As you  know, I offered a prize of $1,000 to the person who accurately predicted an improvement in two measures: change in GDP and employment. Entries are closed, but the winner–and whether there will be one– is still unknown.

• 130 people entered the contest.
• The first measure, growth in GDP, was reached in the 3rd quarter of last year.
• 13 guessed right on GDP.
• Of those,  only 6 may still be correct on unemployment (Unemployment predictions for the 13 varied from September 2009 through October of 2011.)
• Stay tuned–I’ll let you know the outcome, but at the rate things are going, it could be a while; e.g., April unemployment has gone from 5.0% in ’08 to 8.9% in ’09 to 9.9% this year.

The next conference of the World Future Society will be held in Boston from July 8-10th.  I can’t wait!

Every couple of years, I attend the conference because these gatherings  invariably have stimulating sessions that give one a peek into what’s on the horizon–or what might be on the horizon.  It is helpful to me professionally because knowing what might happen can be useful, but on a personal level, it is just plain fascinating!  The conference is my treat to myself!

A couple of years ago, in addition to attending the regular conference sessions, I was introduced to the concept of transhumanism during a pre-conference session led by Jose Cordeiro–and attended a first-rate session about the future of nanotechnology.

This year, Ray  Kurzweil, one of the futurists whose work I studied during my MBA program, is a keynote speaker. If you are not familiar with the concept of “the singularity,” you should be. It is only a matter of time until the concept becomes reality.

I am posting this in case you are interested in attending the conference. If you do go, please let me know so we can compare notes about the sessions we attend.

Am quoted today by Nancy Mann Jackson at Glassdoor.com on the topic of ESOPs. My comments to her were based primarily on my experiences turning around two ESOPs. In one of those, the employees were given the “opportunity” to invest.

I am not a Blockbuster expert and don’t know any of the players personally, but the situation has caught my attention.

First, Gregory Meyer, who is challenging the incumbent board member, points to stock performance during the reign of the current CEO and the board member Meyer opposes. (Background: According to reputable news sources, Meyer wrote a letter to the board in 2005 urging them to focus on distribution through kiosks; no one from Blockbuster responded, and, as we all know, they also did not follow his advice. In addition, Meyer owns more stock than his opponent.)

Since Jim Keyes became CEO and Board Chair in July 2007, Blockbuster’s stock has plummeted from approximately $4.00 per share to $ .37.

Keyes publicly opposes Meyer’s board bid. Is this appropriate? I think not.

Particularly in a publicly-held company, a key responsibility of the board is to hold the CEO accountable. Although it is common practice that the CEO and Chair are one and the same, that situation creates inherent conflicts of interest.

It is noteworthy—and inappropriate, in my view—that Blockbuster’s CEO is taking a position on who should be elected to the board; i.e., to whom he should report.

After three back-to-back turnaround gigs which started last July and kept me beyond busy, I now have some time to return to blogging. I have a backlog of topics, so…….brace yourself…..

In the meantime, if you aren’t already aware of what is happening at Blockbuster, you may want to start following the story.  (An unhappy shareholder is challenging the board and getting lots of press in the process; e.g., this from Slate.) Maria Woehr, a reporter for The Deal, quotes me in her story today. If you want to contact Maria, her Twitter handle is @newsgirlmw.

More later……