The November issue of Fortune magazine features an interesting article on a rollercoaster path of Dominic Orr, a former CEO of Alteon WebSystems. Orr’s story challenges the odds of balancing the personal life with fast-track, intense carrier. While reaching the top of the corporate ladder and relentlessly working on success of Alteon, first building and taking his start-up thru IPO and then thru acquisition, Dominic Orr sacrificed a lot in his private life. His marriage didn’t sustain and his relations with his two children were almost non-existent. Dominic Orr took time off to re-establish the bond with his children. It’s working out, slowly, and Dominic Orr is by now has returned into the corporate world as a CEO of Aruba Networks. Read the story in the journal in Jackson Library or online.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao concluded his four nation tour of Russia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Belarus.
Wen Jiabao said that 2007 marks the beginning of a new decade for the two-way partnership. Wen said the Sino-Russian relationship should be stepped up and interactions should be made concrete. Viktor Zubkov proposed the establishment of mechanisms to ensure long-term, stable coordination.
The two premiers agreed to improve trade standards, regularize trade structure, launch aviation industry projects, energy cooperation, joint R&D in science and technology, conserve water resources as well as increase exchanges in education, culture, public health, tourism and sports.
Abstracted from CCTV.com
In the summer issue of the Valley Life Quarterly, Allison R.G. Van Diggelen takes on myths and misinformation about “going green.” She points out that you don’t have to buy a hybrid to reduce your carbon imprint nor do you have to become a vegetarian to reduce global warming. Understanding the realities of our impact on the world can help each of us make a difference. Erasing my Carbon Footprint by Allison R.G. Van Digglelen is worth reading if you are thinking green.
Find it on the Periodical shelf in the library
The 2008 Hot List is out. Entrepreneur magazine has compiled a list of the hottest industries this year. The article interviews industry experts on where they think their particular industry will be strong. Ladies specialty shoes, handbags and lingerie will be big as well as crafts and handmade goods and who can resist ice cream. Another hot group are baby boomers: senior services, health-care staffing, senior products and gyms targeted at seniors.
Did you participate in the great American tradition of shopping on the day after Thanksgiving also now known as Black Friday? If you did not you can still participate today on Cyber Monday. I saw an article on CNET that talks about the reality or myth of this cyber Monday.
Thanksgiving Feast prices to go up 11% according to the American Farm Bureau Federation. So what’s going on? Energy prices are going up and demand around the world is up for turkeys as well. Over 500 million turkeys are not enough to satiate US demand around the holidays. Read more about the methodology behind the 11% increase on The Voice of Agriculture.
Yes it's another Warren Buffet blog item. I came across a CNBC article about a soon-to-be-released study conducted by two researchers, Gerald Martin of American University and John Puthenpurackal of the University of Nevada. The study titled, "Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery" proves what a lot of savvy investors have known for years: buying the stocks Warren Buffett buys will make you a lot of money.
Another interesting story I saw this weekend about Warren is his advice to A-Rod.
Warren is a busy guy.
Rajiv Singh, vice chairman of DLF, India's largest developer, questioned whether a 9 percent plus growth rate is sustainable without corresponding infrastructure improvement. Infrastructure issues include meeting the demand on roads, ports, airports, power supply, and even getting drinking water to everybody. There is a shortage of homes, offices, and retail space. He estimated that the growth in these three segments would be 25 percent or more a year. Meeting this demand is not without challenges. Mr. Singh mentioned too much political freedom, too many legal rights, and too much media as the major deterrents in the system to support infrastructure fixes. Other problems include the land use law, land ceiling laws, special economic zones (SEZs), and urban renewal.
Possible fixes include utilizing land more efficiently by changing land policy to allow dense developments or high-rise developments; government stepping in to buy land at market rates from minority unwilling to sell; building new cities outside the main cities to avoid political issues such as slum relocation.
Below are more articles in McKinsey Quarterly on “Building a better India":
Upgrading India’s energy and transportation networks: An interview with a leading infrastructure builder (November 2007)
Securing India’s place in the global economy (October 2007)
India's executives: Confident in their economy and eager to hire (October 2007)
Creating a modern Indian city: An interview with Delhi’s chief minister (October 2007)
Clearing the way for robust growth: An interview with India’s chief economic planner (October 2007)
I came across an article in the New York Times today about a masseuse hired by Google when the company had just 40 employees, who when hired recieved a salary of about $450 a week and some stock options. Need I say more....Well now she's has millions in the bank and has written a soon to be published book called, Giigle: How I Got Lucky Massaging Google.
Corporate governance is a topic of intense interest here at the Graduate School of Business. Michelle Gutman, Program Manager of the Global Center and Corporate Governance Research Program, recently reminded us of the corporate governance page of the GSB's Center for Leadership Development and Research, a showcase for the rich Stanford research in this area in the form of books and papers. Among other resources, note the cases developed by Prof David Larcker and case writer (and GSB Alum) Brian Tayan. Recent examples include Corporate Governance Ratings: Got the Grade ... What was the Test? and Sovereign Bancorp and Relational Investors: The Role of the Activist Hedge Fund. Got your interest? Read more.
Gamers of Nintendo's Wii complained about "aching backs, sore shoulders, and Wii elbow." In Wii Sports, a game that comes with the console, users mimic the motions used in sports like bowling, tennis and baseball. Wii features digital sensors that let users virtually play the game. Since its debut in November of last year, 9.27 million units have been sold. In addition to turning Wii into a new form of exercise, it is also used in hospitals to treat physical therapy patients.
Active video games like the Wii can fight child obesity, according to a report published by the Mayo Clinic in the January 2006 issue of Pediatrics.
A research team at the University of Toronto is developing a "therapeutic video game" to treat children who suffer from hemiplegic cerebral palsy, a condition that can partially paralyze one side of the body. If the children regularly use their weaker side, their motor function can improve.
Read more on Nintendo Wii in Mindshare , Time, News@UofT
Struggling with an abusive creep in your workplace? GSB Professor Bob Sutton offers more suggestions on dealing with the perennial office brat on his blog, with his contribution Latest Tips for Surviving Workplace Assholes. Sutton, whose bestseller The No Asshole Rule recently won a Quill Award for best business book, constantly receives emails about personal experiences and case histories from his readers, and incorporates at least some of these into his blog. If you are fighting the good fight against a demeaning coworker or obnoxious supervisor, Sutton advises, "Escape, if you can!" No place to run? Read on for more tips.
The Solar Decathlon took place October 12-20 on the National Mall in Washington. Twenty teams from around the world compete every other year to build houses which only run on solar energy. The idea is to raise awareness for renewable energy, the public is encouraged to come and see the houses. Awards are given in ten different categories including appliances, architecture and market viability.
You can watch the report Building a Better Solar-Powered Home on the event and see the winning team.
Proposals are already being accepted for 2009.
This is a title of a book I came across while browsing the stacks of the library. The full title is More than you know: finding financial wisdom in unconventional places. The author Michael J. Mauboussin shares his secret to becoming an insighful investor and provides invaluable tools to better understand the concepts of choice and risk.
The author states in the introduction" More Than You Know's core premise is simple to explain but devilishly difficult to live: you will be a better investor, executive, parent, friend- person- if you approch problems from a multidisciplinary perspective.
Find it in the Library
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