What is up everybody, welcome back to the channel.   The world is on lockdown right now. People are trapped in their house. So many people are unemployed. Businesses have shut down and the world economy is definitely changing. One huge, huge company.  You see these Amazon Prime trucks in every neighborhood in the country and around the world. And so there's a couple of different ways to make money with Amazon. You can obviously provide your own product, right? You can do Amazon FBA, which is Amazon fulfillment. So you can source products from China. You can source products from your own damn garage. You can provide any product and have Amazon fulfill it. And that's Amazon FBA. Where you send your product over to Amazon, they list it on the actual page here and provide all the traffic. And depending on ranking and depending on how you're setting your whole entire product page up, that's gonna determine a lot on the actual ranking of your product and how many people actually see it. So that's one huge way you keep seeing a lot of online marketers showing people how to become an Amazon FBA seller. An Amazon seller is what they call it. But what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna show you how to simply become an affiliate. So for those of you that don't have a product, right? You're not outsourcing products. You're not sourcing products. You're not getting products from China. You're not manufacturing your own products. But you see the opportunity and you still wanna make money with Amazon. That is an affiliate. So I'm gonna simply walk you through how to set that up and I'm gonna give you some tips and different strategies that you can go about doing it.  You're gonna scroll down to the bottom and we are gonna look for Amazon affiliate right here. So we're gonna become an affiliate. We're gonna click on that and we're gonna go through the simple setup process on getting everything started. So you guys can read all this if you want. Join, it's easy, it's free. That's obviously why a ton of people do join. You can choose from millions of products and get up to 10% in advertising fees. Now, the only thing that doesn't really turn me on is the low commission. But looking at it on the bright side, and I'm gonna kind of touch on some of those bright sides, there's still a ton of opportunity. There's still a ton of opportunity and you can still make a good amount of money. And this is something that I would implement on the side. It's something that I do implement on the side. It's not a full-time hustle. It's not a full-time income, but it can definitely build up on the side and offset some of your marketing expenses, offset your gas bill, your light bill, your grocery bill. You can even get it up high where it's offsetting your car payment. So I'm a true, true believer in multiple streams of income and building up these little assets that help you in your day-to-day life as far as your financials. So this income right here, if I can build it up to a few hundred a month where it's offsetting a car payment, that's a big, big deal for most people and even freaking myself, you know what I mean? So this right here, you could just simply read that. You can learn more and do all that, but I'm gonna simply just skip that and we're gonna simply click on what's new, boost your earnings with native shopping ads. You can do that or we can just simply join. So join now, okay? So I already have an account, so I'm gonna just simply walk you through my account. So you're gonna come in here, set up a new email. That's what I would do. I would separate it maybe from what else you got going on and just create a whole new account.  So I'm gonna click continue and I'm gonna just simply log in.  What type of credibility you have? Whatever it's asking for, you don't need a website. It might ask for a website, put your Facebook page if anything, your Facebook business page. Let them know that you'll be promoting on social media. That's really all you need to let them know. If they ask more questions, let them know that you're gonna be promoting through your email list, right?  You're gonna be sharing it online because it asks you a few different questions and so you can just fill in the blanks with just, you know, general stuff like that and you'll be fine, okay? So now I'm logged in to my actual account. Let's go into, actually this might have been, yeah. Okay, so let's go to, actually, you know what? This might be a different account. Let's log out of this one. Let's go to my Amazon associates. That's what I'm saying. You wanna have different accounts. You don't wanna tie everything up to just one. So let's go with that one and it's this one right here. Okay, perfect. So what I'm gonna do is I'm going to simply show you around this part and really to tell you, there's so much you can learn. Tools, there's different promotions, there's product linking, there's reports.  I would just start to get some links, start to get, you know, familiar with it and for sure you wanna go through the setup process because that's gonna ask you how you want your money. Do you want it, you know, direct deposit? Do you want them to mail you a check? And you'll go through all that as you set it up, but it's super, super simple. You guys can go through that part on your own. I don't wanna waste your time with that, but I wanted to kind of show you how you can share the link and just give you some tips on how I would share them.  You can go to promotions as well. Let's look at, in fact, let's look at everything. We're gonna look at promotions and we're gonna look at product linking.  And the beauty of it is that when you start sharing your links, okay, and there's so many different promotions, you can get link right here, you can get the banner, if you wanna put it on a webpage, which I would highly recommend doing as well. So you can look at all these different promotions and then look at the actual commissions that they'll pay. But again, it's anywhere from five to 10% on most products.  What I would do is I would niche down and that's what I do do.  You know what I mean? Like all post links that are relevant to my audience. And so if you've been following me for a while, I've been building a social media agency since 2016, focused on one niche, providing marketing services, social media services, Facebook advertising services to this one niche. So what I do is through that, I've been able to build a list and through that list, I'll share different products and link them to Amazon. But there are products that are specific to that niche, whether it's a book or some other type of random product, what I like to do a lot is share links for books. So if I'm in the real estate niche, I'll look for books on Amazon, get my affiliate link, which I'll show you how to do and send that in an email, right? So tip number one is you wanna focus on a niche. Don't come in here and start grabbing a ton of different links, okay? Focus on a niche. What I would also do is over here on Facebook, I would create either a Facebook business page around that niche or I should say and create a Facebook group, okay? So it's either gonna be a Facebook page and or a Facebook group around the niche, okay? Around the niche. Whatever niche you're trying to provide value to, that's where you wanna start again, again, because you don't wanna just post a bunch of random stuff. Like focus on the niche and then come in here to Amazon and start looking for products inside of that niche. And so that's what you wanna do for sure. And then you can look at different promotions, Amazon Bounty Program. Let's look at that real quick. The Bounty Program is the different services. So Amazon Video, Baby Registry, Audible. Audible is really cool because as you start to share Audible, it gives a person a free trial and then when they do keep it, you make a commission. And I think that, and again, the commission's kind of low, but let's look at it. $8 bounty for qualifying three to six months Audible GIF, $10 bounty for qualifying 12 month Audible GIF membership. So depending on which plan earn bounty for every qualifying purchase you drive to the Audible GIF membership, which is available in one, three, six and 12 month programs. And then you can get link right here. And then what I would do is I would shorten the link and there goes the link. So let's share this on social media and I'll show you how to do that. So I would get the short link for sure, copy that. And then again, so it just depends on what that person signs up for. So it could be, I mean, if they were signing up for a $12 membership, $10. Again, I look at profit margin, I look at how many units I need to sell to make a decent income. And again, $10, it's like, dude, that's not a lot of money, right? Like if I'm gonna put in all this effort, that's not really a lot of money. That's what I'm saying. You wanna just implement this. You wanna just add it to your existing business and just let it be like a side income that can start generating. And again, I'm gonna kind of show you how, how I actually will, I kind of already told you, what I would do is I would build either a Facebook group and or a Facebook business page. And then I would start driving traffic to some type of landing page to build a list. Okay, so if you're going after, you know, any niche, drive them to a landing page, find people who are interested in that niche first and build an email list. That's where you're gonna win. You're gonna win either, you're gonna either win building a YouTube channel around that niche. See over here, two things I've done. I didn't do the Facebook page because that's not where I'm gonna be posting. I didn't do the group because that's not where I'm gonna be posting. What I did is I built a YouTube channel and I built an email list, right? So those two avenues are where I share my Amazon links. So I'll come over here on YouTube and maybe I'll do a video, maybe I'll do a review on a book. A lot of people, they'll go out there and do reviews on cameras or electronics or again, your niche, pick your niche. Here's what I would do. Number one, again, Facebook is cool, the business page or the group. But at the same time, if you've been following me for a while, I'm a huge believer in YouTube. If I'm gonna put all this energy and do video for you guys, I might as well get paid on it. Like what the hell? Like why am I gonna put this video on Instagram? Why am I gonna put this video on TikTok? Like why am I gonna put this video on my Facebook business page when only 1% of my 600 likes are gonna even see it, right? So the engagement on these other platforms are super, super low. And so if I can build something long-term and if I'm gonna do it with video, I would highly recommend, you know, video. So pick your niche and maybe you could start doing reviews on these products.  That's what I would do for sure. Number one, YouTube channel. If you're into video, start building an audience of like-minded people around that niche and do it on YouTube. And then in the description, you can either post your Amazon link in the description or you can post links to your landing page to get people to a landing page to capture the lead and build a long-term list that way. Those are the two ways I do it. YouTube email list. That's where my Amazon links go. So, but let me show you how to share it if you were to do it on Facebook. So if you were to do it on Facebook, whether it's on your personal page and we're gonna come over here and just share it in our timeline or in our news feed, I should say. This is my personal page or whether I'm gonna share it on a business page. I'll show you, you know, well, actually it's the same thing either way. But all I'm gonna do is I can come over here and again, I already copied the link. So I'll get link, short link, and this is what I would do. I would come over here and I would post it right there. I would paste it right there. And then as the dropdown comes down, it gives me an option of different images that I can choose from, right? So that one's a really cool one right there. So I can easily, easily post this right here. And I think a lot of people will actually get value because it's just audible, right?  