THERES long been a need to make a call on the future of state-owned enterprises such as SAA, says the writer. Karen Sandison African News Agency (ANA)

By Busi Mavuso 3h ago

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The R500 billion injection into the economy to deal with the health-care fallout and look after the most disadvantaged is more than 10 times what the country spent in preparing to host the Fifa World Cup 10 years ago.

Its understandable that there will be some questions about how implementable large parts of the stimulus will be, with the states performance over the past decade, in its own words, amounting to a wasted opportunity.

These measures come against the backdrop of an economy still in lockdown, and likely to remain so in some form until September.

As much as we welcome the fiscal intervention, we need to understand that we are chasing a growing hole. Its size will be determined by the length and depth of the lockdown.

The stimulus focuses on job retention and creation in a climate that is going to become more difficult, with projections of 1 million job losses. Theres opportunity in the global shift in supply lines that could aid local production. At its centre, there is a clear focus on saving jobs and putting money in peoples hands. Theres no restarting an economy if people dont have disposable income.

The success of the stimulus hinges on the countrys ability to deal with the structural reforms that weve pushed for over the past two years since the change in political leadership.

At the top of the list of priorities is the future of our state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The president has called for the overhauling of these entities, which, in my mind, means a complete change of how they are structured and perhaps even more importantly how we reduce our exposure to some of the biggest companies in the country and the continent.

These institutions have neither provided dividends nor aided the states ability to deal with the socio-economic ills that it inherited over the past decade. Theres long been a need to make a call on their future, all 740 of them, particularly those that cant say that they are structurally important for the betterment of the economy.

Miscommunication around the status of SAA this past week is concerning.

This is no time for indecisiveness, particularly for a company that has incurred more than R28bn in losses over the past 14 years.

The commitment to structural reform and a decisiveness in dealing with questions such as SAA will be integral as the National Treasury speaks to international funding agencies such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

Action has to accompany calls for the overhaul of SOEs and the other structural reforms in the areas of energy and telecoms to name two.

There is much riding on the measures announced this week, and while there are rightfully concerns about the deterioration in our debt metrics, the state quite simply had to react to the unfolding economic meltdown.

Monetary policy has played its part in reducing borrowing costs, and after the cuts in interest rates by 200 basis points, it was time for the president and his Treasury to fire off their big bazooka. And fire it off they did. Now we have to trust that it has the right impact on an economy that is set to contract by as much as 10 percent this year, by some estimates.

There is zero room for error and credibility is key. The Treasury has stepped up to the plate but now has to flesh out the details to keep markets onside - and it must do so quickly.

Busi Mavuso is chief executive of Business Leadership South Africa.

PERSONAL FINANCE

Original post:
OPINION: Success of stimulus depends on reforms - IOL

April 24, 2020 11:00 ET | Source: Hemp, Inc.

Las Vegas, NV, April 24, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE --Hemp, Inc.(OTC PINK: HEMP) a global leader in the industrial hemp industry with bi-coastal processing centers, including the largest multipurpose industrial hemp processing facility in the western hemisphere, announced today that it was included in coverage by one of the worlds largest medical marijuana resources,Marijuana Break, in an article entitled, Cannabis Businesses During the Coronavirus.

The article posits that while the world is currently being gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic and economies are struggling, the cannabis and hemp-derived CBD sectors have managed to remain virtually recession-proof. The article explains that many U.S. States and Canada have deemed that dispensaries and licensed producers may stay open as essential businesses. It also mentions that other sectors including hemp production, the supply chain, and ancillary businesses are resilient in the face of COVID-19 related obstacles.

Bruce Perlowin, CEO of Hemp, Inc., contributed commentary to the article. Perlowin noted that stocks for most industries and commodities have taken a hit amidst the pandemic, adding that it is something we all have to be understanding of and wise about. He then added that he is meeting these circumstances with optimism, citing the fact that, Cannabis retailers have been deemed as essential businesses to remain operational as we all quarantine, the long lines these essential businesses incur and the huge spike in the purchases of THC and hemp-derived CBD products are all a testament to how critically important the industry is to health and wellness. In terms of life after this pandemic, it is likely that the post-virus recovery will be a green one, rooted here at home. This makes for a great opportunity for US hemp farmers and the hemp industry to come together and support rehabilitating our economy and country.

The 2018 Farm Bill federally legalized hemp and the crop was removed from the definition of marijuana under the federal Controlled Substances Act. Although it is still heavily regulated, qualified hemp businesses would be entitled to stimulus relief as businesses in most other industries.

During this COVID-19 outbreak, the hemp industry must stay optimistic and focused on maintaining steady growth and momentum for our industry. We are essential and should continue to lean into that, said Perlowin. The current demand for CBD as well as the growth in demand for industrial hemp means that our industry has the opportunity to leverage this, thrive, and lead.

According to a June 2019 market research report published byMarketsandMarkets, the industrial hemp market is projected to grow from $4.6 billion in 2019 to $26.6 billion by 2025, recording a compound annual growth rate of 34.0% during the forecast period.

To see 1-minute videos of Hemp, Inc.s current activities, go to Bruce Perlowins personalFacebook pagewhere he posts daily on all of Hemp, Inc.s activities around the country.

To read Marijuana Breaks article featuring Hemp, Inc.s commentary,click here.

WHAT IS HEMP, INC.?

What is Hemp, Inc.? With a deep-rooted social and environmental mission at its core, Hemp, Inc. seeks to build a business constituency for the American small farmer, the American veteran, and other groups experiencing the ever-increasing disparity between tapering income and soaring expenses. As a leader in the industrial hemp industry with ownership of the largest commercial multi-purpose industrial hemp processing facility in North America, Hemp, Inc. believes there can be tangible benefits reaped from adhering to a corporate social responsibility plan.

HEMP, INC.S TEN DIVISIONS

Hemp, Inc. has been helping to build the industrial hemp infrastructure that was basically non-existent in America. There are now ten divisions:

Division One The Industrial Hemp Infrastructure

Division Two The Hemp Farming Infrastructure

Division Three The Hemp Extraction & Pre-Roll Blending Infrastructure

Division Four The Hemp Educational Infrastructure

Division Five The Hemp Marketing Infrastructure

Division Six Accessories, Products and Services

Division Seven Research and Development

Division Eight Industrial Hemp Investments and Joint Ventures

Division Nine Industrial Hemp Consulting

Division Ten Educational Entertainment

Division OneThe Industrial Hemp Infrastructure

The Industrial Hemp Infrastructure(Division One)currently consists of two hemp processing facilities across the country, with two more under development, which will include an in-house third party testing laboratory. The largest of the two is its multi-purpose industrial hemp processing facility and milling operation inSpring Hope, North Carolina. Its the largest industrial hemp processing center in the western hemisphere and has grown to become one of the pre-eminent centers of the industrial hemp industry. The 85,000 square foot facility sits on 9-acres.It is environmentally sustainable and was built from the ground up in hopes of Making America Hemp Again." With a patent pending manufacturing process, the North Carolina facility is operating full time to process millions of pounds of our unique kenaf-hemp blend, to manufacture all-greennatural loss circulation material (LCMs), calledDrillWall that is to be sold to the oil and gas drilling industry, along with an all-green natural oil spill absorbent, a second industrial kenaf-hemp product calledSpill-Be-Gone.

In addition to the companysindustrial hemp processing facility in Spring Hope, North Carolina, Hemp, Inc. also has one of the most sophisticated local processing centers (LPC) in Medford, Oregon which focuses on hemp harvesting, drying, curing, trimming, bagging, storing, and in some cases selling high CBD hemp for local farmers and the Companys own hemp grows in that area, and post processing for the CBD industry. The Companys main focus is the King of Hemp pre-rolls and high CBD smokeable buds a new phenomenon of smoking hemp which has caught the marketplace by storm.

Hemp, Inc., through its joint venture associates has access to 4,500 acres of land in Golden Valley, Arizona (100 miles from Las Vegas, 20 miles north of Kingman, AZ). Out of the 4,500 acres of land, 500 acres are designated for the Veterans Village Kins Community (VVKC) for Arizona. Hemp, Inc. is preparing 80+ acres, of the 500 acres, for hemp cultivation. The company aims to boost the economies of these towns by offering affordable hemp processing services, which incentivizes local growers to add hemp to their crop rotation. The company is continuing to scout new locations for local processing centers in Florida, Kentucky, West Virginia, Puerto Rico, and several other states.

Thus far, Hemp, Inc.s Local Processing Center (LPC) in Oregon has employed over 200 employeesduring its 2018 harvest season and over 300 employees during its 2019 harvest season to further support the infrastructure necessary for local and large scale farmers operating in the industrial hemp space.

Division One Products:

DrillWall (a loss circulation material)

Spill-Be-Gone (an oil spill cleanup product)

Hemp bioplastics

Division TwoThe Hemp Farming Infrastructure

The Hemp Farming Infrastructure(Division Two)consists of hundreds of acres of hemp and kenaf growing in multiple locations, farm equipment, cloning rooms, clones and seeds, grow rooms, greenhouses, hemp drying facilities and a huge amount of peripheral farming tools and equipment. The progress Hemp, Inc. has made in its agricultural endeavors, over the course of four years, has been amazing. The year 2020 marks the fifth year that Hemp, Inc. has been growing hemp.(To see Hemp, Inc.s agricultural progress from2016through 2019, visit Bruce Perlowins personal Facebook page atwww.facebook.com/kingofpotand scroll through posts from2016to the present. Visitwww.hempincpresents.comto see the videos of Hemp, Inc.s grows in multiple locations.)

Hemp, Inc. also has two Small Family Hemp Farm models. The Small Family Hemp Farm in North Carolina is situated on 12 acres and consists of a cloning room, a greenhouse, and enough land to grow 2,000-3,000 high CBD hemp plants.(This model farm can be seen on Bruce Perlowin's Facebook page, in the Aug. 22nd - 26th, 2018 posts.)The model shows farmers how to grow high CBD hemp plants, operate a greenhouse and turn a barn into a cloning room to earn up to $100,000+ a year. This shows an example of how the Small Family Hemp Farm can be duplicated and reappear on the American landscape. After all, the original small family farms in America were able to survive economically by growing hemp as their main cash crop and the first five presidents of the United States were all hemp farmers.

Hemp, Inc.s other Small Family Hemp Farm is located Dolan Springs, Arizona. This Small Family Hemp Farm is referred to as The Orchard since it has a sizable organic orchard. There are: 2 acres on which hemp will be grown on; a cloning room; cold storage; and greenhouses that are currently being installed.

This year, according to Perlowin, the company is preparing to grow on up to 342 acres of land in Oregon, 300 acres in Arizona, hundreds of acres in North Carolina(a combination of hemp and kenaf), and an undetermined amount in other states. He says collective sales from all of these grows will be extremely significant in terms of pre-rolls, high CBD buds, distillate, isolate and biomass. This year, we anticipate the main function of the company to be sales and marketing as we will have completed the infrastructure to support sales and marketing. Right now, I believe we have the largest footprint of bio-diverse hemp products with vertical integration in the hemp industry in America today. We are always looking for joint ventures where we have or can expand our footprint, commented Perlowin.

Moreover, A to Z services for the farmers are available - from harvesting to drying, curing, bucking, machine trimming, hand trimming, bagging, storing, nitrogen sparging, and selling creating a one stop shop for the small to large family farms.

Division Two Products:

The King of Hemp Pre-Roll Blends

High premium CBD buds from the Rogue Valley in Southern Oregon, North Carolina and Arizona

Hemp, Inc. is also hosting the Hempathon at the Veteran Village Kins Community in Arizona. Contestants are growing 1 acre of hemp in a contest with other growers from around the country. Hemp, Inc. is providing land, water, security, and live streaming video coverage for participants. The Hempathon entry fee is $5,000 and a 50/50 revenue split. Several awards and prizes will be given to the winners. Those interested in signing up for the Hempathon should contact Stacey Theisat stheis@hempinc.com.

