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Nov, 21, 2008
Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Money matters?
Caroline B. Glick:
Civilization walks the plank
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Rabbi Avi Shafran: Bronfman's blindness
The Kosher Gourmet
By Linda Gassenheimer: Portobellos add a hearty flavor to pasta with pesto
Nov, 19, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Spread the wealth? Jewish tradition and income equality
Elliot B. Gertel:
'Mad Men': Tackling prejudices or reinforcing them?
Nov, 18, 2008
Dr. Debby Schwarz Hirschhorn: The End of the Age of Reason
Jonathan Tobin: Does Barack + Bibi = Disaster?
Nov, 17, 2008
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The End of the Age of Reason
Diana West: Gulling Americans into making terror legit?
Nov, 14, 2008
Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: The Power of Spiritual Inertia
Caroline B. Glick: The perils ahead
Nov, 13, 2008
Stratfor Intelligence Briefing: How Bush and Obama together could change the Middle East dynamic
The Kosher Gourmet
by JeanMarie Brownson: Sweet and savory, crispy and meltingly tender bestilla
Nov, 12, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : Tyrannical Co-Workers
Michael Doyle: High Court to consider today donated monuments that may have religious messages in public parks
Nov, 11, 2008
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Will Obama stop government officials considering institutionalizing financial jihad?
Jonathan Tobin: They Will Decide Their Own Fate
Nov, 10, 2008
Rabbi Avi Shafran: $8 billion, modern-day Tower of Babel being built?
Barry Rubin: A letter to the president-elect from a Middle East realist
Nov, 7, 2008
Rabbi Francis Nataf: Of Children and Immortality
Caroline B. Glick: Livni's Obama strategy
Nov, 6, 2008
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: How I tricked a classroom of apathetic students into grasping the fallacy of moral relativism
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By Gina Kim: Tips for making the perfect soup --- includes recipes
Nov, 5, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
By Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Destitute Debtors
Bruce Weinstein: 'Religulos': Bad title,even worse movie
Nov, 4, 2008
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Treasury Dept. submits to Shariah law
Frida Ghitis: A surprise for Obama in the Middle East
Nov, 3, 2008
Jonathan Rosenblum: Who says Jews are Smart?
Jonathan Tobin:
Was He Wrong About Everything?
Oct. 31, 2008
Rabbi A. Henach Leibowitz: Our Immutable Noble Essence
Caroline B. Glick: Running against Bush
Oct. 30, 2008
Jonathan Rosenblum: The End of the Special Relationship?
Steve Lipman: 'Kid Kosher' Gets A Title Shot
Oct. 29, 2008
Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: GET US THE TAPE THE L.A. TIMES REFUSES TO RELEASE, AND WE'LL GIVE YOU CASH!
Dr. Ari Korenblit: Making The Write Choice for President
Oct. 28, 2008
Mona Charen: Denial runs through American Jewry
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Sell-off to capitalism or sell-out to Islam?
Oct. 27, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Are tax deductions for charitable donations moral?
Jonathan Mark: The Mystery Of The Arab-American Vote
Oct. 24, 2008
'Why aren't all religious people vegetarians?': Response by Miriam Kosman
Caroline B. Glick: Testing Obama's mettle
Oct. 23, 2008
Daniel Pipes: Obama Would Fail Security Clearance
The Kosher Gourmet
by Linda Gassenheimer: A fast chicken dish with an Asian accent
Oct. 20, 2008
Gary Rosenblatt: Still One Torah
Jonathan Tobin:
Government 'Gifts' Are Not Free
Oct. 17, 2008
Jonathan Rosenblum: Sukkos and the Great Meltdown
Caroline B. Glick: The disappearance of law
Oct. 16, 2008
The Jewish Ethicist
by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Copying DVDs: RIP OR RIPOFF?
Cal Thomas: Blaming the Jews (again)
March 22, 2007
J-Rhythms with Avraham Rosenblum: JWR's cutting-edge music program showcasing performers -- singers, song writers, musicians, and bands -- who learn and live the Torah lifestyle (OUR NEWEST IGODCAST !)
Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)
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Jewish World Review
Are you successful, but a real jerk?
