In keeping with the debut of the “Cooking Chronicles” on this blog, I have selected Heat, by Bill Buford, as this Friday’s recommended risk reading. Heat is a lively, insightful account of Buford’s experience as an amateur cook in the kitchen of renowned chef Mario Batali. Buford abandons the security of his desk job to […]
Like many people, I have been thinking about the events of September 11, 2001, as the tenth anniversary approaches. This article from the New York Times earlier this week focused on the media’s efforts to cover the anniversary with sensitivity, and it called to mind some remarks I gave about the media’s conduct in the […]
Thanks to Yahoo’s dismissal of Carol Bartz, we have a fresh example of how CEO firings are communicated. Instead of a well-crafted joint news release, Bartz herself trumped the company’s announcement by sending a terse, firm-wide email that quickly found its way to the press. And before everyone else had it, Kara Swisher at Dow […]
Ten years after the terror attack that killed two-thirds of its New York staff and nearly destroyed the firm, Cantor Fitzgerald is thriving, the New York Times reported in a Sunday feature. The firm’s success is due in large measure to CEO Howard Lutnick and a handful of executives who survived the day. Their determination, […]
I’m starting a new feature that will run every Friday (well, that’s the plan anyway) and focus on one or two interesting pieces on risk. I’ll flag news articles, speeches, commentaries and other content that offers a thoughtful perspective on risk – both purposeful risk-taking as well as risk mitigation. This week, it seems appropriate […]
I recently spoke to graduate students at Baruch College in New York City. The topic was employee communications in M&A deals, and I introduced what I call “Richard’s Rules” for these situations. Here’s a sample. 1. News will leak, and usually at the worst time. Anyone who has handled communications for an M&A deal knows […]