What Business Owners Can Learn from the Story of Modu

The value of loyalty. Modu (234-174 BC) was the son of Touman, the leader of the Xiongnu tribal confederacy. For reference, this was all during the time of the fall of the Zhou dynasty, the warring states period, and the formation of the Han dynasty in China. Modu lived quite an interesting life. At a […]

Businesses should learn from Baseball analytics

I have been enjoying baseball a lot recently. My wife and I watched most of the 2020 post-season, especially the AL and NL CS and the World Series. We even bought two gloves and a ball (used equipment, of course, to save money) and have been playing catch during the day. It’s quite enjoyable and […]

Don’t do anything stupid to avoid doing something difficult

If I were forced to pick one idea of Machiavelli’s to carry with me it would be this. We often do foolish things as a means to avoid challenges. Here is the original quote: … a blunder ought never to be perpetrated to avoid war, because it is not to be avoided, but is only […]

My Politics

All information is part autobiography. Thus, if I dare to write anything I necessarily convey a political view, as politics is the flower of personal philosophy, preference, perspective, etc. I would rather make a clear statement and have that understood than make no statement and thus be misunderstood. So, I’ll tell you how I would […]

Some wandering thoughts regarding “skin in the game,” our addiction to risk avoidance, “The Big Short,” and corporate social responsibility initiatives

“The moment I make a statement about reality, contradiction is present, for what I say is ideality.” Soren Kierkegaard. De Omnibus Dubitandum Est. 1843 Or rather, we don’t know everything, and even if we did, no language or model exists to express such complete knowledge. The known implies the unknown; the predictable implies the unpredictable. […]