So this is more general and this is what I would highly recommend, audible. Audible, it gives a decent commission and the majority of people would find value in it, especially if, you know, if the majority of people that are following you are, you know, into this type of stuff. Very few will be into a boxing bag, a punching bag, but many, many, many other normal people would for sure probably be interested in audible, especially if it's a free trial, right? So what I would do is I would paste it right there and then I would delete this link, right? And then I would add some copy from the actual page. So I would come over here and I would just grab any kind of copy that I can find. So an unmatched selection of audiobooks. So look, this right here could be good copy that I can use. Audible will send you your gift recipients an email. Okay, three tiles each. Look, I could take that simple copy and I can paste it right there, okay? So, and then what I can also do to take it a step even further is I can put some emojis right up in there. So let's see if we can find any emojis and I use emojicopy.com for this, but let's see if we can kind of get cue with it and just add a little bit of personality, a little bit of color to the actual post.  So that's why I'm even sharing this video. It's worth it to just maybe build a second income, a second stream of income around, this whole pandemic of what's going on because everyone's ordering on Amazon and Amazon is gonna continue to get bigger.  You know what I mean? And if it's relevant to your audience, if it's relevant to your niche, if it's relevant to your list, if it's relevant to your YouTube channel and if you're actually passionate about that niche and you're actually building a YouTube channel and these links are in the description, you're talking about certain products and then you're linking it in the description, that could be super powerful. So let's just grab the finger for now. We'll copy that. And then what I can do is I can go, I could paste it right here. An unmatched selection of audio books performed by, and I could put the book right there. So let's just, in fact, let's go back. Let's delete this finger. Let's actually get the book. Let's scroll down, let's scroll down, scroll down. There's some books right there. Let's copy that. So I'm telling you, man, you can get real cute with it. Three titles, and I'll go three titles for each month of their gift membership. One audio book, two audio originals, 30%. Give me one second, you guys. 30% of an additional audio books anywhere. My little daughter, she wants to learn how to make money on Amazon as well. 30% off any additional audio books anywhere, anytime listening with these free audio apps, free and easy audio book exchanges and audio book library they'll own forever. Okay, so I can even change up the text a little bit. Three titles for each month of your membership. And then I can go one audio book plus two audio originals, 30% off any additional, anywhere anytime listening with these free audio, audible app, free, okay, okay, perfect. So let's just clean this up. So this is just basic stuff, you guys. You guys can easily, you guys can easily just simply change the text a little bit and then add a little bit of emojis. 30% off any additional audio books anywhere, anytime listening with free, free and easy in the audio book you'll love. An audio book library you'll own forever. And then what I can also do is click here to set up free trial.  Okay, here we go. So I can add that finger back in and I'll put it right here. Click here to set up free trial and then I'll put the finger and then I'll come back to Amazon and I'll get that link again. So let's get the link. I can copy that and then I could paste it right there. So they can either click the link or they can click the image or they can click freaking down here in the title or the headline I should say. And so that right there you guys is you can either post it that way on your personal page, your Facebook page, your Facebook business page or your Facebook group, okay? That's for sure powerful.  So you don't wanna do it all the time. But again, you wanna stick to a niche, man. Stick to a niche. And that's why posting on your personal page unless you have thousands of people that are in your niche on your personal page, I wouldn't go crazy with this on your personal page. On your business page, yes. On your business page, anyone who is liking and following your business page, your Facebook business page, they're obviously following and liking it for a reason. So they're interested in what the hell you're talking about. So you could for sure do this and do it multiple times per day on your business page. And even in a Facebook group, if you're in a Facebook group and the title of the group is Make Money with Amazon or the group is books I love to read or famous books for entrepreneurs, like that type of stuff, when you could be very specific with the Facebook group, you can for sure post like this multiple times per day and no one's gonna get pissed, right? Because everyone's in that group for that reason. That's what I would do for sure. Super, super powerful. Now, again, let's go back to, this was the audible. So this was the promotions. This was the Amazon bounty. And then Amazon promo codes, I never clicked on that. Let's click on that and see what the hell that's all about. Amazon promo codes, promo codes give customers a discount on eligible items at checkout. Okay, so I guess you can provide, okay, so there's specific products that you can provide a code to. Now where I always go is I just go to product links. So there's banners, you can look at different banners, link to any page. But what I do is I normally just click on product links. And then now I can come over here and I can choose any product. I could type in any product and they'll find that product for me.  Let's just type in books. Let's type in, let's type in marketing. Let's type in digital marketing, digital marketing books. Okay, so this right here, you guys, is gonna give me a list of all of the freaking books. And then all I gotta do is find one, you know, that actually matches my niche. And then let's say digital marketing all in one for dummies, okay? And then boom, here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna hit the dropdown, not the get link, I'm gonna hit the dropdown, okay? And then there goes the copy and paste, the link, that's the long link. But what I want is I want the short link. So I can copy that right there and then boom. Let's say I wanna go to, so there's that one, right? There's that one. I can easily post that one for sure. And then let's click on, let's exit out of that. Let's click on home and let's see this next one. So if I paste this book link, let's see the image that pops up underneath the book, underneath this link. And again, you can keep this HTTPS. I would keep it at the end. I would say, hey, click here, right? And then I'd put the finger or you can delete it or you can delete it. If you delete it, it's still, people can still click on the image, they can still click on the headline down here and they'll still be taken to that product. So you guys can kind of do whatever you want on the copy. But what I always do is look, I'll go to, let's click on, I'll get the link for sure, but then I'll click right here and I'll go to the product page. I wanna go to the actual page because this is where I'm gonna get some copy for my post. Like right here, unlock the value in online marketing. A well-executed digital marketing plan is a proven component of success in business. A digital marketing all in one. So look, this right here would be great copy for my post, right? So I can grab this right here. I can grab this copy and I can just freaking use it for my post, right? So I can copy that and just use that to bring it over to the actual post. And again, that's either on the personal page, the business page, the Facebook group, whatever, I can use that copy for when I send an email, for when I'm linking it in my description on my YouTube channel, that's where I want you guys to get the copy. So don't think you gotta be an advertising genius and know everything about ad copy. The copy is already there. It's already provided on the sales page, right? So grab that copy and use that for your post. So here's a powerful thing about this is the fact that let's say I post that, right? I post it and then people click on the link and they end up going over to the sales page, right? They clicked on my link. So the cool thing about Amazon is that because they clicked on my link, let's say for example, they leave and they don't end up checking out. There's a 24 hour period. So if that person buys anything else within 24 hours, I'm gonna get commissioned. So let's say for example, they come here and they look at the product and they're like, you know what, let me look at a different product, marketing books. I might have seen the link from David, okay, cool. He got me there, but now that I'm there, I'm reading it, nah, 24 bucks, nah, too much. Let me see if I can find something else.  Because that person clicked on your link, again, there's a 24 hour period. So if they leave and they come back, that cookie is still on their computer.  But again, in this case, if they leave that product page and they go look at something completely different, you still get that commission.  I end up going to look at scissors and then I ended up buying a gift card and then I end up buying a freaking, I end up looking at best sellers and I come over here and buy other random stuff. You're making a commission on the entire cart value. So whatever the hell they check out at, you're making that percentage on the total.  So that's what's really cool. That's what's really cool is that it's not just on that one specific product.  