Good writing is not complicated. As one guest notes, ‘it’s about injecting personality, making it engage and entertaining for your audience. But most importantly, it’s about structure. ‘¦ How is one paragraph leading to the next, how are they connected? The worst kind of writing, and we all see it all the time, is just rambling. It’s not at all…
As one of our guests asserts, ‘it’s very, very difficult to get to the top in any organization without being able to communicate in writing.’ But how to become a better writer? Consider these two suggestions from another guest: ‘One is just simply read more and read better stuff. And secondly, write a lot. The more you write, the better…
Fictional 1980s corporate raider Gordon Gekko famously proclaimed that ‘Greed is good,’ seeking to justify why one of the seven deadly sins is, in fact, ethically virtuous. Leaders should think deeply about the ethical dimensions of their actions. However, too many fail to recognize the moral complexity inherent in their decisions. As one guest argues, ‘Just like some people are…
Warren Buffett has described integrity as ‘a reputational advantage that others will weigh in subsequent dealings.’ His partner, Charlie Munger, agrees, noting that ‘You’ll make more money in the end with good ethics than bad.’ So, why are many leaders often tempted to take ethical short-cuts–or worse? This is the first part of our two-episode conversation in which we explore…
One of our guests argues that, ‘cash has historically been seen as a friend of the poor, [because] banks have never been seen as friends of the poor. Banks historically have been seen as institutions of elite control. They’ve been seen as run by social elites in the interests of social elites.’ But much is changing. This is the second…
As one of our guests observed, we’re soon ‘going to have lots of different kinds of money. And the technological limitation of the past– which is, I only had five slots in my wallet, and I couldn’t carry around 30 million different currencies– is about to vanish. My mobile phone is perfectly capable of managing 30 million different currencies.’ This…
According to one corporate director, ‘there are two places [in the United States]–the boardroom and the Supreme Court– where a lot of people go on them and think it’s for a lifetime.’ But this mindset is starting to change. This is the second part of our two-episode conversation about the evolution of corporate governance as climate change and other societal…
As one of our guests observed, corporate governance ‘used to be a sleepy backwater. Now, it’s on the front pages of the papers all the time.’ This is the first part of our two-episode conversation in which we explore how corporate boards are evolving to address new challenges. In this episode, George Anderson, Amy Borrus, and Megan Shattuck join us…
As comedian Robin Williams once observed, ‘No matter what people tell you, words and ideas can change the world.’ This is the second part of our two-episode conversation in which we explore why some ideas gain traction, while others fail to catch on. In this episode, Ethan Beute, Mark Bonchek, Dara Treseder, and Sangram Vajre join us to discuss: Ideas…
Victor Hugo once wrote that ‘There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and that is an idea whose time has come.’ This is the first part of our two-episode conversation in which we explore why some ideas gain traction, while others fail to catch on. In this episode, Ethan Beute, Mark Bonchek, Dara Treseder, and…