Rishi Taparia - Issue #104
This week we look at the Chinese shopper problem, young people saving us from office life, Eliud Kipchoge’s incredible marathon run, painting cows and more. Enjoy!
America Is Losing the Chinese Shopper
I’ve talked before about the importance of the Chinese consumer to American businesses. Targeting the Chinese shopper has been a key initiative for companies, and understandably slow. The Chinese, for their part, were once eager to spend on U.S. brands. Now that desire seems to have shifted thanks to a combination of political tensions and homegrown brands. This week a number of examples illustrated the tension that businesses face in China and how quickly the Chinese government and by extension its citizens can turn on companies. The Houston Rockets (and the NBA) have been a fan favorite in the country. This week following a tweet by the Rockets GM supporting the Hong Kong protesters “stores removed Rockets gear and sponsors pulled deals with the NBA. All game broadcasts were canceled. Searches for Rockets merchandise on e-commerce sites yielded friendly error messages encouraging shoppers to consider something else— perhaps a toy rocket.” Kids are being told they are no longer allowed to watch NBA games in a country that has turned on a dime against an otherwise beloved brand. On the other side of the coin is Apple. The tech giant has been slammed for removing an app from the app store that was being used by the Hong Kong protesters, seemingly at the request of the Hong Kong police (read: Chinese government). Given “China now contributes roughly a third of global growth, and is the world’s second biggest source of household wealth…[and] is expected to surpass the U.S. as the world’s biggest consumer market in 2021” it’s no surprise businesses are treading lightly, trying to write and rewrite a playbook for success in the region. Entire corporate growth strategies have been built around winning in the Middle Kingdom. With that strategy more tenuous than ever, expect to see a lot more corporate hand wringing over the coming quarters.
Young People Are Going to Save Us All From Office Life
Gen Z-ers and millennials have been called lazy and entitled. Could they, instead, be among the first to understand the proper role of work in life? The nature of work is changing. The idea of life revolving around work, as has been the norm for the last century. The norms of what ‘work’ means were defined in an era pre-internet, pre-cell phone world with clear distinctions between work time and non-work time. Despite the increased connectivity and ability to get work done from anywhere, these norms have persisted. Now, a generation that has grown up perpetually connected, is asking why? Frankly, a question that should have been asked and addressed years ago. A change toward finding work-life harmony and its flexibility is coming, but is not without its challenges.
Some older employees may think new hires should suffer the way they did, and employers benefit from having always-on workers. Even those that are offering more flexibility might be doing it because unemployment is so low and they’re competing for workers, which could change if there is an economic downturn.
Also, it’s a luxury to be able to demand flexibility in the first place. Those who can tend to have college degrees and white-collar careers, and can afford to take a pay cut in exchange, or be highly selective about their jobs.
That’s a kind of freedom that people in vast sectors of the economy don’t have — and often, it’s given to highly regarded employees on a one-off basis, but not to everyone at a firm.
Flexibility and selectivity shouldn’t be limited to those in white collar positions. The ability to care of life’s tasks, whether child care, medical visits, miscellaneous errands and more, and the flexibility to find work that accommodates life should be possible for all. A number of companies are trying to address these needs. Lots more to come here, I’m sure.
Eliud Kipchoge Dashes Past 2-Hour Marathon Limit In Assisted Event
Picture yourself at the gym. You’re energized, feeling loose and ready for a good workout. You get on the treadmill, ready to put in a few miles. You’ve started with a good warmup pace, maybe 6 miles an hour. Now you’re getting into it, and get to a faster paced maybe 9 or 10 miles an hour. Now, you’re really feeling yourself and say hey, let’s do this! You push the pace as fast as the treadmill will go, 13 miles an hour (4 min 37 sec a mile!) After a solid sprint - maybe a minute or two if you’re really motivated - you slow it back down to a more reasonable speed. Pretty good right? This week Eliud Kipchoge raised the bar. The Kenyan sprinter rewrote the history books when he ran a marathon (26.2 miles) in under two hours. That’s a sub-4:34 mile pace! For two hours straight! Most treadmills don’t go fast enough to match his marathon pace. A truly spectacular feat of physical and mental strength.
Denver temperature drops from 83 to 13 degrees in just 18 hours; 70-degree plunge ties for second-biggest in city's history
One day it’s a sunny 83 degree fall day. The next it’s a snowy, winter wonderland clocking in at 13 degrees. That’s what happened in Denver this week, with the 70-degree difference in temperatures was one of the largest drops in history. To add to injury, it also was the first snowfall of the season, with leaving the city “coated in 1-3 inches of snowfall.” Now, while it’s not the first time this has happened (in 2008 the temperature swung 76 degrees) we are going to see more of these swings. Climate unpredictability is here to stay, make sure you pack accordingly!
Painting 'Zebra Stripes' on Cows Wards Off Biting Flies
Flies are a pain. Best case they ruin a otherwise wonderful barbecue. Worst case, biting flies equates to roughly $2.2 billion in yearly economic losses for the U.S. cattle industry. Apparently “the irritating insects cause cows to graze less, eat less, sleep less, and also to bunch together into tightly clumped groups, which stresses the animals and leads to more injuries.” So, basically just like humans. This week a solution seemed to have been found. According to a new study published in PLoS ONE, ranchers should start painting their cows with zebra stripes. Doing so (at least in one study) showed a reduction of biting flies by over 50%. However, before you go painting yourselves black and white ahead of the next outdoor event, remember the study needs to be replicated on a much larger sample set. 6 cows isn’t nearly enough.
'Joker' inspires a 'Sesame Street' nightmare for Oscar the Grouch on 'SNL'
Just like ‘Joker,’ 'Saturday Night Live’ delivered a dark, twisted take on 'Sesame Street’ fave Oscar the Grouch in this hilarious fake trailer. That, paired with Dave Chappelle’s amazing set about Sesame Street from years ago will make you question the true motives behind our furry friends 😁
Grouch (Joker Parody) - SNL
Dave Chappelle: Sesame Street
Quote I’m thinking about: “A general limitation of the human mind is its imperfect ability to reconstruct past states of knowledge, or beliefs that have changed. Once you adopt a new view of the world (or of any part of it), you immediately lose much of your ability to recall what you used to believe before your mind changed.” - Daniel Kahneman