That's what's really cool. Now let's say for example, you brought me over here from looking at the book, right? So I end up clicking on the book. Let's go back to this book. I end up clicking, I end up seeing your link on social media. I end up clicking on the book and let's say for example, I add to cart. But for whatever reason, I don't check out just yet, okay? It's added to the cart, but dinner is ready, wifey's calling me, I gotta go and eat. So what I end up doing is I end up closing out. Because I added to cart, because I, oh damn, did I close my Amazon one? Because I added to cart, Amazon gives you 90 days. So to the affiliate, if that person buys that product that is added to their cart in 90 days, you still make a commission. So that's what's really, really cool is that there's that 24-hour period. There's also the fact that if they buy anything else within that 24-hour period, after clicking your link, you make a commission. And then thirdly, if they add to cart, there's 90 days, you make a commission on that cart, okay? So that's what's super, super powerful. The emojis I went over, the Facebook group, the Facebook business page. And so here's what I would be doing, you guys. If you guys are really looking to take this to the next level, building a YouTube channel, talking about one specific topic, and then putting Amazon links in your description is a great way to do it. I've looked at so many different Amazon affiliates, and that's how a lot of them do it. A lot of them will build a YouTube channel around a specific product or around a specific niche. And in their description, there's a ton of Amazon links that take them to those products. Electronics, for example, if I'm over here, and electronics is my freaking niche, in the industry or in the niche of electronics, there's so many different things. So actually let's go to, let's get out of books. If I go to electronics, let's go to electronics or electronics. So if I, if this is my niche, you wanna pick a niche where there's multiple things that you could talk about. Now, I'm saying books, and there's really only books, right? But if I was into cameras, and if I go electronics, there's so many different little components within a camera, right? There's the freaking, the mount, there's cases, there's so many different things when it comes to cameras. There's the lens, there's all these different parts of it, the tripod, the freaking lighting, the bag. So it's like, I can end up having affiliate links for all this other random stuff. And I can start doing YouTube videos and start talking about all these random stuff and have the ability to make multiple commissions on all these other random other products that are needed within that niche. So that's another thing. That's why a lot of good Amazon affiliates are in the electronics, because first of all, number one, it's a higher grossing product, right?  So that's why a lot of people choose that niche to begin with, because the price point is so high compared to a book, right, making 10% off of 10 bucks. Like what the hell, that's nothing, right? So that's why when it comes to this, you wanna pick a niche where there's high price products, because again, the commission's not that high. And then you wanna pick a niche where there's multiple products within that niche, right? There's multiple add-ons in that niche, a tripod, a lighting, the freaking, the mic, the lenses, right? So that just gives you more opportunity to make more money on that same niche, okay? So two things that I would do for sure, you guys, is if you're willing to go all in, I would start building a YouTube channel around that industry, around that niche, and just start linking your Amazon links in the description. And that's all you gotta do is let's come back over. Let's go back to, I think I closed it out, let's go back to it. You wanna just start opening your mind and start thinking of all these different products that you can offer. Now, again, I chose books, because I truly believe a lot of people in my niche are into personal development. They're into improving their business, they're entrepreneurs, right? So one way that I look at it, and this is something I'm taking way more seriously in 2020, because I'm just seeing how Amazon is growing like a freaking beast. They've always been a beast, but now where we're at right now, you guys, April 2020, they've taken over the world. They've literally taken over the world. So if we can't beat them, it's best to join them, right?  That's all this is. And so one huge thing that turns me on is the fact that, yeah, okay, it might be a $10 book that I'm recommending to my email list, but if that person buys anything else, I make a commission. So as people are buying everything in their freaking home from Amazon nowadays, that could be a good income for you guys.  So that's kind of how I look at it for long-term growth, is the fact that I'm gonna be able to make money on other products that they're buying as long as they got there from clicking on my link that I emailed them, or that link that's in my YouTube description. So that's kind of how you wanna do it, you guys. Come in here, hit product links, and just start searching for different products within your niche. And again, don't be a spammer, right?   I do that every day. You don't wanna do it that way, man. I delete your guys' links every day because you guys are just spamming. You don't wanna do it that way, man. Create an audience, build an audience of like-minded people.  Or the other one that I'm mentioning is by building a list. I use Cartra for my landing pages and to build my list. So Cartra, you'll see a link in the description for Cartra. There's a 14-day trial profit with Cartra.online. But what I would also be doing with you guys is I would be building, if I were you guys, I would be building a list, okay? Driving people to a landing page, capturing the email, and building a list. A list of a bunch of like-minded people where I can then provide value and share my Amazon affiliate links with that list. And you're gonna need software to do that. So Cartra happens to be an all-in-one. I use it for my landing pages and I use it for my email autoresponder. So that's how I would do it, you guys, with Amazon Associates. I would stay consistent for sure with it.   It's like, build some value, like show your personality. And a lot of you guys that don't even put your profile picture in the profile section, like, dude, come on, there's so many people. In fact, let me show you. Let me see if I can find a few in my notifications. Look, dude, Tom, this happens to be a bot, right? And he just has his freaking logo or whatever, but that's a for sure bot. But like right here, man, shot it to Joel, but that's probably a bot as well. No profile picture.  So you don't wanna have an account where there's no profile picture and you're just posting that link everywhere. Don't do that, dude, because people are gonna report it. People are not gonna engage with it at all. You gotta build some kind of brand, man. And so that's what I'm using YouTube for, is building my brand, which there's links in the description that take people to other parts of my business. They'll click on the landing page, they'll opt in, and now I have an email list. And now I have the ability to come over here, grab a link and provide products that I know is gonna bring value to that specific group, right? So that's how you wanna do it, you guys.  Don't get left behind. Stay up with current times and build yourself and your family another stream of income. And Amazon Associates, Amazon Affiliates is one great way to do it. All right, guys, so I'll see you on the next video over now.


Before I opened a float center, I was in the corporate world for 15 years, and I was a leader in a training development company. I have had lots of experience helping people learn how to do their jobs. And so what I'm hoping today is to share some really, really high level information about how you can help your team to run your business, to do well in your centers. So really quickly by a show of hands, how many of you have employees already? Okay, pretty good. How many of you are hoping to hire somebody in the next six months to a year? Okay. And out of everyone, how many of you actually have a documented training program or policy in place? Yeah, that's kind of what I thought, not as many hands this time. So besides helping your business and adding value to your business itself, having this information in place and ready to go can help you in any of those moments when there's an emergency, but also so your people have the information that they need every single day. Oftentimes whenever I give talks about mindfulness in the workplace, I have to explain what mindfulness is, but I'm pretty sure you all know this already. Is your mind full or are you mindful? And when we are running our businesses as small business owners, there's a million things happening. We have so many things that we're trying to keep track of. And in those times that we are onboarding new employees, oftentimes we're thinking of all the things, we've got to clean the tanks, maintenance is coming up, we've got to do payroll, all the things that are happening, but whenever it's a new employee, they're thinking, how do I do my job? How do I fit in here? What do I do in this organization? How can I become a part of this team? And so when we're thinking about mindfulness in the training process, it's very similar to just mindfulness in general. Mindfulness of being aware of your present moment, observing things without judgment. And so we want to create a program that is really centered around the employee themselves. So I could go on for hours and hours about this, but we're going to keep it pretty high level today where hopefully you can walk away with just a couple of nuggets that you can take back to your centers and implement for your teams. Some things sound really, really obvious. Have a plan. But how many of you all know that you should float really, really frequently and consistently? You know you should, but do you? One of the things we hear most often as floats that are owners is I don't have time to float or I really need to get in the tank, but I just haven't had a chance to. So something really obvious, like have a plan, you should do and make that a priority. Sit down and actually document what people need to know. When do they need to know it and how am I going to bring people on the team? And this is something that you should do even if you're not even thinking about training one in the next several months to years. Have some things that are ready and prepared for them. Of course there's the legal stuff that we all have to do, but whenever you're thinking about your plan including job descriptions and being really, really clear about those sorts of things. Number two, creating a warm welcome. Again, sounds really, really obvious, but if you think about the first day, oftentimes we're going through all of those legal paperwork pieces and then running around showing them how to do everything and dumping tons of information on the people. And one of the things that I hear a lot from floats and our owners is I can't keep staff. And whenever you start looking at why we can't keep staff, a lot of times it's because people feel dispensable. And if you take the time to create a really warm welcome to make it all about that employee, then you start building that loyalty on day one. Really shifting the focus from I'm here to tell you how to do your job to I'm here to welcome you to the team to be a part of something really, really huge and beautiful. If you have the opportunity, take them off site. Take them out to coffee. Take them out for breakfast. Take them out for lunch. And the reason that you want to do this is because anytime that you have an employee at the center, there's first few weeks, there's a position of authority. You as the leader of your business and all of your coworkers, all of the employees you already have, you know more than they do. They're immediately in a place of feeling inferior. They're trying to figure out how they fit in, what do they do, and everybody else knows more than they do. So if you can take them to a neutral location, sit and have a conversation and get to know each other as human beings, it's a much more comfortable welcoming environment. You open up the door to really understand who that person is, how they like to learn. Maybe they want to just use checklists. Some people love to just learn by doing. And just having some of those conversations right from the get-go can really help you in this onboarding plan. Obviously, number three, you want to talk big picture. What is floating? What do we do as an organization? What are the services that we provide? And what often happens, though, is that we get