Dear Mr. Dimon,

Congratulations on prevailing in the vote to separate the chairman and chief executive roles at JPMorgan -- and on remaining the key steward of that institution.

It's a big victory -- and one that broadcasts the esteem with which you are held by your shareholders. You've...

The collapse of the clothing factories in Bangladesh has returned to the front page, as reporters and pundits consider the impact on consumer habits and the practices of global brands. Is it a game changer? At last count more than 1,000 workers died, double the number reported less than a...

I once worked with a consultant who started meetings with the following provocation: "The system," he would say, "is perfectly designed for the results we have now." In other words, if we want a different result, then change whatever's driving our behavior.

I just returned from a great...

A petition to urge business schools to add human rights to the MBA curriculum is sitting in my inbox. Are human rights important? Check. Is this a relevant issue for business? For global actors working in large swaths of the planet -- absolutely. Should it be required in business schools?...

The board of JPMorgan Chase took a bold step last week when it slashed CEO Jamie Dimon's bonus in half in the wake of management's failure to rein in excessive risk taking. Reducing the CEO's pay by $10 million may hardly matter against $6.2 billion in trading losses,...

I was 12 when my father first tried to interest me in the stock market. He quickly grew frustrated with me, because the only question I ever had for him was the following: "What does the company make?"

When real investors pay attention to this question, as they have...

By some accounts, Black Friday was a big success. The Dow crawled back over 13,000 for the first time since summer, eking a good story out of reports of growth in Chinese manufacturing, a cease-fire in Gaza and lots of consumers fighting for parking spots at Walmart. Thanksgiving was either...

NEW YORK -- An extraordinary opportunity to build the political will necessary to tackle big global challenges -- financial stability and climate change -- is being forged from three game-changing events: the Election, Hurricane Sandy and the Fiscal Cliff. This is the kind of breakthrough moment that future generations will...

It's earnings season. While the story behind Citibank CEO Vikram Pandit's resignation captures the headlines, CNBC and their competitors continue their breathless ritual of reporting the latest quarterly figures, comparing actual results with "expectations," and driving short bursts of buying and selling with predictable shifts in stock price....

In New York City, it's the season for tackling the Grand Challenges. On one side of town, the UN is now in session, and the streets are filled with presidents, prime ministers, ambassadors and their entourage.

Across town in Times Square, the Clinton Global Initiative just wrapped...

Given the once-every-four-years line up of the Olympics and the political conventions, it's no surprise that my TV consumption has sky-rocketed of late. So it's a good thing that I closed out the summer with a cross-country plane trip, and a chance to catch up on my magazine reading. My...

It's the year of the women at the Olympic games: Bob Costas made it official last night when he wrapped up another day of American women taking the medal stand: women now make up a slight majority of the U.S. Olympic team, and in medal count they are outperforming men...

Sandy Weill's conversion on the road to a CNBC Squawk Box interview, at which he stunningly argues that breaking up the banks is key to U.S. competitiveness -- sent a bombshell through the blogosphere and market talk shows. Viewing the tape is great television: Andrew Ross Sorkin, co-host...

From insider trading to systemic malfeasance with other people's money, we are awash in stories of bad dealings in financial markets, the latest example being the "Libor" interest rate manipulation scandal in London. So an age old question is turning up again: Can ethics be taught? A better...

It was a beautiful weekend for the annual Clearwater Festival founded by Pete Seeger, the legendary folk musician who used his talents and corralled his friends over 40 years ago to save the Hudson.

Gazing at the sparkling river, enjoying the music and the environs, it is...

As graduation season comes to a close, the papers fill with memorable snippets and messages from presidents and pundits invited to give advice to graduates dreaming big things.

Top ten lists are always popular in Commencement speeches, but the best speakers understand it's not a day for complex messages....

In the good ol' days, except on rare occasions, business stories were found on the business page. That is no longer the case. Take the last couple of months. Barely a week has gone by without a major business story breaking on the front page -- with sufficient intrigue and...

This week's vote by 55 percent of Citigroup shareholders to oppose CEO Vikram Pandit's $15 million pay package should sound a death knell for outdated methods of determining executive compensation.

The shareholders used their prerogative granted under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street and Consumer Protection Act to weigh...

A teacher at a prominent business school takes her students through a simple exercise each semester. Every student must register a new company, which means paying a $60 fee and describing the new enterprise's purpose on a form. The professor's teachable moment in this: Purpose is the starting point, and...

The Committee to Encourage Corporate Philanthropy just celebrated International Corporate Philanthropy Day to inspire global business to grow its philanthropic investments. While I share the desire to encourage good works by business, philanthropy is not the strongest starting point.

Philanthropy by corporations, individuals and foundations does a...