionado Grant Foster for his favorite Dane County trips. He's got ideas for everyone from newbies to those ready to make a weekend out of it. Plus, he shares some tips for basic bike maintenance.  Grant's recommendations  If you've got 30 minutes or less: Downtown Loop along State Street and Capitol (2 miles) Lake Mendota shorefront to Picnic Point (3 miles) Wingra Lake Loop through the UW Arboretum (6 miles) Lower Yahara River Trail (6 miles)  If you've got an hour or two: Lake Monona Loop (12 miles) Cap City Loop: Lake Farm Park to Seminole Hwy, through the Arboretum and back to Lake Farm via Wingra and Cap City paths (16 miles) Day Trippin' Badger State trail south to Paoli and back (17 miles round-trip)  Bike Camping Military Ridge trail west to Blue Mounds State Park and back (46 miles round-trip) From Lake Farm Park south to Lake Kegonsa State Park and back (20 miles round-trip) From Lake Farm Park east to Sandhill Station State Campground and back (60 miles round-trip) This show originally aired July 25, 2023. Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We're also on Instagram!  You can get more Madison news delivered right to your inbox by subscribing to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter.  Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.  Learn more about the sponsors of this March 19th episode: Babbel - Get up to 60% off at Babbel.com/CITYCAST Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When you think about restaurants and dining experiences, you probably don't think about insurance companies. But that's exactly who is behind one of Hartford's new destination restaurants. Hartford Steam Boiler recently opened The Foundry on the 20th floor of One State Street in downtown Hartford. “We consider one State Street to be one of the preeminent buildings in Harford,” HSB president and CEO Greg Barats told the CBIA BizCast. “We've always had a top tier restaurant in here.” Those restaurants include The Polytechnic Club and On20. Like many restaurants, On20 closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly five years later, Barats said now was the right time to reopen. “We've been seeing an ongoing reinvestment in the downtown Hartford area,” Barats said. “A lot of other restaurants opening in the area, small businesses opening, more people coming back. We thought, okay, this is the time to do it.” Barats said they used the opportunity to reimagine the restaurant space and pay tribute to the company's history and the city's “can do” spirit. “We wanted to make a statement,” he said. “We want to give something back to the community and the capital that I think everybody can be proud of.” The Foundry offers a dining room with panoramic views of the city and multiple spaces that can be used as meeting spaces. Barats said the design honors the city's industrial and manufacturing heritage. The restaurant also has several nods to HSB's background, with rooms and areas dedicated to the company's 158-year history. One room, The Sultana Room, pays tribute to a maritime disaster that led to the company's founding in 1866. The Sultana was a steamship that was bringing prisoners home after the Civil War. Tragically, the ship was overloaded and its two steam boilers exploded, leading to the single largest maritime loss in U.S. history. Because of that tragedy, the Polytechnic Club, a group of engineers, formed HSB to solve the engineering design flaws. “We feel this restaurant's got a soul and we try to bring that through,” Barats said about the importance of leaning into their history. To help realize the vision of The Foundry, Barats and his team turned to a familiar face to lead the kitchen. Executive chef Jeffrey Lizotte is a Connecticut-native and the previous executive chef of On20. “We interviewed a lot of other chefs in the area,” Barats said. “Jeffrey was our pick. He's a hometown boy. He does exceptional work. He's just a great person, and we think he matched us very well.” Chef Lizotte's team has created a menu that Barats described as American Contemporary with a little European flair. “Very familiar dishes, but with more of an elevated, exceptional add to it,” he said. While its doors have been open for several weeks, The Foundry celebrated its grand opening March 11 with Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz and Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam. Barats said they've been embraced by the community and the restaurant is booked 40 days in advance. Barats said HSB's and The Foundry's goal is to be part of the community and help Hartford's resurgence. “I think the more you're involved in, the live, work, play in a city, the more vibrant it can be,” he said. He said with restaurants like The Foundry and others, along with new housing, hotels, and street commerce, the city is returning to that vibrancy. “Every day, every week, every month, we try to be part of that,” he said. “I hope it continues to bring pride, you know, and something to look forward to and come and enjoy here in Hartford.” Related Links: Hartford Steam Boiler Website: https://www.munichre.com/hsb/en.html LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hsb/ Greg Barats LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-barats/ The Foundry Website: https://thefoundryct.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefoundryct/ CBIA Website: https://www.cbia.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cbia/

