Wing Chau: The Big Short’s Symbol of Wall Street Greed

Wing Chau: The Big Short’s Symbol of Wall Street Greed

Who is Wing Chau of The Big Short fame? What was his role in the 2008 financial crisis, and why was it controversial? And how did he make an estimated $26 million shuffling papers? Wing Chau is an investment advisor and bond manager whose role as a CDO manager was depicted in The Big Short. Wing Chau wasn’t happy with the way he came across in the book and movie. Learn why his position as a “CDO manager” was, and is, controversial and how he contributed to the 2008 financial crisis.

The Dichotomy of Leadership: Book Summary

The Dichotomy of Leadership: Book Summary

Leaders set the tone and example for their teams, and as they navigate challenging situations leaders must constantly keep a careful balance of seemingly opposite forces. When a leader struggles or is ineffective, it is typically a sign that she has veered too far to either side of one of these dichotomies; in this way, a leader’s greatest strength can become her weakness if she doesn’t keep it balanced.  Here are the key dichotomies of leadership, from the book by Jocko Willink.

What Is Extreme Ownership? (From Jocko Willink)

What Is Extreme Ownership? (From Jocko Willink)

What is the key to being a great leader? Is it about having the right personality type, training, or team? Former U.S. Navy SEALs Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, authors of Extreme Ownership, argue that the best leaders take responsibility for every aspect of their team and every task they’re working to accomplish. Extreme Ownership is total accountability over everything that happens under a leader’s direction. Extreme ownership requires a leader to own her team’s mistakes and failures — without blame or excuses — and objectively assess what works and what doesn’t in order to constantly improve. As Willink and

The Big Short: The Real Story Behind the Film

The Big Short: The Real Story Behind the Film

The movie The Big Short, starring Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, and Brad Pitt, among others, is based on the 2010 book The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis. Do you know the real story behind the movie? The Big Short explores the origins of and fallout from the 2007-2008 financial crisis through the eyes of a handful of eccentric and oddball investors who saw that the U.S. housing market—and, by extension, the entire financial system—was built on a foundation of sand. 

Planning Fallacy: Why You Didn’t Meet Your Deadline

Planning Fallacy: Why You Didn’t Meet Your Deadline

What is the planning fallacy? How can I avoid it? And what are some examples of the planning fallacy? The planning fallacy is the phenomenon of habitually underestimating the amount of time and resources required to finish a project. When estimating for a project, you tend to give “best-case scenario,” which rarely happens. We’ll look at a planning fallacy example that fleshes out the above definition, and cover how the planning fallacy works and how to avoid it.

No Bad Teams, Only Bad Leaders (From Jocko Willink)

No Bad Teams, Only Bad Leaders (From Jocko Willink)

While many leadership books and training courses focus on developing individual habits and traits, leadership is inextricably tied to the team’s performance. There are only two types of leaders — effective and ineffective — and the only way to measure a leader’s effectiveness is based on whether her team succeeds or fails.  As the person at the top of the chain of command, everything ultimately reflects back on you. You must make decisions quickly and definitively, and accept their consequences, good or bad. As a leader, you determine the team’s performance. This gives rise to the phrase, “no bad teams,