Eric Jacobson

FEBRUARY 13, 2023

You throw away your backup plans and your push forward, no longer bogged down by the infinite ways in which we hedge our own successes.” When I say the phrase “Burn the Boats,” many people reflexively recoil at the idea, confusing total commitment with risk mitigation. These are not mutually exclusive concepts. What is it?

How To 84

How To Commitment Hedge Resistance 84

Leading Blog

APRIL 24, 2017

The reason for giving assets away isn’t just about doing good—it’s an important part of an ongoing value exchange spread over time where partners commit to looking out for each other as part of a shared vision.” In a VUCA World, partnerships are hedges against risk, but they will also be more attractive ways to innovate and grow scale.

Competitive Advantage 175

Competitive Advantage Learning-by-Doing Hedge Long-term 175

Leading Blog

NOVEMBER 26, 2014

A particularly fascinating and eye-opening chapter is on Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund in the world. If you thought you were serious about it, Learn or Die will take you to a whole new level with tools, case studies, and insights that will challenge your commitment to learning. We learn from each other.

Open-book 282

Open-book Learning-by-Doing Hedge Case Study 282

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 16, 2018

On January 6, 2017, JANA Partners , a New York–based activist hedge fund, and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) sent a letter to Apple’s board of directors that may change the future of activist investing. Tim Ellis/Getty Images. ” Thus, the issue isn’t one of time frames per se.

Hedge 9

Hedge Long-term Short-term Letter 9

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 19, 2011

If CEOs want shareholders to understand their own interests, corporations need to help educate their shareholders by providing more and better information about the firm's need to invest in its future, the importance of maintaining good relationships with stakeholders, and the company's commitment to ethical and socially-responsible behavior.

Long-term 11

Long-term Hedge Strategy Short-term 11

N2Growth Blog

AUGUST 12, 2010

Decisioning by consensus usually results in no decision being made, or an intellectually dishonest, watered-down decision that is so full of compromises, hedges and caveats that a non-decision might have been preferable. Rather, a team is a commitment to work together despite differences of opinion.

Consensus 374

Consensus Team Building Blog Team 374

Harvard Business Review

JUNE 30, 2017

That approach helps determine a clear portfolio of actions that balance commitment and flexibility. Options and hedges. Leadership teams that develop strategic options and hedges for a variety of future scenarios navigate better when new developments unfold.

Supply Chain 9

Supply Chain Hedge Automotive Uncertainty 9

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 26, 2016

Hedge against the downside. Understanding the potential risks enables you to do a much better job hedging against them. Stop Second-Guessing Your Decisions at Work. Carolyn O’Hara. How Leaders Can Let Go Without Losing Control. Mark Bonchek.

Career 8

Career Hedge CFO Advice 8

Strategy Driven

MAY 25, 2011

And that response is hidden inside ‘business’ behaviors – sandbagging quotas, hedging on stretch goals, and avoiding accountability or commitment. When an employee sees you committing any act of dishonesty or two-facedness, they’ll assume that you’ll do the same to them.

Company 62

Company Venture Capitalist Film Reputation 62

Strategy Driven

MAY 25, 2011

And that response is hidden inside ‘business’ behaviors – sandbagging quotas, hedging on stretch goals, and avoiding accountability or commitment. When an employee sees you committing any act of dishonesty or two-facedness, they’ll assume that you’ll do the same to them.

Company 50

Company Venture Capitalist Film Reputation 50

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 17, 2015

Leading companies are learning that sourcing renewable energy for data centers is a low-cost way to demonstrate commitment to global climate goals while adding reliability and predictability to energy consumption. Clean energy can provide a hedge against rising and more volatile electricity prices.

Energy 8

Energy Globalization Hedge Cost 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 11, 2014

First, making significant amounts of your own power at zero variable cost is more than nice; it’s a hedge against volatility and smooths out expenses, which makes business planning easier. Consider Walmart’s significant commitments to energy efficiency and renewables.

CEO 8

CEO ROI Environment Hedge 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 16, 2011

It's also a sign of commitment to the team and to the larger purpose and goals of the organization. Second, don't hedge. But hedging dilutes and confuses the message. It shows that you believe in their ability to change. That you believe they will use the information to become better. And that you have faith in their potential.