In Episode 188 of the Pu'u Muay Thai Podcast, Jonathan Puu dives deep into the harsh reality of why most Muay Thai fighters struggle financially—and more importantly, how they can change that. Despite being one of the toughest and most respected combat sports, Muay Thai fighters often earn little to nothing, even at high levels. But does it have to be this way?Jonathan, with over 18 years in the industry as a fighter, coach, gym owner, and ring official, breaks down:

State Street Global Advisors Chief Business Officer Anna Paglia discusses State Street and Apollo's latest ETF, and the SEC's concern around it. She speaks with Bloomberg's Scarlet Fu and Katie Greifeld. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Precidian's Stuart Thomas spotlights the firm's innovative ADRhedged ETFs and explains the rationale for removing currency exposure.  VettaFi's Kirsten Chang discusses several recent ETF launches, including offerings from State Street, VistaShares, Quantify Funds, and Roundhill.

It was a cool Spring day. State Street in Madison was busy with all of us out from our winter hiding, engaged and all of smiles. And as always on the edges were the regulars.Music by: Franz Gordon “Somnium”Copyrighthttps://jemorin.com/ All Musical Soundtracks and Sound Effects provided by Epidemic Sound

Want a quick estimate of how much your business is worth? With our free valuation calculator, answer a few questions about your business and you'll get an immediate estimate of the value of your business. You might be surprised by how much you can get for it: https://flippa.com/exit -- In this episode of The Exit: Mike Oleksak, Executive Director at Exit Planning Exchange, shares insights from his extensive experience helping business owners prepare for successful exits. After starting his career in finance and management consulting, Mike co-founded the first chapter of Exit Planning Exchange in 2007, creating a network that now spans 22 chapters nationwide. He discusses the importance of bringing together diverse advisors—from accountants and attorneys to consultants and financial planners—to help business owners navigate the complex exit process. Mike emphasizes starting exit planning 3-5 years in advance to properly prepare financials, address management succession, and establish realistic valuation expectations. Mike also examines current market trends, including the increased involvement of private equity firms in acquiring middle-market businesses and how market conditions like interest rates affect timing and valuation. For more details and insights from his entrepreneurial journey, listen to the latest episode of The Exit. -- Mike Oleksak's experience covers finance, consulting and sales, with Bank of Boston, Thomson Financial, Trek Consulting, and State Street. He co-founded the Exit Planning Exchange (XPX) an organization with 20 chapters across the U.S. XPX is a business association for advisors to privately held businesses on growth and exit strategy. Mike was a co-founder of and worked 10 years at Trek Consulting where, as both a management consultant and a coach, he worked with clients to grow their businesses, tell their story better to raise financing, attract investment and acquirers. Website: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeoleksak/ Mike on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeoleksak/ Free Range Thinking Website: https://www.freerangethinking.com/ -- The Exit—Presented By Flippa: A 30-minute podcast featuring expert entrepreneurs who have been there and done it. The Exit talks to operators who have bought and sold a business. You'll learn how they did it, why they did it, and get exposure to the world of exits, a world occupied by a small few, but accessible to many. To listen to the podcast or get daily listing updates, click on flippa.com/the-exit-podcast/

Kroger's CEO fired, State Street's ESG loss, meritocracy is fake, and corporate blame games

GOOD GAME: ESG is now “resilience”, Kroger's CEO leaves, Tesla owners hate Musk, State Street loves nominating committees

