1. Letterman’s Last Laugh A fantastically detailed account of preparing for David Letterman’s final show, written by his longtime gag writer, Bill Scheft. A poignant reminder that writing jokes is a process: The monologue, my main responsibility (along with Steve Young), had been put together the night before. We never do it this far in advance, but because […] Read More »
1. Journalism’s Back-Patting Obsession Jack Shafer has made it certain that he will never win a Pulitzer. In Politico, he offers what has to be the best-ever takedown of journalism’s self-important Oscars: All journalism prizes are arbitrary and self-aggrandizing, the product of insular thinking and administrative logrolling. But only Pulitzer winners expect the world to […] Read More »
Culture at Apple Apple CEO Tim Cook, in an exclusive Fast Company interview, refutes the Steve Jobs caricature of a micromanager to reveal his little known qualities as a teacher. Cook says in this interview: Steve’s greatest contribution and gift is the company and its culture. He cared deeply about that. He put in an […] Read More »
In this issue: What Everyone Gets Wrong about Strategy Execution, The C-Suite Verdict on Big Data, Why Being CEO in 2015 Will Be Tougher Than Ever and more. Read More »
1. The Successful Eccentricities of Lee Kuan Yew The Economist‘s obituary of Singapore’s founder, Lee Kuan Yew, is full of great anecdotes, including this one: In some ways, Mr. Lee was a bit of a crank. Among a number of 20th-century luminaries asked by the Wall Street Journal in 1999 to pick the most influential invention of the millennium, […] Read More »
The Staggered Board: An Activist Antidote A Harvard Business Review op-ed outlines the future of corporate governance and how business can make it a reality. Research from Harvard professor and LQK Corporation Director Guhan Subramani recommends that companies consider staggered boards, even though support has dropped dramatically among the Fortune 500. When a board is staggered, one-third […] Read More »
1. Malaysia Airlines Flight 370: Case Cracked? So you don’t believe in conspiracy theories? Prepare to be converted. Jeff Wise, who spent months on CNN debating what happened to the plane that disappeared over the South China Sea, never gave up his investigation. Now, with an essay in New York magazine and a speculative narrative […] Read More »
G100 At Apple Soon after Apple delivered record-breaking quarterly financials, news broke about “Titan,” their secret R&D project to create an electric vehicle. This represents a game changer for auto industry innovation, says MIT fellow Michael Schrage, who warns not to dismiss Apple’s talent and resources: Apple’s command of UX and technical infrastructure create multiple opportunities to […] Read More »
1. Flattery Will Get You Everywhere “The first principle for would-be networkers is to abandon all shame,” writes The Economist, in what is one of the best analyses of the fakery and flattery that lies at the heart of all networking: Shamelessness needs to be balanced with subtlety. Pretend to disagree with your interlocutor before coming around to his […] Read More »
Will Stimulus Be Enough For Europe? On the heels of the European Central Bank announcing its massive stimulus program, an OECD report questions whether this is sufficient for Europe (and Japan!). The report emphasizes what critics have long argued: structural reforms to encourage trade, investment, and small and medium enterprises are essential to European economic […] Read More »
