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Higher Ed's Chase After Money: I Put My Alma Mater on The Do Not Contact List

 If the university were a close friend, you would start ducking it. That's because it doesn't stop putting the muscle on everyone, not just alumni and the wealthy, for money. My mother, a cleaning lady residing in a bad part of pre-gentrified Jersey City, New Jersey, would receive pleas for donations. As an adult, I put my alma mater on the do not contact list. I warned about legal action if any communications got through. That chase after money, as The New York Times documents, has gotten higher education's leaders, at all levels from president to professors to administrators in a dental school, in trouble. Emails disclose they sucked up to Jeffrey Epstein. That gush might have been authentic, that is an assumption they were buddies, or what the job requires, that is gladhanding with deep pockets. The elephant in the room is this: Why can't higher education become cost-efficient like public companies. It's heavy with administrative manpower. Provides money-losing ...
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Capitalism Passes Torch to New Generation of CEOs: Lessons for So Many Other Institutions

  Capitalism is conducting what The Wall Street Journal calls A  Grand Experiment. The top leadership job - that is, the CEO position - is experiencing churn. One in nine CEOs in public companies has been replaced. And who's taking their place are younger and less experienced players. Driving this are: " ... the swift rise of artificial intelligence, the unraveling of long-established trade practices and an unsettled economy and geopolitical order." Why put value on experience when everything is changing? The deciders are giving a new generation a crack at achieving growth in unprecedented times.  Other institutions might also get the message.  The comments to this WSJ article hammer that so many of the aging in public office should also be replaced. The noise is full of mandates for term limits.  Higher education is in shambles, ranging from a declining pool of applicants to the scramble for funding to the Epstein Files. Apollo CEO Mark Rowan is in the front ...
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AI and A World Without Work: 12 to 18 Months Left (Mustafa Suleyman), 80% Unemployment (Stuart Russell) and More

The big guns in AI are giving it straight off the shoulder about the impact of that technology on knowledge work. The CEO of AI at Microsoft Mustafa Suleyman , for example, anticipates catastrophe and at an accelerated pace: "So white-collar work, where you're sitting down at a computer, either being a lawyer or an accountant or a project manager or a marketing person — most of those tasks will be fully automated by an AI within the next 12 to 18 months." Iconic author of "Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach" and professor at UC Berkeley Stuart Russell is equally pessimistic about a broad range of white collar tasks. He puts that at 80% unemployment:  "He suggested that sectors once considered safe — from driving and logistics to accounting, software engineering, and even medicine — are likely to be swept up in the coming wave of automation." Russell also projects surgeons will be wiped out by robots. CEOs aren't safe either. A world with...
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Professional Services: So, Who's the Client, as Kathy Ruemmler, Brad Karp and More Failed to Sort Out

  In professional services - public relations, management consulting, law, financial and more - we start out this way: We assume our fierce intelligence, knowledge base and honed talent will get us a prominent place in the sector.  Then we are hit with this: Lots depends on the kind of client service we provide. Part of that comes from high Emotional Intelligence. But an even bigger part results from a willingness to pitch in without complaint doing favors for those in the clients' orbits. For example, since I had made it into Harvard Law School I was asked by the client to guide his romantic partner in her applications to law schools. I knew not to balk. No, there was no extra compensation. Yes, I was too dependent on the client to bring that up. That's how the business operates.  Those who make it big learn to play that game especially well. Maybe they even look for opportunities to cross boundaries.  And that could be how top players in law, ranging from Kathy Rue...
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This Dates Back to Brad Karp Era: Paul, Weiss Ranks High As Great Place to Work

  According to Brit legal tabloid RollonFriday survey Paul, Weiss has placed sixth among about 80 law firms as a great place to work. The metric is based on how management is assessed as energized and engaging with employees. The specific rating is 81% - that is the percentage of those who are "very satisfied." This determination reflects the former leadership of Brad Karp during the period the research had been done. Major competitor Kirkland & Ellis is 34th, with "very satisfied" at 65%. Brad, your style will be missed in the front lines.  Success is a mental game. Failure comes from being done in by the “committee” in your head. Together, we liberate your thinking. Then we change your story. And, unleash success. Meanwhile, we focus on bringing in income. That puts you in a position of strength. Intuitive Coaching. Special expertise with transitions, becoming a solopreneur and aging. Psychic/tarot readings, upon request. Complimentary consultation with J...
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BoomerVille: Back from the Near-Dead

  Dow Jones Industrial Average Index Index: DJI Compare 49,639.03 USD ▲  +187.05 (+0.38%) today February 13, 1:43 PM EST  ·  Market Open Meanwhile, they say there are many with less than 1,000 bucks saved for retirement. A better way of framing that state of being is this: Never expect to stop chasing income. The oldest of the Boomers, I continue to build my business. Success is a mental game. Failure comes from being done in by the “committee” in your head. Together, we liberate your thinking. Then we change your story. And, unleash success. Meanwhile, we focus on bringing in income. That puts you in a position of strength. Intuitive Coaching. Special expertise with transitions, becoming a solopreneur and aging. Psychic/tarot readings, upon request. Complimentary consultation with Jane Genova (Text 203-468-8579,  janegenova374@gmail.com ). Yes, test out the chemistry. Zero risk. Don’t give up before the miracle.  
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So, How Should Companies Behave? Epstein Files Could Be Forcing Old-Fashioned Values on Business and More

 In 2025, confidence in business plunged to 15%, down from 30% back in 1999. A column in Bloomberg puts it this way: "By characterizing their [Ruemmler/Epstein] relationship as strictly professional, Goldman sent the wrong message about what companies should consider appropriate behavior." Now, though, Ruemmler announced she will step down.  In terms of reputation, economist Larry Summers and Apollo co-founder Leon Black don't seem to have a shot at redemption and forgiveness. At Paul, Weiss chair Brad Karp ended his very successful era of leadership, contending his interactions with Epstein were a distraction. Again, business could be undergoing another era of reform. Remember Enron. Remember global financial crisis of 2007.  Values could be reshaped. Leadership will have to be Mr. and Ms. Clean.  Standards of transparency would be ramped up. What kind of vetting did Goldman do when it considered hiring Ruemmler? Maybe ordinary citizens should be put on boar...
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