Lots of thoughts abound for why Russia would invade Ukraine. But as business people we can understand that demographic shifts have started to impact national policy in not only the USA, but in Russia and China as well. It would be a big mistake for business people to ignore the importance of demographic trends and how they are pushing Russia and China toward expansionist activities. These pressures are increasing, not decreasing, and will impact how international trade will be undertaken - including your supply chain, and any outsourced services. We've globalized a lot of business, and must recognize that demographic changes will have major impacts on this globalization and how we manage across borders.

America's unionized workforce peaked by percentage in 1954 and by numbers in 1979.  Since then union membership has fallen precipitously.  The Biden administration would like to encourage greater unionization, and spot activities have sprung up in museum employees, some Amazon distribution centers, and some Starbucks.  But these actions are not indicating a trend back to unionization, since the Gig Economy is the bigger trend in workforce dynamics.  The Administration would serve Americans better by making it easier for workers to go Gig than joining a union.

Thinking Points:

• Are you incorporating global trends, like demographics, into your future scenarios, or are you myopically focused on your home market?
• Do you understand how worker shortages are impacting China, Russia and other countries just as bad as the USA - and the impacts?
• Do you understand worker goals today and how you can be a better user of human resources rather than old-fashioned employment?
• Are you encouraging workers to be successfully independent, or do you drift into controlling workers and micro-managing?

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