How T. Boone Pickens Built His Empire

How T. Boone Pickens Built His Empire

From lawn mower to oil tycoon and multi-billionaire, T. Boone Pickens on his biggest investment ups and (even bigger) downs

JEN WIECZNER

Dec. 13, 2013 11:23 a.m. ET

Back when he was an oil drill worker in the 1950s, T. Boone Pickens earned just $5,000 annually. Fast-forward about eight IPOs and 15 corporate raids and takeovers later, and the 85-year-old is now worth about $950 million—down from $4 billion before the market collapsed in 2008 and losses in wind-energy investments. But he’s not pinching pennies yet: “I’m back trying to make another billion,” he tells us. Here’s how he did it the first time around. Read more of this post

How Isaac Newton Went Flat Broke Chasing A Stock Bubble

How Isaac Newton Went Flat Broke Chasing A Stock Bubble

Tyler Durden on 12/10/2013 15:14 -0500

Submitted by Tim Price of Sovereign Man blog,

For practitioners of Schadenfreude, seeing high-profile investors losing their shirts is always amusing.

But for the true connoisseur, the finest expression of the art comes when a high-profile investor identifies a bubble, perhaps even makes money out of it, exits in time – and then gets sucked back in only to lose everything in the resultant bust.

An early example is the case of Sir Isaac Newton and the South Sea Company, which was established in the early 18th Century and granted a monopoly on trade in the South Seas in exchange for assuming England’s war debt. Investors warmed to the appeal of this monopoly and the company’s shares began their rise. Read more of this post

Finding Your Company’s ‘Controversy Sweet Spot’

Finding Your Company’s ‘Controversy Sweet Spot’

Dec 05, 2013

As the saying goes, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. Extend the aphorism, and there is no such thing as bad controversy — especially if that controversy causes conversation. By that thinking, any buzz-generating event, even if wrapped around something less than wholesome, should be a positive for a company or brand looking to get some attention. Read more of this post

Embracing the J&J Credo: For a guide to Johnson & Johnson’s future, Alex Gorsky turned to a document written 79 years ago by a scion of the firm’s founding family

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2013

Embracing the J&J Credo

By LESLIE P. NORTON | MORE ARTICLES BY AUTHOR

For a guide to Johnson & Johnson’s future, Alex Gorsky turned to a document written 79 years ago by a scion of the firm’s founding family.

It was do-or-die time for Johnson & Johnson . The sprawling health-care giant had just announced the eighth recall of Tylenol in less than two years, two factories were operating under a consent decree with the Food and Drug Administration, and it was being sued over the failure of some of its artificial hips — major embarrassments for a company once regarded as the gold standard in ethics and quality. Read more of this post

Differences in How Men and Women Think Are Hard-Wired; Recent Studies Raise the Possibility That Male Brains Are Wired for Focus, Female Brains for Multitasking

Differences in How Men and Women Think Are Hard-Wired

Recent Studies Raise the Possibility That Male Brains Are Wired for Focus, Female Brains for Multitasking

ROBERT LEE HOTZ

Dec. 9, 2013 7:04 p.m. ET

Researchers are finding brains of women and men display distinctive differences that are shaped by the interplay of heredity, experience, and biochemistry. Science writer Robert Lee Hotz explains on Lunch Break. Photo: Getty Images.

So many things come down to connections—especially the ones in your brain. Women and men display distinctive differences in how nerve fibers connect various regions of their brains, according to a half-dozen recent studies that highlight gender variation in the brain’s wiring diagram. There are trillions of these critical connections, and they are shaped by the interplay of heredity, experience and biochemistry. Read more of this post

Business is buzzing in South Africa as ‘Brand Mandela’ profits from former president’s death

December 13, 2013 6:15 pm

Business is buzzing in South Africa as ‘Brand Mandela’ profits from former president’s death

By Javier Blas in London and Andrew England in Pretoria

At a junction in one of Johannesburg’s affluent leafy suburbs on Friday two young men weave among cars waiting at a traffic light, hawking shiny, hologram-style portraits ofNelson Mandela that change colour as they move. The asking price is 100 rands, or just under $10. “After Mandela passed away we bought these so people can have a memory of him,” says Tshepo Mabaso, 21, one of the street vendors. Read more of this post

Best Business Books 2013

December 2, 2013 / Winter 2013 / Issue 73

Business Literature: Best Business Books 2013

Best Business Books 2013

Our annual review of the year’s best business books. See also Best Business Books 2013—in Pictures.

by Theodore Kinni

Best Business Books 2013 – In Pictures

Click here for a slideshow of our picks for the Best Business Books of 2013 in seven categories. Welcome to the 13th annual edition ofstrategy+business’s best business books. Every year we strive to assemble a reading list that will not only engross and entertain you, but also provide concepts, tools, and insights that can help you lead your company to a better future. Read more of this post

