(Editor’s note: This post forms part of the month-long HBR Debate, “Finance: The Way Forward.” It is the fourth post on this week’s topic: “Do we really need banks — and what might take their place?”) The last few years have shown the fragility of a model that is more strongly mediated by capital markets. Banks, as institutions that match those with excess savings and those with demand for capital, and as intermediaries matching liquidity needs and risk profiles, will surely always have a role to play

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Banks Are Here to Stay (But They’ll Look Different)

Despite repeated promises to improve transparency, BP, the United States government, and their contractors are still inhibiting the media’s ability to cover the largest oil spill in the country’s history, which began April 20 with the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. The first reports of journalists being denied access to beaches and flights over the offshore…

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BP, Government Still Thwarting Press Access

As I watched President Obama’s Oval Office address about the BP oil spill, I was reminded of a piece I wrote for HBR in April 2009, ” Can Obama Become the Green Leader We Need ?” I speculated that “maybe the President needs a personal, symbolic experience to build upon,” something that would make our energy and environment challenge more tangible for him — and all Americans.

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Obama’s BP Speech: Long on Vision, Short on Specifics

A roundup of recent campaign news from and about Florida: Can you win a primary when the following three facts appear in nearly every news article about you: Mike Tyson was best man at your wedding; Heidi Fleiss lived in your guest house; and you made much of your fortune betting on the housing market collapse? Jeff Greene, a…

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Florida, Lately: Big Bucks and “Baggage”

Though corporate green efforts have grown exponentially in the last decade, most initiatives fall woefully short of what’s necessary to meet the enormous sustainability challenges we face — from climate change to water shortages to poverty and social equity. That’s why it’s so refreshing to see one large company, Sony, set a goal of zero environmental footprint by 2050.

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Sony’s Goalsetting and the Value of Zero

One of the truly jarring dimensions of the Great Recession is the death sentence it has imposed on of hundreds of brands, even whole companies, that were once familiar parts of the business landscape — not just bankruptcies, but liquidations and flat-out disappearances. Once-proud automobile nameplates, including GM’s Oldsmobile and Pontiac, and Ford’s Mercury, have become history

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If Your Company Went Out of Business, Would Anybody Notice?

Anyone who has ever surfed the web, used a computer or even purchased a smart phone pretty much knows what an app is. They’re everywhere. Applications can be a game, simplify purchases or replace paper when you need to jot down a quick note.

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Connecting With Your Community Online

One of the characters in this novel asks Mike, the narrator: “What would freedom look like?” The following is from page 2: In the sitting room there’s a photo of Miranda, which I took on a cold weekend walk at the Norfolk coast. She’s standing with her back to the camera, looking out to sea. The light is coming straight at the lens, and she’s little more than a silhouette: big boots, narrow shoulders wrapped in an ethnic something-or-other, hair streaming in the wind.

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My Revolutions by Hari Kunzru

As leaders, the rich diversity of culture and thought around the world is one of our greatest resources — if we use it as such. Differences of ideas, methods, motivations, and competencies can be used to build great organizations. However, this wonderful resource can be a double-edge sword as cross-cultural exchanges present unlimited possibilities for misunderstandings and cultural blunders.

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Learn to Embrace the Tension of Diversity

(Editor’s note: This post forms part of the month-long HBR Debate, “Finance: The Way Forward.” It is the third post on this week’s topic: “Do we really need banks — and what might take their place?”) If there is one strong message to come out of the banking crisis, it is that we need banks but not banks like the ones we have got.

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Go Back to Basic Banking

Every start-up entrepreneur has an overwhelming amount to get done — the “to dos” are constantly outrunning the “dones.” It is easy to get caught up in the day-to-day and endless hours, and you often forget that running really hard does not necessarily equate with running in the right direction.

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The Three Roles of Great Entrepreneurs

Recently, I posted a list of 12 Things Good Bosses Believe . Now I’m following up by delving into each one of them. This post is about the third belief: “Having ambitious and well-defined goals is important, but it is useless to think about them much

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Hey Boss — Enough with the Big, Hairy Goals

(Editor’s note: This post forms part of the month-long HBR Debate, “Finance: The Way Forward.” It is the second post on this week’s topic: “Do we really need banks — and what might take their place?”) ” Neither a borrower, nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry ” If only bankers had followed their Shakespeare , we wouldn’t have had a subprime crisis. But then there wouldn’t have been any banks, and take away the banks for the 400 years since Hamlet and we would still be riding horses, mixing eye of newt and toe of frog to cure our toothache and generally living nasty, brutish and short lives. But banks are not only useful for innovation and wealth generation; they also make excellent scapegoats when things go wrong .

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Why We Need Banks

The BP oil spill has devastated the Gulf of Mexico, pummeled the oil company’s market value, and created a lingering problem for the Obama Administration, which has been criticized for responding too cerebrally, without sufficient forcefulness or authenticity . The spill has also provided an interesting historical footnote: during an interview with Matt Lauer on NBC’s Today Show last week, Obama declared that one of his goals during meetings on the crisis has been to determine ” whose ass to kick .” As profanities go, “ass” is a relatively mild one — it’s been commonly used on network TV shows for years now

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Should Leaders Ever Swear?

(Editor’s note: This post forms part of the month-long HBR Debate, “Finance: The Way Forward.” It is the first post on this week’s topic: “Do we really need banks — and what might take their place?”) Imagine for a moment that you did not have a bank account. No debit or credit card, no access to an ATM. No checks, no loans, no savings account.

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Do We Really Need Banks?

Congratulations. You’ve successfully attracted venture capital with your business case, your million dollar product idea, and you have a signed term sheet. But there is still one more hurdle to overcome before investors write the check: the dreaded “due diligence” process

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Investor Due Diligence Is Not Black Magic

“Your old road is rapidly aging,” Bob Dylan proclaimed to the powers that be in 1964. “Please get out of the new one if you can’t lend your hand.” Recent experiences have left me thinking often of that now-iconic line over the past few days; in this post, I want to encourage you to think about whether you are either standing in the way or offering a hand to those coming after you

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How Are You Developing Future Leaders?

Is it just me, or are others starting to notice how non-gardening related products are starting to market gardening and growing plants, including vegetables? My thoughts always turn to gardening, so maybe I’m the last to catch on that the rest of the world is starting to think about gardening, too.

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Seeds On The Back of The Cracker Box

Roger Ebert’s name is synonymous with movie reviews. Many of us remember him bantering with Gene Siskel on the TV shows Sneak Previews and At the Movies . But he doesn’t banter much anymore

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What All Content Creators Need to Learn From Roger Ebert

Video Reviews of Alternity Starscream + Skywarp – Transformers News. Transformer World 2005 is the largest fan community related to Transformers toys. Features information on Transformers 2, the sequel to the Transformers Movie, …

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Video Reviews of Alternity Starscream + Skywarp – Transformers News