The Trump Administration is scrambling to prepare for a possible meeting between President Trump and the leadership of North Korea, and our foreign policy experts are wringing their hands. After all, everyone knows that Trump is uninformed, undisciplined, unguided and dangerous. I’ll bet General H.R. McMaster, National Security Advisor, is having trouble sleeping. And yet, there is no doubt that this proposed meeting represents a potential foreign policy breakthrough – whether Trump deserves cre...

By Ivan Quijano (MS, MFA, MBA) Innovation Strategy Consultant The concept of innovation long ago moved from “invention”, especially in technology, science, and medicine, to an all-encompassing and yet elusive “solution” to challenges faced by firms, organizations, governments and supra-national bodies-- as well as for individuals and societies striving to meet their aspirations. Our contemporary discourse on innovation is arguably a natural follow up to a sequence of inventions that started wi...

We mourn the passing of our friend and colleague, Frederick Smith—a great banker and mentor. Below is his obituary, published in the New York Times on August 16, 2017: Frederick Middleton Rotan Smith, of Manhattan, passed away on August 11, 2017, at age 75, from complications related to heart disease. Fred was born in New York City, where he attended St. Bernard's School. He graduated from Deerfield Academy in 1959 and received a B.A. in History and Economics from Yale University in 1...

Talk this week is all about the Russian hacking and its effect, or lack thereof, on the election. Democrats and hawkish Republicans condemn the Russian actions and demand strong sanctions. Trump, alone as usual, attempts to discredit the intelligence and move past the controversy. The primary motives for these positions are not hard to discern. Democrats wish to undermine Trump’s legitimacy, and hawkish Republicans want to maintain their hardline stance against Russia. And nobody—save Trump—want...

Indian Gaming got its start in bingo halls in the 1970’s and the industry as we know it today—with state-of-the-art casinos, hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues—has been in operation for almost twenty years. From humble beginnings, Indian Gaming has grown to become a major national industry, with revenues of over $30 billion, generated by over 460 establishments operated by 240 federally-recognized tribes. Many Native American casinos are major resorts, generating hundreds of millions i...