Anyone who has been accountable for others, as a leader, has experienced the queasy feeling when a direct report “goes around” them and has direct communication with their boss. You know what I’m talking about, don’t pretend you don’t. It’s normal. It’s built in to our species. For millenia our ancestors survived intra- and inter-group competition by making alliances, controlling resources and commanding loyalty from those who looked to them for protection, economic reciprocity and preferred treatment.
Quant investing examined
Money is flowing into so-called “quant” funds at a higher rate of late, largely driven by a pursuit of superior returns, which they’ve had over the last few years. It’s also probably driven by a fear of missing out; investors and investing institutions are primarily motivated by out-running the middle of the pack. Nobody wants to be the sick and old stragglers picked off by the trailing wolves. I mean that literally, though it’s often used in analogy.
Posted in Strategy and the Big Picture
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What is “ego”?
Dear Stan,
I’m working with someone who is deeply concerned about their public reputation. If they are not allowed to lead a project, and it includes the opportunity for public notice, they will object to our strategies and tactics citing thinly constructed business reasons. But the underlying motive is really about how much attention they receive in the business community. Why do people have such big egos? What can a co-worker or even a boss do about it?
Signed,
Trying to Pop Their Bubble
Dear Pop,
You don’t ask easy questions.
Posted in The People
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The economics of cancer
I recently had the “opportunity” to become an active consumer of healthcare services in the field of cancer diagnosis and treatment. Having some time pre- and post-surgery to do, well, nothing, I found myself thinking about how the economics of the transactions came to be the way they are.
Posted in Politics and Business
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