By
Louise Witt
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
(KRT)
We've read about them over and over again. An entrepreneur founds a
wildly successful business and then is forced out, because he's
alienated those who work with him.
The common explanation is that these companies get too big for the
entrepreneurs to run. They're not managers; they're idea guys.
But John Gartner, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Medical
School in Baltimore, has another theory: It's not that they just
haven't been trained as managers, but they're not wired to be
managers they're hypomanics.
Garter, who studied successful businesspeople in his recent book,
``The Hypomanic Edge: The Link Between A Little Craziness and A Lot
of Success in America'' (Simon & Schuster, $26), said the most
successful entrepreneurs are somewhat manic in their
single-mindedness. "They have an offbeat idea, which they believe
with messianic fervor will change everything," he said. "And their
evangelical zeal gets other people on board."
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Apple Computer co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Steve Jobs
thinks his company's product will change our lives, and is a good
example of this type of visionary. In fact, Gartner said, Jobs
formally acknowledged the importance of evangelism in business when
he made Guy Kawasaki the company's Macintosh evangelist in the early
`80s. Jobs also embodied the hypomanic's dark side, and was ousted
from the company in 1985 due to his mercurial management style. He
returned as CEO in 1997.
It was during the dot-com era that Gartner, a psychologist, started
to notice that entrepreneurs had the same manic behavior as those
who consider themselves to be religious prophets. "I started to
realize that all these figures on CNBC and in FORTUNE magazine
shared some of the same qualities as messianic visionaries," he
said. "They said, `We are going to change the world and get rich
doing it.'"
In profile after profile, Gartner said, business publications
described these entrepreneurs as "maniacs." To Gartner, describing
someone's behavior as manic was more than an easy label - it
described a specific type of behavior. Maniacs have grandiose
visions and high energy, and are risk-taking and impulsive. A
hypomanic shares some of the same characteristics of a
manic-depressive, but he doesn't suffer from a psychiatric disorder.
"It's not an illness, but it's not normal," said Gartner. Hypomanics
"don't think outside the box, because they don't even see the box."
In his book, Gartner cites J. Craig Venter, founder and former CEO
of Celera Genomics, as a classic example of a hypomanic. Setting off
a race to map the human genome, Venter bragged that Celera would
beat the National Institutes of Health's Human Genome Project, even
though the government initiative had a considerable head start. In
early 2001, both announced their findings.
Yet, less than a year later, the biotech firm fired Venter, because
he refused to consider that the company might be more profitable as
a pharmaceutical company. Venter and his foundation, The J. Craig
Venter Institute, in Rockville, Md., are now at work mapping the
genomes of the airborne microorganisms like fungi, bacteria and
viruses in order to study how they affect human health.
Venter's ouster from Celera shows the downside of being a hypomanic
entrepreneur these personality types can be real pains in the
rear.
Hypomanics tend not to listen to others' suggestions because they
believe their ideas are the right ones. They also are impatient with
others, because they believe they must take action immediately. And
they can make disparaging comments without considering that they may
hurt people's feelings. While these characteristics may not prevent
entrepreneurs from starting their ventures, they could become
liabilities later on when the company needs loyal employees.
If you think you are a hypomanic, Gartner has some tips about how
you can modulate your behavior.
- Don't be a jerk. You may think that it's perfectly understandable
for you to get angry at someone who doesn't agree with you, but you
have to realize that your temper tantrum may have lingering
repercussions. You may not remember what you said five minutes
later, but the person you insulted won't forget so quickly.
- Don't rush into decisions. Take time to consider different courses
of action. While making a quick decision may pay off in some cases,
in others it may cost you your business. One entrepreneur told
Gartner that his modus operandi was "ready, shoot, aim," He finally
realized that it would be better if he changed it to "ready, aim,
shoot."
- Don't assume that your company will be an instant success. It's
good to think big, but not so big that you set yourself up for
failure.
Gartner said that many dot-com startups made it almost impossible
for themselves to be long-term successes, because they planned to be
successful from the get go. Boo.com, an upscale online retailer,
bought five castles in Europe before it even had a Web site, he
said.
Remember, you may have the best idea in the world, but if you can't
work well with others, you may not be around to see it to fruition.
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© 2005, FSB Magazine, Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services
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