Shirt tales from TAL, an apparel powerhouse

December 11, 2013 5:54 pm

Shirt tales from TAL, an apparel powerhouse

By Demetri Sevastopulo

Tailor-made: Harry Lee is now chairman of TAL, while his son Roger is chief executive

When Harry Lee took over TAL, a Hong Kong apparel company that manufactures shirts and trousers for dozens of big global brands in 1980, one of the first challenges he tackled was bribery. Read more of this post

Love and Math: The Heart of Hidden Reality

Love and Math: The Heart of Hidden Reality

by SHANE PARRISH on DECEMBER 4, 2013

“The laws of Nature are written in the language of mathematics.” — Galileo

Most of us are unaware of the hidden world of mathematics. In fact, most of us would rather avoid the stale subject. It’s a shame that’s all we see in school. Math can be “full of infinite possibilities as well as elegance and beauty,” writes mathematician Edward Frenkel in Love and Math: The Heart of Hidden Reality. “Mathematics,” he goes on, “is as much part of our cultural heritage as art, literature, and music.” Read more of this post

A military innovation that business leaders should copy; Simulating real-world scenarios, and talking about what went wrong, can vastly improve performance

A military innovation that business leaders should copy

December 9, 2013: 3:04 PM ET

Simulating real-world scenarios, and talking about what went wrong, can vastly improve performance.

By Geoff Colvin, senior editor-at-large

FORTUNE — Just back from Orlando, where I was touring the world’s largest trade show of simulation and training technology for the military. It’s all based on the same central idea: helping warfighters learn critical skills – piloting a fighter jet, treating injuries on the battlefield, shooting bad guys who are holding hostages, negotiating with a village leader – in settings where they can make their mistakes without hurting anyone. The technology, some of which I tried out, is often stunningly realistic. I won’t report on my performance except to say that when it comes to landing an F-35 on an aircraft carrier, I have quite a lot of work to do. Read more of this post

Muhammad Ali’s Statement On Nelson Mandela’s Death Is Beautiful

Muhammad Ali’s Statement On Nelson Mandela’s Death Is Beautiful

BRETT LOGIURATO0DEC 6, 2013, 05.15 AM

Via NBC’s Ann Curry, here’s Muhammad Ali’s poignant statement on former South African President Nelson Mandela, who died Thursday at the age of 95:

“I am deeply saddened by the passing of Mr. Mandela. His was a life filled with purpose and hope; hope for himself, his country and the world. He inspired others to reach for what appeared to be impossible and moved them to break through the barriers that held them hostage mentally, physically, socially and economically. He made us realize, we are our brother’s keeper and that our brothers come in all colors. What I will remember most about Mr.Mandela is that he was a man whose heart, soul and spirit could not be contained or restrained by racial and economic injustices, metal bars or the burden of hate and revenge. He taught us forgiveness on a grand scale. His was a spirit born free, destined to soar above the rainbows. Today his spirit is soaring through the heavens. He is now forever free.”

DropBox CEO Drew Houston Explains How To Rapidly Become A Leader; How to Win as a First-Time Founder, a Drew Houston Manifesto

DropBox CEO Drew Houston Explains How To Rapidly Become A Leader

MAX NISEN0DEC 6, 2013, 07.57 PM

This is part of the “Moving Forward” series offering advice to small business owners on technology, mentorship, productivity, and growth. “Moving Forward” is sponsored by Ink from Chase^®. DropBox CEO Drew Houston had to learn how to lead a company incredibly quickly. He started the business in his early 20s. He’s now 30, and the company has more than 200 million users. Read more of this post

Germany Thinks Its Beer Is As Important As The Great Wall Of China And Egypt’s Pyramids

Germany Thinks Its Beer Is As Important As The Great Wall Of China And Egypt’s Pyramids

PAIGE COOPERSTEIN0DEC 6, 2013, 09.06 PM

German brewers want the United Nations to recognize their beer as a piece of “intangible cultural heritage,”NBC News reports. If the UN approves the request, Germany’s beer will be protected by UNESCO, the same agency that looks after The Great Wall of China, the Grand Canyon and Egypt’s pyramids. Read more of this post

Seven Lessons Santa Can Teach The World And Its Wannapreneurs

Seven Lessons Santa Can Teach The World And Its Wannapreneurs

SANGHAMITRA MANDAL0DEC 9, 2013, 05.02 PM

So you thought this grand old man in his flashy red robe, outdated sleigh and with his typical “Ho ho ho” laugh would soon go out of business? After all, who believes in all those grandiose tales about him and his snow-capped home in the North Pole? Today’s kids are just too smart. And who cares for childish things like gifts and toys in an age ruled by success, money and mindless fun? You could not have been more wrong. Over the centuries, Santa Inc has created a tradition that fits with the core objectives of any age – the rites of honouring consistency, creating values, ensuring innovation and finally, guaranteeing end-user’s satisfaction. Take a close look at his strategies and operations, and you’ll find that Santa and his team offer all these and more. Here are seven (tongue-in-cheek) reasons why millennial businesses should follow him. Read more of this post

