Columbia Global Initiative for Human Rights Proudly Presents North Korea: Demystifying the Business Strategy of the World’s Most Misunderstood Country * * * * * Lecture Description: Kim Jong Il’s death this December has reignited popular intrigue about North Korea and justifiably so. Few understand this isolated and authoritarian country despite its paramount global importance. How can we understand this mysterious country, its leaders and its economy? Professors Bruce Greenwald[…] Keep reading →

Any captain can pilot a ship in calm seas with a light breeze. You can’t tell someone’s skill in easy, calm times. For that matter, while you can learn the basics in easy, calm times, you can’t learn greatness in them. So while no one looks forward to difficult, stressful, white-water times, unless you expect easy breezes your whole career, you need them to become great. The greatness of great[…] Keep reading →

Burpees and rowing indoors are great, but nothing beats getting up early and running in the morning sun with 60 degree light breezes. Freedom — what life is about. Especially for the first time in the spring. (I still did my daily burpees anyway, of course.)

Yesterday I wrote on what power is. Today let’s look at status, again because I find the more precisely you understand a concept, the better you can use it. Status is important. Nearly everybody wants to have a higher status. Nobody wants to have the lowest status. So what is status? I came across this definition that works well for me. It doesn’t work as well as yesterday’s definition of[…] Keep reading →

Nearly everybody considers power important in social contexts. Nearly everybody wants more. Even if they don’t want to become the most powerful politicians, business leaders, or whatever, they still generally prefer having more power to less. People denigrate others for seeking too much, but I think that’s sour grapes. Nobody wants to feel powerless. So what is power? I’m not sure people understand what they mean by “power” in social[…] Keep reading →

A lot of people equate a depressed economy with emotional depression. The two uses of “depress” have nothing to do with each other. They can, if you connect them, but they don’t have to. If feel connected to you, they do because you connected them. But you can just as well make yourself happy or unhappy when business is growing or shrinking. Economic depressions don’t make you depressed. Nor do[…] Keep reading →

The only way never to fail is never to try. If you try enough times, eventually you will fail. People who try hard enough to improve their lives learn to regard failing first as inevitable, then as desirable, if not in a particular instance, then in general. If they don’t fail sometimes they aren’t trying hard enough. This inevitability occurred to me recently when watching some sports championship. The best[…] Keep reading →

A friend who is improving his life hit a change in a relationship that hurt emotionally. For better or worse, I’ve found such challenges and pain an inevitable part of growth and change. Knowing their inevitability helps, but they still hurt. In writing him back, I found myself voicing a belief that has helped me in such situations — that an easy life of comfort wouldn’t hold a candle to[…] Keep reading →

“What if the other person is boring?” People ask me this question all the time when I tell them they can attract people better, especially through genuineness and authenticity. The question reveals a belief about people I disagree with. My belief creates more friendships that are deeper and more meaningful. I’ll talk about it here. Two beliefs that create friendships I believe everyone has facets of their personality that are[…] Keep reading →