really bogged down in policy and procedure. This is the float. This is how you do the turns, all of that. And it's day one. So on day one, keep it really, really big picture. Help them to understand what this whole float world means. Within that big picture concept is mission, vision, value. How many of you all have these things documented? How many of you put it on your business plan when you were trying to get funding and then never looked at it again? Let's be honest. There's a lot of us who've done that. But this is such a really crucial piece. And it doesn't have to be so formal that you have it on a poster, on a wall, and you're telling people, like, this is what we do. But the idea is to inspire them. It's not to get them to memorize what your mission vision and values are, but it's to inspire them to be a part of something that is really amazing for not just your community, but for the world. It's inspiring them to be part of your community. How do you serve the community? Is that a big piece of what you do as an organization? Number five, how do I fit into the big picture? For some of us, we're tiny centers. And maybe it's just the owners and one employee. Maybe it's a huge team. So helping them understand what that actual organization looks like, you might have an org chart. You might not. And that's perfectly OK. But within this, how do they show up? What does your culture look like? And being really, really clear on those expectations, are you a clinical facility? Are you a super laid-back chill kind of place? Letting people know right up front, this is how we show up every single day. And here's what we're asking of you within that. And then the job description itself, of course, is a huge piece. And then giving them the opportunity to be heard. This is such a huge, huge piece that new employees walk in and they're being told so much new information. But what if they figure something out? They have fresh eyes. They're going to see things that we don't see, because we're there every single day. And so having an opportunity for them to share their ideas, being really, really open about that and saying, hey, here's how you can come to us with feedback. Or I would love to sit down once a week and just see how things are going with you. Being really, really upfront with that in that first couple of days to invite them to be a part of something rather than to be told how to do things. Within that, getting to know them, understanding their strengths and weaknesses. And as small business owners, we are often very controlling. We've studied. We've researched. We've put so much blood, sweat, and tears into building our businesses. But new employees are coming to us with a world of experience themselves. They have different perceptions about things. And the way that you can really start to build loyalty is by letting them be a part of it. Letting them offer you their gifts. So understand, do they have video editing skills? Does somebody love to do social media? Is somebody great at documenting policies that you haven't had a chance to document yet? And really understand what they can do beyond that basic job description of cleaning and turning the rooms, but having a chance to make a difference on your organization. And it saves you money, that you're not having to hire somebody else to do all that. And then setting, we talked a little bit about setting clear expectations, but that includes things like if you're going to be late, here's the policy, here's what you need to do. If you can't come in for a shift, are they responsible for getting coverage? How do they request days off? All of those things. And being really clear about those expectations. We often assume that people just know, but every company is different. And so being really, really, really clear upfront. Do you have a point system? How do they request time? Is it by email? Is it okay to text you? Those sorts of things are just part of that getting to know you sort of relationship. What does your dress code look like? Are you required to wear a uniform? At my center, we leave our uniforms at the center. We do the laundry for everyone. We have a closet, they go there and get them. Just so that we make sure that there's no coffee stains as you spill your coffee on the way into work. There's no pet hair coming off of your clothes, that's us, that's why we don't do it. But being really clear about what the expectation is there. What if somebody falls in the tank? Because that happened too. If somebody falls in the tank mid-shift, do they have a backup uniform there that they can wear? This is a big one. What do you need to know, and when do you need to know it? Breaking it down is such a huge piece. Whenever I created the training program for my center, I did a huge task analysis, and on that spreadsheet, there's about currently 127 lines. 127 things that I've identified of how we operate as a business. And that's just a one-liner for each one. That doesn't mean that it's a quick little one and done kind of conversation, but I've identified that many things already that go into this really simple business of floating. And whenever we think about sharing that with our new employees who are coming in, we're really starting to space it out. Understand that, you know what? It's cool if they know this, but they don't really need it in order to be able to run the center for their first couple of days. So getting super, super clear on all of that. Now, one big part of this mindfulness practice of helping your new employees to onboard is they're new. Everything is new to them. Everything. And one of the most common complaints I've heard of new managers not just in the float world, but I already told them how to do it. I told them five times how to do it. Well, there's 127 things that we're telling them how to do. So to be really, really clear about how to find answers when you're not there and also just continue to be patient with them, remember that they don't know. You've spent years researching and learning this stuff. And so to be super, super patient as you're breaking this down. One of the most important parts is making sure that they have a really realistic view of what their life will look like every day. Whenever we're really cognizant of spacing out the different duties that they're doing, we don't want to hold off on the whole picture, though. Because we want them to know you're gonna be doing this, a significant portion of the time, you're gonna be doing that. And if we hold all of that until week two or three, then suddenly I didn't know I was gonna be working alone or I didn't know I was gonna have to be crouching to clean showers and tanks so often. And so you wanna be realistic about what you're presenting to them that it's not all, hey, let's just hang out. There's a lot of work that goes into this. When do you expect them to be dealing with guests on their own? Are they just going to be there to do service? Are they doing check-ins at the front desk? And be really, really clear about that. So this is a big, big, big piece. Like I mentioned before, a lot of folks tend to get frustrated because they've told people five times how to do something and it's like they don't even listen, right? They forget. So in the 1800s, there was a psychologist, Dr. Herman Ebbinghaus, who coined the phrase the forgetting curve. Has anybody ever heard of this? So this is really fascinating and this piece of information alone really shifted my perspective about how people learn. And the idea is that basically you're exposed to the information, the day that you learn it, say it's interesting to you, it's a skill that you need, you absorb 100% of the information that's being given to you. Within one hour, one hour, 50% of that information is typically forgotten. I know in one hour, half of what I've said, off into the universe, one hour. Within 24 hours, people forget 70% on average of what they've retained, of what they've been given, not even that they've retained. And so it's no wonder, think about that's one tidbit of information. So 127 lines that I'm showing people and teaching them no wonder they forget, okay? People are going to lose that information and that's why it's so crucial to space it out, to reinforce.  So if you start to space those learning events, that means that they're getting continued exposure, that maybe the first week is all about just learning how to do turns. And the second week is all about orientations and check-ins. And the third week is all about something else. And so you space it out very, very intentionally so that within that period, you can continue to reinforce what they've been given. So in this case, they're still going to forget things by the end of the day, but then you go back and do it again the next day.  But then it starts to go back up and they start to remember things. So one of the things that we've always looked at in the learning and development world is productivity versus proficiency. And a lot of times, if you aren't used to training people, you're trying to get them proficient. You want them to be masters of your universe. But most people are going to continuously forget. They're having to learn all of this. So what your job is as a leader is to step in and help to make them productive. That they can accomplish a task without you there. And there's a huge difference between productivity and proficiency. Proficiency can take years to master. Even as owners, how many of us continue to tweak what we say in the orientation process? How often do we continue to tweak our policies and procedures? The same is true for our employees coming in. They're learning everything for the first time. The last tip is to listen. To listen to your folks. We spend a lot of time talking at them and they need just as much time to ask questions, to be a part of something bigger. Whether that means that you're doing routine staff meetings but you're creating some kind of an opportunity for people to also share their ideas with you. As your organization continues to grow, if you are fortunate enough to be one of those owners who doesn't spend as much time at the center, it's even more important for them to know how to reach you, to feel like they're part of something rather than just this faceless company that they know how to reach you, whether it's email, phone, or you're always going to have a meeting or coffee every Tuesday listening to your folks. One of my biggest pet peeves is the word training. And given that I have been in some form training people since I was 14 years old, it's a hard piece of vocabulary to get rid of, but we're not training dogs. What we wanna do is teach people how to think, to give them a chance to be really successful. And so often when we're really rigid, when we're presenting information and setting those expectations, we don't leave room for people to think. We say, this is how you do it. This is exactly how you do it. Don't deviate from this. And whenever you do that, that's why we get super frustrated when people aren't doing what we've asked. We're asking them to do what we do instead of to be original thinkers, to be able to take good care of your guests. We've stayed really, really high level. So if you all have questions, if you wanna talk about specific things within your organization and what you're trying to do, then I'm more than happy to speak about that. Flex is gonna come out in a minute and then we're gonna be in the marble room for Q and A during the next break. So we would love to have you come over and chat just a little bit. So thank you all. Stay selfie. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.


