Executive Summary of
A Selection of Feature Articles
Articles are in the process of being available on-line. All stories can be mailed or faxed. Contact: ktoleary@gmail.com.
David Geffen says good instincts play better for him than good plans - Speaking off-the-cuff to students who have been strategizing since kindergarten to arrive exactly where they are -- the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University -- Hollywood billionaire David Geffen reports that he never had big plans as a child; he never thought he could be successful. The legendary film and record producer says he created wealth for celebrity clients and himself by the strength of his good instincts and good taste; and by surrounding himself with smart people. . Stanford Graduate School of Business web site: Top Stories - June 2006
Entrepreneurship Advances Education in Developing Countries - Street children in Mexico launch successful businesses with micro loans. Children who live and beg near train tracks in India become the center of academic activity, learning their lessons through song, dance and drama. Stanford Graduate School of Business Web Site: Top Stories - May 2006
See Sunset Magazine, August 2007 cover story, "Best Cool Getaways," for her contribution on Ross Lake in the North Cascades, ranked #1.
The Creative Mind - Creativity and innovation lead to great fortunes, startling epiphanies, redeemed relationships and a world that functions better for the evolution of humankind. This article looks at the art and science of creativity. http://www.karenoleary.net/pages/3/index.htm
(Gentry September 2001)
The United States will sustain its leadership in the global economy and thrive, according to U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez. Prevalent fears that China's economy is gaining on us are unfounded, he told Stanford GSB students. Pro-growth trade policies, an unequaled free enterprise system, business management expertise that is second to none, and a national culture that attracts and assimilates the best and brightest minds in the world will fuel the U.S. economy in increasingly competitive times. .(Stanford Graduate School of Business Web Site: Top Stories - February 2006)
Leadership Styles - Leading an organization to the successful accomplishment of challenging goals is enough for most managers. When you add diverse personalities, disparate work styles and personal biases to the mix, managers face a particularly daunting task. Clashing leadership and personality styles, though not always apparent, can often make a day at the office feel like a harrowing trek through a mine field. (Tom Peters Fast Forward Spring 1998)
An Ode to Grace, Civility and Good Will - Incivility has been the talk of the town lately. Ignorance of social skills and protocol has been known to bring high-stakes deals to a screeching halt. Social blunders can transform enchanted evenings into nightmares. Experts on protocol and etiquette agree that good manners are as much a matter of attitude as of mastering the technicalities. Hail to the glories of age-old civility in the midst of a rapidly changing world. See "Articles" section of this site for full article, or .
Sharing the Wealth - Traditionally, wealth management focuses on developing strategies to preserve a familys financial security and to provide for its heirs. Estate planning with heart, mind and courage drives the family legacy to higher ground from success to significance.
Maximizing assets and minimizing taxes are often key objectives. But when a familys lifetime values are given high-priority in the estate planning process, the nature of the game changes. It becomes an invigorating journey rather than a dreaded series of unpleasant business decisions. (Gentry September 1999)
High-Tech Heroics - In the realm of e-business, many of the sons and daughters of Silicon Valley luminaries are now lighting up the world as chiefs of their own domain. The young entrepreneurs profiled in this issue generate larger-than-life passion, energy, creativity, and the smarts to bring their business to glorious e-fruition. (Gentry August 2000)
Doug Engelbart
Masterminds - Douglas Engelbart is an inventor, discoverer and self-described dreamer. The soft spoken man who helped to usher in an era of personal computing and the global connectivity that changed the world forever was decades ahead of his time.(Gentry April 1999)
Revving Up for Peak Performance - The right mental attitude, carefully cultivated talent and brilliantly conceived strategic plans arent enough to achieve our dreams if were lacking in the commensurate mental or physical energy. This story identifies chemistry for success. (Gentry June 2000)
High Tech-High Touch - Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital provides state-of-the-art care in surroundings designed with children in mind. (Gentry August 2000)
"You Oughta Be In Pictures" - Children with stars in their eyes move into the spotlight through the support of talent agencies. For a behind-the-scenes view of how children enter the business of acting and modeling, Karen O'Leary visits top talent agencies in San Francisco and a new bud on the talent agency vine in Los Altos. (Gentry April 2001)
Primed for the 21st Century - Business-savvy teens get ready to ace Information Age careers in a high school that looks more like a start-up. (Measure, Hewlett-Packard, September-October 1999)