Katie and Matt discuss Apollo and State Street's private credit exchange-traded fund launch, Bill Ackman's efforts to build his own Berkshire Hathaway, and memecoins as bankruptcy bidding currency.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Episode 186 of the Pu'u Muay Thai Podcast, Jonathan Puu breaks down the flawed ranking system in Muay Thai and why it continues to be a challenge for fighters, promotions, and organizations worldwide. Unlike MMA and boxing, where structured ranking systems dictate title contention, Muay Thai still lacks a standardized, universally recognized system—and that's holding the sport back.Jonathan dives into:

He's only 24, but already, Sullivan Israel is one of Santa Barbara's most influential people. He founded the local Strong Towns SB and has been advocated for safer streets for all types of transportation. Sullivan wants Santa Barbara to move away from planning with a car as the main focus and instead make all ways of transportation an equal option. He wants to bring more housing to the downtown Santa Barbara area because housing downtown, he says, will help revitalize retail on State Street. Sullivan isn't just a guy with ideas. He has degrees in civil engineering and urban planning and is a graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and UCLA. He attended Laguna Blanca school and guess what? He wants to run for Santa Barbara City Council, possibly even mayor. Check out this dynamic podcast with one of Santa Barbara's brightest stars. Award-winning journalist Josh Molina creates dynamic and compelling conversations with the region's leaders on the issues of housing, transportation, education, business and culture. He formally worked at the San Jose Mercury News and now is a local journalist and teaches journalism at Santa Barbara City College. Consider a contribution to support his podcast by visiting www.santabarbaratalks.com and please subscribe on YouTube.