In 1943, it was one of our strategic aims to draw as many German forces as possible away from the Russian front and French coastal areas and to contain them on the Italian peninsula while liberating as much of Italy as might be possible with the means at our disposal. As the bulk of our supplies was directed to England for the forthcoming invasion, operations in Italy had to be conducted on an extremely limited scale. Thus it came about that during the winter months the number of Allied divisions in Italy was greatly reduced. Yet so determined was their effort that they succeeded in holding in Italy a very large number of German divisions during the pre-invasion period. San Pietro in the 5th Army sector was the key to the Lyri Valley. We knew it and the enemy knew it. We had to take it even though the immediate cost would be high. We took it and the cost in relation to the later advance was not excessive. By its very nature, this success worked bitter hardships upon each individual soldier, calling for the full measure of his courage and devotion. The response of our 5th Army troops provides an inspiring page in our military history. To these individuals living and dead and to those who now continue in their tradition, this picture is dedicated. In the Italian Midland, some 60 miles northwest of Naples to some 40 miles southeast of Brom, a wide flat corridor enclosed between four walls of mountains. In winter the highest peaks of the Lyri range ascend into the snows, but the valley floor with its olive groves and ancient vines, its crops of wheat and corn, is green the year around, that is, in normal times. Last year was a bad year for grapes and olives, and the fall planting was late. Many fields lay fallow. There are two ways from the south into the valley, one a narrow pass, the other a high scenic road over the mountains. They converge before the site of the ancient village of San Pietro, which for 700 years has stood at the threshold of Lyri Valley, welcoming the traveler. The stones of its walls were quarried out of the parent hill from whose slopes it rises. Population 1412 of the last census. A farming community. Patron Saint Peter. Point of interest, Saint Peter's, 1438. Note, interesting treatment of chancel. In the end of October 1943 until the middle of December, San Pietro and the surrounding grounds, the scene of some of the bitterest fighting on our Fifth Army front, the Italian campaign had entered its second phase to push forward again after a static period brought on by heavy seasonal rains. Our battle lines were haphazard as the terrain itself, with its flood-swollen rivers that twisted back and forth across our line of march so that each river seemed like five. And where there was no river to cross, a mountain blocked our going, each peak ahead being a few meters higher than the last we had won, so that each new peak had to be fought for, the hard, a pure way, with the enemy looking down our throats. They had had time to fortify and camouflage their positions. No amount of artillery fire or aerial bombardment could force them to withdraw. That was for the infantry to do, employing those weapons that can find and destroy life in narrow trenches, caves, and fighting holes. It was up to the man with the rifle, the man under fire from all weapons, the man whose way all our weapons, land, air, and sea, serve only to prepare. It was up to the foot soldier to attack a hidden enemy, over ground that was sown with mines, the anti-personnel S-mines, that fly up at a footfall to explode beneath the groin. Nowhere along the entire front were enemy preparations more elaborate than in the San Pietro area. The San Pietro stands at the threshold of Leary Valley, and through Leary Valley, wide and level, runs the most highly prized length of roads south of Rome. By early December, we had taken over holding high ground for the northeast, east, and south of San Pietro, the Camino Maggiore hill mass being last to fall. An Italian brigade under a live command had made a vain attempt to capture Mount Lungo, possession of which would have acted greatly to our benefit and the intending action. The Italians were all but annihilated. In a few of their excessive losses, further operations against Mount Lungo's strategic heights were abandoned, and it was decided to make a direct frontal assault on enemy positions in and around San Pietro. Elements of the 36th Texas Infantry Division were rotated from position to position, overlooking the valley, so the troops might study the terrain ahead from various viewpoints. Patrol activity was continuous. Day and night, units went out to reconnoitre the ground, draw fire, take prisoners, thus adding to the sum of our information about the enemy. High points, Mount Lungo's 351 and Mount San Pietro's 1205 and 950 were all manned in force. The town itself was strongly garrisoned with numerous mortar, machine gun, and heavy weapon emplacements. Four enemy battalions were dug into a line of connecting trenches and mutually supporting pillboxes in depth that extended from the base of Mount Lungo, northeast across the valley floor to the base of Mount Simucro. Another battalion was organized to defend the high ground northwest of San Pietro. Areas before these positions were heavily mined and held a confusion of barbed wire and booby traps. On the afternoon before, D-Day and H-Hour were communicated to battalion commanders. December 8th, at 0620 hours, the first battalion of the 143rd Infantry Regiment to attack the summit of 1205, having moved up the mountain under cover of darkness and upon achieving its objective, to attack along the ridge to a point northwest of San Pietro. The third range of battalion likewise to attack 950, another feature of the Mount Simucro hill mass. The second battalion of the 143rd to attack over the terraced olive orchards northeast of San Pietro. The third battalion, acting in support to follow the second at 400 yards. Of the original force to establish the beachhead of Salerno, the 143rd have since spent all but a fortnight in action under extremely bitter weather conditions. At Salerno, at the Valterno crossing, it had taken mortal punishment. The task ahead promised no less bloodshed, yet it was undertaken in good spirits and high confidence. First battalion began the long rugged climb up Mount Simucro. Artillery opened up, and throughout the night hours intense fire was laid down on the enemy's main line of resistance. It had rained most of the night, and it was raining at 8 o'clock when the second and third battalions crossed the mine and departured. Some 200 yards forward, they encountered mines and automatic fire from pillboxes. Water and artillery were deadly accurate by reason of excellent enemy observation of the Mount Luga overlooking our advance, which continued another 200 to 400 yards. We reached pillboxes and throw hand grenades through the narrow gun openings. The third battalion was committed. Fans never got more than 600 yards past the line of departure. Our initial assault on San Pietro had been repulsed with heavy casualties. The attack on Hill 1205, however, was a brilliant success. Leading elements of the first battalion had gained the summit of the objective before a strongly entrenched enemy knew that an assault was in progress. The right of 1205, the third range of battalion, had also captured its objective. But only after successive attacks and costly casualties. For on 9-5-0, the enemy was not taken unaware. Halter attacks would have been expected. On both 1205 and 9-5-0, they were not long developing. During the early daylight hours, and even as it was beaten off, another took form. They followed in unremitting violence. The toll of enemy dead mounted with each new attempt. But German prisoners captured on 1205 and 9-5-0 said they had been ordered to retake those positions at all cost. In addition to defending Hill 1205, the first battalion, obedient to the field order, undertook the reduction of enemy defenses which were organized along the ridge running west. In November, the first battalion was reinforced by the 504th Parachute Battalion which took over and maintained the defenses of 1205 and 9-5-0. Thereby enabling the first battalion to throw its entire remaining strength into the assault along the ridge. But the first strength had dwindled and shrunk in the five days past and there was now a question as to whether its existing numbers were sufficient to prevail. Reports during the night of the 14th of December stated that the enemy was offering bitter resistance and that the issue was in grave doubt. Meanwhile, on the olive terraces below, the second and third battalions had twice again attempted to reach their objective. Both times they had come up against a wall of automatic weapons, mortar and artillery fire. Volunteer patrols made desperate attempts to reach enemy positions and reduce strong points. Not a single member of any such patrol ever came back alive. Attacking forces were furnished excellent aerial cover by allied fighter patrols. But now and then enemy planes were able to slip through and to bomb and strafe our positions which to all purposes had remained unchanged since the first day. To break the deadlock, orders were given for a coordinated divisional attack. The second and third battalions of the 143rd to proceed in the execution of the original orders. Acting in conjunction, Company A of the 753rd Tank Battalion to attack San Pietro from the east over the high road. One battalion of the 141st to attack over the flat valley floor. After nightfall on D-Day, the 142nd Infantry Regiment to attack Mount Lungo. The earlier decision not to attack those strategic heights having been reversed in view of the present critical situation. In preparation for the attack, all 5th Army artillery within range including tanks and all tracks was directed against San Pietro and the surrounding area held 100 hours. D-Day, the 15th of December, infantry advanced some 400 yards from its line of departure to be borne down and held powerless under the weight of enemy fire. The second and third battalions of the 143rd advanced some 100 yards beyond their former positions to appoint almost directly before forward enemy defences. Third time they were forced to take such cover as the quaking earth could offer. Orders were for them to enter the town to locate and destroy the heavy weapons there which were leveled against our attacking foot soldiers. Oden to San Pietro is a narrow mountain road and from the beginning of its winding descent in Illyri Valley it was under direct enemy observation. 16 tanks started down that road. He reached the outskirts of the town. These two were destroyed and one was missing. Five tanks were immobilized behind enemy lines, their crews having to abandon them. Five tanks hit enemy mines within our lines and were thereupon destroyed by enemy gunfire. Four tanks returned to the Vivoac area. After dark two companies, one from the second battalion and one from the third finally succeeded in penetrating enemy positions before San Pietro. But receiving both frugal and flanking fire they were forced to retire. Company E having been reduced in strength to a handful of riflemen and company L faring little better. On the Mount Simopo Ridge the first battalion fought its way to within a few hundred yards of the objective. They aimed at the rate of a man a yard and it did not have strength to carry the fight any further forward. On Mount Lungo however, despite bitter resistance, battalions of the 142nd in successive waves kept pushing upwards. Until in the early daylight hours of the 16th of December, its foot soldiers had gained a summit and were wiping up what remained of a stubborn enemy. And that height proved to be a key position in the enemy plan of defense. For even as Mount Lungo fell, the enemy throughout the San Pietro area made preparations to withdraw. Almost invariably the enemy will counterattack to cover a withdrawal. The first violent thrust was delivered within a few hours. Counterattacks came in waves. The roar of the last mingling with the rush and fury of the next to break. Many companies lost all their officers. Enlisted men came forward as inspirational leaders to rally their battered companies and resisted yet one more onslaught. Our own artillery was brought to fall within a hundred yards of our front line elements. The earth never ceased to tremble. Counterattacks ended, indicating the withdrawal of the enemy's main body had commenced. In an effort to maintain contact with the enemy, our patrols immediately pushed ahead. Entering the town, they discovered that San Pietro was ours for the taking. The second and third battalions, less than a rifle company in strength, weary to death, who were alive, stumbled forward past San Pietro to consolidate gains and re-establish contact with the enemy, now taking up new positions some five kilometers beyond. That is the broad shape of the battle of San Pietro, which was the first of many battles in Leary Valley. It was a very costly battle. After the battle, the 143rd Infantry Regiment alone required 1,100 replacements. The lives lost were precious lives to their country, to their loved ones, and to the men themselves. For the living of the 143rd Infantry Regiment, more than 100 decorations for acts of fowl are above and beyond the call of duty. Many among these you see alive here have since joined the ranks of their brothers-in-arms who fell at San Pietro. For ahead lay San Vittore and the Rapido River and Casino, and beyond Casino more rivers and more mountains and more towns, more San Pietros, greater or lesser, a thousand more. As the battle passed over and beyond San Pietro, westward, towns people began to appear coming out of their caves in the mountains where they had stayed in hiding during the enemy occupation. They were mostly old people and children in the process of being cleared. Today their smiles and even laughter will be as though the bad things had never happened. San Pietro was resumed in San Pietro, age and defeat the enemy. The capture of the town itself and the liberation of its people is of an incidental nature. But the people in their military innocence look upon us solely as their deliverers. Breathe them and their farmlands that we came. Southwest to the sea, the fields are green with growing crops planted after our coming, by other people of other towns who believed likewise. At San Pietro was plowed and sown. It should yield a good harvest this year. The people prayed to their patron saint to intercede with God on behalf of those who came delivered them and passed on to the north with the passing battle.


