“The New York Times Green Inc. blog explores how the environment, climate change and finite energy resources are reshaping business and the economy.”
Hubris vs. Humility
“It’s pretty easy for a successful marketer to be persuaded that his performance is directly related to his skill.
Same thing with investment managers. In the fiscal year just ended, Harvard paid its top five investment managers an average of more than $4 million. Each. Per year.
Of course, if you believe in the ‘you must be present to win’ theory of management, in which being part of the right organization in the right moment of time is more important than who you are, this is totally outrageous.”
18 Lessons Learned in 2008
“It’s time for our 2nd annual Year-End Lessons Learned post. 2008 was a great year for Common Craft. While we published a number of videos that we’re very proud of, 2008 was all about building a foundation for the future of our business. Going into 2009, we’re feeling confident that we have a solid foundation in place – and now is our time to put more videos into the world.
Here are a few things we learned…”
Airbag – Goldfish
“During Christmas season travel it occurred to me that the larger problems we, as an industry, have to work around right now are not all financial. More of our friends and colleagues may lose their jobs in the coming months, and it’s our shared responsibility to help them whenever possible. In this new year, it is simply not going to be enough to just meet your bottom line, but to help others who may not be in a position to be so entrepreneurial or carefree.”
Contract Killer
“When times get tough, it can often feel like there are no good people left in the world, only people who haven’t yet turned bad. These bad people will go back on their word, welch on a deal, put themselves first. You owe it to yourself to stay on top. You owe it to yourself to ensure that no matter how bad things get, you’ll come away clean. You owe it yourself and your business not to be the guy lying bleeding in an alley with a slug in your gut.
But you’re a professional, right? Nothing bad is going to happen to you.
You’re a good guy. You do good work for good people.
Think again chump.”
