Professional, Ugly Gorilla, Northern League, Mitt Romney, Black Panther

Marc Ross Daily
February 20, 2018
Curation and commentary from Marc A. Ross

Reporting from Alexandria, Virginia

Marc Ross Daily  = Global Business News at the Intersection of Politics + Policy + Profits

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TOP FIVE

✔️ How Ugly Gorilla added to Trump’s steel conundrum

✔️  KFC runs out of chicken in logistics fiasco

✔️  The car of the future will sell your data

✔️  Black Panther opens with 1,000 parties around the country

✔️  Today: Chelsea v Barcelona

ROSS RANT

I have been noodling on the idea of Brigadoon for over a decade but didn't formally launch the effort until 2013. Like most entrepreneurs, I was worried too much about the perfect for far too long until one Thanksgiving weekend I knew it was time to plant the flag and make it happen. Sure the business model was weak, the unit economics not well developed - heck the project still makes little business sense on paper. Any first year MBA student would tell me to go back to the classroom.

But ideas can be so sound that the best classroom is the marketplace. You really won't know what you got until you engage customers, make a sale, tell the market: "I made this. What do you think?"

I knew two things: One, I wanted to create a global community where creative, curious, and compelling entrepreneurs and thought leaders could gather in relaxed and tech-free environments as a means to bringing together diverse talents to exchange insights and drive creativity. Two, there had to be others in my network that were looking for the same thing.

Without a massive benefactor that stacked me with piles of cash and infrastructure, I moved forward as a boot-strapping, take it to the street entrepreneur.

As planned Brigadoon had to grow organically as an opt-in, word of mouth community of leaders looking to learn from others to create a foundation of individuals committed to public service, solving problems, and building businesses. No fancy ad campaigns harnessing the latest buzzworthy tactics. No blowout parties at SXSW. No paid endorsements leveraging the cool kids on Instagram. Old school think big, but act small marketing.

All Brigadoon events are more retreat and less conference, where gatherings and conversations are under Chatham House rules. And most critically, no powerpoints and audio/visual equipment are permitted at our events. 

Brigadoon is all about having ambitious conversations without technology being a distraction.

So far the idea has worked. 

At the end of the week, Brigadoon will host its sixth gathering at Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah and nearly 200 people from a cross-section of industries and skill-sets have participated over the years. At its core, Brigadoon has successfully been able to maintain its focus on bringing a special, global network together in unique settings that intellectually and physically challenge all participants.

To bring more value to all participants and instill more beneficence to Brigadoon's offerings, today I am excited to announce Brigadoon Professional, tools to help you upgrade your competitive advantage in the fast-changing global business environment.

Brigadoon Professional will provide resources, education, and experiences to drive new connections that will help you succeed and reach your full potential.

You can learn more about the new project here: http://thebrigadoon.com/professional/. 

Once again, I am taking an idea to the streets and moving more on instinct then well-researched analysis. 

I would love your feedback. 

Just like Brigadoon's first years, this new offering will only be successful with slow growth and listening to users on what they need to master leadership, performance, and creativity.

GEOECONOMICS

N. Korea cyber threat 'more aggressive than China': AFP reports, North Korean hackers are becoming more aggressive than their Chinese counterparts, a leading US cybersecurity firm warned Tuesday, as it identified a Pyongyang-linked group as an "advanced persistent threat". It was the first time that FireEye had used the designation for a North Korean-based group.

How Ugly Gorilla added to Trump’s steel conundrum: FT reports, Chinese hacking of trade secrets helped fuel demand for radical action, regardless of consequences. In places such as Pennsylvania and Ohio, steelworkers and companies have been airing grievances for decades. When they read about the work of a PLA hacker like Ugly Gorilla they see a country’s military launching an assault on the US economy. They also see plenty of reason to invoke national security and take action, no matter how right the trade experts may be in warning about the consequences. https://goo.gl/p8ATQT

US-led group mulls Asia infrastructure effort amid China push: Bloomberg reports, Australia, India, Japan and the U.S. are discussing a joint infrastructure plan, Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said, as China’s own building initiative deepens its economic clout across Asia. Senior officials from the four Group of 20 nations have discussed “a range of opportunities and challenges,” Bishop told Sky News in an interview that aired Monday ahead of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s White House visit later this week. “There is an enormous need for infrastructure, particularly in our region,” she said. https://goo.gl/ebKek4

FT: Islamic Development Bank joins forces with China-led AIIB: Partnership aims to address infrastructure funding gap in Africa.

FT - Andy Rothman OpEd: China’s accession to WTO has been a boon, not an error: The US economy has enjoyed significant benefits from its inclusion. https://goo.gl/2iRJH3

NYT: In Australia, staying loyal to Taiwan can mean losing a job: During her second week waitressing at a barbecue restaurant in Sydney, a customer asked Yating Yang if she was Chinese. “No, I’m Taiwanese,” she said. Her boss, who was from mainland China, never gave her another shift. Man-Tzu Tuan said her loyalty test came even sooner: on her first day at a hot pot restaurant in a comfortable Sydney suburb. “Is Taiwan part of China?” her manager asked in Mandarin over a walkie-talkie. “No, definitely not,” she said. A half-hour later, she was fired. https://goo.gl/acZMwQ

Anti-Brexit groups prepare 6-week advertising blitz: FT reports, billboard and digital publicity will target voters in the Midlands and north.

Brexit will not make us a Mad Max dystopia, Davis promises: The Times reports, Theresa May’s cabinet may have to be “locked in a room all day” to agree the government position on leaving the EU, David Davis said today as he pledged never to use Brexit to slash environmental and workers rights. 

Vote again on Brexit: The UK's voters should get a chance to change their minds.
Bloomberg - Editorial

AP: In Italy's poorer south, populist party woos angry voters

Italy’s Northern League is suddenly in love with the south: Bloomberg reports, For years, Italy’s Northern League has derided residents of the country’s south as beggars, thieves, and good-for-nothing rednecks. The party has long advocated secession of more affluent northern provinces, and leader Matteo Salvini once sang in a video, “Can you smell the stench? Even the dogs are fleeing. The Neapolitans are coming.” https://goo.gl/RAuvqi

“We can’t turn Italy into a refugee camp,” Salvini tells voters.

Can a party founded by a comedian run a major European country? Italy may soon find out. WP reports, Five Star Movement, an outgrowth of a blog penned by the bombastic comedian Beppe Grillo, has tapped a rich vein of discontent in a country where politicians and corruption often have seemed inseparable, and where the economy had been ravaged by a global recession. https://goo.gl/9se88j

Leading Catalan separatist latest to leave Spain: AFP reports, a former Catalan lawmaker and major figure in the region's secession drive has fled to Switzerland ahead of a court hearing and may seek asylum there, the sixth separatist to leave Spain in months. In an interview with Switzerland's Le Temps newspaper published Tuesday, Anna Gabriel, a top member of the far-left separatist CUP party, said she had decided to leave as she would not have "a fair trial at home".

AMERICAN POLITICS

#UTSEN: Trump endorses Mitt Romney in Utah senate race.

FT: Democrats look to Virginia for US midterms boost

How much more humiliation can Melania Trump take?https://goo.gl/KhVhq3

Jared Kushner: US special counsel Robert Mueller probes Donald Trump son-in-law’s China business dealings during presidential transition: SCMP reports, one week after Donald Trump’s November 8, 2016 election, Jared Kushner met with the chairman and other executives from the Chinese group Anbang Insurance.

Niece of French far-right leader Marine Le Pen to address US conservatives at CPAC: AFP reports, A high-profile gathering of conservatives in Washington on Thursday (CPAC) will host Marion Marechal-Le Pen, a former French far-right lawmaker and niece of the National Front's losing 2017 presidential candidate.

ENTERPRISE

ADM, Syngenta settle lawsuit over biotech corn exports to China: Reuters reports, US grain merchant Archer Daniels Midland Co has settled a lawsuit with Syngenta over the seed company's launch of a biotech corn strain that roiled grain exports to China, according to regulatory documents filed on Friday.

Not all protectionism is obvious.

Albertsons plans to buy the rest of Rite Aid that isn’t being sold to Walgreens Boots Alliance as retailers of all stripes scramble to respond to a rapidly changing consumer shopping landscape.

Facebook feels heat in Russia probe: WSJ reports, Facebook is facing a new wave of criticism prompted by the U.S. indictment alleging that Russia manipulated social-media platforms—and by a Facebook executive’s attempts to address the issue. 

KFC runs out of chicken in logistics fiasco: FT reports, most UK outlets closed after new DHL supply deal fails to deliver.

Bloomberg: Nautica brand to be sold by VF after losing its '90s cool

TRENDS

The car of the future will sell your data: As smarter vehicles become troves of personal information, get ready for coupon offers at the next stoplight. https://goo.gl/anfnBp

CULTURE

Black Panther proved to be a pop cultural phenomenon, shattering box office records with an estimated $235 million in US and Canadian ticket sales for the four-day holiday weekend. Black Panther is the fifth highest domestic opening weekend of all time, behind only Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017), Jurassic World (2012) and Marvel's The Avengers (2012).

Bloomberg: Black Panther opens with 1,000 parties around the country

SPORT

The PGA Tour’s plan to get more—and younger—fans: WSJ reports, the Tour is targeting millennials as well as ‘sports socialites’ interested in more than the competition.

Do you want to win the future? Think education, experiences, and entertainment. Also, make sure it all looks good on Instagram.

Mighty Man City continues bizarre inability to beat lowly Wigan in the FA Cup: WP reports, talent and payroll alone don’t automatically equal results, especially against Wigan Athletic in the F.A. Cup. Just ask Manchester City. Monday, the Latics knocked the Premier League leaders out of the world’s oldest soccer competition with a 1-0 home win. And it’s not the first time Wigan, which shares a 25,000 seat stadium with a rugby team, has eliminated Manchester City, which is bankrolled by United Arab Emirates deputy prime minister Sheikh Mansour.

Today @ 2:45 pm ET: Chelsea v Barcelona - Champions League (Round of 16 - Leg 1 of 2)

NCAA Basketball - AP rankings:

1. Virginia
2. Michigan State
3. Villanova
4. Xavier
5. Duke
6. Gonzaga
6. Texas Tech
8. Kansas
9: Purdue
10. North Carolina
16. Ohio State
17. Michigan