Mutual Fund Legend Peter Lynch Gave A Rare Interview – Here’s What He Said About Investing

Mutual Fund Legend Peter Lynch Gave A Rare Interview – Here’s What He Said About Investing

STEVEN PERLBERG0DEC 7, 2013, 01.32 AM

At the helm of Fidelity’s Magellan Fund for 13 years, mutual fund legend Peter Lynch transformed $18 million in assets under management to more than $14 billion. Now Lynch is pretty much out of the game. He chose to manage his own money for his family and philanthropic causes as opposed to launching a hedge fund or something of the like. Read more of this post

The Case for a Midlife ‘Gap’ Year; Baby boomers are taking career breaks to reflect, re-energize and restart their engines

The Case for a Midlife ‘Gap’ Year

Baby boomers are taking career breaks to reflect, re-energize and restart their engines

ANNE TERGESEN

Dec. 8, 2013 4:32 p.m. ET

Baby boomers are calling for a timeout.

After decades of raising children and climbing the corporate ladder, they’re weary of the same old routine. But they’re so caught up in high-pressure jobs that they don’t have the time and energy to figure out what to do next. Enter the career break.

Read more of this post

Nelson Mandela and the evolution of great leaders; Despite his flaws, and perhaps because of them, we find there is much more to consider about the late Nelson Mandela’s development as a leader

Nelson Mandela and the evolution of great leaders

December 6, 2013: 4:04 PM ET

Despite his flaws, and perhaps because of them, we find there is much more to consider about the late Nelson Mandela’s development as a leader.

By Hitendra Wadhwa

FORTUNE — Nelson Mandela sacrificed the usual trappings of a good life – family, comfort, professional success – to spend 27 years as a prisoner of conscience in his fight against apartheid. He emerged to lead his nation as its president in 1994 and chose to forgive rather than seek revenge for past crimes, helping South Africans build a new social foundation. Read more of this post

Mandela Leaves Divided Legacy in Africa; Former South African President’s Ties With Despots Drew Critics

Mandela Leaves Divided Legacy in Africa

Former South African President’s Ties With Despots Drew Critics

HEIDI VOGT

Updated Dec. 6, 2013 8:11 p.m. ET

NAIROBI, Kenya—In death, Nelson Mandela symbolized Africa’s struggle for freedom and aspirations for democracy. In life, things were more complicated. Nelson Mandela was a member of the African National Congress party when he was elected South Africa’s president in 1994. After his death, the ANC faces a struggling economy, a splintered identity and life without its symbolic leader. (Photo: Getty)

Mr. Mandela’s release from prison in 1990 transformed South Africa and helped inspire a wave of democratic revolutions across the continent: More than 30 African countries shucked dictatorship for multiparty elections in the decade that followed. Read more of this post

The real master has no tools at all, only a limitless capacity to improvise with what is to hand

Master of many trades

Our age reveres the specialist but humans are natural polymaths, at our best when we turn our minds to many things

by Robert Twigger 2,400 words

Robert Twigger is a British poet, writer and explorer. He lives in Cairo, Egypt.

I travelled with Bedouin in the Western Desert of Egypt. When we got a puncture, they used tape and an old inner tube to suck air from three tyres to inflate a fourth. It was the cook who suggested the idea; maybe he was used to making food designed for a few go further. Far from expressing shame at having no pump, they told me that carrying too many tools is the sign of a weak man; it makes him lazy. The real master has no tools at all, only a limitless capacity to improvise with what is to hand. The more fields of knowledge you cover, the greater your resources for improvisation. Read more of this post

When feedback dampens creativity

When feedback dampens creativity

Over the past decade, companies have begun using online ordering capabilities to develop a powerful marketing tool — “mass-customisation” systems that let customers design their own products.

BY –

5 HOURS 16 MIN AGO

Over the past decade, companies have begun using online ordering capabilities to develop a powerful marketing tool — “mass-customisation” systems that let customers design their own products. Read more of this post

Creative Confidence: Unleashing The Creative Potential Within Us All

Updated: Saturday December 7, 2013 MYT 11:01:48 AM

Age-old question answered

BY NICK WALKER

The Kelley brothers, David (right) founder of IDEO and Tom

Creative Confidence: Unleashing The Creative Potential Within Us All

Authors: Tom Kelley and David Kelley

Publisher: Crown

TODAY, the demand for reviews of business-related non-fiction remains robust. And the market gets what the market wants from middle-aged me. At least, until I can commoditise my daydreams. But the younger me naturally sought out genres more appealing to the juvenile mind. And for a while – while I was a “tweenie” – my passion was for those wonderful illustrated Tin Tin books (which have stood the test of time; they still sell well today). Read more of this post

Who Says Math Has to Be Boring?

