A big part of leadership is deciding, and good decision-making benefits from intelligence, thoughtful deliberation, and experience, but also, as i hope you agree, from sound values.

Seth Klarman a hedge fund manager from the Boston, Massachusetts area that I have admired for years and author of one of my favorite finance books "Margin of Safety" has a great quote in a recent Harvard Business School speech. The quote is "A big part of leadership is deciding, and good decision-making benefits from intelligence, thoughtful deliberation, and experience, but also, as i hope you agree, from sound values."

Other great lessons in the piece can be found here for my reference: https://www.alumni.hbs.edu/stories/Pages/story-bulletin.aspx?num=6818

Who Will Be Todays Chiune Sugihara?

While the crisis of World War 2 is not an apples to apples comparison by any means the future hopefully will reveal the unsung heroes like Chiune Sugihara who was recently re-honored in a nice NY Times piece seen here: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/opinion/sugihara-moral-heroism-refugees.html

 

Some excerpts from the piece:

“heroic imagination,” a focus on one’s duty to help and protect others. This ability is exceptional, but the people who have it are often understated. Years after the war, Sugihara spoke about his actions as natural: “We had thousands of people hanging around the windows of our residence,” he said in a 1977 interview. “There was no other way.”

A second characteristic of such heroes and heroines, as the psychologist Philip Zimbardo writes, is “that the very same situations that inflame the hostile imagination in some people, making them villains, can also instill the heroic imagination in other people, prompting them to perform heroic deeds.” While the world around him disregarded the plight of the Jews, Sugihara was unable to ignore their desperation.

“I told the Ministry of Foreign Affairs it was a matter of humanity. I did not care if I lost my job. Anyone else would have done the same thing if they were in my place.”

Decades from now we will likely here the stories of those fleeing violence and corruption in their country and how a man or woman came to their rescue...time will tell?

Apu May Soon Be Gone from the Simpsons

As any millenial remembers the Simpsons being one of the biggest parts of our lives as far as entertainment goes we can also embrace a day when the Simpsons far past it's prime years may no longer really be the Simpsons as they start to kill off characters. The Guardian is one of my favorite papers so support and donate to their hard working journalists if you enjoy their pieces: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/nov/01/apu-simpsons-hero

Alternative Locations for Ultra Music Festival in Miami

Miami commissioners have said no to renewing Ultra Music Festivals Bayfront Park location earlier today. The only comment on potential alternative locations was the Hard Rock Stadium which is quite far from the usual Downtown Miami location. If they would want to move the location that far away then here are some other venues and locations that may be a fit for 2019 Ultra Music Festival if they are unable to work out a deal for Bayfront Park:

1. Hard Rock Stadium - Home of the Miami Dolphins I don't believe is a great place for a music festival as rolling loud took place there and a Paint Party festival that took place in December. The area has no hotels and traffic would back up causing too many logistical issues. 20 minutes northwest or 15 miles from the current location.

2. South Beach - they could set up pop up tents and have a beach party bringing it back to their roots. They of course would also have to figure out permits and compliance.

3. Mana Wynwood - Same place that they hold the 3 points music festival in the art district. The festival would really have to slim down as I don't believe the capacity would be even close to what Bayfront Park Reaches.

4. Homestead Speedway - As we know from Imagine Music Festival in Atlanta and EDC Vegas motor speedways are great locations for holding music festivals as their size is immense and is 42 minutes south or 32.5 miles away from the current event location.

5. Miami Beach convention center - After seeing a show here I was impressed with what they can do here but this also completely changes the vibe and energy of the event.

6. Big Cypress Indian Reservation - This is one that I always wondered why they haven't done a big event here. Phish did an 85,000 person concert here and it would turn Ultra into a camping event. Issues that I've heard is that there is no signage and it's difficult to get in and out of. Also if its rainy then it will end up being a mud fest. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Cypress_Indian_Reservation

7. Virginia Beach Key - Last year Rapture music festival was held on the Thursday before the music festival kicked off. While it may be rented for other Miami Music Week events this is a hidden gem that is a great place for events.

8. Gulfstream Race Track - In Hallandale Beach, Florida just north of Miami there is a horse racing track that could be setup to throw an event.

I personally don't think any location will have the flare that downtown Miami has but think that a Beach setup would be the next best thing in the area.

 

Richart Ruddie ESTP Personality Type

Took the Myers-Briggs test and would highly suggest anybody from high school students to adults to take this personality test. My results for my record keeping is an ESTP which stands for Extraversion, Sensing, Thinking, Perceiving. After reading the characteristics they are spot on in my opinion for my case. The Myers Briggs test provides 93 questions for you to answer to help determine your type of personality. There is no wrong or right answer just a way to help determine who you are.

More information for easy access about ESTP personality types:

ESTPs are energetic, active problem solvers who respond creatively to challenging situations in their environment. They focus on the here and now and enjoy each moment that they can be actively involved in achieving immediate results.

They value home, family, health, financial security, and prestige.

