“Il faudra leur dire” is a famous French song from 1987 by singer-songwriter Francis Cabrel. The melody is absolutely beautiful, the lyrics perhaps even more. The chorus, sang by a children’s choir, goes in part like this:
In many spheres of society, aided and abetted by the echo chambers of social media, things are coming unhinged. On social media, you don’t get to look the other person in the eye and see another human being with its strengths and weaknesses – a flawed human being just like you.
Fame and importance are such ephemeral things. How often have you found yourself walking down a street or standing in front of a building named after a person likely very important in his or her day, realizing that you had no idea whatsoever – nor did you really care – who this person was?
I’m currently visiting Montreal – the primarily French-speaking city where I was born and raised – and was having lunch today, enjoying excellent shawarma at a local Lebanese restaurant while tapping my foot to the beat of Arabic music when my mind started wandering…
I recently came across an article by David Brooks of the New York Times titled “The Strange Failure of the Educated Elite” in which the author draws a sharp contrast between a moral system based on individual achievement, on one hand, and one based on moral character, on the other:
We often hear about the poor state of financial literacy amongst young people, indeed across the population in general. It’s an issue that many people, organizations and governments are keenly interested in and one that the media takes an interest in from time to time.
As a person and a leader, there are few things that I appreciate more than hearing someone say “Don’t worry Bernard, I’ve got this.” – knowing that the colleague speaking those words is reliable and will be taking care of things.
I was asked recently to provide some thoughts on what could be done to attract more women to the investment industry and, furthermore, into leadership roles.
It’s a complicated question. I’m keenly interested in the matter and have tried to educate myself about it, but I will be the first one to acknowledge that that’s not, as a man, a very strong position from which to weigh in.
How often have you found yourself on a street or in a building named after some once important person, and realized that you didn’t have the faintest idea who this person was and what he or she had accomplished?
Some fifteen years ago, two Harvard academics, David B. Yoffie and Mary Kwak, published a business book titled Judo Strategy: Turning Your Competitors’ Strengths to Your Advantage, which became a best-seller and has since then been translated into ten languages.