Hedge 16

Hedge Analysis Committee CEO 16

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 16, 2014

9, armed with about 1% of Apple’s outstanding stock, the hedge-fund activist published an open letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook, urging him to accelerate the company’s stock repurchases by making a tender offer. Another hedge-fund activist, David Einhorn, was then playing that role). Carl Icahn is at it again. Carl Icahn is not.

Safe Harbor 9

Safe Harbor Hedge EPS Price 9

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 24, 2016

These “ superbosses ,” as I called them, spanned dozens of industries and included legendary figures such as fast casual restaurant magnate Norman Brinker, packaged foods titan Michael Miles, tech mogul Larry Ellison, hedge fund pioneer Julian Robertson, media icon Oprah Winfrey, and a host of others.

Delegation 8

Delegation Real Estate Micromanagement Hedge 8

Rich Gee Group

NOVEMBER 28, 2010

He started the Khan Academy as a way to tutor his cousins remotely — while he was a hedge fund analyst in Boston, and they were students in New Orleans. It was clear there was a huge unmet need, so Sal left his hedge fund job and started Khan Academy with the mission of providing a free world-class education to anyone, anywhere.

Hedge 314

Hedge Class Video Career 314

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 1, 2018

Most major producers with large balance sheets will likely hedge their bets and attempt both. Saudi Aramco, for example, is considering committing billions of dollars to expand its refining capacity in Malaysia and Indonesia, as well as a new refining and petrochemical plant in China in an effort to lock in customers.

Offshoring 10

Offshoring Price Transportation Long-term 10

Harvard Business Review

DECEMBER 16, 2013

The firm also estimated that more than a hundred hedge funds have now migrated into the activist camp. Even Microsoft is soon to have a hedge-fund activist, ValueAct Capital Management’s president G. Law firm Wachtell Lipton identified 27 activist-investor initiatives in 2000, but more than 200 in 2013. Mason Morfit.

Hedge 8

Hedge Sharpe Short-term Active Listening 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 16, 2013

Simone Foxman of Quartz tells the story of a couple whose son committed suicide at age 21; Facebook gave them limited rights to their son’s content, but only after a months-long legal nightmare. can request a copy of your content, but, Facebook says, he or she isn’t guaranteed to receive it, even with a court order.

Fraser 15

Fraser Management Hedge Simon 15

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 19, 2018

There are no public shareholders clamoring for higher dividends, no hedge funds gorging on management fees. At the same time, they reject the lowest-common-denominator wage-and-benefit policies that define so much of the retail sector, in favor of a commitment to sharing the wealth they create with everyone who helps to create it.

Definition 8

Definition Company Succession Airlines 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 12, 2013

Only a few days before, hedge fund billionaire Paul Tudor-Jones created a stir by remarking at a conference that women will never rival men as traders because babies are a "focus killer". A Pew Center study released in May revealed that working mothers are the sole or primary provider in a record 40 percent of U.S. households.

Sample 13

Sample Hedge Restructuring Conference 13

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 30, 2013

Complexifiers like to hedge their bets and not commit to a definitive course of action, particularly since some new information might surface that will change the plan. Simplifiers have focused reviews of the key priorities and hold people accountable for their commitments and results. Have we agreed on the key priorities?

Hedge 8

Hedge Metrics Planning Course 8

Harvard Business Review

JULY 31, 2014

The old model — get a job, earn money, pay back — is being replaced by an earlier commitment to change. Soon after, when Khan began tutoring his niece in mathematics while working at a hedge fund, he hit upon the idea of developing short video tutorials on YouTube. Take the story of Salman Khan and the eponymous Khan Academy.

Bond 11

Bond Education Finance Video 11

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 17, 2011

Is there any head of a hedge fund who has stood up publicly, the way Warren Buffett now has, and said, "It's absurd that I should be paying lower taxes than someone who earns $30,000 a year"? We reward and admire the wrong people for the wrong reasons. Still, let's not confuse that with sacrifice.

Hedge 15

Hedge Social Capital Class Mentor 15

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 4, 2014

for 10+ years; deployment of design as an integrated function across the entire enterprise; evidence that design investments and influence are increasing; clear reporting structure and operating model for design; experienced design executives at the helm directing design activities; and tangible senior leadership-level commitment for design.

