Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 27, 2014

Daniel Kahneman has claimed the following as his favorite equation: Success = talent + luck. Chance plays a much greater role in our careers than we might wish or even realize. But the downside — the thought of our careers as the playthings of fate — is almost unbearable. There are no “starving dentists.”

Career 8

Career Planning Kahneman Uncertainty 8

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 9, 2011

Compared with my colleague, I had accomplished so little over such a long career; my two measly books were more like an embarrassment, given his output. Robert Merton was 46 when he won the award. Merton had the office on the other side of my office. You see the problem. DeLong is the Philip J.

Merton 14

Merton Black-Scholes Welch Organizational Behavior 14

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 3, 2011

I was thinking about that story by Thomas Merton during a recent board meeting. Early on in our careers, we might speak up without concern or context. Or perhaps we have wondered, as others have , if it's worth the cost of speaking up. Perhaps the question is less "should I speak up?"

Merton 15

Merton Groupthink CFO Cost 15

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 29, 2010

The bankers, fed up with regulation, dissatisfaction, and downright hostility, decided to unleash the planet-destroying superweapon in their arsenal: they went on strike, not once, but three times. The bankers thought even one of six might have been impossible. But perhaps the costs have risen, too. But perhaps the costs have risen, too.

Banking 15

Banking Crisis Merton Guidelines 15