You've most likely noticed Dan Yoder's handy work when driving through Madison. His company, Sign Art Studio, is responsible for the city's most iconic signs: the huge new Orpheum marquee on State Street, the classic restored Badger Liquor sign a block away, the elegant, retro cool-looking Harvey House sign, and hundreds more. Bianca Martin sat down with Yoder to find out just how one becomes a “sign guy”, how many light bulbs it took to make the new Orpheum theater sign and why good design endures. This show originally aired Feb. 13, 2024 Wanna talk to us about an episode? Leave us a voicemail at 608-318-3367 or email madison@citycast.fm. We're also on Instagram!  You can get more Madison news delivered right to your inbox by subscribing to the Madison Minutes morning newsletter.  Looking to advertise on City Cast Madison? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads.  Learn more about the sponsors of this February 26th episode here: Dane County Humane Society Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.Today's episode dives into an important and growing part of the private markets ecosystem: how investors can access and invest into alternatives through their retirement funds.We have Eric Satz, the Founder & CEO of Alto, a self-directed IRA custodian, with us today to discuss how he's on a mission to provide everyday Americans with the same investment opportunity long favored by institutional investors.Alto provides custody for a wide array of alternative assets, including private companies, real estate, crypto, loans, and securitized collectibles. Alto has streamlined the process for companies, funds, and SEC-registered investment platforms to include IRA investors in their offerings. They've partnered with firms across the alts space, including AngelList, Coinbase, EquityZen, Republic, Masterworks, and others, to enable investors to invest into private markets with their IRA.Eric is a serial entrepreneur and former investment banker. He worked at DLJ / Credit Suisse First Boston before co-founding Currenex (acquired by State Street for $564M), Plumgood Food, and Tennessee Community Ventures. His passion for entrepreneurship led him to serve on the Board of the Tennessee Valley Authority from 2015 to 2018 and he teaches an entrepreneurship class to high school students.On today's podcast, Eric teaches us all about the merits of a self-directed IRA. We had a fascinating discussion about why and how it makes sense to use an IRA to invest into private markets investments and how he's taking lessons learned from prior IRA businesses to build Alto.We discussed:Rethinking retirement investing.The evolution of the self-directed IRA market.Alto's vision: TurboTax for IRAs.Structural challenges with using IRAs for private markets investments.The role of technology with streamlining retirement investing.The evolution in investor awareness of retirement investing.The importance of duration matching.Thanks Eric for coming on the show to share your knowledge and passion for alternatives.Show Notes00:00 Introduction: Going Mainstream00:38 Welcome to Alt Goes Mainstream Podcast00:52 Introducing Eric Satz and Alto01:33 Eric's Background and Entrepreneurial Journey01:57 The Mission of Alto02:01 The TurboTax for IRAs02:05 The Importance of Retirement Accounts in Private Markets02:29 Welcoming Eric to the Podcast02:37 The Evolution of Private Markets and IRAs02:51 The Beginnings of Alto03:13 Challenges in Self-Directed IRAs03:54 The Vision for Self-Directed IRAs04:28 Changing Conventional Wisdom on Retirement Investing05:40 The Demographics of the IRA Industry06:21 The Growth of IRA Accounts06:38 The Allocation to Alternative Assets07:36 Barriers to Private Market Investments in IRAs07:50 Psychological Barriers to Alternative Investments08:35 Structural Challenges in Using IRAs for Private Investments08:53 The Role of Technology in Streamlining Investments09:02 The Launch of Alto with AngelList10:05 The User Journey in Private Market Investments10:43 The Role of Financial Advisors11:10 Educating Investors on Private Markets12:25 The Evolution of Investor Knowledge12:35 The Importance of Tax-Advantaged Investments13:11 The Financial Advisor's Perspective14:05 The Benefits of Illiquidity in Private Markets15:54 The Role of Large Asset Managers16:17 The Branding of Private Markets16:45 The Growth of Athene and Financial Advisors16:57 The Importance of Current Income in Retirement Accounts17:43 The Younger Generation's Investment Behavior18:05 The Impact of Evergreen Fund Structures19:04 The Role of Asset Management Firms20:02 The Future of Private Market Solutions20:15 The Role of Alto in Private Market Investments20:54 The Importance of Infrastructure in Private Markets21:44 The Evolution of Alto's Business Model21:50 The Growing Awareness of Private Markets23:57 The Role of the Alto Marketplace24:35 The Inclusion of Crypto in IRAs25:17 The Challenges of Transitioning Assets to IRAs25:50 The Impact of Friction on Investment Decisions27:46 The Success of Alto's Technology28:35 The Role of Funds in Promoting IRAs29:36 The Future of Private Markets and Wealth Channels31:11 The Role of Financial Advisors in Private Markets31:58 Educating Financial Advisors on IRAs32:13 The Importance of Conferences and Networking47:13 The Future of Private Markets and Retirement Accounts47:32 The Role of Regulations in Private Market Investments50:27 Conclusion: The Potential of Retirement Accounts in Private MarketsEditing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.

In the five years since the onset of COVID-19, some businesses have returned to what looks like a pre-pandemic "normal" — though not all. Crain's contributor Judith Crown talks with host Amy Guth about the pandemic's effects still weighing on Chicago in many ways. Plus: American Airlines makes a big move at O'Hare, large State Street retail property hits the market, highly vacant office building next to Old Post Office goes up for sale and Rivian reports big net loss in Q4 and issues sobering forecast.

In Episode 186 of the Pu'u Muay Thai Podcast, Jonathan Puu pulls back the curtain on what it really takes to run a successful Muay Thai gym in 2025. Whether you're an aspiring gym owner, a coach, or a dedicated student, this episode will give you a raw, unfiltered look at the business side of Muay Thai—beyond just training fighters and hosting events.Jonathan shares his insights from over 18 years in the industry, discussing:✅ Why treating your gym as a business is essential for survival.✅ The hidden costs—rent, insurance, marketing, staff, and equipment.✅ Why pricing matters and how charging too little can kill your gym.✅ The importance of student retention and building a strong community.✅ How marketing & social media can make or break your gym's success.✅ The biggest mistakes new gym owners make—and how to avoid them.If you've ever wondered why some gyms thrive while others struggle, this episode lays it all out. Jonathan also emphasizes the deeper impact of Muay Thai—how it transforms lives beyond just fighting, creating lasting change for students who walk through the doors.

