May 2014

Why the VA Problem Is Not Just the Same Old Government Ineptitude By Leonard Zwelling      I did some of my internal medicine training at the Durham, NC VA. I was there when the brand new out-patient clinic opened. It was a beautiful facility, but the patients were still very difficult. While there was a […]

“Trigger Warnings” and The Great American Right to Offend By Leonard Zwelling http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/18/us/warning-the-literary-canon-could-make-students-squirm.html?hp&_r=0          I had no idea. Jennifer Medina reports in the NY Times (link above) on Sunday, May 18 about something called “trigger warnings.” These warnings are like the ones before most television dramas on HBO. They inform anyone about to watch a

Naming Opportunities By Leonard Zwelling      The only thing more attractive to a president of a major academic institution than a new building is a new building that is attached to the money to pay for its erection before ground is broken. Without the cash, bonds may need to be floated or reserves may need

The Common Message of Duke Medical School and the Lubavitcher Rebbe: Don’t Be Common By Leonard Zwelling       I am being challenged yet again.       Throughout my tenure as a vice president at MD Anderson, I was confronted with hostility. This is the nature of administration and being a leader within it. The faculty hated

Can You Plan Your Way to a Cancer Cure? By Leonard Zwelling        For 20 years or more, since my graduation from business school, I have been involved in strategic planning. While there are many books written about planning, to me defining it is rather simple though doing it is not. Strategic planning is a

If Curt Flood Had Been a Doctor By Leonard Zwelling        Curt Flood is not a name known to many who are not serious baseball fans or less serious ones of a certain age (mine). Flood was a native Houstonian who was a stand-out center fielder mostly for the St. Louis Cardinals. He was a

Now I Am Really Confused: TV Ads for the Blind By Leonard Zwelling      For a while now, I have found it curious that the major pharmaceutical companies advertise their prescription drug products on television. It is not curious because television networks choose to broadcast the ads.  The leaders of TV have been well-compensated for

If Jill Had Been Jack, Would It Be On the Front Page? By Leonard Zwelling        On May 14 Jill Abramson was fired as the Executive Editor of the NY Times. She was the first woman to hold this position.        Editors come and go and in the coverage by the newspaper itself of the

The Association for the Seriously Stupid’s Annual Awards: The ASS Awards for Leading From Behind By Leonard Zwelling      Roll out the red carpet. It is once again time for the annual awards for Leading from Behind given by the Association for the Seriously Stupid. The so-called ASS awards for rear guard leadership have been

Who Needs Nazis? By Leonard Zwelling          As an American Jew, I have slowly come to appreciate that many of my fellow Jews don’t agree with me. Given that having two Jews in a room usually indicates the presence of at least three opinions, this may sound like a strange admission on my part. But,