A Columbia student responded to the announcement of my talk: I would be interested in why a human rights club is putting on what appears to be a sympathetic presentation on one of the world’s most notorious human rights abusers. Shouldn’t you be focusing on the plight of north Koreans rather than the “misunderstood” nature of an autocratic regime? Questions like his come up a lot. North Korea is an[…] Keep reading →
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 →
During orientation I learned one of business school’s most valuable lessons. I learned the first step in resolving all ethics problems. Orientation included a case study on ethics. The case involved a guy who witnessed someone else breaking a rule at a company. If he told on the employee he would escalate the problem, possibly identifying himself as not a team player, no matter how justified his actions. Remaining silent would[…] Keep reading →
Today I’ll cover one of my most liberating allegories. I don’t remember where I heard it. Some karate students asked their teacher how he always kept his balance no matter what happened. He said, “On the contrary, I’m always losing my balance. But I’m always regaining it too.” Since I learned that lesson, I stopped trying to avoid making mistakes. I say and do what I feel is right or[…] Keep reading →
I like watching football. I think it shows people pushing the limits of what people can do, full of drama and excitement. People keep respond with surprise when I tell them. Frankly, it never occurred to me that anyone didn’t enjoy watching football. At least among guys. I was curious. Do I fit into the type who watches football? So how do you find out who watches a show? You[…] Keep reading →
I love this representation of the size of things in the universe so much I have to link to it, even though I prefer to post things that I created more of. Please check it out and play with it. (EDIT: alternative link) It’s an updated, interactive, unnarrated version of the great educational 1968 short film, the Powers of Ten. I think the movie and interactive representation show some of[…] Keep reading →
If you look for problems you’ll find them. And you’ll fill your life with problems. But if you look for solutions you’ll find them too, and you’ll fill your life with solutions. You’ll find your problems go away or don’t show up at all. A day after posting on labels not helping with introversion and extraversion came this op-ed piece on a guy whom doctors diagnosed with autism, supposedly “a[…] Keep reading →