Swan Signal Live covered major Bitcoin developments, headlined by Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund disclosing a $437M Bitcoin ETF position and Wisconsin's pension fund investing $321M in Bitcoin ETFs. State Street and Citibank announced plans to launch crypto custody services, marking another step in Bitcoin's institutional integration. The hosts discussed the mempool clearing for the first time in two years, suggesting Bitcoin's current primary use as a store of value rather than a payment system. They also covered CPI data showing 3% inflation, Ray Dalio's comments on gold and Bitcoin as portfolio diversifiers, and noted that nine companies now have market caps exceeding $1 trillion. Start buying your first Bitcoin in just minutes, with no fees on your first $10k. Search "Swan Bitcoin" in your app store or visit swan.com/app.Put Bitcoin into your IRA and own your future. Check out swan.com/ira.Swan Vault makes advanced Bitcoin security simple. Secure your BItcoin in a multisignature vault that requires 2 of 3 keys to access. You hold two keys for complete control, but you don't have to go it along. Learn more at swan.com/vault.Swan Private helps HNWI, companies, trusts, and other entities go beyond legacy finance with BItcoin.

Crypto News: Abu Dhabi's sovereign wealth fund buys BlackRock Bitcoin ETF. Trump media to buy cryptocurrency. World's largest custodian bank State Street & Citi bank to launch crypto custody services. SEC Signals Path to Ending Coinbase Lawsuit.Show Sponsor -

