Ostrich Outreach I am reading about Quantum Technology and China’s push to dominate the space while Jamie Dimon and the Business Roundtable redefine the basis of corporate purpose to go beyond pure shareholder value. Something he has chosen to support since Rep. Katie Porter schooled him on the cost of living in Irvine, California. When you combine those thoughts with the goings on in China and Hong Kong and the shifting sands of capitalism and…
Remoteness Today I am sitting at my desk in San Diego. We are on a hilltop that looks in every direction. My office faces north, east and west. It is in an alcove and it literally has windows on three sides that gives me the feeling of being suspended over the mountain-top. This is the view from which and the likely time of day during which I will be doing my work from starting in…
This is the Job The eerily omniscient Mark Felt movie ended at 9pm. What an unbelievable story; a President with henchmen installed in DOJ, CIA and FBI and all other agencies who give more loyalty to a misguided and ill-intentioned traitor of a leader than to the nation and people they are meant to serve. That couldn’t possibly happen again, could it? And now I was looking for another movie to take me through to…
Inventions Management For the first time in my life I am getting a front row seat at the process of inventions management. My company is trying to innovate in the electrochemical arena which involves everything from filing patents with the U.S. Patent Office and the various international patent agencies to managing the process of commercialization of the inventions, taking them from the laboratory to the marketplace. As one would imagine, there is a lot…
Responsible Hosting I have owned vacation homes since 1986. That is 33 years. Over that time, I have owned vacation homes in the Berkshires (2), The Hamptons, Park City (5), San Diego and Ithaca. By my count, that is a total of ten vacation homes. At one time, I have owned as many as three at once (what a headache). The big issue is always how to maintain the home in my absence. By…
Beyond Meat I am intrigued. Beyond Meat, the California start-up that launched its highly successful IPO a few months ago, now trades at over 100X sales. What’s especially interesting is that the concept of an alternative protein that provides a substitute for meat products (beef, pork and chicken) is hardly new. Where is tofu with its patent infringement claims? How upset must the ubiquitous veggie burger be at this turn of events? Even Bacos…
Road Show Last night we went to New York City Center for a performance of Steven Sondheim’s musical Road Show. This is a twenty-year-old version of a story which has been produced under various names like Bounce, Wise Guys and Gold!. While we thoroughly enjoyed the show, it had little to do with the production and almost everything to do with good music/singing and the captivating story of the life and travails of the Mizner…
Breaking Up is Hard to Do Do many of us even remember the days when our telephonic voice choices were AT&T and nothing more? The telephone invention is like most great inventions, the early pioneers working on such a device fade by comparison to Alexander Graham Bell, who patented the device in the U.S. in 1876. History rewards the commercializers of great inventions. Just ask Thomas Alva Edison. Bell fancy-stepped his way into forming…
Desk Toys There is an advertisement on TV these days for insurance with a guy in his office, which is turned into a ball pit. Who can tell anymore if these ads are for Geico, Progressive, Farmers or whatever? Unless there is a gecko or that androgynous Flo person in the ad, they are all funny and good entertainment to watch, but all they really do is remind us that insurance is a competitive…
Pivoting In my business we have decided to try to pivot. Let me try to explain what I mean by that. Life is about flexibility and change. When a business faces a roadblock, especially an insurmountable one, the only sensible thing to do is to alter direction to get around the roadblock. By most standards, that is considered intelligent management. In a hedge fund that is called style-drift and is deadly to investors as it…