Greed and Pitchforks I was listening to podcasts as I was traveling around southern California in my car. I almost skipped the next playlist podcast when I heard the topic was The Seven Deadly Sins. They hooked me before I could safely move to the next podcast. I’m glad that I listened. According to the standard list, the seven deadly sins …
Accountability I’m often asked about the difference between accountability and responsibility. The distinction I make (perhaps a bit oversimplified?) is that responsibility can be and often is shared with others. However, one cannot share accountability. Another distinction I’ve heard in our leadership circles is that one takes responsibility, but one is held accountable (by oneself and/or others). In the recent …
In his TED Talk Paul Tudor Jones II said: “… we as a society have come to view our companies and corporations in a very narrow, almost monomaniacal fashion with regard to how we value them, and we have put so much emphasis on profits, on short-term quarterly earnings and share prices, at the exclusion of all else. It’s like …
Yesterday I had lunch with a good friend and colleague. We had a wide ranging discussion as usual, including talking about the water situation here in Southern California. Recently a court ruling found that a small town’s water district here in SoCal did not calculate their rates properly. I suspect the Water District knew that, but had other reasons for wanting …
I had the pleasure of seeing Professor Lee at a recent Harvard Business School Alumni presentation where she was the guest speaker. Her discussion left no doubt about her commitment and passion when it comes to bringing the United States and China closer together. She knows both countries quite well and acknowledges the good, the bad, and the ugly in …
How the explosion of capitalism abroad will change business everywhere. Some years ago, I was waxing poetic after a hunting expedition in Upstate New York. It happened to be a beautiful, cold, snowy day and I just happened to be very conscious of how the woods in which I was hunting looked so different each time I move slowly, quietly a …
From time-to-time, I find myself in a philosophical discussion with colleagues about our economy and our brand of capitalism. There are, of course, the two extreme views on this subject: (1) markets should be the only determination of value with no interference from government and (2) free markets are bad and central planning is the way to make sure people …
I’m not particularly a fan of history, but this book has been recommended to me by several colleagues. It’s been on my “to read” shelf for almost a year now, so it’s high time I got to it! The fly leaf gives us this hint: “Diamond weaves an all-encompassing global theses throughout a series of fascinating historical-cultural narratives,” and I …
I found this to be a fascinating book, well researched and documented. Mr. Nace traces the history of the American Corporations from the earliest years of our union. It would be easy to draw the conclusion that Mr. Nace is anti-business, but that is not how I read his position. Instead, what he is suggesting is that we have created …