IntroductionLIVE from your ESG ESG ESG ESG DEI DEI DEI Climate Change Change Climate Change Global Warming ESG DEI, it's a Business Pants Friday Show here at Valentine's Day Studios, featuring AnalystHole Matt Moscardi. On today's weekly wrap up: Corporate Abolitionists, The Gulf of Stupidity, The S in ISS stands for Shitty, and Denny's Truth Bomb Our show today is being sponsored by Free Float Analytics, the only platform measuring board power, connections, and performance for FREE.Story of the Week (DR):Goldman Sachs abandons DEI rule, saying it has ‘served its purpose' MMRichard Gnodde, CEO of Goldman Sachs International and a member of the bank's Management Committee, told the BBC that the bank had scrapped its board diversity requirement because of legal developments — and the fact that it had achieved its function.“That policy served as a catalyst to try and drive a change in behavior. What's important here is that you have a diversity of views on that board, and if you look at these companies — they've all embraced diversity. I think it served its purpose.” Billionaire Airbnb Co-Founder Is Said to Take Role in Musk's Government InitiativeJoe Gebbia, the Airbnb co-founder, is a board member at Tesla.Mr. Gebbia arrived at O.P.M.'s downtown Washington D.C. headquarters in a black S.U.V. with a three-man security detail‘Sustainable' Investors Flee References to Climate ChangeThe success of Republican attacks on ESG and Donald Trump's re-election has everyone running for cover.For more than a decade, investment chief of Green Alpha Investments Garvin Jabusch would show a chart of the planet's rising temperatures when pitching investment ideas to clients, saying they could help save the planet and still make money: “I've given up on anyone ever caring about that”Parnassus Investments, the biggest US sustainable-investing firm, has removed references on its website that its funds are “fossil-fuel free.”Engine No. 1, the small activist firm that led the shakeup of ExxonMobil Corp.'s board in 2021, has removed wording on its web page that corporate performance is “greatly enhanced” by investing in workers, communities and the environment. The fund now says it invests in companies that are “powering innovation and driving the reindustrialization of the United States.”Mr. BlowhardJamie Dimon is fed up with remote workLast year's proxy statement:“We continued to deliver strong multi-year financial performance, invest in our future, strengthen our risk and control environment, and reinforce our culture and values, including our long-standing commitment to serve our customers, employees and communities, and conduct business in a responsible way to drive inclusive growth.”Managed revenue of $162.4 billion — a record for the sixth consecutive yearExperienced growth across all of our market-leading lines of businessRecord net income of $49.6 billionExceptional Performance: the Firm's sustained strong relative outperformance compared to its peersJPMorgan CEO Dimon slams RTO pushback: ‘I don't care how many people sign that f*cking petition'Jamie Dimon Reportedly Says He'll Cut Some ‘Stupid' DEI Costs At JPMorgan ChaseJPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon wants to cancel some DEI spending after the bank spent billions on racial equity: ‘I was never a firm believer in bias training' In his remarks, Dimon reiterated the bank's commitment to improving society and said the company's approach to diverse employees and communities would stay the course. Yet, he reportedly added: “I saw how we were spending money on some of this stupid sh-t, and it really pissed me off,” Dimon said. “I'm just gonna cancel them. I don't like wasted money in bureaucracy.”There are two distinct elements to the determination of Jamie's pay plan: 50% is “the what” and 50% is “the how.” One of the three elements of “the how” is “Teamwork & Leadership,” which specifically includes “Creating an open, respectful, inclusive culture; Employer of choice for top talent from all backgrounds; Delivery on internal DEI initiatives.”One of the company's stated achievements in “Client/Customer/Stakeholder” was:Advancing racial equity: By the end of 2023, we reported nearly $31 billion of progress toward our five-year $30 billion Racial Equity Commitment to help close the racial wealth gap and advance economic inclusion among historically underserved communities in the U.S., including Black, Hispanic and Latino customers and communities. The Firm is committed to continuing work beyond the five-year timeframe identified in our original commitment to complete the 18 individually identified sub-commitments.“[P]ractices and progress on the Firm's DEI priorities as part of the year-end performance review.”$36M last year: $145M for 6 NEOsOne of COO Daniel Pinto's stated achievements: “Delivered key CIB DEI initiatives to drive a more inclusive work environment for employees”Goodliest of the Week (MM/DR):DR: Seattle Voters Say Yes to Corporate Tax Hike to Fund Social Housing a ballot initiative to fund social housing through an "excess compensation" tax on city businesses paying salaries of over $1 million68.32% of voters backed funding for social housing and 57.55% chose to fund it specifically with the proposed taxMM: Mexico's President Sheinbaum said her government would ask Google to make ‘Mexican America' pop up on maps of the U.S. MM DRAssholiest of the Week (MM):‘Greenhushing' Emerges as Anti-ESG Pressures Mount for CompaniesSTAND UP FOR YOURSELVES, YOU BABIESEither it is the right thing to do for shareholders and stakeholders and you should say so, or it's not and you're a fraudISSISS Indefinitely Halts Consideration of Diversity Factors When Making Proxy Voting RecommendationsLet's talk value of “diversity factors” - I'm talking strictly data here, not the justified moral outrage about having all white male boards. Let's just talk about how investors are now paying ISS hundreds of thousands of dollars instead of Free Float in order to get LESS data - here are the “factors” you no longer consider for recommendations:Gender diversity:Women outpace men globally in sector knowledge for boards they're on - women are more likely to have gone to an elite school or have an advanced degree AND have direct knowledge of the industry of the company they're on the board ofWomen have stronger networks - because so few break the glass ceiling of boards, they end up getting recycled, which means they know more board members or have friends in commonWomen and men have exactly the same performance metrics as directors - by performance, I mean during their tenures, they oversee the exact same TSR and earnings performance percentiles versus industry peersMen have the advantage in leadership and economic interest - as in, women are rarely made CEOs unless there's a crisis and mommy has to clean up after the boys, and the boys almost always keep shares for themselves and don't give any to the girlsRacial/ethnic diversity:Black female directors at S&P 500 companies are the most knowledgeable of their industriesBlack female directors at S&P 500 companies also have the strongest networks - they have been recycled more, and thus have more friends in high placesAsian male directors at S&P 500 companies have the highest performance rates on TSR and earningsOverall, black male and female directors are the most “meriting” board positions at the S&P 500 companies Shareholders who don't use their rights DRSEC Looks to Muzzle Shareholder Culture WarriorsSchedule 13G is filed by owners of stock who have more than 5% of shares - so basically, Blackrock, Vanguard, State Street, Fidelity - major investorsBUT, if the owner takes an ACTIVIST position (like Elliott amassing in BP right now), and that position is greater than 5%, they file a 13D, not G - D means they intend to influence or change management in a proxy fight (or through engagement)13D has more reporting requirements because it's an activist stakeWell, because investors have basically ignored their basic rights for so long and deferred to management, this happens: SEC Provides New Guidance on Schedule 13G EligibilityThe new guidance says:Schedule 13G would be unavailable if a shareholder engages with the issuer's management to specifically call for the sale of the issuer or a significant amount of the issuer's assets, the restructuring of the issuer, or the election of director nominees other than the issuer's nominees.For example, Schedule 13G may be unavailable to a shareholder who:recommends that the issuer remove its staggered board, switch to a majority voting standard in uncontested director elections, eliminate its poison pill plan, change its executive compensation practices, or undertake specific actions on a social, environmental, or political policy and, as a means of pressuring the issuer to adopt the recommendation, explicitly or implicitly conditions its support of one or more of the issuer's director nominees at the next director election on the issuer's adoption of its recommendation; ordiscusses with management its voting policy on a particular topic and how the issuer fails to meet the shareholder's expectations on such topic, and, to apply pressure on management, states or implies during any such discussions that it will not support one or more of the issuer's director nominees at the next director election unless management makes changes to align with the shareholder's expectations.ENGAGEMENT DEATH BY BEAURACRACY THE MAJORS! This works out one of three ways: the majors can no longer vote against any director for fear it appears to be “coercive”, and subjects them to 13D scrutiny, OR…They axe entire engagement teams, stop engaging at all, abstain and only offer pass through votingThey buy Free Float data - imagine a world where you stop engagement or conversation about “key issues”, and vote instead against candidates that just failed to perform without telling them why. No engagement, just voting on the data!But in the end, because you never actually used actual data on your director vote, the SEC is making it harder for you now. Congrats!Headliniest of the WeekDR: Denny's Says Consumers Fatigued by News, Economy, Inflation...EverythingMM: Double Deuce Announces Appointment of Paul A. Dumas as Chairman of the Board of DirectorsWe believe that his experience and knowledge of the mining sector, his wealth of contacts, and his expertise in growing a company and creating shareholder value will be incredibly beneficial to Double Deuce Exploration.Knowledge, network, performance - three tags for merit!Who Won the Week?DR: Two winnersJoe Gebbia: for proving beyond the shadow of a doubt that he is NOT an independent board member at Tesla and that his life choices have led him to believe that he needs three security guards to protect him from a world that very likely hates him.Richard Gnodde, a South African investment banker and CEO of Goldman Sachs International, in a mic-dropping moment for equality across the globe for declaring an end for the need of both the Civil Rights and Equal RIghts MovementsMM: Anyone not a cow veterinarian: H5N1 testing in cow veterinarians suggests bird flu is spreading silentlyPredictionsDR: Jamie Dimon starts to remove tampons from women's bathrooms at JPMorgan Chase because he says “I was never a firm believer in women's hygiene products”MM:

I recorded this podcast with Anson Frericks, former Anheuser-Busch Executive, about a month ago before Trump took office and began putting the final nails in the coffin of “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” (DEI) at the federal level. But, even before that, we saw the decline and predicted the ultimate downfall of DEI initiatives with very notable cases such as the Bud Light fiasco and subsequent boycott. Now, with Target, Amazon, Harley-Davidson, and more notable companies are dismantling these dangerous and destructive ideologies. Today, Anson and I talk about, why we've seen such a huge cultural shift against these policies, why companies truly started these policies in the first place (it wasn't out of the goodness of their hearts), how consumers can take back culture through their purchasing power, and why DEI needs to die once and for all. SHOW HIGHLIGHTS 00:41 - The Power of Authentic Branding 03:37 - Corporate America and Censorship 07:02 - When Companies Prioritize Politics Over Customers 11:34 - The Bud Light Controversy and Corporate Backlash 15:59 - The Influence of ESG and DEI on Big Business 21:39 - The Fallout of Anheuser-Busch's Marketing Misstep 27:21 - Corporate America's Struggle with Political Pressure 33:46 - The Shift in Advertising and Audience Connection 40:00 - How COVID and Social Movements Shaped Corporate Policy 46:02 - The Role of BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street 51:21 - The Future of Free Speech in Business 56:39 - The Power of Courageous Leadership in Shaping Industry 57:24 - The Next Era of Defense and Innovation Battle Planners: Pick yours up today! Order Ryan's new book, The Masculinity Manifesto. For more information on the Iron Council brotherhood. Want maximum health, wealth, relationships, and abundance in your life? Sign up for our free course, 30 Days to Battle Ready

