Archive for the ‘Cultures’ Category

Facing the Future

Saturday, June 12th, 2010

  I compiled my thoughts on the primary challenges the United States faces in the coming decade, and ways to overcome them, here: http://www.hackneys.com/docs/facingthefuture.pdf The primary focus in this collection is on domestic challenges, although some geopolitical issues are addressed. .

Elia Kazan’s America

Monday, May 31st, 2010

  As part of our effort to reintegrate into American society and its culture, we’re spending part of our summer in the air conditioned retreat of the Paramount, a faithfully restored theater originally built in 1915 to host vaudeville as the Majestic and transformed in 1930 into a Baroque Revival movie ...

4th Floor Walkup

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

Yesterday, an entrepreneur told me of his father, who died at 81. The father lived in a 4th floor walkup until he was 79, when a fire in the building forced a move to a new building. The new building came with a wonderful view of the East River and an ...

Circles in Circles

Monday, March 29th, 2010

Much of the story of humans and groups of humans, as well as the challenges that face America, can be told with circles. The core of the story is an individual.   The first unit of human organization is the family.    The next unit of human organization is tribe.  

What We Can Afford

Monday, March 29th, 2010

During America’s brief tenure atop the world’s pecking order between the end of WWII and the beginning of the current era, the country enjoyed an unprecedented run of prosperity and abundance. The country was so successful while producing copious wealth and endless opportunity, it could afford to take on costs ...

Ranking America

Monday, March 8th, 2010

The United States of America enjoys many riches, inherent capabilities and positive attributes, as well as shortcomings, unresolved issues and a converging set of existential threats. The challenge is to be aware of the upsides of the United States without becoming defiantly hostile to any discussion of specific shortcomings or ways ...

A Perfect Storm

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

  “…our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.  Now we are … testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure.” – Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address ******* The United States ...

The Nature of Change

Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010

More than 9 out of 10 patients do not change their lifestyles in response to their doctor’s recommendations. More than 70 percent of corporate change efforts fail. Humans hate change. It’s a simple fact of life. There isn’t any easy way around it. In general, humans hate change. That rule extends beyond individuals into ...

Show Me Your Budget

Saturday, February 20th, 2010

In my book, How The World Works, entry 512 is Priorities vs. Budgets. It reads: “As a business management consultant I heard a lot about priorities. In the introductory meeting and group management team interviews, senior executives would drone on endlessly about the organization’s priorities. Top priority this and critical priority that; it ...

The Seekers – 2009

Monday, December 21st, 2009

Back in 2004 I wrote a holiday message about our Christmas tree titled The Seekers. It turned out to be one of the most popular essays of that era.  We put up a Christmas tree last week for the first time since then. It was amazing to realize it had been five years since we'd either ...