Par For The Course

Acting State Department IG Resigns

The State Department's acting inspector general, Stephen Akard, resigned on Wednesday after less than three months on the job. Akard replaced the previous inspector general, Steve Linick, whose firing by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in May prompted an ongoing House investigation.

Spanish Ex-King Abruptly Leaves Country

On Monday, Spanish ex-King Juan Carlos abruptly announced he was leaving the country for an unspecified destination. In a letter posted on the royal website, the 82-year-old - who is the subject of an ongoing corruption probe - said he would be available if prosecutors needed to speak with him, though Spanish officials thus far are unaware of his whereabouts. Claims surfaced Wednesday that the ex-monarch had fled to the Dominican Republic, but the country’s immigration service said he had not arrived.

An Update On Beirut

The death toll from Tuesday’s massive explosion rose to 135, with ~5,000 people confirmed injured in the blast and an estimated 250k to 300k left homeless. The Lebanese cabinet declared a two-week state of emergency on Wednesday, and reportedly decided to place all city port officials under house arrest until they determined who was responsible for storing 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate in a warehouse for six years without preventative measures.

COVID Roundup: NY, NJ, & CT expanded their quarantine travel order to 35 states | Chicago public schools will open the year with remote learning | Check your state’s ICU capacity.

Worth Noting: Today marks the 75th anniversary of the U.S. dropping a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

Get Reeled In

Instagram launched its short-form video platform, called Reels, on Wednesday, showcased prominently within the Instagram app. With this move, the Facebook-owned company hopes to compete with ByteDance’s TikTok, which has faced international scrutiny (and a potential U.S. ban) due to its relationship with the Chinese government. Similar to TikTok, Reels will promote the most-engaging content from across the platform, as opposed to highlighting content from a users’ friends list and specific accounts they follow.

A Galaxy Very, Very Close

Samsung unveiled several new devices at its virtual Galaxy Unpacked event on Wednesday, including two versions of the Note 20 cellphone, an updated foldable phone, two tablets, and a watch. The Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra will be available starting Aug. 21.

Hold The Phone

Telehealth company Teladoc has agreed to buy medical technology company Livongo for $18.5B, marking the third-largest deal for a U.S. company this year (behind 7-Eleven & Analog Devices). While Teladoc and Livongo entered 2020 with a combined valuation of $8.5B, Wednesday’s merger gives the companies a joint enterprise value of ~$37B.

COVID Roundup: The U.S. cruise industry extended its pause on operations until at least Oct. 31 | Johnson & Johnson reached a more than $1B deal with the U.S. gov’t to produce 100 million vaccine doses | Virginia’s health department released the nation’s first contact tracing app.

Worth Noting: Facebook & Twitter removed an interview clip posted by President Trump in which he said children are “almost” or “virtually immune” to COVID-19, with both companies saying the post violated policies on harmful COVID misinformation.

From Offensive Line To Front Line

As an offensive lineman for the Kansas City Chiefs, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif executes his plays on the field with surgical precision. This is because the football star – who won the Super Bowl with his team this past February – graduated from medical school in 2018. Now, during the pandemic, Laurent is taking on a new challenge that rivals competing in football’s most prestigious event.

Last week, Laurent published an open letter on social media announcing that he is opting out of the 2020 NFL season to serve as a nursing assistant in the battle against the coronavirus. Having previously postponed his medical residency to play football, the accomplished athlete spent nine weeks this summer working as an orderly at a long-care facility.

No Dog Left Behind

Meena Kumar of San Jose, CA, knows what it feels like to be left behind. At nine months old, she was abandoned on a college campus in Mumbai and taken to an orphanage. Now fourteen-years-old and with a loving, adoptive family, the resilient Meena enjoys spending time at her local animal shelters, playing with senior dogs who have been similarly deserted. Although Meena wants nothing more than to support her favorite shelters, she is too young to serve at the facilities as an official volunteer.

Thus, to aid the ownerless senior dogs in her community, Meena founded Pet Fairy Services, a pet sitting business that donates all of its profits to the Muttville Senior Dog Rescue Shelter in San Francisco. To date, Meena has raised more than $14,000 for Muttville.

Birthday Dad

Although Kayley Cole and her stepfather Micah do not have a shared bloodline, they do have the same birth month – July. Thus, for the past six years, the two have celebrated their special days together, reflecting the close, mutually supportive bond between the pair. This year, Kayley wanted her and Micah’s joint birthday to be truly exceptional, so she spent months preparing the perfect gift for her stepdad.

On the day of their bilateral birthday celebration, Kayley – whose biological father previously passed away – asked Micah to officially adopt her. In a heartwarming video that went viral on TikTok, the tall, muscular Micah is brought to joyful tears by Kayley’s request, agreeing to her invitation with a loving embrace.

Your Company… It’s Your Turn

Fortunes are made or lost, not by what happens to us, but by how we react.

Bad things happen to good businesses.

Now you have to decide how you will respond.

Some owners will cut expenses to the bone. Others will become paralyzed by fear.

A rare few will use this opportunity to rethink their business from the ground up. Throw out what wasn’t working and re-commit to strategies that impact long term business value.

ProvenGain uses a simple system for boosting the value of the companies called The Value Builder System™. We’ve recently created an eBook called 8 Ways To Re-Invent Yourself In A Crisis, which I thought might be helpful as you contemplate what’s next. Just send me an email at: paulwildrick@provengain.com for your copy or I can help you with some ideas on a quick 30 or 60-minute call. Schedule here: www.calendly.com/paulwildrick