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Greetings Everyday Spy,
If you are subscribed to EverydaySpy.com or follow my Everyday Espionage Podcast, then you know my recent frustration with experts.
People who claim to be experts in their field but shy away from making professional predictions are of little value to our world.
As Coronavirus continues to dominate headlines around the world, dozens of 'experts' have thrown their ‘expertise’ into the conversation. Whether they are from Europe, Asia, or North America, these experts all seem to repeat the same worthless message.
As a haiku, it would go something like:
At CIA, I served with some of the bravest men and women I’ve ever known.
We came from backgrounds in medicine, business, military operations and even sales. None of us were experts in our previous careers. But we all became experts in one important part of espionage...
We specialized in making predictions.
When our predictions were right, bad guys were stopped, lives were saved, and the world went on spinning without anyone knowing better. But when our predictions were wrong, we hung our heads in sadness and accepted the blame, anger and suspicion we had earned.
Unlike modern-day pundits babbling on channels from MSNBC to FOX, intelligence professionals carry accountability both to MAKE predictions and to OWN the results.
Because predictions give people the information they need to make decisions.
Conflicting guesses just leave people with more questions.
I understand that most specialists come from a world of academic research and contractual liability.
They need to protect licenses, grants, professional organizations and personal image. But when you dedicate your life in service to a nation, you quickly learn that ‘protecting yourself’ is the first sign that you are failing your true mission.
The mission is to serve others - protecting your image is a very different kind of service…
Two months ago this week, I started making predictions about Coronavirus. Not because I’m an expert in viruses, medicine, stock markets or the economy. But because I am an expert in assessing facts and using them to make tactical decisions.
EverydaySpy was giving people practical solutions to protect themselves and their family during what I (correctly) predicted to be the peak of the COVID19 crisis.
While mainstream media keeps filling the airwaves with fear and speculation, real people want to know what to expect next.
My predictions for the future of Coronavirus are not the wishy-washy guesses you are hearing online and in mainstream media.
And I stand by my predictions because I believe they will come true.
My family is making plans based on my predictions. And I hope they can serve you, too:
By mid-June the world is going to be feeling more normal than it did in March.
Summer is a critical time for the world economy, and governments know that. Businesses depend on summer sales to bridge the gap to the Christmas season. And with tourism, hospitality, and travel industries hit the hardest by Coronavirus, every level of national leadership is going to want to get people out and active for the summer.
Contrary to common opinion, I predict there is a great travel season coming.
Keep up your hopes for a summer vacation; don’t give up your plans for theme parks and public pools; If you were wondering when to visit family across the country, the time is coming. I anticipate lower airline prices, cheaper hotel rates, and increased negotiation power for everything from resorts to cruises in the next 5 months.
But I also expect travel to get more costly (in both time and money) by September.
My family has plans for international travel to new and exciting places before the Fall. If you want to join us on our journey, you can follow us step-by-step by subscribing to the EverydaySpy youtube channel.
Schools want your kids back.
Between public/private sector jobs and local/state governments wanting to prove their ability to govern, it is in everyone’s best interest to get students back to school. But there is a new factor in education that cannot be ignored - online education.
School districts are learning the educational, administrative, and financial benefits of virtual schooling.
Teachers can track student effort, attendance can be maximized (even when students are ill), and school administrators can measure the effectiveness of teachers using online lessons. Further, parents are seeing their students transform - some for the better, others for the worse - when they are in control of their own learning.
If not for the COVID19 global crisis, a mass movement to online schooling would have been slow and unlikely. But now that it has happened, the opportunity virtual schooling has to help students succeed cannot be ignored. And children, parents, teachers and administrators all stand to benefit.
Schools will have a renewed focus on hygiene that will keep students (and their parents!) healthier.
Online schooling options will allow older students to stay home when they are sick but still continue their studies. Teachers and parents will be able to track that student’s activity and engagement through the virtual school online portal. Fewer sick students coming to school means fewer illnesses spreading through school.
Schools will introduce new hygiene measures to further fight illness, like hand sanitizer pumps posted in lunch rooms, entry ways, and individual classrooms. Even though many students won’t use them, others will build strong habits and use them often. The sum total result will be less illness and healthier, stronger students.
And I’m all for that.
Extended unemployment is a national disaster nobody wants to see happen.
Businesses need employees, shopkeepers need customers, and people want jobs. The world economy is built on natural resources and human labor is the earth’s most powerful natural resource.
While the media focus has been on jobs lost in the economic shutdown, I’ve been predicting the future of the modern-day workforce.
Demand for skilled tradesmen, talented customer service, and proven virtual workers is about to skyrocket. Business will love watching operational costs decrease as they expand work-from-home jobs. Skilled labor will have the ability to pick-and-choose where they want to live and work as travel becomes easier and cheaper in the next 5 months.
Professionals ranging from IT to education have spent the last 6 weeks proving their reliability and productivity for working virtually, and nobody is eager to get back a daily commute. Companies building virtual jobs will win the best available talent. And companies forcing people back into cubicles will be left to manage whoever is left.
This summer is the time to reset, refocus, and relocate to the city, county, state, or country you’ve been thinking about.
Because by Fall 2020 you will see new job vacancies spike in every sector. Businesses have to make up lost ground and they need people to generate revenue that gets stockholder dividends paid.
At the top of every industry are stockholders deciding where best to put their money. And the businesses they choose will be those hiring talent and building a future.
Godspeed, #EverydaySpy
Author: Andrew Bustamante, Founder of www.EverydaySpy.com. Andrew is a former covert CIA Intelligence officer, decorated US Air Force Combat Veteran, and respected Fortune 500 senior advisor. Learn more from Andrew on his Podcast (The Everyday Espionage Podcast) and by following @EverydaySpy on your favorite social media platform.