May 16, 2012
People get awfully excited about quotas. So do countries. After Norway's lead in 2008, gender quotas on corporate boards have been rolling out in a whole series of countries: Spain, then France, the Netherlands, even Italy voted them in. EU Commissioner Viviane Reding is pushing hard, and if she has her say, and if companies continue to make so little progress unassisted, quotas are likely...
May 4, 2012
After more than 18 months, a dozen and a half summits, multiple rounds of austerity, a trillion dollars of liquidity, and now elections in Greece and France that threaten to overturn the fragile policy consensus in Europe, the Euro-crisis rumbles on. How it could end, badly, with a bank run through the European bond market or the collapse of confidence around Greece, Spain or Italy, is well understood. What is less well understood is how to resolve it.
Eurobonds, fiscal treaties,...
May 3, 2012
If you're applying for jobs outside your native country, you need to re-examine much of what you know about putting together a resume. How many pages should it be? What format is best? Do you send it in MS Word or as a PDF?
As a giant generalisation, Greek employers prefer larger resumes, while in Norway resumes should be no longer than two pages. In New Zealand and Italy a senior executive resume of five pages is seen as okay by recruiters.
In South Africa, you...
April 24, 2012
Is every democracy destined for the problems of Greece?
In writing Passion & Purpose, my coauthors and I heard a lot about the traits and aspirations of the next generation of leaders. But we also heard a great deal about their concerns. A key anxiety is debt. Not just...
March 5, 2012
Following up on his pledge to provide greater support for manufacturing in his State of the Union address, President Obama has announced a proposal to cut the effective tax rate for manufacturers to 25%.
A number of economists howled against...
