Writer's Bloc

Here I am writing to you all, while my focus should be on a topic for my firm's upcoming newsletter; maybe this will help...

Last month, we wrote on how Internet-driven mass collaboration is upending the business models of IP-centric industries such as software development and financial services. We argued that today's Sandy Weill must now leverage a different sort of scale than what's traditionally measured on a balance sheet or inside the "four walls"; he should look to the open source software movement or Wikipedia for inspiration. The topic, though, and the collaborative spirit of Lyceum mean that it's up to our member community to follow up on this.

On June 5th, we're launching a roundtable series on health care reform. Maybe we should write on that – at least update what we wrote last October when Rudy and Hillary were leading the way. Still, party positions don't seem to have changed much: the Dems want managed competition under a centralized approach, and the GOP open competition and a federalist state-by-state approach. For the electorate, it seems to be a decision of how much responsibility it's willing to bear.

There's also the possibility for a piece on market risk. From February to April we wrote successive articles on market conditions: how does the stock market perform after big one-day moves? Are there patterns during a recession? What's the connection between inflation and the financial system? We certainly don't claim to be prognosticators, but we're hopeful that market efficiency will continue to absorb economic shock, and that transparency is the best way forward.

Maybe we should make it more personal: Beatriz and I are expecting baby number four at the end of June, and quickly finding ourselves outgrowing our home. Leaving us zero time for ourselves, our days have become chock-full of child activities: keeping a watchful on an adventurous 3-year old, trekking the older two to school, weekend soccer and t-ball, and the endless stream of birthday parties and after-school activities. There could something in there about "responsibility-shifting" – moving from something-for-me to something-for-another. (Golf? Oh, yeah, I remember that!)

In any case, my firm, Lyceum Associates, is about bringing different perspectives together: the more a participant contributes, the more value that person takes away. From what we can tell, it's a much different service than what's currently out there: good but also challenging in the work that goes into it – the panic in building a session with the right people and the right chemistry.

It's also been a great way to get back in touch with classmates: we need access to a diverse talent pool, and there's no better place to begin than DA. Dave Willcutts, Andy Tepper, Fitz Flynn, Dennis O'Connor, Mauricio Barberi, Troy Duncan, Ted Ullyot, Joe Kaufman, John Williams, Kevin Sanborn, John Plimpton are some of the people who have participated in Lyceum or become aware of what we do.

But, really, it's not just business... it's something that's fun; a way for our community to break from corporate shackles, and reflect on each person's individual expertise and experience free from constraint.

For anyone living in or passing through southwestern Connecticut and the NY-metro area who doesn't mind the chaos of children, we'd love to see you. In the meantime, if you have any thoughts on the above topics, I'd love to hear from you: our newsletter deadline is coming up, and it's hard to concentrate when perfect weather is beckoning!

Sydney