Postcards
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Wisdom of the ages
This morning I read about the Democrats' hush-hush plan to ease Senator Robert Byrd out of his powerful post as chairman of the Appropriations Committee. Byrd is 90. What's most interesting here is who would inherit his job: Senator Daniel Inouye of Hawaii. Inouye is 84.
Age is relative, as they say. We're living longer. Our minds stay stronger. And particularly these days, age may be an advantage.
Look around at who's MORE
Jessica Shambora, Writer-Reporter - Oct 29, 2008 3:00 PM ET -
Power Point: Better not to know?
"It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning."
-- Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Company (F). Ford was a prominent businessman during the 1929 run on the markets. Today, few people can say they truly understand what's going on. Even the titans of Wall Street — the MORE
Jessica Shambora, Writer-Reporter - Sep 18, 2008 6:52 PM ETPosted in: 1929, auto industry, banks, CEOs, Ford, Henry Ford, John Mack, markets, Morgan Stanley, Postcards, Power Point, Wall Street -
Power Point: Men and power
"Power is more important to men."
- Shelly Lazarus told me this a decade ago, soon after she became chairman and CEO of ad giant Ogilvy & Mather. Now she's planning to step down as CEO after guiding Ogilvy through the most dramatic shifts in strategy that the industry has ever seen. Pragmatic, unpretentious, and all about the work as she built long-lasting relationships with clients like Ford (F), IBM (IBM), MORE
Jessica Shambora, Writer-Reporter - Jul 24, 2008 7:45 AM ETPosted in: American Express, CEO, CEOs, Ford, FORTUNE MPWomen, GE, General Electric, IBM, Leadership by Geoff Colvin, management, Merck, MPWomen, Ogilvy, Postcards, Power Point, Power Shift, Shelly Lazarus, WPP -
GM vs. Toyota: The canoe race
Laura Seydel, Ted Turner's oldest daughter, typically barrages me with e-mails about environmental issues. But this morning, she sent a different kind: a "modern parable" about the fall of a great American car company. Have you read this story of the Japanese and American car giants squaring off in a canoe race? The story showed up on a few blogs last year. Now as General Motors (GM) stock trades around MORE
Patricia Sellers - Jul 3, 2008 11:46 AM ETPosted in: Alex Taynor, auto industry, canoe race, Ford, General Motors, GM, Laura Seydel, Leadership by Geoff Colvin, management, Postcards, Power Shift, Ted Turner, Toyota -
A modern parable
A Japanese company (Toyota) and an American company (Ford) decided to have a canoe race on the Missouri River. Both teams practiced long and hard to reach their peak performance before the race.
On the big day, the Japanese won by a mile.
The Americans, very discouraged and depressed, decided to investigate the reason for the crushing defeat. A management team made up of senior management was formed to investigate and recommend MORE
Jessica Shambora, Writer-Reporter - Jun 22, 2008 11:44 AM ETPosted in: auto industry, canoe race, Ford, Japanese, Leadership by Geoff Colvin, management, Postcards, Power Shift, Toyota
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Pattie Sellers has written some of Fortune's most talked-about cover stories, including "Oprah's Next Act," "Can Meg Whitman Save California?" "The $100 Billion Woman" (Melinda Gates), "MySpace Cowboys," Martha Stewart ("I cannot be destroyed"), Ted Turner ("Gone with the Wind") and Oprah Winfrey ("Oprah Inc."). Since its launch in 1998, Pattie has helped oversee Fortune's "Most Powerful Women" cover package.
A specialist at dissecting larger-than-life personalities, she has also profiled former U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, Morgan Stanley chairman John Mack, and countless CEOs.
Pattie co-chairs the annual Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, the preeminent gathering of women leaders in business, philanthropy, government, academia, and the arts. She started at Fortune in 1984, covering the big brand companies.
In Pattie's blog, Postcards, she provides insight into the lives of super-achievers through commentary, career advice, and Guest Posts by CEOs and other leaders.
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