Categories
Strategy

Knowledge, Networks, and Branding

It’s what you know. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know. It’s not who you know, it’s who knows you. Knowledge, networks, and branding. You have to start somewhere, and the logical starting point is to acquire knowledge. Society understands the importance of this, which is why primary and high school education can […]

Categories
Economics

Levered Monkeys

As Oxford’s poet-philosopher Ludovic Phalippou once put it, “we are all just levered monkeys!” What did Phalippou mean by this comment? Well, as I explained to my corporate finance students this week, the use of debt by companies is called “financial leverage”. That is, debt acts like a lever which can magnify the size of both gains […]

Categories
Economics

Capital For You and Me

This past Friday marked the 40th anniversary of the passing of Mao Zedong, the founding father of the People’s Republic of China. Most notable here in China was the absence of discussion or commentary. This is perhaps understandable since it is Chinese government policy to celebrate past leaders’ birthdays rather than the anniversary of their […]

Categories
Skills, Tips, and Tactics

Surviving in a Procyclical Industry

Management consulting is a service industry that earns its keep by serving large organisations – corporate, non-profit and government. During economic downturns these prospective clients typically have less money, or more uncertain cash flows, and so are less likely to spend money on consulting services. As a result, consultants are vulnerable to layoffs during economic […]