November & December 2021 in Review
Books
I finished two books in December:
The Power of Trust: How Companies Build It, Lose It, Regain It by Sandra J. Sucher and Shalene Gupta (Public Affairs, 2021)
This is yet another title I found on the new releases display at the local library. Sucher and Gupta use extensive case studies to narrate how several major corporations across industries made either very good or very bad decisions that led to earning or losing public trust, respectively, and drawing important lessons for all organization in the process. Available at various retailers via the book's website.
The Pandemic Information Gap: The Brutal Economics of COVID-19 by Joshua Gans (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2020)
Gans and a few of his peers essentially dropped everything in April 2020 and put together this accessible but thorough read on the economic aspects of pandemics in general and COVID-19 in particular. Since it was written so early in the pandemic, a few of the underlying assumptions in some of their models and arguments are now known to be false, but even so, the methods are sound and hopefully the lessons will be learned in time for the next pandemic. Available at various retailers via Gans' website.
Travel
Naomi and I spent Thanksgiving with my family in the Chicago area. I went early to spend a few extra days with my parents and stayed at their house in Oak Park those nights, but then when Naomi arrived in town, we stayed two nights at the historic Chicago Athletic Association hotel, part of Hyatt’s Unbound Collection. This was my first stay at a Hyatt property following earning top-tier Hyatt Globalist status earlier in the fall, as well as my first time staying at this particular property after passing it so many times during all my years living in the area, so I was doubly excited.
The hotel, which sits on Michigan Avenue just one block south of the Millennium Park ice skating rink (we didn’t go) and the Chicago Christmas tree (we did get a picture there!), was beautifully decorated for the holiday season and the staff was friendly and efficient. The main Globalist perk we realized during the stay was complimentary room service breakfast both mornings. It perhaps wasn’t restaurant quality but certainly filling, convenient, and very much welcomed as an option given pandemic-related limitations.
Concerts
Beyond the concerts in early 2020 where I was on staff with Seraphic Fire, I attended two in-person concerts in 2020 prior to the pandemic, and here at the end of 2021, I have now matched that total. In December, I attended the Arlington Chorale’s annual holiday concert, this year titled What Sweeter Music. This was also the Chorale’s first in-person concert since the pandemic. The safety protocols were adequate (proof of vaccination and masks required for all attendees), the choir sang beautifully (and with excellent diction even through their masks!), and I was grateful for the chance to enjoy a local seasonal arts offering.