December 7, 2013

Who Says Math Has to Be Boring?

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD

American students are bored by math, science and engineering. They buy smartphones and tablets by the millions but don’t pursue the skills necessary to build them. Engineers and physicists are often portrayed as clueless geeks on television, and despite the high pay and the importance of such jobs to the country’s future, the vast majority of high school graduates don’t want to go after them. Read more of this post

“The Art of Rube Goldberg” shows that the inventor known for his complex contraptions was an all-around cartoon man as well as an authentic American eccentric and wiseacre.

December 9, 2013

Beyond a Man’s Machines

By DANA JENNINGS

In the first half of the 20th century, Rube Goldberg was the Thomas Edison of the newspaper comics pages.

His inexhaustible reservoir of elaborate contraptions that mutated simple tasks (lighting a pipe, changing a diaper, killing mosquitoes) into madcap and complicated feats of ingenuity made him a rich and famous star, and an adjective in the American lexicon. As Goldberg, who lived from 1883 to 1970, said in 1930: “In black and white, I consider myself the most prolific inventor in America today. I figure I turn loose roughly 400 inventions a year.” Read more of this post

Science Says Art Will Make Your Kids Better Thinkers (and Nicer People); A new study supports our hunch that kids who are exposed to the arts gain benefits beyond just being “more creative.”

SCIENCE SAYS ART WILL MAKE YOUR KIDS BETTER THINKERS (AND NICER PEOPLE)

BY JENNIFER MILLER

A new study supports our hunch that kids who are exposed to the arts gain benefits beyond just being “more creative.”

Those who would consider themselves part of the creative class would probably agree that art is an important part of primary school education. Since school boards concerned about the bottom line don’t necessarily agree, a team of social scientists at the University of Arkansas is trying to scientifically prove the benefits of exposure to art. What they found, in a recent study published in the journals Education Next and Educational Researcher, is that students who are exposed to cultural institutions, like museums and performing arts centers, not only have higher levels of engagement with the arts but display greater tolerance, historical empathy, as well as better educational memory and critical thinking skills. Read more of this post

Simplifiers and Optimizers, by Dilbert creator Scott Adams

Simplifiers and Optimizers, by Dilbert creator Scott Adams

By Scott Adams at 4:40 pm Mon, Dec 2, 2013

Some people are what I call simplifiers and some are optimizers. A simplifier will prefer the easy way to accomplish a task, while knowing that some amount of extra effort might have produced a better outcome. An optimizer looks for the very best solution even if the extra complexity increases the odds of unexpected problems. I have a bias for simplification, but surely there are situations in which optimizing is the better play. So how do you know which approach works best in a given situation? Read more of this post

A Day in the Life of James Dyson: British inventor and industrial designer James Dyson radically reinvents the familiar

A Day in the Life of James Dyson

British inventor and industrial designer James Dyson radically reinvents the familiar

ALICIA KIRBY

Dec. 5, 2013 12:23 p.m. ET

Dyson examines a prototype of the DC41 Animal vacuum cleaner with a team of his engineers. He has a famously young workforce cherry-picked straight from school. Photography by Ben Roberts for WSJ. Magazine

JAMES DYSON IS BEST KNOWN as the man who made vacuum cleaners sexy. In 1993, the Norfolk native launched the DC01, the world’s first bagless cleaner with cyclone technology, which lets users ogle their dirt as it’s sucked into the machine. Read more of this post

5 Leadership Lessons from Nelson Mandela

5 Leadership Lessons from Nelson Mandela

by Big Fish Presentations on Jul 11, 2013

We’d like to take a break on presentation techniques and share with our viewers a slideshow featuring leadership lessons from former South African President Nelson Mandela.
Transcript Below:
1.) “A good leader can engage in a debate frankly and thoroughly, knowing that at the end he and the other side must be closer, and thus emerge stronger. You don’t have that idea when you are arrogant, superficial, and uninformed.”
“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”
2.) “It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. Then people will appreciate your leadership.”
“Resentment is like drinking poison and then hoping it will kill your enemies.”
3.) “Long speeches, the shaking of fists, the banging of tables and strongly worded resolutions out of touch with the objective conditions do not bring about mass action and can do a great deal of harm to the organization and the struggle we serve.”
“Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.”
4.) “Real leaders must be ready to sacrifice all for the freedom of their people.”
“Action without vision is only passing time, vision without action is merely day dreaming, but vision with action can change the world.”
5.) “What counts in life is not the mere fact that we have lived. It is what difference we have made to the lives of others that will determine the significance of the life we lead.”
“Courageous people do not fear forgiving, for the sake of peace.”