Mind, Body and Soul - Unstoppable teens go the distance to achieve their dreams in athletics and the creative arts. This is a report on the Peninsulas Riekes Center for Human Enhancement, which helps launch teens into the stratosphere of their potential. (Gentry June 1999)
Power Couples - Three Silicon Valley couples whose symbiotic relationships and diverse talents keep them at the top of their respective fields are covered in this article. Images of power include supremely graceful life/work balancing acts in the high-stakes world of venture capital; treks in remote jungles to dispense medical relief to victims of guerilla warfare; and executives with high-powered business savvy and infectious joie de vivre. (Gentry October 1999)
Its A Small, Small World - Were getting thinner and richer in Silicon Valley. Nanotechnology is a tiny technology with very big promises to solve the planets biggest challenges. (Gentry February 2000)
A Port in the Storm - Families of children with life-threatening illnesses who are treated at Stanfords Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital find support at Ronald McDonald House, an enchanted place designed as a home-away-from-home. (Gentry October 2000)
Women of Influence - Eleanor Roosevelt was a member of the ranks. So was Sandra Day OConner. More important for the Peninsula, women serving on the Boards of Directors of non-profits, foundations and corporations are also members. Todays Junior League of Palo Alto-Mid Peninsula is a high-powered, highly active community asset. Gone are the days of the Ladies who lunch. (Gentry June 2001)
Capturing the Magic of Opera On Stage and Off In Opera, there are no small passions. Life takes on a dimension all its ownrobust, colorful and intense. So its no surprise that opera photographer Robert Cahans ardent affection for the high art and its living legends runs deep. Gentry talks with Cahen about his adventures with operas living legends, Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Maria Callas. (Gentry December 2000)
Making Dreams Happen - Christmas in April transforms homes and lives each year when volunteer partnerships repair homes for neighbors in need. (Gentry April 1999)
Care of the Dying - Death may be inevitable but the pain and suffering that too often accompany the last stages of a terrible illness is not, according to physicians who are working toward improving the care of the dying. Sidebar: Managing and Alleviating Pain Adequate pain control and psychological support are paramount in the treatment of the terminally ill. (The Country Almanac, November 11, 1998)
The Good Death - Physicians are trained to do all they can to cure disease and relieve pain. But if a condition defies known treatments and leaves a person in unmitigated agony, should a doctors commitment to relieve suffering extend to easing beyond it to death itself? In this cover story, we take a look at the highly charged issue of physician-aided dying. [Stanford Medicine Magazine, Summer 1992, and Information Please Almanac 93]
Physician-bioethicist denounces doctor-assisted euthanasia - Dr. Leon Kass, a prominent bioethicist from the University of Chicago who has served as counsel on White House bioethics committees, defines the role of doctor as beng devoted to health and wholeness, which he believes is incompatible with intentional killing. The physician-euthanizer, Kass said, is a deadly contradiction. Kass argues against direct, intentional killing of patients by physicians but he supports the cessation of medical treatment when it prolongs painful or degraded dying. ([Medical Center Report, Stanford Report)
A POW survives torture & thrives Rarely are ones beliefs and character tested by systematic torture. And rarer still is the person who can forgive his torturers and later say They were just doing their job. Admiral James Stockdale, a prisoner of war during Vietnam and a Medal of Honor Recipient, was just such a character. (Stanford Alumni Magazine and San Francisco Chronicle, October 4, 1998) The Art of Giving Graciously: Lifetime Achievers Give Back Prodigiously - Life is a daring adventure or nothing. That spirited battle cry, spoken by Helen Keller decades ago, perfectly characterizes the honorees of Avenidas Lifetime Achievement Awards. Adventurer Mary Wright Shaw talks about programs that introduce the magic of reading to otherwise less-than-privileged children. (Gentry, August 2001)
Music of the Heart - A family business goes Hollywood. Proprietors turn a lifelong dream of making beautiful furniture for musicians into the stuff of movie magic. (Gentry April 2000)
Dreams Happen: Abused and neglected children are provided a chance for outdoor adventures through a non-profit, Todays Youth Matter, funded partially through Vine and Dine. Real homes are renovated through the funds of auctioned playhouses -- masterpieces that include replicas of the Awahnee and Harry Potter's magical digs (Gentry May 2001)
A Vital Sign: Hearts Beat for the Poor - Homeless and low-income residents no longer need to be left out in the cold by increasingly expensive, inaccessible health care. (Stanford Medicine)
Other Projects: Editor-in-chief and writer of publications including "Your Child's Health," published by Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, and and an e-commerce quarterly at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
In the works:"The Courtship of C.S. Lewis: Intimations of Joy," a project focused on the impact that Joy Davidman Lewis had on Lewis' life and literary legacy.
