Pharmacists used to mix chemicals by hand to create prescriptions.

Opticians used to grind lenses from scratch.

Lawyers used to start with an empty page.

Graphic designers needed to know how to draw.

All of these jobs are still important. None of them are the same as they were thirty years ago.

In your work, are you fighting the change or leading it?

It’s hard to see us going back.

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Episode 359 | August 29, 2024

The Wealth We Ignore

All Episodes

Meet Your Host, Alan Weiss

Alan Weiss is one of those rare people who can say he is a consultant, speaker, and author and mean it.

His consulting firm, Summit Consulting Group, Inc., has attracted clients such as Merck, Hewlett-Packard, GE, Mercedes-Benz, State Street Corporation, Times Mirror Group, The Federal Reserve, The New York Times Corporation, Toyota, and over 500 other leading organizations. He has served on several boards of directors in various capacities.

His prolific publishing includes over 500 articles and 60 books, including his best-seller, Million Dollar Consulting (from McGraw-Hill) now in its 30th year and sixth edition. His newest is Your Legacy is Now: Life is not about a search for meaning but the creation of meaning (Routledge, 2021). His books have been on the curricula at Villanova, Temple University, and the Wharton School of Business, and have been translated into 15 languages.

Get to know Alan

Show Notes

The agenda of inequality and wealth focused only on the richest might not reconcile with reality.

There have been increases in home ownership (even though buying always has its difficulties, from interest rates to inventory). There is a record of intergenerational wealth transfer from retirement savings and the Regan-era IRA legislation.

In the West, family prosperity is higher than ever: assets, cash in banks, pension funds, etc. Daniel Waldenström’s book Richer and More Equal makes a case that the West is richer and has less inequality than in the past. 

US wealth concentration is higher than in Europe but is lower than before WWII. Major improvements that lower wealth concentration have been pension/retirement funds and home ownership. 

Wealth improvement leads to successful business ventures, hiring, and investment, and the most net, new jobs.

We are not there yet. Many inequities remain. Capitalism does a fine job generating wealth but not distributing it. It is an ethical and societal responsibility to help others who cannot generate wealth and/or who are denied the opportunity.

One reason that we don’t appreciate our well-being is that the media prefers to trumpet inequities and problems rather than progress and improvement. Another is that not every grievance expressed is legitimate because the loudest voices often are pursuing very private and personal interests.

This podcast was stimulated by an article called The Great Wealth Wave by Daniel Waldenström, a professor of economics at the Research Institute of Industrial Economics in Stockholm. It was published in Aeon.

Get More from Alan

Sign up for one or all of Alan’s Newsletters; Monday Morning Memo, Million Dollar Consulting® Mindset, and Balancing Act.

Sign Up

Connect with me on LinkedIn. There I share business insights and innovative ways to enhance your consulting practice.

Alan Weiss’s The Uncomfortable Truth® is a weekly broadcast from “The Rock Star of Consulting,” Alan Weiss, who holds forth with his best (and often most contrarian) ideas about society, culture, business, and personal growth. His 60+ books in 12 languages, and his travels to, and work in, 50 countries contribute to a fascinating and often belief-challenging 20 minutes that might just change your next 20 years.

Introduction to the show recorded by Connie Dieken

​ 

The Wealth We Ignore

Episode 359 | August 29, 2024

The Wealth We Ignore

All Episodes

Meet Your Host, Alan Weiss

Alan Weiss is one of those rare people who can say he is a consultant, speaker, and author and mean it.

His consulting firm, Summit Consulting Group, Inc., has attracted clients such as Merck, Hewlett-Packard, GE, Mercedes-Benz, State Street Corporation, Times Mirror Group, The Federal Reserve, The New York Times Corporation, Toyota, and over 500 other leading organizations. He has served on several boards of directors in various capacities.

His prolific publishing includes over 500 articles and 60 books, including his best-seller, Million Dollar Consulting (from McGraw-Hill) now in its 30th year and sixth edition. His newest is Your Legacy is Now: Life is not about a search for meaning but the creation of meaning (Routledge, 2021). His books have been on the curricula at Villanova, Temple University, and the Wharton School of Business, and have been translated into 15 languages.

Get to know Alan

Show Notes

The agenda of inequality and wealth focused only on the richest might not reconcile with reality.

There have been increases in home ownership (even though buying always has its difficulties, from interest rates to inventory). There is a record of intergenerational wealth transfer from retirement savings and the Regan-era IRA legislation.

In the West, family prosperity is higher than ever: assets, cash in banks, pension funds, etc. Daniel Waldenström’s book Richer and More Equal makes a case that the West is richer and has less inequality than in the past. 

US wealth concentration is higher than in Europe but is lower than before WWII. Major improvements that lower wealth concentration have been pension/retirement funds and home ownership. 

Wealth improvement leads to successful business ventures, hiring, and investment, and the most net, new jobs.

We are not there yet. Many inequities remain. Capitalism does a fine job generating wealth but not distributing it. It is an ethical and societal responsibility to help others who cannot generate wealth and/or who are denied the opportunity.

One reason that we don’t appreciate our well-being is that the media prefers to trumpet inequities and problems rather than progress and improvement. Another is that not every grievance expressed is legitimate because the loudest voices often are pursuing very private and personal interests.

This podcast was stimulated by an article called The Great Wealth Wave by Daniel Waldenström, a professor of economics at the Research Institute of Industrial Economics in Stockholm. It was published in Aeon.

Get More from Alan

Sign up for one or all of Alan’s Newsletters; Monday Morning Memo, Million Dollar Consulting® Mindset, and Balancing Act.

Sign Up

Connect with me on LinkedIn. There I share business insights and innovative ways to enhance your consulting practice.

Alan Weiss’s The Uncomfortable Truth® is a weekly broadcast from “The Rock Star of Consulting,” Alan Weiss, who holds forth with his best (and often most contrarian) ideas about society, culture, business, and personal growth. His 60+ books in 12 languages, and his travels to, and work in, 50 countries contribute to a fascinating and often belief-challenging 20 minutes that might just change your next 20 years.

Introduction to the show recorded by Connie Dieken

​ 

Annie Graham has been named as EY’s new UK head of audit. She will join the firm’s UK board, and will be responsible for the delivery of consistent audits in the market. As one of the four largest accounting and consulting firms in the UK, EY’s audit team provides audits to some of the country’s largest private organisations.

​ 

The excitement around generative AI continues to struggle to manifest genuine gains for businesses, according to a new report from Capgemini. While almost two-thirds of organisations have piloted initiatives with the technology, three-quarters say that large-scale deployment across their operations would be very difficult.

​ 

BDO is making a major investment in its Southampton office. The accountancy and business advisory firm is renovating the space following impressive growth across its organisation. Steve Le Bas, regional managing partner at BDO in Southampton, said, “BDO is firmly committed to the local market and has made a real statement of intent through our investment in new offices.

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