Category Archives: Blog

Six officials sit around a formal conference table in a government briefing room, with the Department of State seal and an American flag on the wall; they appear to be in a serious discussion, with notebooks and cups in front of them.
When the money points north, where does the compass take you?

The Dollar Compass may be a Cold War thriller. But it is also a business [...]

20
Jun
Man in a gray coat reads The New York Times on a busy sidewalk; headline: Reagan and Gorbachev to meet in Geneva.
A Geopolitical Opportunity: Selling Supercomputers Behind the Iron Curtain

Without guardrails, systems become corrupt. It is a rule almost as predictable as the law [...]

18
Jun
Collage of a global supply chain operation: executives at a conference table reviewing charts, construction sites with cranes, factory workers on the floor, cargo ships and a world map with network lines and arrows
When Danish Technology Wanted to Conquer the World

In the late 1980s, there was still something almost heroic about the idea of Danish [...]

09
Jun
A man writes at a cluttered desk, ideas swirling into a mural of scenes around him as a woman watches nearby in a cozy library.
The Necessary Tyranny of Categories

Reality mixes genres without asking permission. It can be as suspenseful as a thriller, as [...]

29
May
Split image: left side shows a man at a desk examining charts and a book titled 'Building Successful Partner Channels'; right side shows a woman reading 'Tumult in Mecca' at a dimly lit desk with a tablet and mug nearby.
Novels Are Sold on the Author’s Name

 While business books sell on the title When I published Building Successful Partner Channels [...]

21
May
Man in a suit sits at a dark wooden desk counting cash, in a retro hotel-like lobby; a receptionist looms in the background and a man passes in a doorway.
The KGB’s Methods: Blackmail, Sex, Money and Future Leverage

 The most dangerous trap in The Dollar Compass is not physical violence in some filthy basement, a [...]

12
May
Man in a suit presents a poster labeled 'SUPERCOMPUTER' showing a tall computer tower and monitor to a suited audience in a wood-paneled room on an easel.
Did the West Misread Gorbachev?

 When Mikhail Gorbachev came to power in 1985, the West faced a strategic puzzle [...]

05
May
Two men in suits converse at a candlelit dinner in an upscale restaurant.
When Small Compromises Become Catastrophes

 Most corruption does not begin with a suitcase full of cash. It begins much [...]

28
Apr
Chernobyl – When Technology and Judgment Failed

 On April 26, 1986, Reactor 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the [...]

26
Apr
You Don’t Need a Kindle to Read Kindle Books – And Why That Matters

Every time I launch a new book, I try to make it as easy as [...]

19
Mar