November 10, 2010 3 min read
People seem really shocked that, what they believe to be, their “private activities and interests” on the internet are being tracked. There is a pretty widely held notion that our inalienable rights to privacy are being trashed by modern technology.
September 24, 2010 6 min read
When I was 33 years old, I made a new year’s resolution that changed my life. I resolved to live every day of that year as if I only had one year left to live.
September 21, 2010 3 min read
I recently turned down a job to be the Director of the Asia Competitiveness Institute in Singapore partly because I couldn’t figure out how countries (or regions) are really competing with each other.
September 16, 2010 6 min read
One summer when I was in college, I got a summer internship as the Assistant Systems Manager at the American Embassy in Tokyo. They had a Systems Manager, Mr. Itoh, but he really only spoke Japanese. And since some of the most important people in the Embassy were Americans who didn’t speak Japanese, they needed someone to teach them how to use the new computer system. That became my summer job. I learned from Mr. Itoh how the computer worked and then I had individual and group training sessions with the staff who couldn’t speak Japanese.
September 01, 2010 4 min read
One of my very first management jobs was as the team leader on a consulting team that was supposed to help with the strategy for a joint venture between two companies. We had been called in late because the project wasn’t going very well.
August 28, 2010 5 min read
During my graduate school years, I had more than one of my professors tell me that I would end up making my “own path through life”; that I probably wouldn’t follow a defined career pattern. And they were right. I’ve always prided myself on being a bit of a maverick.
August 25, 2010 5 min read
Helping organizations (especially educational institutions) to be more efficient and effective has always been a pastime of mine. I know “pastime” sounds like a strange word to describe something as serious as trying to reorganize a school, but that is how it feels to me – almost like a hobby. I have always believed that organizations should serve my needs and the needs of my friends (especially when we’re the ”customers”). Maybe it was because of some early successes that I came to believe I could do these kinds of things over and over again.
August 23, 2010 5 min read
I got my first experiences as a leader early on – as the ring leader leading a small gang of troublemakers.
August 22, 2010 1 min read
An introduction to some writings from my stint as the Dean of Globis University in Tokyo in 2008 …more to follow …
September 06, 2008 2 min read
Is your organization slowly draining the life out of your managers? Executives and managers perceive how their organizations are serving their people quite differently, and understanding those differences is the key to unlocking hidden potential. For managers to be more productive, they need to feel a sense of commitment and sincerity from those above them, with work that challenges them to bring out their best. One thing everyone can agree on is that change is standard operating procedure, which everyone accepts as part of the deal.
August 30, 2007 2 min read
What drives passion in an employee depends on a lot of things. Specifically, the size of one’s organization and the level one has achieved in that organization can affect what will make someone more passionate.
March 11, 2007 2 min read
When it comes to the ideal job, it all depends on where you stand … or sit. The key to a successful, motivated workforce isn’t high salaries or a prestigious company – it’s the nature of the work.
