Category Archives: Politics & Global Issues

Geoff Colvin of Fortune Magazine On “Brexit”

Speaker, Geoff ColvinGEOFF COLVIN
Millions of eyes and ears count on ― and respect ― Geoff Colvin’s insights on the key issues driving change in business, politics, and the economy. The senior editor of Fortune magazine, and named by Directorship magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential Figures in Corporate Governance,” Colvin draws on his years of insider access to top government figures and high-profile executives to share effective leadership strategies, and provides his unparalleled perspective on the business climate of today…and tomorrow. Below Geoff contemplates the impact of Brexit:

Brexit Fallout: World Leaders Should Wonder If They’re Next

Imagine what’s going through the mind of every developed country’s leader. Virtually all of them had endorsed the losing Remain side in the Brexit referendum, and now they’re wondering, What if that referendum’s equivalent had been held in my country? Nationalistic, anti-immigrant, isolationist movements are rising in France, Austria, Poland, Denmark, and elsewhere in the developed world. While those movements are usually described as right-wing, the Leave supporters also included a left-wing faction of older trade unionists and younger socialists, and every developed country has plenty of those too.

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Lance Secretan | Speaker | Leadership & Business Transformation Expert

Speaker, Dr. Lance SecretanDR. LANCE SECRETAN
Lessons from Brexit – Dreams Lost & New Dreams Created

Dr. Lance Secretan is widely acknowledged as one of the most insightful and provocative leadership teachers of our time. He is the former CEO of a Fortune 100 company, university professor, award-winning columnist and author of 15 books about inspiration and leadership. He is a thought leader whose teachings and writings on conscious leadership are courageous, radical and ingenious and have been hailed as among the most original, authentic and effective contributions to leadership thinking currently available.

The Common Market was formed among European nations to avoid the future possibility of World War III. But it quickly became an economic and administrative union, and is nearly always described in terms of its economics – the economic crisis of Greece, the economic crisis of incoming refugees, the economic risks among banks, and so on. Following Britain’s historic vote to leave the European Union, the media has been filled with dire economic commentary – the sinking of currencies, the apocalyptic economic predictions, the impact on trade, the loss of Europe’s second largest economy, and more.

But this misses the point. Not everything can be measured in terms of economics – people have feelings, emotions, aspirations, affiliations, traditions, and these are just as important – sometimes even more so – than economics. When the British entered the European Union in 1973 there was the possibility of fulfilling a dream, a dream of oneness, while maintaining a sense of social and national identity. Not only did that dream not materialize, but the British felt that they had given up a lot and received little in return. The British are a unique nation, with a long history, unique social traditions and a strong sense of individualism. All of this was challenged by a bureaucracy headquartered in Brussels. Slowly, the British lost their freedom to live their lives in ways to which they had become accustomed and to retain control over what they ate, who was allowed to visit or live in the country, the weights and measures they could use, and so many other day-to-day items. This forfeiture of identity to bureaucrats in Brussels, and the continuing failure of those bureaucrats to pay attention to the increasing frustrations of the British, ultimately led to a revolt.

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Jeff Rubin – Speaker, Oil & Energy Expert, Economist

Jeff Rubin - Author, Economist, Energy Expert & Speaker JEFF RUBIN
Why I’ve Divested From The Oil Sands

Jeff Rubin, one of the world’s most prominent experts on the future of “black gold,” explains why the end of cheap supply means the end of easy answers to renewing prosperity—and the end of globalization as we now know it. Rubin was the former Chief Economist at CIBC World Markets (for almost 20 years), is a frequent columnist for The Globe and Mail, and is the bestselling author of Why Your World Is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller, and The End of Growth. In this new column in The Globe, Jeff writes about why he’s divested from the oil sands:

Adherents of index investing in Canada have had a rough month as falling oil prices have inflicted considerable pain on not just the energy sector but the entire Canadian market. After surveying the landscape I’ve finally thrown in the towel on the TSX and switched my investing allegiance south of the border to the less oily S&P 500.

Look back over the last few years and the biggest challenge facing oil sands producers would certainly seem to be the inability to get a major new pipeline project approved that would allow the industry to sell its ever expanding production to new markets. Now, however, falling oil prices are changing the conversation that Big Oil is having with the rest of the country about the need to build more pipeline infrastructure. At today’s oil prices, the expected doubling of oil sands production over the next decade just isn’t in the cards. If oil sands output isn’t going up then where exactly is the impetus to break ground on a new pipeline? Indeed, the more relevant issue facing oil sands investors at the moment isn’t about how production from northern Alberta might be expanded, but whether the industry’s current level of production is sustainable.

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Ali Velshi – Former CNN Chief Business Correspondent – Host at Al Jazeera America

Ali VelshiALI VELSHI
Why I joined Al Jazeera America


From Al Jazeera America, June 2013

If I got a dollar for every time someone asked me why I joined Al Jazeera America, I wouldn’t need the job. But since nobody is offering to pay me for the answer, I’ll give it up for free.

It excites me. It’s awakened senses I haven’t felt for a while.

I’m a business reporter; that’s code for “frustrated business person.” I talk endlessly about business. I know what works and what doesn’t. I know why businesses fail. I can read financial statements and identify good CEOs and great workers and amazing opportunities. Business, to me, is not about money; it’s about passion and commitment and hard work.

So now I get to be part of a business. A start-up, for that matter. As a global media network, Al Jazeera doesn’t suffer from some of the common start-up problems. But it does face the single biggest challenge ALL businesses face: “If we build it, will they come?” And that excites me.

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