Lawmakers have labor unions in their crosshairs this legislative session. Host Ali Vallarta and executive producer Emily Means connect dots up at the Capitol. Plus, the vibes at this year's Sundance Film Festival, new public art on State Street, and an all-time comedy at the Broadway. Resources and references: ‘No better than working at 7-Eleven': Unions oppose bill to end collective bargaining for Utah public employees [Salt Lake Tribune] Sundance 2025 Films Sold So Far [IndieWire] Sundance Tips and Tricks for Locals [City Cast Salt Lake] Get tickets to Salt Lake Film Society February comedy screenings. We're doing a survey to learn more about our listeners. We'd be grateful if you took the survey at citycast.fm/survey — it's only seven minutes long. You'll be doing us a big favor. Plus, anyone who takes the survey will be eligible to win a $250 Visa gift card and City Cast City swag. Become a member of City Cast Salt Lake today! It's the best way to support our work and help make sure we're around for years to come. Get all the details and sign up at membership.citycast.fm. Subscribe to Hey Salt Lake, our daily morning newsletter. You can also find us on Instagram @CityCastSLC. Looking to advertise on City Cast Salt Lake? Check out our options for podcast and newsletter ads. Learn more about the sponsors of this episode:  Live Crude - Get $10 off your facial by mentioning this ad. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Donald Trump appointed Andy Puzder ambassador to the European Union this past week. But before he heads to Brussels, Puzder is warning about the left-wing scourge of stakeholder capitalism. As the former chief executive of CKE Restaurants, a major fast food corporation operating Carl's Jr. and Hardee's, Puzder knows what it takes to run a successful business. That's why he's so alarmed at the trends he's witnessing in corporate America. He spoke to The Daily Signal about his new book, “A Tyranny for the Good of its Victims: The Ugly Truth about Stakeholder Capitalism.” In this episode, we cover: • How BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street accumulated unprecedented control over U.S. corporations • The real meaning behind ESG policies and their impact on American business • Why major brands are adopting policies that seem to conflict with their customer base • The effectiveness of consumer boycotts against woke corporate policies • Capitalism's historic role in reducing global poverty Purchase your copy of “A Tyranny for the Good of Its Victims” on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4ayJ1gZ  Keep Up With The Daily Signal Sign up for our email newsletters: https://www.dailysignal.com/email   Subscribe to our other shows: The Tony Kinnett Cast: https://www.dailysignal.com/the-tony-kinnett-cast  Problematic Women: https://www.dailysignal.com/problematic-women  The Signal Sitdown: https://www.dailysignal.com/the-signal-sitdown  Follow The Daily Signal: X: https://x.com/DailySignal  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedailysignal/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDailySignalNews/  Truth Social: https://truthsocial.com/@DailySignal  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/DailySignal  Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/TheDailySignal  Thanks for making The Daily Signal Podcast your trusted source for the day's top news. Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices