My daughter attended a presentation recently, as part of a “study abroad” program. There was a slide about opening doors. Opening doors in Italy must be a challenge. The slide said “if you are using your entire body weight to try to open a door, rethink your strategy”. In other words, if you are pushing, […]
A House Divided
The current political campaign is the most negative one in the history of the U.S. I’m not taking sides here. Both sides have attacked each other more personally than ever before. Some of the current political attacks have been really personal. This is true at all levels of elections. I have seen local TV and […]
Off The Record
There was a Presidential Debate last night. One of the remarkable things about the debate, and the campaign, is how much time has been spent have defended old emails and old videos. Both candidates recorded things years ago that are now coming back to haunt them. I am glad that I am not running for […]
Wentzylvania
I’m a Philadelphia Eagles fan. I’ve been a fan since about 1966 or so, when my father took me to Franklin Field to see my first Eagles game. I was about 5 at the time. I’m a lifelong Eagles fan. That means that I have suffered through some really bad stretches of football. The Eagles […]
The Otemachi Building
The Otemachi Building is a mass of concrete, nine stories tall, in Tokyo’s financial district. It is (or was) the location of the headquarters of my company. The Otemachi Building is scheduled for demolition next year. Today is the last time I am going to be in this building. I’ve spent at least 100 days […]
Globalization
I attended a wedding over the weekend. The father of the bride noted that guests travelled from 12 states and three countries to attend the wedding. My daughter is leaving next week to study in Italy. I’m going to Japan again for business soon. It’s the 20th time I’m going to Japan. My father drove […]
Retiring
In the past month, two people have asked me when I’m retiring. But neither one called it “retiring”. They called it “transitioning”. I’m assuming they meant “retiring”, and not “dying”. —– I know three people who retired in their 40s. They were successful business owners who sold their businesses. They played a lot of golf, […]
The Chore Store
I was on a tour recently in Japan, and the tour guide noted that there are three main convenience store chains in Japan. They are 7-Eleven, Family Mart and Lawson. The tour guide noted that each of the chains has over 10,000 locations in Japan. He went on to explain that convenience stores in Japan […]
Pandora’s Box
Pandora’s Box is an idea rooted in Greek mythology. The box was something that was opened (against advice). After the box was opened, there were unintended consequences. I am fascinated by unintended consequences. I’ve written about them before. I was prompted to write about this idea last year, when a pilot locked himself in an […]
Politics As (Un)Usual
My family attended a graduation party on Friday night. We have been friends with the hosts for 20 years. The party was wonderful- good friends, good food, good fun. The hosts are local business people. They are the kind of people that you want as next door neighbors. They coached little league games, and volunteer […]
