Monthly Archives: October 2015

Who Said This?

Economics

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During the height of the Occupy Wall Street movement, many opponents argued that the participants were un-American. They did not  believe in capitalism. And reveled in the drop in stock values associated with the 2008 recession.

On the morning of November 30, 2011, I saw a headline on CNBC.COM titled “Hedge Funds Drop Stocks.” In the article, there was the following quote.

The rally in October was the worst case scenario. It brought the S&P back to the black for 2011.

One might suspect the speaker was an Occupy advocate who saw the market rebound as counterproductive to their message that Wall Street speculation was hurting the national economy. But you would be wrong. The speaker was the man pictured above, Michael Murphy, CEO of hedge fund Rosecliff Capital. And what was his message. His company hoped to make money by betting AGAINST America. At the same time Mr. Murphy and other Wall Street scions vilified Occupy participants as anti-American. Perhaps Mr. Murphy needs a new mirror.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

 

Origins of Deprogramming 101

Uncategorized

When I retired as the Cintas Professor of Entrepreneurship at Miami University in December 2011, one reason for the decision was a desire to explore questions and issues without the pressures of academic deadlines and requirements. In my final lecture, I provided the following examples.

What is the correlation between Congressional inaction and the increase in female Senators and Representatives telling us? See POLITICS for the full discussion.

Who said, “The rally in October was a worst case scenario. It brought the S&P back to the black in 2011?” See ECONOMICS for the answer.

How can three books which purport to be the divine word–Old Testament, New Testament, and Koran–all be right if each claim to be the only path to salvation? See RELIGION for the full discussion.

Three and a half years passed before I realized I had not acted on my desire to take advantage of a more relaxed lifestyle to explore these and other questions which deserve our attention. This website is my attempt to make up for lost time and provide a space in which I and others can explore the bigger issues of our time.

Who is Dr. ESP?

About

 

In 2005, the entrepreneurship program at Miami University became independent of the Marketing Department in DR_ESPthe Farmer School of Business. This new status included identification of entrepreneurship courses with their own three-letter prefix. The obvious choice was ENT. Except that prefix was already used by the Engineering Technology program. So we chose ESP, inspired by former Apple executive Guy Kawasaki who wrote in The Art of the Start, entrepreneurship is the mindset of individuals who want to alter the future.

As the only Ph.D. in the program at the time, I took on the nickname Dr. ESP including the vanity license plate shown above. It is now also my twitter account.

As the opinions on this site are personal views, I did not want them associated with business and charitable efforts in which I participate. Therefore, I chose to use this alias. Though some find it humorous, it is not intended to diminish the seriousness of the content or opinions contained within.

Are More Women in Congress the Cause of Legislative Dysfunction?

Politics

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The growing inability of the U.S. Congress to act on any issue correlates with an increase in the number of women elected to the Senate and House of Representatives. As we know, correlation does not equal causation. During a discussion of this observation, I implored my female students not to “shoot the messenger.” But was there something we could learn from this statistical anomaly? In hindsight, the answer seems obvious to me. In the old days, compromise and action were based on relationships between members of Congress and the executive branch. Those connections were nurtured outside regular working hours in informal settings. The most celebrated of these relationships is documented in Chris Matthews’ book Tip and the Gipper: When Politics Worked. Agreements to pursue common interests or compromise where often consummated while smoking a cigar and sipping single malt scotch.

As I pondered this situation, I began to look for pictures of President Obama, Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner smiling. Not only weren’t they smiling; they were seldom seen together. The only pictures of the three were taken during working sessions such as the one above. Which meant that media or colleagues or both were present requiring each to play to their respective audiences. No wonder there are so few compromises. There is no environment is which they can aired.

Those who argue that the “good old boys club” is no longer acceptable are right. But the concept is correct. Camaraderie among rivals is still valuable. Therefore, the challenge is creating a “good old persons club” based on activities through which men and women can enjoy one another’s company and informally discuss the issues of the day.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP

 

Counter-Intuitive Thinking and the Realm of The Possible

Uncategorized

Life is full of possibilities. The extent to which we experience these possibilities depends greatly on the extent to which we identify and act on opportunities. And our ability to see and exploit an opportunity is directly proportional to our openness to question and challenge the biases and assumptions that currently shape our world view.

DEPROGRAMMING 101 is one person’s attempt to encourage others to open their minds and challenge the status quo. I do not pretend I have all the answers nor do I want you to take my positions as gospel. The blogs on each topic are presented as food for thought and stimuli. Each ends with the tagline, “For what it’s worth,” which in some cases may be zero. The ultimate goal is not to find RIGHT answers, it is to promote the asking of BETTER questions.

ging!