Of the people, by the people, for the people

I believe in an America committed to the democratic ideal of government of the people, by the people and for the people. That’s why, on Friday, January 21, 2011, I was proud to be among the business leaders who announced the launch of Business for Democracy, a...

The 30 Year War on Middle Class America

In the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, the American economy experienced long periods of prosperity, in which GDP growth performed quite well. At the same time, inequality rose rapidly. Yet rather than seeking to correct the inequality through redistributive policies,...

Happy Holidays, America

“Exuberance made a comeback this year at Josh Koplewicz’s annual Halloween party. More than 1,000 people packed into a 6,000-square-foot space at the Good Units night club in Manhattan, a substantially larger crowd than in the last several years. The open bar was...

The Global Implications of Our Ethical Decisions

Thomas Friedman wrote several weeks ago about our interconnected yet uncertain future. “In a world where our demand for Chinese-made sneakers produces pollution that melts South America’s glaciers, in a world where Greek tax-evasion can weaken the euro,...

Some Big Steps Yield a Small One of Our Own

Here’s a retailing truth: You can’t be in the business of selling consumer products without thinking about Walmart. The merchandising behemoth sells so much of what so many North Americans buy — from groceries to tires — that to not seek it as...

America Beyond Capitalism

I was giddy with hope back in November 2008 when Barack Obama won the presidential election. Like many, I believed that we stood at the edge of potentially enormous positive change, an opportunity that surely arises only once in a generation. Today, a year later, I am...

Short Term Thinking Shorts Us All

There’s been plenty said about Wall Street’s incredible collapse and the byzantine practices and illusionary (some would say delusionary) financial products that almost brought down our economy. But not enough has been said about the pervasive mindset that...

In Our Every Deliberation

Sometimes you think you have something important to say, and before you know whether you can convince anyone in the publishing community that it’s of value, you decide that you’re going to go ahead and write it anyway. That’s how I felt two years ago...

Will Radical Transparency Save the Earth?

Joel Makower and Daniel Goleman‘s debate in Joel’s recent column on the likely effect of how “unfettered information about the environmental impacts of our world (will) smoke out the bad guys and help the good guys win,” is a wonderful and...