Starkman Approved

Mark Solheim: The Dale Carnegie of ESG Investing

October 18, 2022 — Business, Media, Politics

I’ve long opposed ESG, or so-called socially responsible investing, because it legitimizes the activities of some companies that do very bad things. So when I retrieved the November issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance this past weekend and found the publication touting ESG on its cover, my instinct was to toss it in the garbage and cancel my subscription. Reading editor Mark Solheim’s justification for the cover story decision didn’t change my views on ESG, but he made me feel good about subscribing to Kiplinger’s.

Solheim is the rare journalist who knows how to win friends and influence people. His column is a masterful example of engagement. Corporate governance commentator Nell Minow and Toronto Globe and Mail reporter Rita Trichur would be wise to read it.

When Advertising Was Brilliant and Evocative

October 15, 2022 — Business

The launch of Michigan’s Corewell Health last week and its tag line, “Together, we are now” marked a new low in American advertising and marketing. The earth rumblings you possibly felt was David Ogilvy rolling in his grave.

Why I’m Selling the Brooklyn Bridge for Crypto

October 13, 2022 — Humor

For all the lofty talk about blockchains and massive computer systems so powerful they can’t be hacked, it was disclosed in an Australian court this week that Crypto.com is vulnerable to costly errors of Bulgarians with names like Dimitar or Yordanka whose Excel skills are possibly more lacking than mine.

If you’re attracted to cryptocurrencies, I’ve got an alternative asset you might want to consider.

The Bonnie and Clydes of Cryptocurrency

October 9, 2022 — Technology

Until this weekend, I thought that I was too dumb to understand cryptocurrency. But after reading about the $580 million hackers pilfered from Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, I’m no longer convinced that I’m the moron.

If you aren’t familiar with the Binance heist, you should be.

Bloomberg Exposes Self-Driving Tech “Scam”

October 7, 2022 — Business, People, Technology

Bloomberg today published an expose on self-driving vehicles that confirmed my worst fears and doubts about executives who champion the technology and Wall Street money managers duped by the hype.

GM On My Mind – October 6, 2022

October 6, 2022 — Business, People

My thoughts on GM’s illegal payment demands of U.S. military personnel, the $102.6 million a California jury has awarded the company to pay for allegedly selling faulty engines, and why newly hired “chief people officer” Arden Hoffman strikes me as someone who can inspire beleaguered employees to return to the office.

Mary Barra Singing Kumbaya Won’t Save GM

October 2, 2022 — Business, People, Technology

When Elon Musk says jump, Tesla and SpaceX employees ask, “How high?”
When GM CEO Mary Barra says jump, she promptly apologizes to GM employees for making such an onerous request.
Here’s why it takes a giant leap of faith to believe Barra’s claim that by mid-century she will sell more electric vehicles than Tesla.

McKinsey & The Triumph of Corporate Sleaze

September 29, 2022 — Business

The New York Times’ latest McKinsey expose serves as a reminder that lack of business ethics and morals once sparked outrage in America, but sadly that’s no longer the case. Therein is McKinsey’s true genius.

Beware of Back, Stent, & Sinus Surgeries

September 28, 2022 — Medical

The Providence hospital system’s recent $22.7 million settlement with the DOJ for performing unnecessary back surgeries reaffirmed the wisdom of Dr. John Sarno, who decades ago warned that most back surgeries were unnecessary. If Sarno were alive today, the medical establishment, the legacy media, and social media censors would rally together and dismiss him as a quack spreading “misinformation.”

Regretfully, back and spine surgeries aren’t the only medical procedures patients must be wary of.

The Genius of McKinsey Consultants?

September 27, 2022 — Business, Medical

A recent New York Times expose on the Providence “nonprofit” hospital system served as yet another reminder that McKinsey consultants might not be the business geniuses they are cracked up to be, particularly in healthcare and media.

Life as a Perfectionist in an Imperfect World

[It can be awfully frustrating!]