Division ThreeThe Hemp Extraction & Pre-Roll Blending Infrastructure

The Hemp CBD Oil Extraction & Pre-Roll Blending Infrastructure(Division Three)originally consisted of a Supercritical C02 Extractor. After operating for over a year it has been determined that Hemp, Inc. will not be involved in the extraction industry and has changed its direction to focus primarily on the King of Hemp pre-rolls and The King of Hemp high CBD smokeable flower. The CBD oil that was extracted from the 2018 hemp grows in North Carolina has been made into pure crystalline CBD isolate which will add to our King of Hemp branded line of pre-rolls to take to the marketplace and a pre-roll fortified with pure crystalline CBD isolate.

In lieu of building its own extraction laboratories, Hemp, Inc. plans to utilize the facilities of other labs in the industry to manufacture its own line of CBD oil products while they continue to build and expand the infrastructure for pre-rolls and high CBD smokeable buds. The Company will hire or joint venture with other, already existing, labs to manufacture CBD, CBG, CBC, CBN, and other products in its future cannabinoid line. With 150 different cannabinoids, over 300 terpenes, and more of each being discovered almost monthly, the product range and possibilities in this area are endless.

Division FourThe Hemp Educational Infrastructure

The Hemp Educational Infrastructure(Division Four)includes Hemp, Inc.'sHemp Universitywhich focuses on educating and empoweringHemp farmers and entrepreneurswith knowledge, processing, infrastructure and support. Theeducational seminars, through the Hemp University, are held periodically and teach farmers and landowners how to create a profitable income stream by maximizing the per-acre crop revenue. Through this division, Hemp, Inc. has trained well over 500 farmers in its first two years by doing a total of nine Hemp University seminars in North Carolina and Oregon, thus far, which include:

The New Leaf Symposium and Golden Grow Awards Gala- January 26, 2020 (Jacksonville, Oregon)

The New Leaf Symposiumsfocus was Regeneration" to celebrate optimism and resilience in the industry, the power of the plant, and faith in the hemp-producing community. The event sold out with over 180 attendees. The feedback from attendees wasoverwhelmingly positiveand the speakers were hailed as the best yet. The educational symposium concluded with the Golden Grow Awards Gala. The Golden Grow Awards Gala honored Oregon's top cultivars and put Oregons best farmers head-to-head for some of the most prestigious hemp-industry accolades.(See Bruce Perlowins personalFacebook post on 1/28/20for a short video on this symposium.)

The Pre-Harvest Symposium September 8, 2019 (Oregon)

The Pre-Harvest Symposiumworkshop at Southern Oregon University was expertly designed for both farmers and entrepreneurs of all experience levels, focused on harvesting, processing and profit channels within the hemp industry.The third edition of the Southern Oregon Hemp University brought an abundance of insight into innovations within the realm of harvesting and processing to the forefront. Additionally, the symposium touched on traditional practices in agriculture.(See Bruce Perlowins personalFacebook post on 9/9/19for a short video on this symposium.)

Pre-Plant Support Workshop May 4, 2019 (Oregon)

The Pre-Plant Support Workshopwas an incredible success that filled the entire venue to capacity with attendees. In total, there were close to 200 attendees, including 20 vendors in attendance. The workshop was designed to help hemp farmers or those who are interested in the hemp industry learn the best pre-planting practices prior to the planting season.The Hemp University Pre-Planting Support Workshop was an interactive and informative workshop that covered the various details hemp farmers should know prior to planting in the 2019 season and beyond.(See Bruce Perlowins personalFacebook post on 5/9/19for a short video on this workshop.)

The Hemp University Educational Seminar- March 23, 2019 (Oregon)

This was the first Hemp University held on the West Coast. The seminar provided attendees with a full day of networking, education, and support.The seminar helped others in the area who were interested in the hemp industry learn more about the Industrial Hemp Revolution and how this movement can not only transform Southern Oregons economy, but also revive family farms and small businesses in the surrounding areas.(See Bruce Perlowins personalFacebook post on 3/28/19for a short video on this seminar.)

Growing Hemp for Profit March 10, 2018 (North Carolina)The Hemp Universitys first educationalsymposiumevent of 2018 entitledGrowing Hemp for Profittook place on Saturday, March 10, 2018. Attendees learned from the Universitys industrial hemp experts as they shared their lessons from their experiences in growing industrial hemp.Growing Hemp for Profit,which took place from 8:30am to 5 pm at the Hilton Garden Inn in Charlotte, North Carolina.(See Bruce Perlowinspersonal Facebook post on 3/17/18for a short video on this symposium.)

Hemp Money Event: Economics, Lessons & Planning for 2018 December 2, 2017 (North Carolina)

The fifth most vital and anticipated educational symposium of the year was Hemp Money Event: Economics, Lessons & Planning for 2018. This symposium was held on Saturday, December 2, 2017 from 8:30am to 5:00pm at the Shrine Club (320 Airport Rd, Rocky Mount, NC 27804). Attendees learned the economics of growing industrial hemp for fiber, seeds, and CBD; learned about other master POD growers experiences and lessons; and, learned how to prepare for the 2018 industrial hemp growing season with a well-defined blueprint for success.(See Bruce Perlowins personalFacebook post on 12/23/17for a short video on this symposium.)

The Hemp Oil Event: The Art and Science of CBD Oil September 30, 2017 (North Carolina)

The Hemp Oil Event (The Art & Science of CBD Oil) was The Hemp Universitys fourth symposium in North Carolina, held on Saturday, September 30, 2017 from 8:30am to 5:00pm at the Peachtree Hills Country Club, 3512 Peachtree Hills Road, Spring Hope, NC 27882.The symposium brought attendees up to speed on all business and scientific aspects of Industrial Hemp CBD cannabinoids by disseminating current, reliable information that continues to shape the revolutionary CBD market. Attendees also got a chance to go to Hemp, Inc.s, then, 70,000 square foot multipurpose industrial hemp decortication facility for the first live public demonstration of its Supercritical CO2 Extraction System using North Carolina-grown CBD industrial hemp. Representatives from NuAxon Bioscience were also on-site to allow those interested in purchasing their own CBD extraction system.(See Bruce Perlowins personalFacebook post on 9/30/17for a short video on this symposium.)

The Art and Science of CBD Greenhouse Growing June 24, 2017 (North Carolina)

The3rd Hemp Universityeducational symposium held on June 24, 2017 focused on The Art and Science of CBD Greenhouse Growing.The educational symposium was held at Louisburg College in Louisburg, North Carolina.A team of experts engaged attendees through the greenhouse and indoor growing process from cultivation to harvest and from processing to distribution. Dr. Robert Bruck, Dean of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and Distinguished Professor of Environmental Science at Louisburg College, was The Hemp Universitys special guest who lectured on soil microbiology during the symposium.Attendees were able to spend half of the course at Hemp, Inc.s, then, 70,000 square-foot Industrial Hemp Hub, in a 3,000 square-foot cloning room.There, attendees had the opportunity to experience a more hands-on learning approach.(See Bruce Perlowins personalFacebook post on 6/30/17for a short video on this symposium.)

Farming Hemp for Profit April 29, 2017(North Carolina)

Hemp, Inc.s second, sold out, educationalsymposium(Farming HEMP for Profit), through its Hemp University, was a phenomenal success. Thesymposiumtook place on Saturday, April 29, 2017, from 8:30am 5:00pm, at the Hampton Inn & Suites located at 3920 Arrow Drive, Raleigh, NC27612 and drew over 100 attendees. The one-day educational symposium and tour of Hemp, Inc.s, then, 70,000 square-foot multipurpose industrial hemp facility was an opportunity for landowners and farmers to learn how to apply real business building tactics with a specific step-by-step blueprint on how to grow, sell and profit from farming industrial hemp.This event accomplished its mission to help landowners and farmers add a new viable and profitable income stream by maximizing the per-acre crop revenue.(See Bruce Perlowins personalFacebook post on 4/30/17for a short video on this symposium.)

Farming Hemp for Profit March 18, 2017 (North Carolina)

This was Hemp, Inc.s firstHemp University symposium. The symposium was a sold out event and was a huge success with 100 attendees who rated the quality of information presented as excellent.The symposium took place on Saturday, March 18, 2017, from 8:00am 5:00pm, at Hemp, Inc.s wholly owned subsidiary,Industrial Hemp Manufacturing, LLC, located at 1436 Highway 581 North, Spring Hope, North Carolina, 27882.The one-day educational symposium was an opportunity for landowners and farmers to receive a specific step-by-step blueprint on how to grow, sell and profit from farming industrial hemp by using real business tactics and principles, presented by industry experts.(See Bruce Perlowins personalFacebook posts on 3/18-19 and 3/21-26, 2019 for a short videos on this symposium.)

To listen to past Hemp University workshops, please visithemp-university.teachable.com. Also visithttps://www.hempincpresents.comto see highlights from Hemp, Inc.s inaugural Hemp University held in North Carolina, which sold out in two weeks.

The Hemp Universitys twelveonline educational masterclassesare $10 each and each masterclass is under an hour in length. The online courses include lectures from industry leaders who have educated attendees at the Hemp University workshops in Oregon. These online masterclasses provide farmers who were either not able to attend the first Hemp University or who would like to revisit certain topics presented by the event speakers.

Those interested in being part of our online courses, including experts in any aspect of the industrial hemp industry, should contact Chris Tinney on (855) 554-6834 or via email at (ctinney@hempinc.com).

Since The Hemp Universitys initial launch with the educational symposium, the number of attendees has grown tremendously and it has been an overwhelming success, each time.The interactive, hands-on learning approach is invaluable. By learning inan interactive cohort format, students gain the necessary skills they need to immediately implement them on their farm or in their organization. Its the perfect mix of quality instruction, relevant educational content and a high level of commitment, to ensure the educational success of each attendee, said Perlowin.

Thus far, The Hemp University has helped transformthe livelihoods of North Carolina and Oregon farmers transitioning from tobacco and other crops to industrial hemp by providing them with the tools and support needed to gain a foothold in this burgeoning industry.

Division FiveThe Hemp Marketing Infrastructure

While marketing is a critical facet of any business operation for increasing revenues, Hemp, Inc. believes there must be a keen focus on the infrastructure first. The demand for CBD and hemp products is massive, some even say the demand is insatiable. In order to supply that type of volume/demand, there has to be a strong foundation or infrastructure in place. While Hemp, Inc. is poised to grow a rock solid Hemp Marketing Infrastructure, CEO Perlowin reminds us that this infrastructure has to be able to support a meteoric industry growth.The cannabidiol (CBD) market is on track to grow to $23.7 billion through 2023, according to theBrightfield Group. The firm also estimated the smokeable hemp market to be valued at $11.5 million in 2018, a growth of 250% from 2017. This is why we focus on infrastructure, at the moment, more so than specific marketing activities, says Perlowin. Specific marketing activities isnt the issue. The ability to grow, process and produce what the marketplace is demanding is the issue and hence the reason we focused on creating the infrastructure first.

Late January, 2020 the first King of Hemp Store had a soft launch in Kingman, Arizona with a grand opening, red ribbon, lots of media coverage planned for early March 2020. This 5,000 square foot Wells Fargo bank building is in the heart of Old Town Kingman next to historic Route 66 and will showcase everything hemp, including Hemp Blues hemp denim jeans (www.hempblue.com).

The company has also recently joint-ventured with the retail store Hemp Healthcare, in Dolan Springs, Arizona, to sell high-end cannabidiol (CBD) and hemp-based products. Hemp Healthcare is home to an array of renowned CBD and hemp products, including Hemp, Inc.s cosmetic and wellness line that includes shampoos, conditioners, lotions, candles and more. The retail storefront is conveniently located off Highway 93 in Arizona, in a highly trafficked tourist area. Specifically located on Pierce Ferry Road, Hemp Healthcare is next to Dolan Station a location that welcomes numerous tour buses daily with visitors from around the world that stop there on trips to the Grand Canyon. On some days, up to 40 tour buses stop at this location, filled to the brim with tourists on their way to the Sky Walk at the western realm of the Grand Canyon.

A second health care store will be opened in 2020 at Gateway Station in Dolan Springs, Arizona on Highway 93 about a quarter of mile before the turn off to go the Sky Walk at the western realm of the Grand Canyon. Like Dolan Station, Gateway Station will have numerous tour buses. The store is set to sell shampoos, conditioners, lotions, candles and more.

Division SixAccessories, Products and Services

Division Six focuses on the sale of hemp industry accessories such as the sale of extractors,harvesters, storage bags, containers,fertilizer, soil amendments, humidifiers, dehumidifiers, balers, greenhouses, and greenhouse equipment; the drying, trimming, curing, storing and brokering for other farmers harvesting hemp; and ultimately anything else a hemp farmer may need to be successful.

What we found is that people are always looking for hundreds of items. New harvesting equipment, irrigation equipment of all kinds, soil amendments, organic soil fertilizers, organic pest control products, new extraction technologies and more, said Perlowin. As we expand this Division, we will strive to become the Amazon of the hemp industry.

According to Perlowin, Hemp, Inc. is currently building out a new section of its website that will list all of the products. This information will be available in the next 30 days.

Division SevenResearch and Development

While Research and Development has been an integral part of Hemp, Inc. since day one, a more formal research and development project is planned after significant revenues are created. This division will then start and expand rapidly. The Company originally planned for Puerto Rico to be a research and development hub, but found the barrier to entrance was much too great and has therefore changed its position to focus its research and development division on states where hemp is already legal. Hemp, Inc. is proud to have been a pioneer and leader in the early stages of the hemp industry in America with our strategy to build infrastructure even before legalization occurred in a state such as what was done in North Carolina and Arizona.

According to Hemp, Inc.s CEO, Bruce Perlowin, Currently, it is now economically more advantageous to operate in a state that already has several years of legalization behind it and thus, further down the road, making it easier for hemp companies to thrive as we have done in North Carolina, Arizona, Nevada and especially Oregon. Weve hit a grand slam in Oregon, so to speak, in our growing operations for 2 consecutive years. We may revisit Puerto Rico once they have straightened out their legal red tape, and their rules and regulations.

Division EightIndustrial Hemp Investments and Joint Ventures

Hemp, Inc. recently established the eighth division(Industrial Hemp Investments and Joint Ventures). Since the passing of the 2018 hemp bill, Hemp, Inc. has been flooded with inquiries of people who want to invest in the hemp industry but dont know where to start. As the Avant-guard of the industrial hemp industry, Hemp, Inc. has put together numerous joint venture investment opportunities for the medium to large-scale investor. Those who are interested should emailir@hempinc.com. Multi-million dollar investors, and in some cases billionaires and billion dollar hedge funds, are aggressively trying to get into the hemp industry since the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill. Our joint venture agreements are that they put up the money and we put up the expertise in a 50/50 revenue share(after all the initial investment money is paid back first). This will save the large-scale hemp investor often two years and dozens of multi-million dollar mistakes that they WILL often make without an expert in the hemp industry. This is where Hemp, Inc.s vast network of experts and resources in the industrial hemp industry come into play because this is something we can easily provide to those interested in entering this industry.

Division NineIndustrial Hemp Consulting

Hemp, Inc.s Industrial Hemp and Medical Marijuana Consulting Company (IHMMCC) was recently restructured as its ninth division and is now Division Nine - Industrial Hemp Consulting. With an influx of public companies wanting to expand into the industrial hemp industry, Hemp, Inc. has been inundated with potential consulting agreements.To keep up, Hemp, Inc. revamped its consulting division to work hands-on with each company to provide its years of expertise.According to Perlowin, there is definitely a sense of a Community of Companies whereby a lot of companies are working together to pool their resources, marketing connections and strategies in order to grow simultaneously.

Typically, companies seeking in depth consulting services from Hemp, Inc. pay mostly in stock since cash flow is oftentimes tight during the developmental stage of start-up companies in this industry. Through Hemp, Inc.s Division Nine Industrial Hemp Consulting, a wide range of services are forged from the experiences of creating the first publicly trading company in the cannabis sector (Medical Marijuana, Inc.) and having well over a decade of experience in the industrial hemp industrys public sector. Perlowin, Hemp, Inc.s chief executive officer, also has over five decades in the industry.

Division TenEducational Entertainment

Hemp, Inc.s newest division, Entertainment, will cover everything from investing in the movieThe Adventures of the King of Pot(http://www.kingofpotthemovie.com/) and other historical movies, books and documentaries representing our industry up to the current docuseries being made onThe Modern Day History of Hemp. Those interested in investing in any one of these ventures should contact the divisions Project Manager, Chris Tinney, at 855-554-6834 or via email,ctinney@hempinc.com.

VETERAN VILLAGE KINS COMMUNITIES

To see the livestream feed for the Veterans Village Kins Community Arizona, visitwww.hempinc.com/arizonaand click on View Live Feed.

The companys 500-acre strategic growing partner Veteran Village Kins Community in Golden Valley, Arizona, is designed to grow hemp and produce CBD products to benefit veterans as well as generate revenue for Hemp, Inc., the Veteran Village and individual veterans living in the community.

The Veteran Village Kins Community in Arizona has completed its final site plan blueprints for its 500-acre site in Golden Valley, Arizona(20 miles north of Kingman, AZ and 90 minutes from Las Vegas, NV). The site plan was submitted to the Mohave County Building Department for final review. The Company is also in the final stages of completing the necessary infrastructure to support an off-grid, renewable, energy system.

As soon as all the live streaming video cameras are up and operational, the world can actually see the way the Veteran Village Kins Community is designed and watch it being built. According to Perlowin, the basic framework or overall plan of the Veteran Village Kins Communities is to create a holistic healing and learning center that is designed to educate and heal veterans with PTSD, alcoholism, meth addiction, opioid addiction, and other psychological conditions while at the same time training them on the numerous aspects of being part of the emerging multi-billion dollar hemp industry. To see the first live streaming video, clickhere.

The Company will also build hemp-growing communities for other groups such as Abused Women & Children Village Kins Communities, the Orphaned Children Village Kins Communities, Homeless Village Kins Communities, and the Healers Village Kins Communities (the healers are professionals who are knowledgeable in the modalities to treat these traumatized groups). These particular communities are all synergistically aligned to work simultaneously supporting each other.

For example, the Healers heal the traumatized veterans and women & children; the women support orphan children, and orphan children want to see people living in homes and not homeless. Thus, a portion of the hemp grown in each community goes to create and support another community, giving everybody a sense of giving back and helping others as they help themselves. This circles back to the healers who also work to heal the veterans and the other traumatized groups. This is the economic foundation on how the sale of the hemp products operates as a quantum economic matrix or an example of symbiotic economics which is more complex than this brief description allows.

Dwight Jory, the Project Manager for the Veteran Village Kins Community Arizona, Inc., said, We are very happy with the progress. Our Kins Community is really beginning to come together. In anticipation of planting to begin during the spring, 300 acres have been fenced, 16 overnight trailer park sites are under construction, and six 4040-ft organic vegetable gardens have been planted and are currently producing food and kenaf, according to Jory. These organic gardens double as experimental growing modules using an entire array of different growing technologies to see which modalities grow the best in a desert environment. As for the 6 geodesic domes mentioned in an earlier press release, 1 is structurally complete with only the electrical and plumbing to be completed. The rest are on site awaiting final site plan approval.

We are now accepting volunteers who have expressed an interest in helping to build the first Kins Community for our veterans, said Jory. Those interested in making the first hemp growing CBD-producing Veteran Village Kins Community become a reality should contact Ms. Sandra Williams via email (swilliams@hempinc.com).

One thousand trees, on 36 of the 500-acres, have also been planted, with an additional 1,000 trees on order. The Veteran Village Kins Community will include a 100,000-square foot GMP compliant, central processing plant, a state-of-the-art testing laboratory, and various health and wellness centers to support veterans who may have psychological, emotional or health issues.

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Hemp, Inc. Featured in Marijuana Break's Coverage on Hemp and COVID-19 - GlobeNewswire

Many of us are novices when it comes to working from home full-time.

I've learned that I have to be more direct when I am communicating with my coworkers and bosses. That writing down my daily schedule keeps me and my family more on track (and sane). That Slack can be extremely helpful, but also a huge time suck. And that there can never be too many snacks and stickers on hand to occupy a toddler when I am on a call.

I also miss my work friends more than I would have thought.

While it's taking me some time to adjust to this new work life, at some companies, remote work is all they know.

Be overly explicit. Give lots of detail when it comes to setting expectations, giving progress updates and requesting help. You may feel like you are being overly clear, but you probably aren't. Set regular check-ins to assess workloads and assignment progress.

Set a schedule. Routines can help in the face of uncertainty. They also keep your family functioning smoothly and prevent you from working around the clock. Set your work hours and try to stick with them -- that means making sure family members know they can't just drop in for a chat, and avoiding getting distracted by the latest Netflix offering.

Listen up, managers: Whatever you do, don't micromanage from a distance. It's not going to work. If you provide clear priorities and expectations with your team and make yourself available to help with any issues that crop up, you also have trust your employees to manage their workloads.

And now is the time to be extra flexible. Do you really care if an employee works from 7-10 pm because they're also playing the role of teacher to their kids during the day? As long as the work is getting done.

Now that we've covered some of the best secrets of working from home -- let's talk about staying healthy through all of this.

There are a lot of unhealthy traps that come with working from home, like the constant snack grazing or the lack of exercise.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

For the millions of people in the sandwich generation (meaning they're caring for their kids and their aging parents), this pandemic has pushed stress levels off the charts.

And since middle-aged women in the US do the majority of caregiving for their children and their parents, as author and journalist Ada Calhoun told CNN, they are particularly feeling the pressure of this situation.

This paragraph in particular stuck out to me: "So it's now on Gen X women to keep their parents from dying while learning how to homeschool, while either working from home or dealing with a job loss and profound financial insecurity, and no social network aside from what we can cobble together online. It's a perfect storm of pressure."

Also at a breaking point: Many of the nation's small businesses. With the economy at a standstill, small businesses need cash injections -- and fast.

Congress passed a $2 trillion stimulus bill at the end of March that allocated $349 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program that offered loans to small businesses. That ran dry in less than two weeks.

But with the new funding comes more confusion. Some small business owners who applied under the first round still aren't sure where their application stands.

Four of them shared their stories with CNN's Jeanne Sahadi. One explained how applying for a loan was "one of the most frustrating things I've ever done in my life," while a cafe owner in Minneapolis, who used his own personal savings to cover payroll, details the struggle in trying to decide whether to ask his staff to report to work next week.

Sometimes, I can almost hear my mom telling me to sit up straight as I hover over my laptop, shoulders hunched, typing furiously.

I know I am supposed to be sitting in an ergonomic chair with my feet on the floor, but that doesn't always happen. Fine, it rarely happens.

But your posture plays an important role in your health. Stephanie Mansour reports that regular workout routines aimed to improve posture can lead to less pain in your neck, shoulders, middle back, lower back and pelvis.

And here's the good news: Adding just 20 minutes a day, three times a week can help.

First comes love. Then come the postponed wedding. Then comes ... a year's worth of free beer?

The company will give 250 winners a $300 debit card, which can be used to buy two 24-pack cases of beer per month.

Cheers!

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These workers are always all remote. Here are their best tips - CNN

Caroline Calloway is the unlikely antihero of the corona era By Camille Sojit Share Facebook Instagram Facebook Shop POPULAR RESEARCH

Text by Camille Sojit

Illustration by Audrey Neri

Posted April 23, 2020

Come for the chaos, stay for the charity: the art of spinning personal scandal into media gold

Since I was little, I wanted to be a famous memoirist, not a famous author, Caroline Calloway tells me, cradling one of her new kittens as we speak over Facetime. I wanted to write about my life, and I wanted to be watched.

And watched she is: with some 700,000 Instagram followers, Calloway is no stranger to carving out a niche. Though she first garnered notice for her adventures as an Ivy League It-Girl, the trajectory of her public persona has undergone many renovations over the yearsand in an unlikely twist, she has recently emerged as something of an online folk hero-cum-philanthropist, having leveraged the medias interest in her personal scandal to raise upwards of $45,000 for COVID-19 relief funds. Her long-response essay to The Cuts viral expos is now being released in weekly installments online, accessible for the price of a $10+ charity donation. And not a moment too soon: as America stutters to a halt, the attention economy is boomingand with more people than ever seeking in-home entertainment, theres never been a better time to distract yourself with what Calloway calls the sapphic plight of two white girls youll never meet.

Calloway entered the spotlight in 2015, when she began chronicling her life at Cambridge University with the detailed diaristic captions that would become a hallmark of her personal brand. At a time when Instagram was just going mainstream, she used the platform to craft a modern fairytale replete with elite cultural symbolism: think gothic architecture, handsome polo players, and romantic afternoons spent lounging on manicured lawns with twenty-something aristocrats. But while this aspirational imagery may have proved popular in the early days of social media, its just one aspect of the chaotic personal mythology that keeps todays audiences rapt.

I wanted to write about my life, and I wanted to be watched.

Calloways path to fame has never been smooth. Her first brush with controversy came on the heels of success, with the mysterious dissolution of a six-figure book deal for a memoir she no longer felt able to write. She made headlines again in January of 2019, this time for poorly-organized Creativity Workshops that, at the price of $165 per ticket, were quickly billed as a one-woman Fyre Festival. Then, just when the news cycle seemed to have moved on, The Cut published a now-infamous tell-all by Calloways ghostwriter and former best friend Natalie Beach. In a 6,000 word essay titled I Was Caroline Calloway, Beach details how she played literary sidekick to the more charismatic, marketable, and self-involved Calloway, painting her ex-friend as a manipulative charleton whose unprecedented success was the result of luck, privilege, and an uncanny ability to bend the world to her whim. It quickly went viral as the publications most-read story of the year, and their public rift is now alleged to be the subject of two movie deals.

People who say this is a story of two white girls vying for authorship over a handful of Instagram captions that read like bad fanfiction of fanfiction are missing the point, Calloway writes one in one response essay installment. Instead, she likens their story to The Social Network: a contemporary creation myth about two ambitious people who team up to build a media empire, but whose differing relationship to loyalty, jealousy, class, and power leads to personal and professional complications.

Its the first of several bold moves for Calloway this month, who appears to have shed her old persona in favor of something more chaotic and, dare I say, Online. Her recent return to Twitter has marked a new chapter for the Caroline Calloway brand: one that veers towards self-parody, thirst-traps, and what can only be described as chaotic good. Shortly after publishing the first essay installment, Calloway leaked her own nude on Twitter and made it her pinned Tweet as a cheeky apology for getting the word count wrong. On April 13, she announced the launch of her OnlyFans, an NSFW social media service where subscribers pay a monthly fee to access content from their favorite creators. This transition from earnest Instagram influencer to thirsty court jester has been hailed as a genius business strategy or the public unraveling of her mental health, depending who you talk tobut theres no denying she knows how to keep her audience hooked.

Following in the footsteps of Kim Kardashian, Calloway has managed to turn a potentially reputation-ruining event into a branding opportunity and a source of continuous revenue (when we spoke, Calloway was on track to receive upwards of $80,000 a year from OnlyFans subscriptions). Kardashian and Calloway are both natural performers who have bent the rules of the attention economy, using their keen business sensibility, an irreverence for social norms, and an innate comfort with marketing themselves to create brands that are inseparable from their work. Much as the Kardashians are famous for being famous, charting the course of Calloways career requires us to trace her intersection with a variety of cultural phenomena to the point where the apparent unexplainability of her success became a meme in and of itself. The apparent inscrutability of this kind of fame invites bemusement, jealousy, and some variation of the following question: are we witnessing the unprecedented success of a talentless narcissist, or the work of a genius business mogul with a galaxy-brain understanding of our media landscape?

Kardashian and Calloway are both natural performers who have bent the rules of the attention economy, using their keen business sensibility, an irreverence for social norms, and an innate comfort with marketing themselves to create brands that are inseparable from their work.

In recent years, the desire for aspirational narratives has been replaced by a new appetite for authenticity, intimacy, and vulnerabilityand from her personal account of Adderall addiction and mental illness to her chaotic power moves, Calloway has become a perfectly flawed protagonist, whether by accident or intelligent design. 2015, an idealized lifestyle was #goals; by 2017, we were craving the messy truth behind that perfect facade; and today, we gravitate toward engrossing public feuds, soap opera-style dramas, and the cult-of-personality figures running the show. From Tiger King-cum-country musician Joe Exotic to internet personality-cum-writer-cum-artist Calloway, theres something compelling about individuals who brazenly admit to wanting money, fame, and attention. Their larger-than-life personasand the accompanying scandalsmake them the perfect distraction in the quarantine age.

Calloway has been accused of being a performance artist, scammer, and narcissist. Her work is easily dismissed by formalists and snobs, in part because its impossible to cleave a clean line between the infamy of her public persona and the intimate confessional qualities that make her writing so successful. Nevertheless, Calloway understands better than her contemporaries what todays audiences want, and has used all the tools in her arsenal to deliver a bundle of contradictions that we can spend days unraveling. From her foray into the art world to those Yale plates, theres something for everyoneand Calloways expansive personal lore fosters an intense parasocial relationship with fans and haters alike.

I find myself tempted to attribute Calloways persona to a combination of conscious posturing and business strategy, perhaps because I myself am allergic to being earnest online. But for her, inhabiting this space feels not only natural but authentic. A lot of online creators approach their posts as a self-contained narrative arc, whereas I think of Instagram as a 24/7 reality TV show of my life that people can tune into at any time, she explains. My job is not for everyone. But in the way that some people value privacy, I value performativity. I believe people when they say they feel better when stuff is privatebut I hope that people can believe me when I say I feel better when stuff is public.

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Caroline Calloway is the unlikely antihero of the corona era - Document Journal

Curt Miller remembers a very different high school sports scene in Henry County compared to what we have now.

When he played basketball at Henry County High School in the mid-1990s, there were only three high schools in the district. Now there are 10, and he has played a major role in helping all of them navigate the scholastic sports landscape the past few years as coordinator of athletics for Henry County Schools.

Now he is going back in time, in a way. Recently he accepted the position of assistant principal and athletic director at Oconee County High School, beginning with the 2020-2021 school year. The Oconee County Board of Education approved the move at its April 3 meeting, and he shared the news on his personal Facebook page that night.

That was perhaps the most appropriate way for him to do so, because one of the most intentional and successful of Millers accomplishments of late has been the huge boost in the districts social media presence when it comes to middle school and high school sports. As of April 17, the Athletics Henry County Schools account on Twitter had 2,301 followers, and a similar page operates on Facebook.

During football season, they were updated regularly every Friday night so that fans of county teams could see up-to-the-minute results. More recently they have been used to share and retweet news and recognition of senior athletes whose seasons were cut short by the COVID-19 response.

In his new role, Miller will be part of a district with only two high schools and two middle schools. There are just over 8,000 students in Oconee Countys public schools (compared to more than 40,000 in Henry County). This is more like what he remembers growing up, having spent all of his K-12 years in Henry County as well as the entire 19 years of his professional career so far.

Growing up as a student in the HCS district, there were only two or three high schools and everyone in the county knew each other, he wrote last week. From state championships and scholarships to facility upgrades and expansion of sports offerings, seeing how much the district has grown and how successful we have been makes me feel really proud to be a part of it. Most importantly, the relationships I have built will make this chapter of my life a wonderful one.

But he excited about the move to Oconee, where he will not be coaching but will keep a hand in the athletic side while while taking a positive step toward achieving his goals of working in school administration. The transition is important from a family perspective, since his wifes job requires a lot of time in that part of the state. Their two daughters, both of whom play sports and will be in middle school this fall, will experience high school athletics in a district similar to what he came up in.

I thought that was pretty cool, he said in an interview with the Times last week. Just having an opportunity to do that with our girls is special.

In addition to improving the districts brand recognition through social media and other outlets, Miller introduced a program for aspiring athletic directors that provided training throughout the year to help them understand those jobs better and pave the way for future success. It was something he created in Henry County because of a need he saw upon assuming the district coordinator role. There were seven new athletic directors in the countys middle and high school that first year, and six the following year.

I knew we needed some kind o training to prepare people for this position, he said. The district leadership was on board with it, and it has taken off.

As of now, every current athletic director in the district has gone through the program.

Weve had really good feedback on it, he said. Some other districts have seen it and decided to implement it themselves.

It has even reached far beyond the state line, as a New York school district reached out to Miller about it and he eventually took a trip to Long Island to see firsthand how it was being adopted there.

Millers first head coaching post at the high school level was when he led the boys basketball program at Dutchtown, starting when the school opened in the fall of 2004. They played a full varsity schedule with only freshmen and sophomores. Three years later, he became the athletic director and head boys basketball coach at Ola, where he remained until he moved to the central office. He was a health and physical education teacher on assignment for one year before assuming his most recent role.

I cant say enough about how supportive Dr. Davis and the [Henry County] district leaders have been, he said of his exit announcement. I will never forget the relationships we have built and I will always be appreciative of them.

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Miller reflects on growth of sports at Henry Schools - The Henry County Times, Inc.

The NBA is a league of change. Recent roster turnover has been spurred by a number of factors, from an inflated salary cap and shorter, more exorbitant contracts, to restless owners, to star players progressively embracing their own power. Teams have been forced, at breakneck speed, to become comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Before the NBA went on hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, chaos was its new normal: compelling, delightful and anxiety-inducing. But the constant shuffle also sparked an existential question among hundreds of affected players, coaches and front office executives: How can chemistry be fostered in an increasingly erratic era of impatience, load management, reduced practice time and youthful inexperience?

Every year you have six new teammates, Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers said in an interview with SB Nation. Its like gaw-lly! In some ways you wish that would stop.

Its a new NBA, man. Guys are playing on a new team every year now, and it has nothing to do with how good of a player you are, its just how the NBA is. I have teammates whove played on eight, nine teams. I mean, thats fucking nuts. I dont ever want to go through something like that. (Rivers is 27 years old, and on his fourth team in seven NBA seasons.)

Over the past six months, dozens of players, coaches and executives across the NBA spoke with SB Nation about the state of the leagues chemistry, and why creating cohesiveness now is more difficult and demanding than ever before. Their responses sketched a blurry future for the league.

Its amazing how fast players change in todays NBA, Indiana Pacers general manager Chad Buchanan said. From when I got over here two years ago, Myles [Turner] is the only player whos still here.

I have teammates whove played on eight, nine teams. I mean, thats fucking nuts. - Austin Rivers

Last summer, nearly half of the leagues talent pool swapped jerseys. Seemingly every roster in the league was forced to learn complicated new personality quirks and on-court tendencies. Honed locker room dynamics and hierarchies changed dramatically.

Chicago Bulls forward Thaddeus Young has played for four teams in the last six years after spending his first seven with the Philadelphia 76ers. Few people know better just how precious chemistry can be.

With how the salary cap is going, teams are not locking themselves into long-term deals anymore, where they have four to six guys on four-year deals, Young said. Its definitely tough because you dont know each other. The communication is gonna be off. The teams that you came from before, you might be driving the basketball and you might be used to a guy being in the corner and that guy might not be in the corner.

The NBA may be long past being able to reverse the course of roster turnover, but teams are doing their best to mitigate any downsides. The teams that have done the best job tend to think of chemistry in two buckets: personal and performance. The former contains how players interact away from the game, and the latter contains what happens on the court. However, personal chemistry often informs performance, and vice versa. Once players are comfortable off the court, their on-court relationship improves.

Take Los Angeles Lakers forward Jared Dudley, for example.

When I got here Id turn the ball over throwing to our centers because they expected a lob, Dudley said. I dont really throw lobs, Im more of a bounce passer.

Dudley solved his problem by initiating conversations with LAs big men, verbalizing his own in-game habits so that everyone could get on the same page. Not all NBA players feel so comfortable expressing themselves, however. Especially when an on-court situation is more complex than what to do on basic pick-and-rolls.

When the personal chemistry exists, the performance chemistry is often very easy because the performance chemistry is sometimes a function of hard conversations, one Western Conference GM said. The personal chemistry allows a guy to say, Hey man, in the second quarter last night there were like four straight defensive possessions where four of us were back in transition and you werent. You really put a ton of pressure on us to cover a five-on-four when you were lobbying the officials for a call. It took you forever to get off the deck. Come on, man.

Over the past 20 years, no organization has been more conscious of team chemistry than San Antonio. The Spurs are also far and away the modern eras most influential organization: Nearly one third of the leagues rival head coaches and front office executives can be traced back to head coach Gregg Popovich.

Drafting multiple Hall of Famers undoubtedly factored into the Spurs success, but their efforts to maintain an open atmosphere for stars and role players alike one that obsessed over values of tolerance, respect and empathy also separated them from everyone else.

However, San Antonios year-to-year continuity is also becoming progressively rarer, if not extinct. When Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylen was a Spurs assistant during the 2014-15 season, they had brought back 14 members of the previous years 15-man roster.

And of those guys, a bunch of them had been together for years, Boylen said. Now theres approximately 6.5 new guys per team. Thats unheard of.

To ignore San Antonios sprawling influence would be like praising observational comedy and never once mentioning Jerry Seinfeld. But even the Spurs are vulnerable in a league where turnover is the status quo. Prior to the 2018-19 season, they traded Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green, and lost in the first round of the playoffs for the second year in a row. Prior to this seasons hiatus, they were on track for their first losing record in 21 years.

The Spurs dont have an advantage anymore, Dudley said. We all have a disadvantage. Now its who has the most talent. Talent is gonna win out. Talent and vets.

In 2012, James Tarlow was an economics student at the University of Oregon when he presented a paper titled Experience and Winning in the National Basketball Association at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. Tarlow wanted to know how roster continuity relates to team chemistry, so he pulled data from 804 NBA seasons played by 30 franchises between 1979 and 2008. He defined chemistry as the number of years the five players playing the most minutes during the regular season have been on their current team with one another.

I got an actual measurement of how important [chemistry] is, Tarlow said in a conversation with SB Nation in March. And its pretty dang important. If you keep your team together its like a third of a win for a year, which, people dont appreciate that and it doesnt seem like much, but if you have a team that stuck together for several years, that turns into another game or two. Thats going to get you into another round in the playoffs.

Bill Russell once wrote, There is no time in basketball to think: This has happened; this is what I must do next. In the amount of time it takes to think through that semicolon, it is already too late.

Its an intuitive idea: The longer were around people, the better we know how theyre going to behave under certain circumstances. Just think of the short-hand forms of communication youve established with your closest friends, family members and coworkers. Those subtle gestures and glances are especially helpful in sports, where a split-second miscommunication can be the difference between winning and losing.

You go back to those San Antonio days, the winks and blinks and the nuances [where Tim] Duncan would find Tony [Parker] on a backdoor, or Manu [Ginobili] would find Timmy on a lob, that evolved over time, and lots of times [time] isnt afforded, said Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown, who spent nine years as a Spurs assistant. You need time to have that sophisticated camaraderie, gut feel, instances on a court that require split the moment decisions.

Continuity by itself doesnt lead to winning, of course. In some cases, it might only extend mediocrity. And if winning a championship is an organizations goal, then it should first pursue star power. But continuity is a boon to coaches, who can implement more complex strategies if theyre able to retain a core group of players year after year.

Right now with the influx of new players, youre having to really keep your playbook and your schemes at a basic level because you are teaching more, Charlotte Hornets head coach James Borrego said. Youre just starting almost at a ground level every single year in a lot of different ways, where the teams that have had success for years and years, theyre building on every single year.

You never actually practice anymore like when I first got in the league, everybody had a million plays. Steve Clifford

The lack of in-season practice hours only compounds coaches frustrations. With shorter timeframes to fold new players into their system and culture, coaches around the league feel they need to adapt quicker than they ever had before.

As Boston Celtics head coach Brad Stevens joked, We get three weeks to get ready for a season, then we never practice again.

Orlando Magic head coach Steve Clifford believes that the league office did the right thing by limiting back-to-backs across every teams schedule. During his first two years as head coach of the Charlotte Hornets, they played 22 back-to-backs each season, while only 11 were on the docket this season for Orlando. But the schedule shift has hurt in unforeseen ways.

When you play a back-to-back you usually get two days off, most times, right? Clifford said. So you give them a day off and then when you come in you can practice. Theyre rested, you bring referees in. You practice. You actually practice.

You never actually practice anymore like when I first got in the league, everybody had a million plays, and you had to know the plays and stuff, and now if you do its an advantage but people dont look at it like that.

A side effect of so much player movement may be a simplification of the product. NBA teams have evolved to emphasize an up-and-down, free-flowing style of play that is largely the byproduct of an analytical revolution to prioritize threes, layups and free throws. Modern basketball is filled with pick-and-roll heavy offensive actions that dont require the same on-court intimacy as a stockpile of elaborate set plays.

My gut tells me that roster turnover is whats causing the thinning of playbooks, one western conference general manager said. And the thinning of playbooks is whats causing this standardization of playing style.

Players feel it, too. Most teams dont do anything. Really its just take the ball out the basket, pick-and-roll, and run, Rivers said. The coaches are really here to guide you now. Its crazy. Its more ATOs (after time-out plays) and out of bounds, and late clock, fourth quarter, thats when coaching really comes in play. Thats all we go over in shootaround. Most of our stuff involves defense because our offense is fucking ridiculous, man. We dont really do anything on offense.

Even teams that have gone out of their way to maintain continuitylike Cliffords Magic, which returned 85 and 82 percent of their minutes over the past two seasons, respectivelyare not immune to change, and all its myriad effects on strategy.

The game is what they wanted it to be when they changed the rules, and the level of execution is still high, obviously, Clifford said. Its not nearly the gameplanning league that it was even seven or eight years ago.

Sustained success is not possible without collaboration, and collaboration becomes habit when several contributors spend thousands of minutes battling together in the same system. The Golden State Warriors had the benefit of several superstars as they won three championships, but they also had an iron collective grasp of what they wanted to accomplish on every possession.

I think there is a level of beauty that exists with the game that is tougher to reach with the turnover, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. For example, if Draymond [Green] ever caught the ball in the pocket off of a high screen with Steph [Curry], Andre [Iguodala] knew exactly where to go and Draymond knew exactly where he was going to be. We didnt even have to practice it. And thats why you saw, frequently, either the lob to Andre along the baseline or Andre spaced out.

NBA teams have been thinking about how to manufacture chemistry for years, long before this accelerated era. None of these billion-dollar corporations can ever be sure how well their efforts actually work, however. Their adjustments have always been based on in-game progression, but success also depends on other obvious factors, like talent, injuries and dumb luck.

A difference between then and now is that players are driving roster decisions to a greater extent. They have much more leverage within organizations, and the biggest stars can take their talent elsewhere if the locker room doesnt jell quickly enough. For many teams, that means they have to proactively foster strong bonds among teammates by encouraging new and returning players to stick around the practice facility during the offseason.

The summer time is big for us, Borrego said. We cant demand it, but we encourage it Guys can really settle down and connect, really understand their teammates, understand their coaches, and its just a much more comfortable situation that allows for chemistry to be built and grown.

The Hornets also organize team dinners when theyre on the road, a practice Borrego borrowed from his time in San Antonio. When asked if those dinners are mandatory, he gave a wry smile: They are team dinners. Then there are others that happen organically on their own, and I want our players to do that. If theyre doing it on their own thats even better than me organizing something.

If theres somebody in your organization that hasnt gotten over himself or herself theyre a pain in the ass ... they cant be happy for somebody elses success. Gregg Popovich

As one former Spur told ESPN: To take the time to slow down and truly dine with someone in this day and age Im talking a two- or three-hour dinner you naturally connect on a different level than just on the court or in the locker room. It seems like a pretty obvious way to build team chemistry, but the tricky part is getting everyone to buy in and actually want to go. You combine amazing restaurants with an interesting group of teammates from a bunch of different countries and the result is some of the best memories I have from my career.

Of course, Popovich was also good at finding players he wanted at the table.

The more you can stay together, the more the chemistry builds. But still chemistry is more a function of the character of the players than it is anything else, Popovich said. I always talk about getting over yourself. And if theres somebody in your organization that hasnt gotten over himself or herself theyre a pain in the ass and they make it harder for everybody else because they can only feel about their success. They cant be happy for somebody elses success. It has to be about them. If you dont have that then nothing else is gonna help you have chemistry. You cant make it happen.

Still, every coach tries to get everyone on the same page. As players digest their new surroundings, its important that everyone coaches, players and executives understand their expectations for one another. Rockets head coach Mike DAntoni boiled his own approach down simply: Dont ask somebody to do something they cant do. If youre gonna have to change a guy, you might not want to bring him in in the first place.

It is impossible for any team to keep all 15 players in the locker room happy at the same time; theyre human beings who are all going through their own real life issues. But a haphazard onboarding process will create headaches down the road. According to Buchanan, coaches have to be able to anticipate players questions.

Why am I not getting to do this? or Why am I not getting to play more? or Why am I not playing with that guy? or Why am I not starting?, Buchanan said. You try to get that communicated up front so the player knows what hes stepping into, because lots of times chemistry issues evolve from a lack of communication.

When general managers and coaches are unaware of loose frustrations, they risk one player venting to another, sewing animosity that does irreparable damage to the entire team. Left unattended, a team can spiral into soap opera.

Its not difficult to create chemistry, Atlanta Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce said. Its more about sustaining it through the course of 82 games with so many ups and downs. Obviously [we had] some of those moments with John [Collins] being out and Kevin [Huerters] injury. Roles start to shift and some guys werent ready for it, so the frustration of that kicked in.

The Hawks have done two things to stave off that seemingly unavoidable discomfort. The first is an all-in dedication to how they play, in which everything revolves around pick-and-rolls with Trae Young and a rim-rolling big. By keeping the gameplan simple, they can plug in pieces as needed.

When Trae masters it and everybody else understands it, you know, you roll a little bit harder and you shake up a little bit better, and you slash a little bit better. Thats who we will become, Pierce said. Any big that comes to our roster [knows,] I can play here because I know Im gonna get the ball at the rim.

The Hawks also have a breakfast club that Pierce took from his time as an assistant under Brown in Philadelphia. Every time the club meets, players stand up in front of their teammates and discuss something that matters to them. Earlier this year, Collins enlightened the room with a powerpoint presentation about what it was like growing up in a military family. Huerter talked about growing up in upstate New York and losing high-school friends in a drunk-driving accident.

Former Hawks center Alex Len gave a particularly tender presentation last season that moved his head coach.

Youre barking at Alex Len. This fucking guy, he doesnt compete, he doesnt appreciate this, Pierce said. Well, Alex Len talked about why he couldnt go to the Ukraine for the last seven years. Wow, I didnt know you had such a tough time with that. Im over here fucking yelling at you for not rolling in the pick and roll. I dont know youre dealing with this Ukraine thing for the last seven years and not being able to go home and see your grandparents. My bad. Ive got to get to know you a little bit better.

Three years ago, Kings owner Vivek Ranadive asked a communications coach named Steve Shenbaum to work with his team. In 1997, Shenbaum founded a company called Game On Nation, which helps corporate executives, military personnel and government employees in addition to professional sports teams.

Within the past decade, Shenbaum has been brought in by the Lakers, Trailblazers, Nuggets. Cavaliers, Grizzlies and Mavericks, and agent Bill Duffy has asked Shenbaum to assist several of his clients, including Carmelo Anthony, Yao Ming and Greg Oden. He has more than 100 improvisational and conceptual exercises to help clients build self-awareness, selflessness, confidence and other traits that enable character development.

A favorite is called last letter, first letter, in which two teammates have a conversation with one rule: as they take turns speaking, they must start with the last letter of the other persons last word, and keep the conversation going. The exercise forces both parties to listen, let one another finish and focus in ways they otherwise might not.

My hope is I am planting seeds and empowering the players and the staff to take what theyve experienced and run with it and multiply it, Shenbaum said. I want them to see each other in another light.

Shenbaum has many telltale signs of good and bad chemistry, but a big one is how well veterans are buying in. In a league thats getting younger and younger, its imperative that older players command respect in the locker room and impose a will to succeed.

Dudley believes veterans who might not even be in a rotation can earn their money by bringing everyone together in ways a coach or GM cant. During his one year in Brooklyn, he organized dinners, trips to the movies, parties and other events away from the game that involved the whole team.

Then, when we were in film sessions and I would call them out, they took it as love and not criticism, Dudley said. Youre developing a relationship and then you can tell them, Spencer [Dinwiddie] or a guy who thinks he should play more, this is why youre not playing. This is your role for this team. Rondae [Hollis-Jefferson], he got benched: Hey Rondae, for you to stay in the league, this is what you gotta do. On this team youre not a starter anymore but theres gonna be times they call on you. He stayed ready.

Almost everyone interviewed for this story agreed that chemistry cant be forced. Players on contending teams have to go through organic hardships together before they can become comfortable enough for the difficult conversations that facilitate progress. Some teams dont believe its necessary or appropriate to ask their players to spend more time together than they already do. They believe that players should figure out issues among themselves, and that a front offices biggest role is doing good background research on everybody they bring aboard. Coaches are there to take a teams disparate pieces and position them to succeed.

I think everybodys budgets on team meals now has skyrocketed league wide because of the San Antonio Spurs, Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra laughed. The more important thing is getting a team on the same sheet of music about your style of play and an identity on both ends of the court, understanding whats important, what the standards are, the expectations, role clarity. These things fasttrack, in my mind, chemistry. Its always nice if guys like each other and they go out to eat on the road, have dinner together. But that doesnt guarantee anything.

Spoelstra knew early on that Jimmy Butlers oft-misunderstood persona would have no trouble fitting in with several players on Miamis roster because they all shared the same sense of duty.

Its always nice if guys like each other and they go out to eat on the road, have dinner together. But that doesnt guarantee anything. Erik Spoelstra

Ive noticed with Goran and Jimmy in particular, they have such a beautiful on-court chemistry because theyre in their 30s, theyre only about winning right now. They dont care about anything else. If you want to define on-court chemistry, in my mind its how willing are you to help somebody else. And how willing and able are you to enjoy somebody elses success when it happens.

The character vs. talent debate isnt new among NBA decision-makers. But going forward, we may see teams value the former more than they have.

If you get a group of four new players who you bring onto your team and theyre all team-first, unselfish, competitive, self-motivated players, theres a decent chance that the chemistry is gonna have a chance to be good, Buchanan said. Doing a ropes course, thats great in theory and may work for a business, but professional athletes, they develop chemistry by knowing they can trust each other because theyve been together through tough times on the court.

Chemistry is worth deep investment, but perhaps it can be overanalyzed, too.

We try to make the simple complicated at times, ESPN NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy said. Going out to dinner is a far different chemistry than playing chemistry. You read a lot about, We play paintball together. Who gives a shit, you know?

I dont believe its the reason why a team is either good or not good. I think youve gotta get great players, and when you have them you gotta try and keep them.

There are endless ways to cultivate chemistry, but teams can still only guess at what will work in every situation. Statistics arent a good guide. They cant quantify personality flaws or gauge emotional intelligence. When intuition is the best way to make a decision, some front office executives lean too hard on what they can measure instead.

I think a lot of these GMs, they really dont take [chemistry] into consideration, Utah Jazz center Ed Davis said. Theyre starting to treat the NBA like 2K and more just looking at numbers instead of, are these two players going to get along? And I think youre gonna start seeing GMs lose their jobs.

Top-tier skill, athleticism and on-court awareness is very often the bottom line for NBA teams, but those still trying to crack chemistrys mysteries have good reason to believe they arent running a fools errand, as vulnerable as their circumstances may make them feel.

Theres something very powerful about newness, Shenbaum said. And if you embrace it early, whether its a new coach, five new players, the star left, if you embrace it early you can actually create a very authentic bond.

Defining chemistry can feel like trying to catch the wind. It is omnipresent and elusive at the same time. Until the NBAs best and brightest crack the formula, they will have to deal with increasing levels of uncertainty in what was already an uncertain business.

Time will tell if NBA teams ever learn how to overcome their mounting challenges from the shifting ways teams are built, to how on-court strategy is implemented, to the quality of the game itself. But theres no denying that chemistry is a force multiplier, complex and intractable. And in an era of basketball that demands urgency more than ever, that fact can be frightening.

A lot of players and teams will continue to fail in familiar ways, well-laid plans crumbling because players, coaches and executives never understood each other on or off the court. Only now, they may not realize their mistakes until they find themselves starting all over. Again.

See the rest here:
The NBA has a chemistry problem - SB Nation

There may not be a future to come back to for the Lib Dems. Now is the time for planning and policy focus.

The Liberal democrats are in a bad spot at the moment. This isnt an argument. Its pretty much a fact. As recently as three months ago the group was riding a wave of decent success. Claiming a dominant second place in the May European elections, enjoying the highest levels of paid membership in the partys history, successfully negotiating a non-aggression pact with other remain parties and as a result, winning the Brecon and Radnorshire by-election in August and gaining ten MPs that chose to defect from other parties to them.

Most importantly, they established themselves as the main force to represent the Remain voting population of the country. A position that some argue Labour should have adopted in order to defeat the Tories.

This position turned out to be somewhat of a poison chalice to the party.

The December 2019 general election result saw them lose half their MPs, including all of the ones that defected from other parties. They also lost their leader, Jo Swinson in a close defeat to the SNP.

The concentrated support they needed to win seats in the UK Parliament simply wasnt there. The proportional representation from the European Parliament election suited them much better and created a false mentality that such success could be repeated domestically.

More than three months on, It could be argued that there was one main thing that the Lib Dems shouldnt have done after the collapse.

That one thing is: Nothing.

They couldnt afford to fade back into political irrelevance. To once again become unknown to the majority who dont have the time or interest to follow politics on a regular basis.

The question now is where do they go from here to rebuild and get back to the heights they were at during the coalition government?

The easiest thing for the party to do would be to stick to the main policy that grew their membership to what it is today over the last four or five years. By focusing on Britains relationship with the European union.

Rejoining the European Union for Britain is pretty much out of the question at this point. At least not for another generation when the party could push for a referendum on rejoining. Thats assuming that in thirty years or so the EU or some similar organisation still exists. This isnt a viable option for the longevity of the party or even a short-term strategy, given the ifs and buts.

To continue to focus on the idea of the EU, the party must accept that Britain has now left and we cannot go back. Instead, they could push for the idea of a close working relationship while Britain negotiates its future with its European neighbours and other nations to secure trade deals, movement of people, environmental policies, healthcare etc.

This idea of promoting a close EU relationship would probably still encounter similar issues to that of regaining membership. An overwhelming majority voted Conservative at the election. A move that is largely seen as support for Brexit. The support for Britain remaining close to the EU is not concentrated enough to be a viable path to success. The party would eventually fade into a position similar to what UKIP was like when they first formed. A fringe, single-issue group but on the opposite side of the argument.

The party could potentially go back to previous policies that they didnt support long enough for them to gain any sort of traction. Policies that were ditched after election campaigns ended and were often created solely for general election manifestos.

These could include ending imprisonment for the possession of illegal drugs if they are only for personal use. A divisive policy that was adopted by the party in their 2017 general election manifesto under Tim Farron. And one that was picked up too quickly and dropped even quicker when it failed to produce the immediate staggering results that the group wanted. Only gaining the party four seats in that election.

Though the idea would be divisive. It could pull in a class of recreational drug users or a new wave of more liberal-minded voters. This policy would take time to be accepted by society but could grow to a larger political movement that has the potential to push for meaningful legislation at a future date.

Another idea could be resurfacing the argument for a voting system with more proportional representation. An issue that the party supported in the alternative voting system referendum in 2011. The issue was dismissed with a comfortable win for the No campaign with a more than two-thirds majority.

This would pose a similar problem to pushing for a second EU referendum. They would need to wait for another opportunity in a generations time for the issue to become fertile. The difference this time however, is that it may not take as long. Since that referendum, there has been more indication of how the system didnt work effectively. (The 2017 general election produced a minority government). Thats twice in a decade.

Theres also a large number of supporters of minor political parties that would back the opportunity to make their views and votes have more meaning. This could gain real traction especially with the recent failure of the Labour Party at the general election. If the country continues on its path as effectively a one-party state, this idea could gain potential if its given time to develop.

I think a good quote for the Liberal Democrats in their current situation is that Rome wasnt built in a day.

If they want results, they have to give their ideas time to grow. And if they dont start to develop these ideas soon, they risk sinking the party beyond the point of no return.

Presently, the party is divided over its deferred leadership contest. Instead of choosing a new leader quickly and beginning the work of rebuilding, they have opted to delay the contest in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Though the reasoning is justifiable, given the potential cost to human lives; this isnt what they need. A simple online poll sent to members via email would act as a sufficient gauge even if it was agreed that this would only be a temporary leadership position until the pandemic subsides.

It would be wise for the party to support the government in its stance on the current situation. This isnt really the time to be scoring party political points. Even if they did try this predictable tactic theyd still be decimated in the polls, as Boris Johnson holds a massive advantage no matter whose data you decide to consult.

Policy should be prioritised over leadership at this current time. Unite behind the candidate with the most support, rebuild to the point of security, then and only then contest the leadership. This is a time for development and rebuilding. Not for aggression. And this is something that should be adopted by all of the losing parties in the 2019 election. Were seeing it with Labour with the election of Sir Keir Starmer. It would be wise for the Lib Dems to follow suit.

In a nutshell. The party should support the government through this state of emergency and get some definition back through either new or returning policies, and a new leader. (The policies are more important than the individual who announces them at this moment in time). Once this pandemic is over, then and only then should they get a more permanent and properly elected leader who can start to go on the offensive and try to claw back points in the polls.

A constant theme of all the Liberal Democrat manifestos and leaders intentions since 1988 was that the party wanted to be seen as a viable third option in British politics. But if things carry on the way they currently are, theyll be lucky to even be considered as that.

View post:
Whos still interested in the Lib Dems? - Shout Out UK

A Shepparton life coach will be offering parents free online sessions to help them communicate with their teenagers more effectively through isolation and home learning.

Life and business coach Glenn Irvine has received funding to move his Parent as Coach workshop online, where he will share coaching tools to assist parents in identifying and improving the ways they communicate with their children.

He said coaching skills would be useful for parents or guardians struggling to comprehend their changing role in the home due to COVID-19.

Were trying to be teachers, but were not teachers, he said.

Coaching is the best way of getting information out of a young person, by helping them understand what they want, actions they need to come up with, and how to problem solve.

Because of the isolation situation were in, weve got a great opportunity to engage our kids.

He said all participants could join a closed Facebook group afterwards, where they could continue to receive free guidance and advice.

The single father of four is an accredited life and business coach, and has been running sessions for teenagers in schools throughout the region for 15 years.

He hopes his classes will give parents and guardians the skills to find new ways to connect with their kids through COVID-19 isolation, and beyond.

I hope they feel more confident to engage their young person, he said.

Because of technology, its harder now than ever to engage a young person because theyre focused on their devices.

To get them to communicate better is the key goal.

The workshop will be run as a two-part session on Wednesday, April 29 and Wednesday, May 6, starting at 7:30pm.

He said while the upcoming workshops would be capped at 20 participants, he would be offering free sessions in the future to cater to demand.

To register, visit http://www.glennirvine.com.au/parent-as-coach

Excerpt from:
Shepparton life coaching helping parents through COVID-19 with free online sessions - Shepparton News

Emily Rickard was at a casual dinner party in Riverside three years ago when a friend, a professor, mentioned a word that would change her life.

Enneagram.

The professor had recently learned about the personality test and wondered if anyone had experience with it. Rickard was immediately intrigued. And perplexed.

She has a masters in psychology and a longtime fascination with personality inventories (think: Myers-Briggs), so she couldnt believe that there was a system she hadnt heard of. Back at home, she researched the Enneagram (pronounced ANY-uh-gram) model and how it breaks people into nine archetypes designated by a number, and sometimes a one-word nickname (The Peacemaker, The Enthusiast, The Challenger, The Investigator).

The 37-year-old, who lives in Moreno Valley with her three boys, whom she home-schools, and her husband, a teacher who also helps pastor a church in Riverside, quickly pinned herself as a Nine The Peacemaker. (Figuring out your type often starts with an online assessment that asks you to agree or disagree with generic statements, such as I want people to tell me the truth, not spare my feelings.)

As she read about the Nines key motivations avoiding conflict and maintaining harmony, sometimes by putting others interests ahead of your own she flashed back to her childhood and how, when her parents argued, she felt like the world might end. She thought, too, about the times her husband insisted that she pick a dinner spot, and she simply shrugged, elevating his cravings above hers.

The epiphany brought her to tears, feeling as if her authentic self had, at last, been fully recognized. Soon she enrolled in a 12-week, online course offered by a company called Your Enneagram Coach, that, for about $1,000, promised an overview of the nine types, as well as help setting up a freelance gig as a life coach teaching from the Enneagram perspective. Now, she runs a coaching service called NextGen Enneagram, offering a $350 package that includes a 30-minute, pinpoint-your-type interview and six longer one-on-one meetings.

Once you get the Enneagram bug, she says, its kind of contagious.

Actually, quite contagious.

Sixteen years of Google searches show that the number of people looking up Enneagram hovered at the same level until 2017, when it spiked drastically, topping out last summer. In August, for the first time in its history, the Narrative Enneagram, a nonprofit that teaches students how to use the model, sold almost every space at six workshops in Menlo Park, according to founding president Terry Saracino, who has taught the Enneagram for more than 30 years.

The Enneagram is exploding, she said. Expanding like crazy.

The boom, which until the pandemic broke out involved people gathering for Enneagram parties and workshops, is part of the same contemporary phenomenon that some observers connect to the resurgence of astrology in turbulent times, some people find comfort in the rituals of their religion or other, less traditional, belief systems. When the world feels especially chaotic, said Fran Grace, a professor of religious studies at the University of Redlands, we crave tools that help us change the one thing we can control ourselves.

Its the inner path, Grace said. How can I be a place of peace?

Emily Rickard discusses the Enneagram at a gathering in the fall at her friends home in Riverside.

(Ana Venegas / For The Times)

Like many other Enneagram converts, Rickard is something of a personal-development junkie. She saw a marriage and family therapist during grad school, knows her Myers-Briggs type by heart and recently met with a woman who coaches people using neurolinguistic programming, a self-help therapy that sometimes uses hypnotic techniques.

And while she recognizes that some of the Enneagrams allure is its trendiness Its popular right now, so go with it, right? she says with a laugh she finds the model less stagnant and more growth-oriented than other personality systems and believes that it will stand the test of time.

::

Mention the word Enneagram in a group or DISC or Myers-Briggs or any of the hundreds of tests that distill personalities into a color or a number or an animal and youll almost always spot at least one person rolling their eyes, convinced its all well-packaged nonsense. Personality tests, skeptics have long argued, are nothing more than pseudoscience that create a buyer-beware world of little regulation where anyone can call themselves an expert.

The Enneagram itself has ancient, but murky, roots: Some adherents trace it back to a 4th century monk and the same underlying concept as the seven deadly sins. Others see similarities between the Enneagrams nine-pointed figure and a symbol used in ancient Sufism.

1/9

The Reformer/Perfectionist: Ones are disciplined, self-controlled people who are afraid of making mistakes and feel compelled to leave the world better than they found it. (Peter and Maria Hoey / For The Times)

2/9

The Helper/Giver: Twos are generous and empathetic people who can be prone to people-pleasing. (Peter and Maria Hoey / For The Times)

3/9

The Achiever/Performer: Threes are energetic, make-it-happen people who care deeply about being admired. (Peter and Maria Hoey / For The Times)

4/9

The Individualist/Romantic: Fours are idealistic and intense people who crave authenticity. (Peter and Maria Hoey / For The Times)

5/9

The Investigator/Observer: Fives are analytical, self-reliant and, at times, detached. (Peter and Maria Hoey / For The Times)

6/9

The Loyalist/Loyal Skeptic: Sixes are dutiful, diligent people who can be prone to distrust. (Peter and Maria Hoey / For The Times)

7/9

The Enthusiast/Epicure: Sevens are peppy, at times scattered, people who love the thrill of a new opportunity. (Peter and Maria Hoey / For The Times)

8/9

The Challenger/Protector: Eights are self-assured and intense people who are perturbed by indecisiveness and injustice. (Peter and Maria Hoey / For The Times)

9/9

The Peacemaker/Mediator: Nines are accepting, go-with-the-flow people whose longing for harmony sometimes causes them to acquiesce to others desires. (Peter and Maria Hoey / For The Times)

But the modern interpretation is credited to Bolivian-born philosopher Oscar Ichazo, and one of his students, a Berkeley-based psychiatrist, who, in the 1970s, helped popularize the Enneagram in the U.S. By 1994, the model had gained at least enough credence that Stanford Medical Schools psychiatry department co-sponsored the first International Enneagram Conference, drawing more than a thousand people to Palo Alto.

From there, the framework found pockets of popularity with self-help devotees and in Corporate America, where some companies used the tool to build rapport among employees. It also gained traction in some Christian circles, propelled, in part, by a book on the topic by an influential Franciscan priest named Richard Rohr. Then, thanks to millennials, it exploded into the mainstream in the last few years. In many ways, the tool, which isnt tied to a specific religion, seems tailor-made for a spiritual-but-not-religious generation that grew up on BuzzFeed quizzes and branding.

Milton Stewart, podcast host for Do It For the Gram

Enneagram evangelists tout it as a self-discovery tool that will help you understand your strengths and limitations, spot patterns you fall into during stress and communicate more clearly. Its not about fundamentally altering yourself or trying to morph into another type that, theyll remind you, is impossible anyway but about living more consciously with the hand youve been dealt.

In a world saturated with self-help tools, its the Enneagrams digestibility that sets it apart.

The nine archetypes are easy to distill into cute and encouraging memes, like the ones shared to half a million followers on the @enneagramandcoffee Instagram account or the GIFs of puppies and Enneagram jokes tweeted by the @Enneadog account. Companies capitalizing on the craze now claim to know the best smoothie bowl and iPhone app for each type and there are more than 20 different podcasts with Enneagram in their title, including one called Do It For the Gram hosted by Milton Stewart, a Seven (The Enthusiast.)

Column One

A showcase for compelling storytelling from the Los Angeles Times

The 30-year-old, who lives in Memphis and proudly calls himself The Enneagram Guy, says the tool is a natural fit for him, and fellow millennials who want to move beyond discussions of success and toward a loftier goal: True happiness.

The Enneagram helps people get to what is greater, he said. To be really internally happy, peaceful, content.

Another part of the Enneagrams appeal is that nobody owns it.

A few well-established groups, such as the Enneagram Institute and the Narrative Enneagram, host intensive workshops, some of which can cost into the thousands of dollars. (In a club exploding with newbie converts, groups that started talking about the Enneagram decades ago carry a certain cachet.)

But people can also research for free online and label themselves a guru.

Theres no overarching body that says, You cant say youre an Enneagram expert, said Micky ScottBey Jones, 42, a Nashville-area Enneagram trainer, who got certified through an extensive online program taught by the School of Conscious Living in Cincinnati.

The lack of quality control is problematic, Jones acknowledged, because someone with only a cursory understanding of the Enneagram could call themselves a trainer and start charging money. And when the tool is used without nuance, she said, discussions can devolve into deterministic stereotypes.

Oh, you think youre perfect? Jones recalls her ex-husband quipping at her, knowing she was a One, sometimes nicknamed The Perfectionist. The opposite was true, she told him, Ones have the fiercest inner critic of any number.

Think of the lines on the Enneagram figure as arrows explaining the directions each personality type moves in times of stress and growth. So, when a Nine is stressed, they resemble an unhealthy Six, but when theyre thriving, they look like a healthy Three.

(Peter and Maria Hoey / For The Times)

Its not a party trick, she said.

It takes serious research to understand the tools subtleties, Jones said, and to account for the cultural biases inherent in some of the quizzes and trainings. As with anything, she said, Enneagram teachers interpret the world through the lens of their own lives and, historically, at least in the U.S., most instructors have been white.

When Jones, who is black, first started having conversations about the Enneagram, other people told her, and she initially agreed, that she was probably an Eight (The Challenger). But she later realized that that was a common mistyping among black women one she believes is rooted in stereotypes about black women as angry and strong. While she is a leader with a strong personality traits often found in Eights a key aspect was off: She doesnt freely express her anger. As a One (aka Perfectionist), shes prone to tamp the emotion down.

One way to weed out your true type, Enneagram experts say, is to read all nine descriptions and focus on the one that unsettles or embarrasses you. That was how Paden Hughes the 33-year-old CEO of Gymnazo, a workout facility in San Luis Obispo ultimately discovered her type. She initially thought she might be an Eight, but realized she was a Three (The Achiever) after learning that, at their lowest, Threes are prone to shape-shifting and manipulation.

Its the side of you that you dont want anyone to see, Hughes said. But recognizing that side, she believes, spurs growth.

She implemented the Enneagram with her then 15-person staff more than a year ago and, so far, she said, the employees have liked it more than other personality-typing tools theyd tried together, including Myers-Briggs and Strengths Finder.

Attendees broke into groups to discuss personality types during the Enneagram workshop in Riverside.

(Ana Venegas / For The Times)

On a Saturday morning last fall, Hughes gym hosted a two-hour Enneagram workshop led by Joy Pedersen a 41-year-old life coach and certified Enneagram instructor who has a doctorate in educational leadership.

I want us to do introductions, Pedersen said softly, asking each of the participants to share a fun fact about themselves, as well as their experience with the Enneagram and what they hoped to get from the workshop.

First up was a 38-year-old preschool teacher fun fact: Shes from Fargo, N.D. who said she knew almost nothing about the Enneagram, but that she kept seeing the word on Instagram. Then a 59-year-old commercial real estate agent fun fact: she has anxiety from a lack of fun facts said she struggled with understanding people and hoped to improve her communication skills.

Oooh, Pedersen said, smiling, that gets me really excited.

The next day, a different group a crew of 18 men and women packed into a living room in Riverside for an Enneagram party led by Rickard, the devotee who lives in Moreno Valley.

Dressed in a sparkly T-shirt and exuding the loud, stay-with-me energy of someone who spends her time home-schooling a trio of young boys, Rickard clapped three times. The crowd her friends, her friends friends and a few strangers whod learned about the event online quieted.

So, Rickard said, squirming with excitement, who has heard of the Enneagram?

Eighteen hands popped up.

Who is obsessed with it like me? she asked.

Rickards friends, her friends friends and a few strangers whod learned about the event online attended the workshop.

(Ana Venegas / For The Times)

When only four hands stayed raised, Rickard inched her eyebrows up and down several times, as if to say, Challenge accepted.

Some Christians are leery about the Enneagram because its not derived directly from the Bible, Rickard said, but that doesnt bother her or her husband, a pastor at a nondenominational Christian church. Nothing about it contradicts their beliefs, she says, or those of any of the other world religions shes studied.

Anything that gives you insight into how youre made can be helpful, she said.

As Rickard outlined the types in a PowerPoint presentation, a mother, who was bouncing her baby on her knee, asked if women with young children ever get mistyped as Twos (The Helper). Rickard nodded, saying women and particularly women in religious communities are often mistyped because selflessness is a trait theyre taught to value and therefore learn to express.

As she pointed to her PowerPoint, a stack of gold bracelets bounced around her left wrist. She winced.

This is so jingly, she said. Is that annoying anyone?

A friend in the back of the room chuckled, noticing the worry-about-everyone-else question.

Ah, she whispered to herself, The Peacemaker.

You could argue, of course, that anyone giving a public talk might fret over distracting noises. But that wasnt what the friend saw not now that she was a believer.

See original here:
Enneagram tests are having a moment. Thank millennials - Los Angeles Times

Bud Wilkinson

OU President and Mrs. George L. Cross congratulate Coach Wilkinson on his win over Texas, 1948. Tulsa World File photo

University of Oklahoma's Darrell Royal plants a resounding kiss on the cheek of head coach Bud Wilkinson in the dressing room after Oklahoma beat North Carolina in Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Jan. 1, 1949, with a score of 14-6. (AP Photo)

Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson, left, and assistant coach Gomer Jones are shown on the sidelines during a game in Norman, Okla., Nov. 1949. (AP Photo)

Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson and assistant coach Gomer Jones shout directions to the Sooners from the sidelines, Nov. 1949. (AP Photo)

University of Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson is shown with his Coach of the Year 1949 plaque at a dinner of the American Football Coaches Association in New York, Jan. 12, 1950. (AP Photo/Matty Zimmerman)

College All-Stars head coach Bud Wilkinson, right, of Oklahoma, gives instructions to Barney Poole of Mississippi, who will captain the All-Star team, as they practiced Aug. 11, 1949 at Dyche Stadium in Evanston, Ill., for a game with the Philadelphia Eagles pro team at Chicago, August 12. (AP Photo/Ed Maloney)

University of Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson bends over to sign an autograph for a young fan as the team arrives in Biloxi, Miss., Dec. 27, 1949, for training in preparation for the Sugar Bowl against LSU on January 2. Darrell Royal, quarterback, waits to add his name to the boy's paper. (AP Photo)

University of Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson, left, talks with Notre Dame coach Frank Leahy at a dinner of the American Football Coaches Association in New York City on Jan. 12, 1950. Wilkinson was selected "Football Coach of the Year for 1949." (AP Photo)

University of Oklahoma football coach Bud Wilkinson, right, is congratulated by former President Herbert Hoover at a dinner given by the American Football Coaches Association in New York, Jan. 12, 1950, where Wilkinson was selected 1949's Football Coach of the Year. (AP Photo/Marty Lederhandler)

Bud Ledbetter, and 17 other students received their football letters during the father-and-son banquet Friday from Bud Wilkinson on Feb. 17, 1950. Photo via The Oklahoman archives

Coach Bud Wilkinson of Oklahoma University takes a drink of water from a bottle after a tense moment in the Oklahoma-Kansas game, Nov. 11, 1950, at Lawrence, Kansas. The Sooners, behind at halftime, surged forward in the final quarter to win 33-13 and chalk up their 28th consecutive victory. (AP Photo/William P. Straeter)

Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson, left, and Paul Bryant of Kentucky, whose teams meet in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day, have their fingers in a sugar bowl at a luncheon in Oklahoma City, Dec. 8, 1950. (AP Photo)

Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson, center, gives some advice to his defensive Sooners during practice in Biloxi, Miss., Dec. 27, 1950. The team will meet Kentucky in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day. From left to right: Jack Lockett, Buddy Jones, Ed Lisak, Wilkinson, Tommy Gray, Tom Catlin and Bert Clark. (AP Photo)

Bud Wilkinson (left) of Oklahoma and Robert Mendez, head football coach of at the National University of Mexico, Mexico City, swapping split-T ideas at Norman during Sooner spring practice on April 3, 1951. Photo via The Oklahoman archives

Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson, center, kneeling, is seen with three of his squad, Dick Bowman, left, Kurt Burris, right, and Darlon Hearon, Dec. 26, 1953, in Miami. (AP Photo)

Oklahoma Sooners coach Bud Wilkinson, center, goes over game strategy with co-captains Roger Nelson, left, tackle, and halfback, Larry Grigg, during a workout at the University of Miami, in Miami, Fla., Dec. 26, 1953. The Sooners will meet the University of Maryland Terrapins in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 1. (AP Photo/Earl Shugars)

Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson and quarterback Gene Calame work out strategic plays with small model football players, Dec. 30, 1953, in Miami Beach. The Sooners are meeting Maryland at the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day. (AP Photo)

Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson, center, talks it over with quarterback Gene Calame, right, and center Gene Mears before a workout at the Lafayette M. Hughes estate in Denver, Colo., Oct 28, 1954. (AP Photo)

Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson, right, is shown with Sooners All America back Tom MacDonald, center, and Dr. George L. Cross, president of the University of Oklahoma, as the first contingent of the Oklahoma squad arrives in Miami for their Orange Bowl date with Maryland, Dec. 26, 1955. (AP Photo)

Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson is hoisted to the shoulders of his quarterback Rodger Taylor, left, and fullback Bill Brown, right, for the victory ride off the field at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Fla., Jan. 2, 1956. Oklahoma beat Maryland, 20-6. (AP Photo/Earl Shugars)

Hugh Ballard (82), Oklahoma tackle, runs onto field as coach Bud Wilkinson stands on the sidelines in Boulder, Colo., Nov. 3, 1956. (AP Photo)

Oklahoma University football coach Bud Wilkinson goes over a play with quarterback Jimmy Harris as the Sooners wind up preparations for the Colorado game at Boulder, Nov. 1, 1956. (AP Photo)

Bud Wilkinson on Sept. 21, 1957. Photo via The Oklahoman archives

Bud Wilkinson on December 27, 1957. AP File Photo

University of Oklahoma football co-captain Don Stiller holds the Football Writers' Association trophy as coach Bud Wilkinson looks on, in Norman, Okla., Feb. 15, 1957. (AP Photo)

Oklahoma Sooners coach Bud Wilkinson, left, and assistant coach Gomer Jones, right, signal for a time out with a minute and a half left to play against Notre Dame, in Norman, Okla., Nov. 16, 1957. At midfield and Notre Dame ahead 7-0, Wilkinson wanted to send in a player who could develop a series of plays, but the Fighting Irish intercepted a pass two plays later, ending the Sooners' chance to score and tie-up the game. (AP Photo)

Oklahoma football coach Bud Wilkinson crouches among his players before starting practice for the New Year's Day game with Syracuse in the Orange Bowl at Miami, Fla., Dec. 27, 1958. Some of the players are Marshall York (72), Ben Wells (71) and Wahoo McDaniel (40). Others are unidentified. (AP Photo/Harold Valentine)

Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson shakes the hand of his former player Darrell Royal as they leave the field in Dallas, Tex., Oct. 10, 1959. Texas defeated the Sooners, 19-12. (AP Photo/Ferd Kaufman)

U.S.President Richard Nixon leans toward shy, Michele Lofevre advising her: "Smile. You're having your picture taken." Michele, 9, of Washington, sat with her father, Ted on Nov. 16, 1959 in Washington. In front of the President and his adviser, former Oklahoma football coach Bud Wilkinson, as they watched Dallas beat Washington, 41-28, at RFK Stadium. (AP Photo/CWH)

Charles "Bud" Wilkinson, University of Oklahoma coach, is shown in Norman, Okla., 1960. (AP Photo)

Charles (Bud) Wilkinson, University of Oklahoma football coach and newly-appointed special consultant to the President on youth fitness, poses with President Kennedy at the White House, Washington, March 23, 1961. The 44-year-old Wilkinson conferred with Kennedy on formulation of plans to get the Youth Fitness Program under way. (AP Photo/Harvey Georges)

Just as happy about the victory as coach Bud Wilkinson is former Sooner All-American and Heisman Trophy winner Billy Vessels on November 17, 1962. Photo via The Oklahoman archives

Heading toward the dressing room with a comfortable halftime lead of 28-8 are coach Bud Wilkinson and a happy band of Sooners on April 21, 1962. Photo via The Oklahoman archives

Charles B. "Bud" Wilkinson, special consultant to U.S. President John F. Kennedy on physical fitness, announces a national awards program to honor leaders of the fitness effort, March 1963. The award system will be jointly sponsored by the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce and Standard Packaging Corp. of New York. (AP Photo/Byron Rollins)

A publicity shot from Oklahoma City television station WKY for the Bud show: Left to right are Howard Neuman (an advertising agency executive) , Ned Hockman, and Bud Wilkinson. Howard and Ned came up with the concept for the coaches show on TV and pitched it to Bud, who agreed. Howard Neuman was the host (and continued through the Switzer era). Ned Hockman shot and edited the show. Photo courtesy of the Oklahoma Historical Society.

Football coach Bud Wilkinson shakes hands with voters at a coffee counter during a grass roots swing in Guymon, Ok. on March 2, 1964. Wilkinson has left coaching at University of Oklahoma to campaign for a seat in the U.S. Senate. (AP Photo)

Bud Wilkinson (left), an unidentified person and Richard M. Nixon in Oklahoma City on March 2, 1964. Photo via The Oklahoman archives

U.S. President Richard Nixon joins thousands of other fans in watching the Washington Redskins play the Dallas Cowboys in a professional football game on Nov. 16, 1969 at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington. Charles ?Bud? Wilkinson, Presidential assistant and former football coach, is at left of Nixon. (AP Photo)

Some of the nations most respected football coaches were on hand in Seattle, Washington Tuesday, Jan. 28, 1975, to honor Jim Owens, far left, who retired as head football coach at the University of Seattle, after 18 years. With Owens are, left to right, Darrell Royal, of Texas; Paul Bear Bryant of Alabama; Bud Wilkinson, who retired several years ago from Oklahoma; and John McKay of Southern California. (AP Photo/Barry Sweet)

Texas coach Darrell Royal, right, is seen with his former football coach Bud Wilkinson of Oklahoma and Barbara Specht, College Football Centennial Queen, in Lubbock, Tex., June 27, 1970. (AP Photo)

Former University of Oklahoma football coach Bud Wilkinson, now St. Louis Cardinals coach, cradles 1 1 / 2-yer-old Adam Small, son of Quail Creek Golf and Country Club grounds keeper Kenneth Small, in his arms during the Barry Switzer-Bud Wilkinson Swing for Sight golf tournament Monday in Oklahoma City on May 21, 1979. Photo via The Oklahoman archives

Bud Wilkinson, left, joyous at first victory, as is assistant Rudy Feldman on Oct. 30, 1978. Wilkinson coached the NFL's St. Louis Cardinals from 1978-79. Photo via The Oklahoman archives

Bill Toomey, the director of fund-raising for the U.S. Olympic Committee, is happy to lend a hand with the nametags for Barry Switzer, left, and Bud Wilkinson, who turned out Thursday night to help raise money for the USOC on March 17, 1988. Photo via The Oklahoman archives

Bud Wilkinson on Oct. 27, 1989. Photo via The Oklahoman archives

Bud Wilkinson. Photo via The Oklahoman archives

Greg Smith, right, reaches up to recover the statue of former Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson, left, after the cover fell off early during an unveiling ceremony before the start of an NCAA college football game in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Oklahoma Coach Bud Wilkinson and other coaches respresented at the College Football Hall of Fame Feb. 25, 2015. MIKE SIMONS/Tulsa World File

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Happy birthday to the late Bud Wilkinson: Take a look back at his life and legacy - Tulsa World