The Ida Lupino Effect For some reason, an obscure movie that starred Ida Lupino has had a lasting effect on me. The movie is called Women’s Prison and was released in 1955. It tells the story of a brutal women’s maximum-security prison where the guards are charged with being more brutal than the inmates. A young woman reporter named Brenda arranges to go to prison on fake charges to investigate the accusations of guard abuse. …
Sally & Jane Human tragedy takes all forms. Every time you hear a sad story you hear an even sadder one. My old pal Dave is such a story. Dave was not a regular guy in college, he was a superstar. Everything about him screamed success. He had his pick of the girls on campus and he went on to have his pick of the companies he could go work for. We all wanted to…
The Potential of Those Around Us Carly Fiorina is out with a new book and I heard her say something like this during an interview. This is a grand statement that is intended to be very positive. I know how to draw conclusion about my potential, but for those around me the best I can do is assume the best. The question is whether that is a wise thing to do or a not. I…
Sprintered There seems to be a new phenomenon that I missed seeing coming until now. A colleague explained that he was being picked up for a meeting in some heavyweight’s newest toy, a commuter Sprinter van. The Sprinter is a van that has a higher profile and comes in several lengths. It is made by Mercedes, so it is the top of the line van. I have done some online research and I now see…
Diminishing Returns Marvin had been a killer economics student. He had been an engineer who transferred into economics the moment he had finished hearing his fist macroeconomic lecture. He had not gone to one of those progressive high schools that offered courses that went beyond the basic reading, writing and arithmetic courses offered in every high school in the country. None of this Advanced Placement curriculum nonsense. And certainly nothing approximating an economics course. Given…
The Importance of Lunch James was a breakfast guy. He always felt hungry in the morning because he tended not to eat much in the evening after a relatively early dinner. It may have had something to do with his mother drilling into him at an early age that breakfast was the most important meal of the day. No matter, he liked a generous breakfast usually with something savory and a little something sweet. In…
Immigration Nation Not unlike many weeks over the past three years, this week seems to be all about immigration in the national news. This week it’s about Trump firing everybody from the Secretary on down at the Department of Homeland Security. He wants a tougher stance it seems. DHS was established as a cabinet-level agency within a month of the 9/11 attacks, specifically with the mission to “develop and coordinate the implementation of a comprehensive…
The Regulatory Tent I watched Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America on Morning Joe this morning. I met Brian a few times when he was back running Fleet Bank. He is in Washington to go before Congress with some other bank CEO’s to talk about whether ten years after the financial crisis, banks like Bank of America are still too big to fail. Listening to him discuss the state of the financial services industry…
Life on the Tarmac Tarmac is a great word. It connotes so much more than macadam or asphalt. Tarmac says you are going places. It has an exotic nature to it that implies that something is about to happen and that its likely to be something meaningful. If you are stuck on the runway or idling on the asphalt, that sounds bad and wasteful. But is you are poised on the tarmac, you are about…
Beyond the Horizon I’m staring out over the ocean this morning from my room in Bermuda. It’s a beautiful sunny morning here with billowy clouds in the sky and the ocean this side of the reef is that special azure blue that we all amaze at when we come to such places. It is hard not to think about retirement when you come to a place like Bermuda because it is such a pleasant place…