The threats the United States Army must be ready to deal with fall into three familiar categories. At one end of the spectrum is the all-too-familiar challenge of counter-action to guerrilla or unconventional warfare against an elusive and possibly ill-defined enemy. That is to say stability operations. A second threat category is also familiar. The conventional warfare that is waged in terms of regular army forces operating in the more clearly defined type of combat, typical of most wars in which your army has fought until now, is a type of conflict the world has never known and toward the prevention of which the hopes, prayers and deterrent efforts of the nation are corrected, the all-out destructiveness of nuclear war. The United States Army must be prepared in advance. To provide that vision, both long range and immediate is the job of the United States Army Combat Developments Command. And as a difficult one to tell, that's because the work of CDC deals with intangibles, ideas, concepts, plans, studies, do produce, is essential to the total combat effectiveness of the entire army today, next year, 10 and 20 years from now. In today's world, CDC is a necessity. The reason for this lies in the way the pace of technology has collapsed. We can't play it by ear anymore. Things move too fast for that today. The attack of arms 10 years from now must begin with an attack of minds and ideas today. If we're going to benefit from developing technology, we've got to foresee and direct some of those developments. This looking ahead, anticipating, predicting, prescribing, is what the combat developments command has been created to do. Fort Belvoir, Virginia is the headquarters of CDC. From here, the search for the answers to three vital questions is directed. These are the questions. How should the army fight? How should the army be equipped? How should the army be organized? They look simple. They are not. For example, how should the army fight? Everywhere on earth, from polar ice cap to desert or jungle. How should the army be equipped? Today, five years from now, 20. How should the army be organized? For nuclear war, conventional war, stability operations? The combat developments command is organized to provide the best chance of getting the right answers. One of the tools CDC uses in its search for valid answers to those three questions is war gaming. Here, plausible battles of the future are fought in CDC's own war gaming laboratories. The computerized details of such theoretical combat are brought together to analyze the possibilities of battle in, say, 1975. Hypothetical weapons has yet non-existent units, firepower, transport, supply, and tactics. All are based on potentials indicated today by trends in technology and the shifting development of world power factors. Sometimes the working theories of a war game can sound pretty far out to the layman, but CDC is no dream farm. Using computers, scientific methodology, plus years of combat experience in the field, is a coldly practical way of getting an indication of when and how some particular theory can and should be brought into actuality. But war gaming is only one of several valuable tools. Field evaluation and troop tests are other fact-seeking devices used by CDC. We involve some large-scale army or joint maneuver into which CDC introduces a special unit to try out a particular concept or doctrine or organizational balance. CDC initiates the test, states its objectives, writes up the specifications for it, but the Continental Army Command, or maybe an overseas command, provides the troops and equipment and runs the test as part of the overall maneuver. With real men and machines in action, the theoretical is translated into the actual, and the results reported for evaluation. The troop tests and field evaluations like war gaming are valuable tools, but they have limitations. For one thing, the evaluations come from the judgment and opinions of the human beings involved in the action. They're bound to be colored to some extent by the people who do the observing and reporting. What is needed is a controlled test environment in the field where concepts can be evaluated in realistic action and yet with true laboratory objectivity. CDC has created just such a field laboratory at Fort Ord in California. This laboratory is in action and under constant refinement today, and the key to the uniquely objective results gained here is in one word, instrumentation. This is CDEC, the Combat Development Command's experimentation command. It develops and uses sophisticated devices designed to gather and transmit and record data concerning free-moving action in the field. These devices do what no team of human beings could begin to do, keep track of everything that happens second by second with a record of exactly when it happens and where and how. The heart of this unique capability is an almost incredible system called RMS-2, CDEC's second generation range measuring system, and its associated instrumentation. RMS-2 has several elements that work together. This 17-pound backpack is called a B unit. It receives and sends data through an antenna rig fitted to a helmet. The B unit also includes a belt-mounted key-punch unit for input and output of event data. But you'll see all this in action in a moment. The next key element is a network of highly transportable A units. These are electronic interrogator stations, complete with lightweight antenna tower, 24 feet high. There are also D units, which look much like the A units, but do no interrogating. They are simply automatic repeater stations to relay transmissions between the A station units and a central control point, where field mobile vans house the central processing subsystem. A general purpose versatile computer system capable of keeping track of literally millions of bits of information during a given test run. Basically, these are the working elements of RMS-2. Now let's look at how it works. From the moment a test run starts, the light instrumentation packs provide a constant pinpointing of movement and action. Each pack constantly beams out a recognition signal coded to the particular man that carries it. It can also receive coded commands or information from the central control. The recognition signals from each moving B unit are constantly monitored by at least three of the interrogator stations. So that by triangulation, a highly exact fix is kept at each backpack's position. Under the control of the central computer, the interrogator units ask electronically, where are you? And what is happening? Several hundred times each second and passes the answers by relay to the central control. This provides a second by second record of exactly what is happening in the field, as each man's position is tracked within nine meters of his actual location at any given moment. But in addition to location, what about specific events along the way? The RMS-2 instrumentation provides for this tool. The B unit's event buttons send coded signals which carry specific means. In this case, one is programmed for, I have sighted the enemy. Instantly the computer is notified, and knowing as it does, the exact position of each man, both friendly and enemy, it makes a record of where and when visual contact was made, at what range and by which side. All this takes the nearest fraction of a second. Meanwhile, the free-moving action in the field continues without interruption. For instrumentation purposes, each man's weapon is equipped with a direct-fire simulator, a laser device, which fires a pencil-thin beam of light instead of bullets. A trigger is squeezed. This information is sent via the RMS-2 to the computer, which takes down all the facts, time, type of weapon, which individual man fired it. If the shot is a miss, the fact is recorded. If it's a hit. At the bolt of light reaches the laser sensors worn by the target soldier, the computer registers the hit, time, place, range, and which man. And at the same time, it orders a signal to be sent, coded, to the backpack worn by the man who was hit. And the backpack notifies this particular man and no other that he is now a casualty. And all this transmitting and recording takes place in less time than it would take for a real bullet to travel between the two men. The action continues, and the detailed data recording goes on. All the individual fighters, hits, misses, and movements kept track of. When, where, by whom, with what weapon, and at what range. This same versatile system can be used when the action involves armor or aircraft as well as ground troops. It is this kind of instrumentation that enables CDAC to run free moving field problems. And yet have true laboratory control and objectivity in gathering the facts about that free moving action. This is what the field laboratory at Fort Ord is all about. It provides one essential element to the process of combat development's planning. Objective detailed data. The other element, equally essential, is the expertise and experience which CDC's military personnel bring to the decisions and evaluations based on these objective facts. Then one combat development in terms of tactics, organization, and equipment evaluated through the combat development's command has proven itself in action. For example, in 1962 the Secretary of Defense directed a study to be made to determine how in essence our troops could be moved in force and fast over terrain normally considered impassable. An experimental unit called the Eleventh Air Assault Division was created and development that in the past might have taken a decade or more was crammed into just over 24 months. The concept called for a division which could put a full one-third of its men into the air at once and protect them on the way to their objective and soften up that objective before landing. A new book had to be written and at once new techniques were conceived, try, test. This testing was extremely thorough. Some 83 major field maneuvers, tests, war games were involved. The answers were solved and found. On July 3rd, 1965, the Eleventh Air Assault Division became the first cavalry division, Air Mobile. The new division was only weeks old when the main body of its people began unloading onto the soil of the Republic of Vietnam. Since then the new organization, the new concept, tactics, equipment have shown in battle that the conclusions and recommendations that came out of CDC's evaluations of the Air Mobile Division idea were valid. Tests first evaluated above the long leaf pines and scrub oak of Georgia have been perfected above the jungles of Vietnam, but CDC's job didn't end there. There was a vital need for realistic information on the survivability of Army aircraft against such types of ground fire as they face in Vietnam. Testing and evaluation at CDEC provided this survivability yardstick through hundreds of test flights against all types of weapons, with electronic data gathering devices keeping track of all the vital factors when and at what range aircraft was sighted by ground forces at varying altitudes, how long they were in range or under fire. In this phase of course, blank ammunition was used, but the realism of live fire evaluations was also essential. Toe targets carrying instrumentation which could register both hits and nemeses made hundreds of runs before a wide range of firepower. And scale model drone targets, radio controlled from the ground, provided a realism of effect that was vital to the overall study. The millions of bits of data gathered from hundreds of test runs were analyzed and evaluated, and the final results published. These findings by CDC on Army aircraft survivability have proven out in the skies above Vietnam. Actual results