Back from Bretton Woods
RWL #417
Greetings from The University of New Hampshire! It’s been a busy week or so. As I mentioned in Sunday’s FITW, Shaping the Future went very well. It’s always a relief to have those kinds of events behind you. I just returned last night from the New Hampshire Hospital Association’s Annual Meeting at the Mt. Washington Hotel in Bretton Woods, NH. It’s hard to believe this stunning old Grand Hotel almost went into the ashbin of history until it was acquired and renovated to its current glory not that long ago.
For those of you who have studied any monetary history, this is also the hotel where the Bretton Woods Accord was signed in 1944. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) were created here.
The conference was great. I had the chance to reconnect with some people I see frequently (some of whom came to Shaping the Future!), and meet some new people. On Friday I’m taking about 20 students to Boston for a Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA) conference. It’s all conferences, all the time for me lately. Looking forward to not traveling next week.
As usual, willing good for all of you!
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Read
What: Aaron Renn, What Ladders Are You Climbing?
Why: This is an excellent essay and was the inspiration in part for last Sunday’s FITW.
There’s a saying, “Without awareness, there is no choice.” Most people don’t actually choose the ladders they end up climbing. They just ended up on them by default. They did not recognize the profound implications of the path they started walking down.
In my role, I try to give my students awareness and therefore choice. Read the whole thing. I’m tucking this into “best of RWL” file.
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Watch
What: HBR, Identity Crisis: Why Defining Yourself by Your Career Is a Problem (6 min)
Why: As most of you know, I’m an Arthur Brooks fan. In this video he talks about dealing with fear of professional failure by imagining your career’s end. Or, as I like to say, you will die and be forgotten. If you embrace that, what have you got to fear? Worth a quick listen.
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Listen
What: The Journal, The Mysterious Drones Flying Over U.S. Military Bases (18 min)
Why: “For 17 days last year, unidentified drones swarmed an area in Virginia that is home to a military base and other sensitive intelligence sites.”
One of the drones was over 20 feet long. These are not quad-copters.
I am not a military historian, but I have studied some military history, and what I know is there are episodic changes in technology and organization that make radical breaks in warfare. Gunpowder, repeating rifles, the tank, air craft, etc., all radically changed the way of war. We are going through such a historical moment with drone technology. Drones are playing a critical role in Ukraine, and they are going to become more and more important. But this is a bit startling - it’s pretty clear that a state actor is running drones with a pretty free hand over some of our sensitive sights in our own backyard, and we have no way of defending them. For a larger treatment, I recommend Christian Broze’s The KIll Chain.
We have an amazing and powerful military built around a 20th century threat. I worry we are not enough of a leader in this field. This story validates that worry.