 Academy Member Dr. James A. Cusumano, a resident of Prague, has written a brief, but very thorough article on the basics of climate change for Prague Leaders Magazine. A downloadable copy is available here. Jim was Director of Catalytic Research and Development at ExxonMobil, where he and his team worked on fundamental and applied research projects in petroleum and petrochemical processing, fuel cells, synthetic fuels, and emissions control. Jim subsequently founded Catalytica. Jim writes, "Regardless of what climate-change naysayers maintain, it is well established that CO2 is increasing in our atmosphere and is a primary factor in climate change. Several thousand highly skilled scientists, worldwide, using millions of pieces of critically analyzed data, support this conclusion. We can distill their message down to a few key charts that make the essential points." This graphical tour of what may be mankind's greatest challenge is essential reading.  Nuclear power is not the answer to our energy needs or the climate change crisis, as Rinaldo Brutoco and Madeleine Austin, the Academy’s President and Vice President, explain in “The nuclear nemesis,” published by the American Bar Association in the May/June issue 2008 of Trends. The authors explain, “Building new nuclear plants to try to reduce carbon emission would irrevocably commit the world to a plutonium economy, increasing the risk of nuclear proliferation and terrorism, cancer, and contamination from nuclear waste. New nuclear capacity cannot be added fast enough to significantly cut global carbon emissions.” The authors also explain how the industry’s need for vast amounts of cooling water makes it particularly ill-suited to the climate change era.  Academy President Rinaldo Brutoco was the first guest speaker in the new Fairmount Minerals Colloquium Series at the Weatherhead School of Management's Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit. A streaming video of the speech is now available. Rinaldo's speech, "Three Choices for Wisdom," addressed the global energy/climate crisis and what to do about it. It was the first in the new colloquium series funded by Fairmount Minerals, a leader in social responsibility and triple-bottom line business practices. Fairmont's motto is "Do good, do well." Rinaldo's presentation was arranged with the assistance of Academy Member Ante Glavas and Fellow David Cooperrider.  If 21st century business were music, executives wouldn’t be able to read from a score. It’s all improvisation, because set pieces went out with the three-martini lunch. It’s no wonder then, that jazz provides a perfect metaphor for leadership, teamwork, and creativity. Academy Fellow Michelle Buck, Director of Leadership Initiatives at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, recently invited Jazz Impact—a jazz-based business education program—to play at Kellogg. The performance wowed her executive leadership group both with music and insight. “Studying the jazz ensemble helps us to more deeply understand that leading a team successfully involves a number of different processes,” Michelle says. “For example, ensemble members need to listen to each other very carefully to be able to build upon each other’s ideas and create something new. They stay close to an original tune, or vision, but take it in new directions.” Michelle also discusses the positive aspects of risk in a New Orleans Times-Picayune article. “Effective leaders are those who enable their teams to support each other during times of risk, providing sufficient backup to enable each other to improvise and create something new.” The founder of Jazz Impact, Michael Gold, saw the jazz connection when he left a long-time academic job and entered the private sector in financial services. “I tell them, ‘Give me 60 minutes here and you will come away understanding why it is important thinking in these dimensions as a business leader.’ Everywhere I do this seminar, it resonates, whether it’s 30 top executives for a multi-national computer company or 2,000 managers for a major retailer.”  Jim Cusumano has begun publishing a multipart article on the energy/climate change crisis in Prague Leaders magazine, an English-language publication for high level decision makers in the Czech Republic. Part 1 appeared in the March 2008 issue. In this introductory article Jim reviews the overall situation, and adds some facts many people may not know:
Jim is the co-author of the new book Freedom From Mid-East Oil, which appeared late in 2007 and prescribes a solution to the conjoint problems of energy dependence and climate change, using existing technology and no new taxes.
 Nuclear power is not the answer to our climate change crisis, as Academy Founder and President Rinaldo Brutoco explained in a March 5, 2008 American Bar Association teleconference, “Nuclear Power Finance and Development in the Climate Change Era.” Nuclear power:
Download Rinaldo’s PowerPoint presentation from his ABA remarks.
 “I recommend that anyone interested in knowing the real facts about the history of oil, what is happening in the oil industry today, and in particular the Middle East’s involvement should read Freedom from Mid-East Oil. The book is so well written it should become a mandatory text book for high schools and colleges.” C. Paul Davis Imagine a world in which America won its freedom from Mideast oil. We can build that world within 10 years with existing technology and no new taxes. Imagine a world in which America resolved to overcome the energy-climate change crisis that threatens its national security. We can build that world today with informed choices and political will. Imagine a book with a roadmap for ending America’s dangerous dependence on imported oil and the global warming that is threatening the planet. This is that book. Read more.
|
 Sign up below to receive our FREE eNewsletter: Currents in Commerce It's a unique, eclectic collection of short takes on the emerging new paradigm of business, culled from hundreds of sources around the world. Enter your email address in the box below to receive the next edition.  Click to tell friends about the Academy and recommend they subscribe to our free newsletter. |
Most of golf gets played in your own head, not on grass. Golf Mind: Unlocking the Real Game, the full-length DVD filmed at the Academy’s 2006 Fairways to Transformation Tournament, shows you how to detach from desired outcomes so you're free to be fully present in your golf game – and in your life. Featuring Academy Fellow Deepak Chopra, famed course designer Robert Trent Jones, Jr., golf pro and TV commentator Tina Mickelson, Esalen's Michael Murphy (Golf in the Kingdom), Dr. Joe Parent (Zen Golf), and Fred Shoemaker (Extraordinary Golf), this remarkable DVD contains the keys to unlock the transformative potential of the game of golf.