in combat have turned out to be within a few percentage points of the survivability predicted. And today, still other aspects of testing with regard to Army aircraft are under study and evaluation by CDC. For example, there was the test program code named Reno. And the question, how can Army reconnaissance aircraft be made more silent? Is the answer in some kind of new aircraft? Or should existing aircraft be modified to reduce their noise level? Who will detect the approach of such aircraft first? A man using only his eyes or one using only his ears? These are only a few of the questions put to the test in C-DEX evaluation series called Reno. Each aircraft used carried a complex package of data recording and transmitting instrumentation on every flight. Instrumentation in the gear was linked to data collection centers on the ground. Test runs were made with varying types of aircraft, against observers using eyes only, ears only, and both eyes and ears, and under both day and night conditions. Some observers were stationed in underground listening bunkers duplicating those used by the Viet Cong in Vietnam. Instrumentation at observation sites measured exactly the sound level of the approaching aircraft. Information from the instruments in the aircraft, and from the observer locations where men punch buttons as they first detect the approach of the aircraft, funnels into the central data collection and recording fans, as hundreds of test runs were made, and the exact impersonal body of information available for use by the combat development's command in outlining the Army of Tomorrow. But C-DEX evaluations are not confined to questions involving the Army alone. Recent Joint Task Force Experimentation involved Army, Air Force, and Navy, with aircraft crammed full of complex recording and reporting devices. To a C-DEX control center equipped to monitor guns, radar, and data recording and collecting equipment. This was a large-scale evaluation of the threat posed by ground fire of the kinds most commonly faced by combat aircraft. Like the aircraft, the various weapons were fully instrumented for objective data collection. Each side, thousands of additional facts, electronically observed and recorded in an exact timeframe. For each of the services that took part, the insights gained through this Joint Task Force Experimentation will provide new understanding of the threat factors which face combat aircraft. But if C-DEX evaluations and developments aren't confined to the Army alone, neither are they limited to one environment or one theater. With a new weapons system just over the horizon, the AH-56A Cheyenne Attack Helicopter, the Army had to wring out a concept of employment. But in order to understand the tactics and organizations proposed for this weapons system, it first is necessary to realize the full capabilities of the Cheyenne. This versatile aerial weapons platform can fly map of the Earth at speeds from zero to more than 200 miles per hour. It is equipped with a sensory system that permits effective night operations and operations during conditions of poor visibility, both internal and external armament can be used on the AH-56A. The internal armament consists of a nose turret and a traversable belly turret, which provides a 360-degree firing capability and innovation in attack helicopters. The external armament consists of a variety of weapons which can be mounted under the stub wings. These include rockets for use against area targets and the tow anti-tank missile for use against hard point targets. It is in the anti-tank role that this new system appears to have greatest promise. An operating task group composed of representatives of the various institutes and agencies of combat developments command reviewed all previous studies relevant to the attack helicopter. The purpose of this effort was to validate and articulate conceptual doctrine, tactics and techniques for employment of the attack helicopter. The training was given to computer-assisted war games, which were conducted as part of an entire spectrum of studies. Besides the foregoing studies in war games, experiments to determine the optimum basic attack helicopter team, called ABAP, were conducted at Sea Deck. Throughout the computer-assisted war games, the AH-1G Cobra attack helicopter was used to represent the AH-56A Cheyenne. Based on the data obtained from these studies, war games and experiments, combat developments command has articulated a concept for the employment of a highly mobile rapid striking attack helicopter. This concept is embodied in two new organizations that will undergo extensive field testing at the Army's big field test center at Fortwood, Texas. The Air Cavalry Combat Brigade, an experimental organization, built around the capabilities of the attack helicopter, is the first organization designed so that the entirety of its combat power is borne by the helicopter. This new brigade will be tested concurrently with another new concept in combat organizations. The Tri-Cat Division, so named because of its triple capabilities, armor, air mobile and air cavalry, and just as the answers were solved and found in the 11th Air Assault Testing. We said at the start the story of the combat developments command is a difficult one to tell because all the studies, testing and evaluating are aimed not at a specific hardware design but at insights into its use. Not an end product but a beginning, full ideas. But if the commodity CDC deals with is intangible, its ultimate aim is simple and clear. That is, a greater total combat effectiveness of the Army gained through increasing the effectiveness of a single man, the individual American soldier. This is no mere symbolism, since it is the individual men who must put into action all the tactics, organizational concepts and devices that will result from CDC's search for answers to those three vital questions. How should the Army fight? How should the Army be equipped? How should the Army be organized? These are questions which must be answered. They must be answered correctly and they must be answered in time. This is the mission of the commitment of the United States Army Combat Development Command.


37 minuti ar gyd. Rwyf yn rwy'n gweithio ymlaen o'n gweithio ar gyhoedd gweithio'r cyfnod i gael bod hi'n gweithio'n gyfrif. Felly, y cwestiynau, mae'n ffosibl i'r cwestiynau eich cwestiynau, rwyf wedi'n gweithio'n gweithio'n gweithio, yn dwy'n gweithio'n gweithio. Yn y cwestiynau, mae'n gweithio'n gweithio yma, yna? Mae'r vision deunydd a ymweld maen nhw'n ddaeth ffraenwyr a angenio'r credu'r amser. Yn y fydden nhw'n ddefnyddiad yw hwy'n deall hwn train. Dyma'r cyflwyllaeth a nhw'n ddiddorol o'r oedd oedd oedd hwy'n ddiddorol o ddiddorol o'r oed? Yn ddefnyddio... ...rhyw roedd Ion i'r yrhyw yma yn ymddano'r organio'r ysgrifennu, Ion personal for many years, went back to, I mean went to government and I came out of this process thinking that you need frameworks for sure, you need many frameworks and I always speak from the point of view of Africa now, I mean after having been global now, focusing on Africa, the richest continent by the way by any means and the poorest. So whatever framework that will deal with that issue, we're going to be part of it first. Second, I'm more interested in, I think that's the feeling in the continent that we have to take business into our own hands. How to threaten African Union, how to make sure that we are self-interest driven because that's how the world works and we are going to be more forward coming in terms of defending our interests, being very strong on whatever issues and making our own points. I appreciate it when you talk about sort of forcing some countries to take part. That was the case for the Russia-Ukraine war and most of African countries look at it as a white man's war somehow and just didn't take it, you know, position and that's how right, like everybody does. But I think the questions that needs to be reflect upon is how are we going to make sure that we move forward peacefully, peacefully to a more equal order, an order that respects the environment, that put women also on an equal footage. Nobody brought the issue of inequalities and making sure that young people are part of it and that we need for the corporations. I think that's very important to bring that upon. To look beyond profit because we are a profit driven world as we speak so it's not enough anymore. So do we want to go through changes by revolution or do we want to be smarter and put in place equal frameworks where true discussion comes out of what we want to build for the future? Every time I come in this country, in the Emirate, I remember that Dubai 100 years ago was a small Bedouin village. So how did change occur? It means that it's possible. It means that you can accelerate change and then you can have a more sane discussion because we are having an insane discussion because you do have a pool of very wealthy group of countries in front of very poor countries but within those countries you do also have that huge gap. I was visiting south of Senegal in the mining areas just before I came. It was terrible. You do have very big mining companies taking gold out of the country and they were not even capable of building a decent road because they don't care about it. They just have an airport, they can fly a private jet, it looks like the world we are in. So how are we going to take a pause and then come back to what the United Nations was supposed to be as a promise and share the common interest as a human being? Other than that, people are what I'm seeing now very much even within the intellectual elite is let's focus on our own interests as the rest of the world is doing. Human rights, okay, we can talk about it very globally but it's not a reality so that's how we look at it. So what are the solutions that we want to come up with that are human rights centered, that are equal and preserve the environment beyond just the idea of pursuing profit. Thank you very much. So very clear message that you want to be clear about your own interests and engage in multiple conversations, multiple frameworks but be clear about what is to the benefit of the continent and organize yourselves in a way to better represent those interests. In that context, I assume that you and many leaders in Africa would welcome the decision about making the African Union part a permanent member of the G20 because I think that in some ways is one forum where that could happen. I want to turn to you and ask you a question. You sort of said you've heard this vision about your four different scenarios. To what extent is where you end up across those scenarios a function of the relationship between the US and China? How much is that going to drive where you end up and what's your quick response to that? I guess the relationship between the US and China probably is one of the most important relationship which will drive many things including geopolitical tension. Although European countries say to China, don't look us through US. When they visit US, they say to US government, don't look us through China, but actually the US-China relationship now is kind of a very important role. The good news is in the past several months, we can see the tension between US and China is literally reduced. It may not be a big improvement, the tension being reduced. I think that's good for US, for China, for the rest of the world. But at the same time, we should be sure, we should understand that the policy US governments adopt to China's call small-yard hall fans wouldn't be changed. So competition wouldn't be changed, but the tension has been reduced. That's my conclusion. Thank you. Thanks for being