The 3 I's principle

Warren Buffet has devised the principle of the 3 I's. The innovator, the imitator and the idiot. In any market, the cycle starts with the innovator followed by the imitator and then comes the idiot. The current financial crisis is currently in the idiot phase. It seems in the idiot phase, an innovator comes along and says "this is easy to fix" and comes with a newer, better innovation. So guys currently depressed with their investments, some innovator is working on a fix!

Leadership

Richard Stengel's latest article in TIME lists the 8 lessons from Nelson Mandela's struggle to overthrow apartheid and create a democratic nonracial South Africa. The article is extremely well written explaining the the 8 lessons with examples from Mandela's life. I found the lessons quite valuable and great management principles one can use in their lives.

1. Courage is not the absence of fear - it's inspiring others to move beyond it
2. Lead from the front - but don't leave your base behind
3. Lead from the back - and let others believe they are in the front
4. Know your enemy - and learn about their favorite sport
5. Keep friends close - and your rivals even closer
6. Appearances matter - and remember to smile
7. Nothing is black and white
8. Quitting is leading too

Stengel's article has also prompted my interest to read Mandela's autobiography "Long Walk to Freedom".