It’s a busy time of year, I hope you’re managing through it all with flying colors!

Let’s jump right into this week’s What’s Hot Wednesday for Business Leaders with stories that caught my attention this week that I thought you might enjoy too:

• Caw! Caw! If you’re a proud shopper of Aldi’s “aisle of shame” and/or a member of its Facebook Page, you would have Cawed back. Either way, here’s a fun read about the aisle behind the cawing.
• The NY Times has complied a list of its favorite healthy habits of 2021 and it’s inspiring! For example, do you think exercise snacks are snacks you eat before (during) or after exercising? I did. They’re not. They’re short bursts of exercises aka snacks, you can do anywhere. There are many more and I love ‘em all:
• Are you and your team aware of the pitfalls of smishing and how to avoid the traps? If you’re asking what smishing is, here’s a good place to start. If you know what smishing is but want the latest tips, guess what…same article. Look at me saving you time!

• And this is the article from Wired I wanted to share when I came across the smishing piece. It’s a heady trip into the world of hyperobjects. Here’s a bit of the article; if you like this, you’ll love the whole thing (see what I sort of did there? No? Read the article…): “Examples of hyperobjects include: black holes, oil spills, all plastic ever manufactured, capitalism, tectonic plates, and the solar system. Hyperobjects are often ancient or destined to be, like the sum total of Styrofoam and plutonium we have littered across the Earth over the past century, which will remain for millennia. A human being may see evidence of hyperobjects—pollution here, a hurricane there—but try gazing off into the distance to see the totality of them, or to the very end of them, and they disappear into a vanishing point. Hyperobjects, as Morton says, emerge only in fragments and patches that do not always seem to connect up from our view on the ground.”

Do Good Spotlight:  The American Red Cross

To support the victims of last week’s deadly tornados DBE donated to the American Red Cross. Though we made a cash donation, we learned that blood supplies are dangerously low, and the not-for-profit has teamed with Amazon to increase the blood supply. Donors who give blood by 12/16/21 can earn a $10 gift certificate from Amazon, do in this giving season, please consider helping in this way too. Thanks!

Oh, and by the way…it’s the 20^th anniversary of Owlthena’s parent company, Digital Brand Expressions, this coming Monday, December 20. DBE thanks all our clients and talent teams over the years who contributed to making DBE the top-tier boutique solution we are today. Going into Year 21, we’re celebrating our successes and looking forward to years of bringing the best results to clients making the world a better place through the talents of our amazing—and growing—team. Thanks to you all!
That’s it for this week. Here’s to keeping your focus for you and the people who depend on you! Let’s make it a smooth slide through the rest of 2021!