 

 

ESTP's Like myself make work fun and it's always a challenge to solve problems that others find difficult or are unable to complete:

Here are the characteristics of the ESTP's like me:

• ESTPs develop easy ways to do hard things, and they make their work fun.
• They don’t let rules or standard procedures interfere with getting the job done.
• They are good team members and can pull conflicting factions together.
• ESTPs are experts at seeing the need of the moment and responding quickly to
meet it.
• They can be gifted problem solvers because they focus on the current situation
and accept the reality of what exists.
• Because they are not bound by a need to follow standard procedures or
preferred methods, they are often able to see ways of achieving a goal by “using”
the existing rules, systems, or circumstances in new ways, rather than allowing
them to be roadblocks.
• ESTPs do best in jobs requiring a practical and realistic approach to problems,
action, and adaptability. Examples are engineering, police work, marketing,
construction, recreation, food service, and any job requiring troubleshooting.
• They are likely to be bored in a job that requires them to work on abstract
problems or engage in long-range planning.

 

How well do they work and do they work well with others?

• ESTPs develop easy ways to do hard things, and they make their work fun.
• They don’t let rules or standard procedures interfere with getting the job done.
• They are good team members and can pull conflicting factions together.
• ESTPs are experts at seeing the need of the moment and responding quickly to
meet it.
• They can be gifted problem solvers because they focus on the current situation
and accept the reality of what exists.
• Because they are not bound by a need to follow standard procedures or
preferred methods, they are often able to see ways of achieving a goal by “using”
the existing rules, systems, or circumstances in new ways, rather than allowing
them to be roadblocks.
• ESTPs do best in jobs requiring a practical and realistic approach to problems,
action, and adaptability. Examples are engineering, police work, marketing,
construction, recreation, food service, and any job requiring troubleshooting.
• They are likely to be bored in a job that requires them to work on abstract
problems or engage in long-range planning.

I encourage everybody to spend the $55.00 on the MBT test https://assessment.mbtionline.com

Remember though at the end of the day no test will tell you if you will end up being an engineer, doctor, DJ, entrepreneur, or firefighter but it's nice to see a personality test that can nail things so accurately.

ZOZOBRA - Fiestas de Santa Fe Burning Man Origins

Was really interesting to find out that New Mexico has an event that goes back to the 1700's for Fiestas de Santa Fe. It's where a man is burned similar to the "Burning of the Man" at Black Rock Desert for the annual Labor Day Week counter culture event Burning Man. The event in New Mexico today is called ZOZOBRA which means Old Man Gloom.

The similarties are really cool to read about and makes me wonder why I haven't noticed any of these similarities before when attending Burning Man.

Read for yourself:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zozobra

Richart Ruddie DJ Sets on Night Owl Radio

For the years 2016 and 2017 I was lucky enough to be a special guest on Night Owl Radio the radio show that plays on Friday nights @ 9:00 PM Eastern and 6:00 PM Pacific for those who are Insomniac fans this is a great show with a diverse set of lineups and special guests who get to DJ. As far as I know I am the only DJ to appear on the show as a special guest who is not real DJ but was able to be the up all night guest thanks to my donation during the EDC week auction.

For the Richart Ruddie DJ Sets from Night Owl Radio you can find them at the links listed below from Insomniac.com and Soundcloud:

Episode 44 with Eric Prydz

https://www.insomniac.com/music/stream-night-owl-radio-044-ft-richart-ruddie-and-eric-prydz/

https://soundcloud.com/insomniacevents/night-owl-radio-044-ft-richart-ruddie-and-eric-prydz

Episode 96 with Alison Wonderland B2B Diplo B2B Jauz
https://www.insomniac.com/music/stream-night-owl-radio-096-ft-richart-ruddie-and-alison-wonderland-b2b-diplo-b2b-jauz/

https://soundcloud.com/insomniacevents/night-owl-radio-096-ft-richart-ruddie-and-alison-wonderland-b2b-diplo-b2b-jauz

You can also find all of the episodes available for download on itunes and through your Podcast application on your phone:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/night-owl-radio/id1034104649?mt=2

 

Ever Notice All International Terminals at the Airport Look the Same

One of the few commonalities you will notice anywhere in the world is that the international airport terminals look and feel the same. The domestic terminals however do not have the same standards across the world but rather tend to reflect the local culture of the area. From the Scoreboard style list of flight arrivals and departures, to the counters with the standard baggage scale, to the exact layout of where all the counters are looks and feels the same at all of the major international terminals that I have seen all over the world.

Just a small observation that I've noticed and haven't found that anybody has really covered this. The one small piece that I did find referenced that the architects who build the international terminals want to have familiarity for the travelers no matter where they are coming from or going to

Foutanga Dit Babani Sissoko What Make for a great film

Stories that seem almost too good to be true that would make for a great film would certainly be the Babani Sissoko film. This is the story of the man from West Africa who used his black magic skills to get a middle eastern bank to give him over $200 million dollars. He ended up in hot water in Miami was arrested but was so generous and helpful to the community there that the judge was lenient on his sentence and let him go early. In the end he's back home in Africa now living a quiet life but the hope is that a film about his wild story is created one day.

For now we have this BBC Documentary but a full length hollywood thriller would be great as well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKALCS0Fe5w

How Innovation Saves Lives

Apperion has created some graphs to display how innovation and inventions can impact us globally saving billions of lives.

To say that we're living in the best of times would be correct if you look at life expectancy globally. In the late 1900's Africa and the former USSR declined sharply in life expectancy but they and every where else has seen an increase with Africa seeing the steepest increase.

Source:

http://www.visualcapitalist.com/50-important-life-saving-breakthroughs-history/