Jerry Johnson (RO2)
Mr. Johnson is the Vice President of Corporate Development with American Capital ($15 Billion Global Private Equity Fund). Mr. Johnson is focused on the launch of international- and sector-specific funds for American Capital as well as execution responsibility for strategic investments. Prior to joining American Capital, Mr. Johnson was a Vice President in the Financial Sponsors and Private Equity Group at Bank of America Securities. Mr. Johnson has invested and served on boards of companies in a variety of industries including telecommunications, technology and media. Mr. Johnson began his career as an investment banker with Donaldson, Lufkin, & Jenrette and consultant with McKinsey & Company.
Mr. Johnson received his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and his B.S. in Chemical Engineering, summa cum laude, from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In 2004, Mr. Johnson was appointed by President Bush to serve as a White House Fellow and Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense. He was awarded the Secretary of Defense Medal for Exceptional Public Service for his work on the Quadrennial Defense Review and the Defense Venture Capital Initiative. Mr. Johnson is on the board of directors of Global Kids and the White House Fellows Alumni Association.
Mr. Johnson resides in Washington, DC with his wife Cara Grayer Johnson.
how to make it through Joshua –
Folks,
Given many of you are reading the three books over the 4th of July – let me recommend then that you do not let Joshua get you down. Once you make it through Joshua, Judges and Ruth – especially Ruth – will be a real pleasure.
I’ve been doing some more reading in the Oxford Commentary – a very thick book that accompanies the edition of the Bible that we are reading.
The scholars make very good points about the Book of Joshua:
– first, the notion of “herem” – total devastation of all living things in the promised land by the Jews and God who are entering it – is hard to take for modern readers. it presents the greatest moral dilemna when reading the book. so, know that and anticipate it.
– second, in understanding “herem” we must put it into the context of the ancient near east “conquest stories.” conquest stories typically elevated the people and their gods (or god) – and told of total devastation. it is clear that Joshua is written in that tradition – imitating it and applying it to the history of the Jewish people.
– third, scholars believe that what actually happened was a gradual development of judaism in “canaan” starting in the 13th century BCE – that it’s very unlikely that there was a “herem” that occured. rather, the religion and “Israel” slowly spread. it was later writers, in their attempt to glorify Israel and God, who imitated the conquest stories and wrote the book of Joshua.
If you can – see through the words – to the historical development that the words point to.
You will still find the book hard to read – and the events of the 20th century – especially the Holocaust – force us to read the words in a different way. Just remember that when the Book of Joshua talks about extermination and the “herem” in cities like Jericho and others – that this is not a historical description of an actual Holocaust brought on by the invading Jews – though you can be sure that these words were manipulated and used by the Nazis and others.
Good reading – Phil
Joshua getting you down?
Folks,
I’ve just finished Joshua – that was a tough book. All the talk of exterminating at the “edge of the sword” made it a hard read.
How are you doing with the book? Thoughts?
Phil
‘Team of Rivals’ — Call #2 Questions
Dear book group member,
Our next “Team of Rivals” call is on July 11th, in just less than a two weeks.
Call #2
Wednesday, July 11th
8pm new york time
Dial-in #: 1-800-615-2900 (Toll Free in USA and Canada)
(International: 1-661-705-2005)
pass code: 8672665
Below are three questions to guide your reading.
I hope you all have a great 4th of July!
Best,
Ramona
Questions for Call # 2
Chapters 6 -11 (pages 170-319)
1. Lincoln demonstrated a political ability to make choices which did not have immediate results, but which brought him larger successes in the future. Although it caused him personal disappointment, his sacrifice in the 1855 senate nomination was not only beneficial to the anti-slavery cause, but also to his future political career. Unlike his rivals Seward and Chase, who “would lose friends in victory… Lincoln, in defeat, gained friends,” friends that would, years later, help him to secure the presidential nomination. [172] With similar attention to timing, in 1859, Lincoln was “careful to conceal his ambitions,” not only withholding his intention to run for the nomination, but also demonstrating “well-modulated enthusiasm” for the other candidates. [211] These actions are steeped in a strong confidence in his own judgment, however was it that he had a superior capability to understand how future events would play out in his favor? Or a general sense that generous and gracious actions would reap future goodwill?
2. Lincoln’s speeches were his most powerful political tool. What qualities made them so effective and compelling, especially to the general public? Although Seward also delivered effective speeches, how did their styles differ? And how does this difference reflect their different childhoods, class identification and ultimately their ability to lead the nation through the civil war? How can these qualities, that made Lincoln’s speeches so successful, be utilized in the way we present ideas as business leaders?
3. After being elected president, Lincoln “began at once to feel that [he] needed support,” and quickly set to work creating the ideal cabinet, a cabinet composed of his rivals. [280] How did Lincoln’s approach to choosing his cabinet members differ from Buchanan’s cabinet and presidential cabinets today? It was reported that “Lincoln revealed a quick-witted ‘adaptation to individual characteristics and peculiarities,'” in what way did this skill aid him in creating the ideal combination within his cabinet? [280] Considering the historical context of the looming civil war and the newly formed, and still fractional, Republican party what were the benefits of Lincoln’s approach? Furthermore how can we learn from Lincoln’s approach when assembling and managing our own teams today?
