Emeritus Status In the days of the Roman legion, when soldiers earned their wages some suggest it was at least partially paid in salt, hence the word salarium and eventually the English word salary came into being. There is little or no evidence to support this myth even though it is part of modern etymological lore and is somewhat supported by sayings like “worth your salt”. However, despite this debate, it is true that many…
The Old and the Restless Our semi-annual gathering of the BT Legends group was held last night. There was a total of fifteen of us in attendance. We were a group of ex-bankers, so we were not terribly diverse even though there were three women in the group. The rest were old white guys. Doing some approximate polling, I would say the age range was 61 to 81, but the mean was likely around 71…
It’s a Rich Man’s World Money, Money, Money was written by ABBA in 1976, the very year I graduated business school and started a forty-three-year (so far) life in the business world. The song is ostensibly about a woman (presumably a lithe young Swede) trying to find a rich man to take her out of her misery of working all day and all night to pay the bills. She wants to go to Las Vegas…
The Princess and the Grain of Rice In 1992 I was asked to take over the Retirement Services Department of Bankers Trust Company. At the time, Bankers Trust was the leading retirement services bank with more 401(k) participants being serviced and more pension funds being serviced than anywhere else. I had been involved in the space indirectly by buying the largest pension company in Chile for the bank and buying, creating, and building an array…
Road Trip Who doesn’t remember the thrill in college of sitting around in the dorm or fraternity and discussing some distant spot (usually somewhere warm like Florida) and hearing someone yell, “Road trip!”). It was immortalized in the movie Animal House and very specifically in the 2000 classic, Road Trip. In Animal House it was only a trip to a nearby women’s college (Wells College?), but in Road Trip it was the “full Monty” from…
The Problem Being Gary Gary has become one of my great friends and advisors over the past four years. Let me describe who he is. Gary is tall and lean with a head full of white hair and the look of an aging Tommy Hilfiger model. In fact, if Tommy Hilfiger decided to launch a line of cool senior wear, I would submit Gary’s picture for consideration as a model. He looks like he would…
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…
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…
The Archipelago of New York Neither came from New York and yet both were of New York. It is said you choose your friends but not your family. I disagree. It’s like nature versus nurture. While your family forms your nature. I believe that with the passage of time, your nurture comes from your friends and they dominate who you are. You may be from where you spent your childhood, but you are where you…
Driving to the Finish Line Some people hate driving. They find it boring and tedious. During college, some people were always up for a good road trip. Others thought of driving back and forth home was one step up from the lot in life they would have to suffer as a bus driver if they didn’t finish college. My brother-in-law was a naval aviator. Every one of us takes pride in his service and admires…