From a college app: "Describe your intellectual interests, their evolution, and what makes them exciting to you."
The whole world! Exciting! Interesting! Mystifying!
Monthly Archives: December 2005
Emotion and Passion in CEO Decision Making
I had a brief, interesting exchange w/ Dave Jilk on the role of emotion and passion in decision making, based on my post on Descartes’ Error.
Most people agree that emotions are integral in decision making, but not always in a positive way.
When I talk about overly passionate or overly emotional decisionmaking negatively impacting the process, I’m thinking:
* I personally really like the guy, but know he’d be a terrible fit for my company. (Allowing the "liking" emotion to enter.)
* I’m really annoyed that his tie isn’t pulled all the way up to his neck, and this annoyance distracts me from the big picture.
* I get really enamored with some detail that someone brings up in the meeting because it sounds sexy and exciting and big. But it’s really not that important.
* I have an opinion because it would reaffirm my own self-worth or in some way make me feel good, even though it’s not the most rational or best opinion.
Clearly some of these indicators, in aggregate, could point to something meaningful. And a gut sense should override everything.
When it comes to passion, I think you must be passionate, but sometimes the best way to express that passion is to look at a decision by repressing derailing emotions.
For Adults, The Cachet of Your Diploma Rises and Falls
Throughout the college process, I’ve never been terribly interested in the cachet associated with a college’s name. I’m fortunate to be in a position where people can judge me by what I’ve done, not by what school I go to or will go to.
What’s fascinating for me is hearing what adults – people in their 40’s and 50’s – think about how "good" certain schools are. The problem is a lot has changed – both the colleges and the process – since they were applying. So schools that were once "3rd tier" are now much much better. If you went to one of those 3rd tier schools 25 years ago, that school may very well be much better, earning you more points on the cachet scale right now.
If you’re a graduate of schools like Duke, Middlebury, Macalester, USC, Washington U in St. Louis, Claremont McKenna, Tulane, Rice, Northwestern, etc. the stock in your diploma has risen to among the premier in the country (not like it matters!). With more and more people going to college, there is a new wave of top notch colleges, and it’s making many older alumni around the country smile.
21,000 Miles In Three Days
I’m not sure where my fascination with business travel comes from, but nevertheless I loved Joe Sharkey’s latest dispatch in the NYT. I think everyone admits that when they were in their 20’s they flew all over the world just to accumulate miles…hey, if you got a comfortable seat and a good book, it’s not so bad!
Link: Why I Looked a Mileage Run in the Eye and Blinked – New York Times.
Several weeks ago, I wrote a column describing my anxiety at finding myself considerably short of the 75,000 annual miles needed to requalify for top Platinum elite status next year on Continental Airlines, the domestic airline I fly most on business. Top-level status gets you a lot of perks, not the least of which is regular upgrades to first class from the cheap coach tickets I buy.
With the year running out, I consulted the mileage-run forum on Randy Petersen’s Flyertalk.com Web site, and made contact with a young man who gives seminars on how to design mileage runs. For a fee of $34, this young man custom-designed for me a brilliant itinerary on Continental – 21,000 miles in three exhaustive days, Newark to Guam and back with connections through Houston and Tokyo. The total fare: $703.
Quote of the Day From Software Executive
"I frequently struggle with business issues because I don’t find it very intellectually stimulating any more. After a certain amount of experience/knowledge, everything in business is just applied psychology, which really doesn’t interest me."
Thank goodness for the Silicon Valley Junto.