so clear about it. And of course, you have to see what is the mechanism by which the small yard stays small, because the internal pressures in all countries will be to make the yard bigger without worrying about the height of the fence. Now, I want to turn to you and ask you a question, which is, let's assume there is some continuing improvement in the US-China relationship, but still tension. Particularly when it comes to setting up global rules, to what extent can middle powers create a set of rules that govern relationships among them? Even if the largest economies in the world are not so actively participating. And I'm thinking of dispute resolution in the WTO, where the formal process is frozen, but there is a parallel process that has been created by middle powers, which works to basically govern disputes as if it was within the WTO, more or less. To what extent do you think that's a model that can be used in lots of different ways to provide frameworks for the world? Thank you for your questions. In fact, what you mentioned is ideal, but in reality it cannot be applied. In fact, the US-European Union and China, the only powers who make the regulations without them is not possible. You see, I participated in the Uruguay-Lown negotiations in the 80s, 90s. It was the fact of bilateral negotiations between European community at the time and United States despite more than 100 countries participated. Now, the landscape has totally changed, especially with the joining of China to the WTO in 2001. So I think it's very important to persuade the middle powers, including Korea, Japan, if the USA, the European Union is a middle power. Okay, the UK, Canada and other countries to persuade both China and United States to participate in strengthening rule-based international order because the strengthening rule-based order is the only solution to their dispute. Without clear rules, they cannot make any settlement. So I think the middle powers must enhance their efforts to persuade China and US respectively to honour the already established commitment and agree to strengthening the rule-based order. Thank you very much. That's also very clear. So the middle powers role is not to create a framework that works for them because from what you're saying, it doesn't work without getting the big United States into it. But they can play a major role in helping to persuade. And I think that's quite relevant for a conversation we'll have later about climate change. We're going to be having COP here in a few weeks. And is that the approach one has to follow also in COP? And here I want to come to you with a question which is, you had a very long list of things that need to be fixed in the world order. And everybody will add to it. If you go around the room, we'll add another 20 other things to this. And yet, a trans point about mutual interest. So which of these lists on your list, what would you say on which we cannot make progress without international cooperation? And it is in our mutual interest to create a framework for operating them. And then there are other things where it would be nice to have cooperation, but the world will struggle along without cooperation. So what's your sort of priority list of things? Well, there are many ways to address that question. First, I'd be tempted to say that whatever I think doesn't matter because what we need to do is reach a consensus. So for that to happen, we need to discuss with others. And I think the priority today is not to pick an issue and a solution. It is to meet and discuss and see where national interests are and how they can be combined to define a common good. But of course, as an analyst, I would be tempted to answer differently and say there are major issues today that cannot be addressed without collective action. And certainly climate change is one. So it's going to be a mix of these two approaches. I think that we come to the negotiating tables with ideas, with convictions. But these convictions can reach nothing unless they are shared by others. So it's part of the negotiating process and to negotiate to need to understand and try to know more about the other parties. And that's why I think that more research, more knowledge is needed to understand our potential partners and allies better than we do. Because we are working with stereotypes and that is not going to make the negotiation easier. Now, there is a third way to address your question is to say that we cannot progress without a common vision. And I believe that's true. And I believe that part of the negotiation is to reach a common vision. The difficulty is that when you look at history, common mobilising visions, shared visions tend to come out during wars. So a big question today is whether it's what William James would have called in the early 20th centuries, a moral equivalent of war? Where is today's moral equivalent of war? Sustainable development goals? No. Climate change? Not even. The net zero economics? Not mobilising enough. So where is this project that can be mobilising enough to create a shared vision? And I don't know that what I think makes me afraid because if we need a major crisis of major proportions, much bigger than when we have experience or a big war to reach a common vision, then I think that it is certainly not the preferred scenario. So I'll stop there because it's not very optimistic, but I believe that the pessimism of analysis can lead to the optimism of action. And I think that we need more multilateral discussions. And even when summits don't reach a conclusion, it doesn't mean that they are not useful or successful. Thank you very much, Pierre. So this is getting a little somber towards the end. So do you agree that we need common vision and understanding each other before we can actually reach agreements on things that matter to us? And it may be quite hard to get to a common vision without more of a crisis. Do you think that it's possible to isolate one or two areas where we really need, in our mutual interest, without a common vision about the world and where it's going, still make progress? How do you see this big vision, big bargain, versus let's pick a few things? It's a good question. But I would say that listening to the discussion, I reflected on the current situation in general. And I would say that to my mind, we now are in a situation when a lot of old and fundamental processes are still evolving and we don't see the end of this trend close enough to realise whether we can orchestrate a new order or not. So first of all, we have seen since the beginning of the 21st century the intensification of military conflicts in many parts of the world. And in any case, I would say no political goals were really met with armed interventions. The economic effect was very devastating for many countries and this new circle of war like the war between Russia and Ukraine will also contribute to the understanding that the military interventions and the military confrontation is ruinous for the contemporary world and it just destroys the economic wealth and doesn't have any positive consequences because in the 17th, 18th, 19th century was the deliver economic benefits for the victors. Now it is not the case. And before this would be really understood, I think there is no little chance for new order to exist. The second point is that every time it was spoken about economic order and the new economic reality, it was when the new economic trend emerged. For example, in 1960, 1970s, the resource production producing countries became very high-flier in the economic sense and the very concept of new international economic order was put forward in 1971, but 15 years later all these countries were ruined by huge debts and they were built out by the United States and many other developed countries. The same situation was, as I already mentioned with the Soviet Union and Japan in the 70s and 80s, there were also high-fliers and then a huge systemic crisis emerged. So now we have this competition between China and the rest of the world and I think we should wait for another, I would say 10 years to understand what the perspective for China is. If China comes to the same result as Japan in 1989 by the end of this decade, it would be an absolutely different perspective for new economic order to emerge. The last point, which the colleagues said were interesting, was the problem of taxation and the problem of offshore safe havens. In this case, I would say that this tax system, which exists in the whole world these days, actually has its roots from the 20th century. All the tax system was designed for either mercantilistic economy, economy of trade or for industrial economy, where everything was reproducible and was server and the stock market, the capital gains were not so much anticipated. Now the creative economy of the post-industrial world of informational technologies creates a lot of wealth and this wealth creation is actually a major engine for economic growth and prosperity. If we tax personal incomes or capital gains as we do for last decades, it would stop economic growth in the most promising countries. So my point would be, so for challenging this offshore economy, some countries, wealthy countries, should switch from taxing the incomes to taxing the consumption and this may change immediately and generally the whole economic framework for the world because the first country that changes the system, it will get enormous competitive advantages upon all others. So I would say there are too many trends which are coming from quite distant past, which are still dominating the global economic order and many of them can evaporate and can be changed in coming decade or two. And so afterwards I think the perspective for recreating this economic order would be much more realistic than they are now. Now we are in kind of a tunnel vision and we cannot jump out of it. Thank you. So we should wait for a decade or so until things become clear and I guess my question to you is, can we afford to wait? No, I don't think we can afford to wait but I want to clarify something about the idea of setting priorities. That's all good but unfortunately we cannot lose track of the bigger picture and we need a holistic view so that the impact of our decision is clearly assessed so that there are no unattended consequences. Now if you take the example of the carbon tax, that's going to have an impact on a single mum struggling to raise a child who needs her car to visit patients because she's a nurse. The sad truth is that today governments don't have the ability to target specific, very specific categories of population. You can do it in broad terms but if you look at how much money we wasted during COVID or during the inflation period at the start of the Ukraine war, it tells you a story that is a bit sad so we really need to raise our game in terms of pricing externalities. I think that's essential and one area in particular if you look at the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, there's a lot of debate on whether new projects in all fossil energy should be allowed. You see a lot of arguments from here and there, no consensus and I think that's again a lack of functioning of findings and I think it's very important that NGOs in particular become more involved, companies as well to build stronger data to help governments make better decisions.


So there's some gays? Just the beat. The beat. Yeah.  I'm kinda being homophobic.  By any means necessary. By any means necessary Taylor bias. By.   I didn't see that much gay things in it.  That could be straight too. By those three names.  I started the music spitting through the lens of activism and everything was for that.