Essays

Musings

Developmental Stuff

ORTIYKMWOYBNTO

Battle Lines

The great battle of the American Civil War was Gettysburg. If Lee had won he could have marched on Washington, DC, where there were few Union troops, and the British, with their huge navy, would have entered the war on the side of the South. That battle determined the future history of the world.

But it was a defensive battle. The Union commander, George Gordon Meade, was happy to have simply stopped the otherwise unstoppable Lee, but to Lincoln’s frustration, didn’t pursue the defeated confederates. Consequently, the war took another two years and a hundred thousand lives to end.

You don’t win defensively. Not only can those attacking live for another day in retreat, they may just choose to isolate you and go around you. You can’t run a successful business defensively, trying to protect yourself and taking no risks. All businesses must grow, and to grow they need innovation, and to innovate they must take prudent risks.

Customer Choices

The desk clerk at the Palmer House in Chicago kept insisting on a credit card for incidentals when my contract clearly stated ALL bills of any kind were simply to go on my company’s master account. Growing frustrated that I was not conforming to her rules, and with a line behind me, she said with teeth gritted: “What will make you happy right now?”

I told her my happiness would be simple: Waive her insistence on an unneeded credit card and give me my key without further delay and, if her superiors had a problem, tell them to call me, but she should get this line moving. She did, they didn’t, it did. Turns out she was mistaken about my account.

The Inevitable

I don’t care what your politics are, but I was very sure the government shutdown in the US would end about when it did, on November 13. That’s because it was obvious that Thanksgiving was in two weeks, it would take at least a week to get back to a semblance of normal plane travel, and plans had to be made or cancelled.

Picture a family spending the time and money to be with other family members, requiring a connection which couldn’t be made, and/or stranded on Thanksgiving in a strange town, in a mediocre hotel, eating Thanksgiving dinner in a mediocre restaurant with strangers.

What would their votes be like at the next available opportunity? Sometimes you have to consider the inevitable, which is the immovable object that will defeat an otherwise irresistible force.

Lighter than Air

All the major automakers globally, with very rare exception in China, are pulling back on their electric vehicle investments, often abandoning them. The Chinese are powering their conversions to renewable energy by consuming huge amounts of coal! The zealous will tell you that it may be 2030 or farther out, but the new fuel will be here and other forms will be phased out. Just keep the faith.

That faith may just be known as “hydrogen.”

The No NOrmal® Newsletter

Seeing what others don’t notice, acting when others don’t move, living a life others can’t dream

Newsletter sections and examples of what will be included:

1. WHAT I'M HEARING AND SEEING: WHAT'S HAPPENED
   • AI is not taking over, it's actually underutilized
2. TURN YOUR HEAD, LOOK AROUND: WHAT'S HAPPENING 
   • The jobs and careers that are disappearing
3. ASSUME ZEBRAS: WHAT'S COMING
   • Removal of human judgment in almost all sports—and not merely for accuracy

The No Normal Newsletter is a reflection on my trademarked idea that there will never be a “return to normal” nor a “new normal.” That’s because “normal” means “routine” or “average” and this is not an age of the mundane.

Each month I’ll provide what I’ve been hearing globally, from clients and colleagues in my coaching and consulting practice. I’ll indicate what’s happening around us that is opportunity (or threat) for readers. And I’ll dispel the old trope that if you hear hoofbeats you should assume horses are coming, the most obvious probability.

I’m going to show you how to, and why you should, assume zebras.

$250 for a year (or $3,000 for a year plus six coaching calls during the year at your preference).

Starts January 15.

For about 20 bucks a month you’ll get the mix of my enormous perspective of four decades in this business, my current highly successful contacts and engagements around the world, and my keen insights into the zebras.

• I predicted the Israeli/Hamas War would end by exhaustion this year.
• I predicted the market would exceed 48,000 in 2025.
• I have five books being published next year.
• I have my own AI:AlanIntlleigence® on my site, as well as 21 trademarks.
• I have the strongest brand in my “public square” in the world.

I’m not bragging, I’m showing you that I’ve identified, anticipated, and exploited true trends and eschewed fads. And, as Dizzy Dean said, “If you can do it, it ain’t braggin’.” Join me in 2026 and continue your journey into prosperity. You can sign up here until it’s on my site: https://alanweiss.com/store/quick-pay/ If you don’t think 20 bucks a month is worth it for my guidance and insights, then poor you!

2026 Zoom Workshops

All sessions are approximately 90 minutes beginning at 10:30 US eastern time. These sessions are $450 each, or the entire year for $5,000. Add three months of weekly 30-minute coaching for $2,500, a total of $7,500. (My cards are accepted for the full-year, and for the full-year and coaching options, not for individual sessions.) All sessions will include video recording, visual photos, and Zoom Companion summary. Register here: https://alanweiss.com/growth-experiences/zoom-workshops-2026/ 

The Fishbowl

In January I’ll be starting a year-long, monthly, “live” coaching session whereby one member of the group will be coached by me for 45 minutes on a current issue of theirs, we’ll deconstruct what happened, and then have 45 minutes of Q&A. This is a variation of the very popular “fishbowl” technique I ran a few years ago.

You may volunteer to be the person coached or simply watch. You needn’t attend every session and I will provide video to everyone afterwards along with written commentary. This should build your coaching prowess considerably.

This will be $500 for the year and I’m offering it to you, here, first, because I’ll obviously have limited participation. My offer to you is $400. (An hour of my “situational coaching” on my site is $2,500, so this is a hell of a deal if you choose to be coached or even just observe.)

You can register here: https://alanweiss.com/store/quick-pay/

I can only accept a few more and I’ll cut off registration on December 10, but if you wait and we’re filled, I can only put you on a waiting list.