Venture Capitalist 8

Venture Capitalist Fashion B2B Hedge 8

Harvard Business Review

NOVEMBER 30, 2011

At a recent dinner party, I was speaking with a friend who had just been promoted to vice president at a well-known New York hedge fund. Commitment is important, but so is flexibility and intelligent experimentation. The promotion was unexpected, involved an immediate 50% pay raise, and came with broad new responsibilities.

Career 19

Career Christensen Hedge Short-term 19

Harvard Business Review

JULY 12, 2013

In this fascinating and slightly hard-to-believe story, Mina Kimes explains why Eddie Lampert runs Sears like a hedge fund, splitting the operation into 30 independent divisions with their own CEOs, CMOs, and boards. Then he berates you for an hour. Now imagine that this is reality at Sears.

Decentralization 8

Decentralization Advertising Hedge CEO 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 13, 2013

Robin Hood, on the other hand, is a grant-making foundation created by hedge fund managers with a penchant for hard numbers. It requires a level of research expertise, commitment to longitudinal study, and allocation of resources that are typically beyond the capabilities of implementing organizations.

Long-term 8

Long-term Due Diligence Metrics Cost-Benefit Analysis 8

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 10, 2017

Bridgewater Associates, which was founded by Ray Dalio in 1975, is the largest hedge fund in the world, managing almost $160 billion. But as Dalio recognizes, not everybody is ready to commit to radical transparency. Its size and success are not the only interesting thing about the company.

Self-aware 8

Self-aware Travel Open-book Hedge 8

Harvard Business Review

MAY 20, 2011

The idea that economists hedge their bets or disagree constantly with one another is a feature of the discipline. And if remembering to get around to taking advantage of a discount was your problem, with Groupon you can commit then and there and not need to remember anything else. Charles Schultz expressed similar frustration here.

Retail 15

Retail Discount Hedge Airlines 15

Harvard Business Review

OCTOBER 14, 2015

Another time, I watched as a CEO got annoyed at his direct reports for presenting plans that were not reflective of the budget commitments they had made. The hedge fund manager was angry, the CEO was annoyed. Not even disappointment. Just clarity and support. His emotion was understandable. Appropriate, even. But not useful.

Hedge 8

Hedge Budgeting Brainstorming Project 8

Harvard Business Review

JANUARY 27, 2017

But I cannot speak too highly of Steve Levy’s superb Backchannel discussion of how Google has committed to becoming a “machine learning first” enterprise. These organizations are fully committed to letting algorithmic autonomy take the enterprise to new frontiers of innovation, profitability, and risk.

Outsourcing 8

Outsourcing Software CAPEX Competitive Advantage 8

Harvard Business Review

APRIL 3, 2015

People manager: To what extent do leaders build competence, commitment, and contribution of their people today and tomorrow? Strategist: To what extent do leaders articulate a point of view about the future and accordingly adjust the firm’s strategic positioning?

Marketing 8

Marketing Leadership Venture Capitalist GAAP 8

Harvard Business Review

AUGUST 4, 2014

But they also know that reputations can damaged by more than the operational risks that can be managed with functional redundancies, or the financial risks that can be countered by hedging, investing in futures markets, and global currency diversification. So let’s look at that research by the Harris Interactive team.

Reputation 9

Reputation Risk Management Supply Chain Crisis 9

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 11, 2014

When pressed, Owens tried to hedge his answer, but the media portrayed him as calling the President a liar. When utilizing loose ties, leaders need to be mindful of divergent commitments, even when they have a common cause.

Ethics 8

Ethics Hedge Diversity CEO 8

Harvard Business Review

MARCH 8, 2016

These companies are committed to going beyond their usual hiring practices in order to fill the jobs they need by identifying new sources of talent in communities that have been left out of the national recovery. -based companies using questionable corporate practices that are entirely legal.

Politics 8

Politics Short-term Long-term Porter 8

Harvard Business Review

FEBRUARY 29, 2016

As prominent hedge fund manager Bill Ackman told me, “When I graduated from business school I thought business was about making money and philanthropy was about doing good. Now I think both can be used as methods for changing the world.” ” Sir Ronald Cohen, the father of British venture capital, agrees.

Learning Curve 8

Learning Curve Hedge CEO Education 8