Sublime
An inspiration engine for ideas
The Iron Chancellor was an astute politician, perhaps one of the greatest statesmen of all time, and he understood how fragile the so-called Concert of Europe was in 1871. To introduce a new major power into the very heart of it was akin to placing a child with a trumpet into the midst of a world-class symphony orchestra. He knew the newcomer had
... See moreKatja Hoyer • Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire
Occasionally Ivar would ask a question about IT&T and one of the men from the other side would leave the room for an hour to get an answer. But when someone from IT&T asked a question, Ivar always stayed put and answered from memory.
Frank Partnoy • The Match King: Ivar Kreuger, The Financial Genius Behind a Century of Wall Street Scandals
Each took place at a time when conflicting demands on finite government resources were high, and rentiers wielded reduced political power.6 Currently we’re beginning to see the financial oppression in developed countries. In the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe, governments have forced their social security funds to only buy government
... See moreJonathan Tepper • Endgame: The End of the Debt SuperCycle and How It Changes Everything
Second, the right analytics. Where does superior performance come from? Porter’s answer can be divided into two parts. The first part is attributable to the structure of the industry in which competition takes place.
Joan Magretta • Understanding Michael Porter: The Essential Guide to Competition and Strategy
If a 20 year old could both study Bismarck’s critical decisions in the 1860s (and the principles underlying them) and be given practical experience in some of the best managed organisations in the world, they would be much, much better prepared for senior jobs than our leading politicians are now.
A full program to differentiate the firm through client service requires action on five fronts (in this order): 1. Measurements 2. Management 3. Tips and tools 4. Training 5. Rewards
David H. Maister • Managing The Professional Service Firm
Most companies that manage to grow and still achieve a high level of profitability do it in one of three ways. They replicate their local advantages in multiple markets, like Coca-Cola. They continue to focus within their product space as that space itself becomes larger, like Intel. Or, like Wal-Mart and Microsoft, they gradually expand their
... See moreBruce C. Greenwald • Competition Demystified: A Radically Simplified Approach to Business Strategy
Before the convention, Lyndon Johnson had been almost universally portrayed as an enormously powerful and influential figure in the Democratic Party. By the end of the convention, it had become obvious that that portrait was overdrawn. His image as a brilliant political strategist had also been smudged. “Lyndon Johnson’s reputation as an uncommonly
... See moreRobert A. Caro • Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson III
We have, therefore, proposed a scheme of allocation of resources across States, that takes into account both their development needs as well as past performance, where the latter aims to incentivise better performance, and to allocate resources where they can be used most effectively. Specifically, our newly introduced parameter of 'demographic
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