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Chapter Breakdown:
Call #1: 6/13
Chapters 1-5 (pages 1-169) 169 pages total
Call # 2: 7/11
Chapters 6 -11 (pages 170-319) 149 pages total
Call # 3: 8/8
Chapters 12-15 (pages 321-423) 102 pages total
Call # 4: 9/19
Chapters 16-19 (pages 425-521) 96 pages total
Call # 5: 10/24
Chapters 20-22 (pages 522-596) 74 pages total
Also please read Pericles’ Funeral Oration from “Thucydides,” about 7 pages total
The text can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/3k8ox
Wikipedia entry: http://tinyurl.com/38mhax
Call # 6: 11/14
Chapters 23-26 (pages 597-749) 152 pages total
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Meta Questions:
Lincoln’s leadership style can be described as a managed tension between collaboration and sticking to his guns on key principals and decisions. What can we learn from this balance that can be applied today as managers attempt to bring change to their organizations? What are the lessons and stories from Lincoln that give us ideas on how to work differently?
Does lincoln have an ego? if yes, how does he manage it? would it be relevant to say that he subverted his short-term ego in order to serve his long-term ego? If so what can we learn from him in the day-to-day management of our own egos?
Lincoln was the original council member – i.e. he knew how to ask for help not only from peers, but from rivals. Not only did he build a “team of rivals,” but he also knew how to ask from help from the great books, history and from his customers, the citizens, especially the common citizens of the then-still-young republic. As council members what can you learn from Lincoln that can help you develop as leaders and improve your own “asking for help discipline?”
Questions for 2nd reading group call: The Ultimate Question
Review: Faust in Prospect Park
Reading Odyssey colleagues:
I just came from hearing the Metropolitan Opera perform Faust in Prospect Park. The music, the singing, the bats, the kids playing, the moon – it was an incredible evening. I look forward to the day when we get to read Goethe’s Faust (and perhaps go together as a group to the opera).
Meanwhile, I continue to enjoy the Old Testament and Thucydides.
Best,
Phil
Kalen Ruiz (RO2)
I live in Fort Worth, TX with my husband and 2 girls, ages 13 and 8. I’ve worked for Pier 1 Imports for 15 years and am currently the Sr. Manager of International and Internet Merchandising. I’m a native Texan grew up in El Paso and went to Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. My husband and I are big NHL fans, and love going to see our Dallas Stars play. I am an avid reader and have been working my way through the Modern Library’s list of the 100 top Novels of the 20th century for the last 5 years or so. I thought I’d take a break from that and joined reading odyssey in February to experience some of the classics.
Greek/ Scythian Getty Villa show
Hello to all
Today’s (Monday 6/18) LA Times Calendar section has a review on a show at the Getty Villa, in Malibu on the influence of Scythia on Greek art. Looks very interesting. The works are on loan from the Hermitage and will be on view until Sept. 3.
Also I chanced on a great dramatic reading of the Iliad at my local library. Its produced by Penguin Classics on Cassette and is beautifully read by the British actor Derek Jacobi. I don’t know if you can get it on other formats, but I recommend it.
Thanks, Phil, for getting me interested in the Greeks!
Best,
Hedy
Frank Renzler (RO1)
I have been in the construction industry, primarily in New York City, for over 25 years, the last 15 of those at Structure Tone. I am currently the Executive-in-Charge of the Bank of America’s 1.5 million square foot build-out at One Bryant Park, the largest LEED Gold installation in the country. Other noteworthy projects I have had a managerial role in are the United States Courthouse at Foley Square, J. P. Morgan 60 Wall Street Headquarters and SONY Recording Studios.
I was born and raised in the Lower West Side of Manhattan, attended Regis High School, SUNY Binghamton and Columbia University Graduate Business School. I have been married to Ann for 26 years and have two children; Nicholas, who graduated from Brown University in 2007, and Katie, who is entering her sophomore year there. I enjoy spending time with friends, reading, cooking and playing the guitar. I welcome the opportunity to read the “great” books with other like-minded people.
How’s it going?
Dear Readers,
Please feel free to dash a question out to either Phil or myself on email. We would like to spark discussion on email ahead of our conference call next month (July 11). Here are some of my thoughts thus far through Book I.
I hope you are enjoying this read as much as I am. This is my third time through and it is still fresh. For instance, look with me at page xi of the introduction. As we are reminded that Thucydides’ work is “not as an essay which is to win applause of the moment, but as a possession for all time…” (1.22.4), Victor Davis Hanson reminds us that we are not merely reading history: “[Thucydides] believed that the war between Athens and Sparta offered a unique look at the poles of human and not just Greek experience, at contrasting ideologies and assumptions for a brief time ripped open by organized savagery (1.23.2-3).” Turn on the news and tune in to the updates on action in the Middle East today. As I read the opening speeches of the Corcyrans and Corinthians on pp. 21-28, I see two peoples that ethnically, culturally and socially should be coexisting. Instead, the justification of their hatred for each other makes these speeches as modern as if I am reading a current UN transcript. With Athens tempted to take one side or the other, I see a “Cold War” brewing between the wider interests of Athens and Sparta. The events that follow (i.e. battle of Sybota) bear out the futility of trying to stop these two superpowers from knocking heads. The tragedy is that this situation is still replaying itself two and half milennia later. Stay tuned, more to come…
Andre
19. June 2007 by Arrian
Categories: Commentary, Thucydides | Tags: Thucydides | Comments Off on How’s it going?