The Last Angry Man Fred was livid and inconsolably so. The thing was, he didn’t really know why. He was generally an upbeat and pleasant sort that usually started each day with a smile and an optimistic outlook. There had to be a reason he was so angry so he decided to set about figuring why. Fred had had more than an average amount of success in his life and in his career. Yes, it…
Time to Do What? Time. It flies by and it stands still. It is most precious and yet we all waste it. Sometimes wasted time is the best time. Yet there is never enough of it. Barry was the Marlboro Man. In 1975 he had the best look a guy could have. Imagine a young Tom Selleck. Big manly mustache. Longish floppy hair and a quick and broad smile. Tall, lean, but well-muscled. And to…
Where Did the Time Go? It was only 11:00am in New York and the entire Saturday loomed ahead of Sean to do with as he pleased. He had come from Edinburgh, Scotland, where it was 4:00pm and folks were getting ready for their night out and on the town. Sean wasn’t quite sure if he was done with the day or ready to take it on. He was not new to foreign travel so jet…
A Boo Radley Moment People do not get to choose who they are. They simply are who they are and they live with it. Some are lucky and fall into the range of normal. They work and play, succeed and fail, get happy and get sad, all within a band that raises no eyebrows. Unfortunately, nature is not always so kind, in fact, sometimes it is downright cruel. Joe was one of the best looking…
Sun on the Harbor Jim walked into his office at 7:30am and while he wheeled his carry-on bag to the back wall and took off his coat, it was hard not to notice the view. The history of the United States was virtually laid out before him. No joke. He was looking out over New York Harbor on a sunny early March morning and it was nothing short of spectacular. Let me set the scene. …
A Random Walk There is a concept in investment management called random walk. It’s exactly what it sounds like, one movement is not connected to another and is therefore random in nature. It is the Shit Happens of finance, and it is used to describe the stock market and its gyrations. As a guy who managed very large money management businesses for many years, I spent some time thinking about random walk theory and whether…
Banking on Grace There are many times in life when you must do what your heart tells you to do and let the chips fall where they may. Sometimes is all works out well. It was 2004 and I had recently taken over the asset management area of the vaunted Bear Stearns. It was a return to Wall Street for me after a few years spent starting a venture capital business that was chugging along,…
Hitting the Road As I get older, I dream more about hitting the road. What’s that about? When I get asked what I would do in retirement I have to review the bidding this way. I’ve spent ten years teaching. I actually became a Clinical Professor of Management and taught courses at the graduate level at Cornell for those ten years. That took care of that retiree notion. I’ve served on several not-for-profit boards ranging…
The Border What is a border? Technically, it’s a delineation between one group of people and another. Delineation can occur at many levels and I think it’s fair to suggest that the lines that matter have mostly to do with economic power. The “haves” must always protect what they have from the “have nots”. Vito had grown up on the south side of Chicago when it was, indeed, the baddest part of town. He was…
The Death Railway of Burma I don’t read books any longer (at least not many). I do listen to audiobooks in far greater quantity than I ever read printed books. I can listen to books almost anywhere. I do it when I drive, obviously, but also on my motorcycle, in the hot tub, sitting at my desk doing work, walking around town, during my weekly two-hour therapeutic massage or sometimes just relaxing at home. I…