Practical perspectives on cross-border business
Short, practical reads on the issues that most often come up in cross-border investment, market entry, risk, and tax conversations — alongside longer essays on strategy, leadership, and life from our advisory team.
From Our Desk — Business Strategy & Life Perspectives
Longer-form essays from our advisory team on cross-border strategy, leadership, and the thinking behind good decisions. We add new pieces regularly, so check back from time to time.
The Wisdom of Life
A reflection on Yin-Yang, the Five Elements, and the meeting of Eastern and Western philosophy — Confucius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, the I Ching, Thales, and the Stoics on balance, transformation, and the second half of life.
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The Wisdom of Heaven, Earth & Humanity
There are things in life we cannot choose. A reflection on the I Ching, the Four Pillars of Destiny, and the old wisdom of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity — 知足常樂, 順天應人, 敬天愛人.
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Life Is Not the Hardship — It Is How We See It
Happiness depends less on what happens to us than on how we choose to receive it. A reflection on Epictetus, Schopenhauer, Zhuangzi, and the old wisdom of knowing enough.
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The Greatest Blessing Hidden in Our Limitations
Konosuke Matsushita called his poverty, poor health, and limited schooling his greatest teachers. On Epictetus, Laozi, and Nietzsche, and the freedom to transform what we are given.
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What the I Ching Teaches About Timing in Business
Forty years of deal-making taught me that the best strategy often means waiting. A look at how the I Ching’s concept of timing still shapes how I read a market.
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Between Desire and Boredom — The Wisdom of Stopping the Pendulum
Life swings endlessly between lack and boredom, desire and dissatisfaction. A mature life learns to ask a quieter question: not what more can I have, but what truly matters.
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Stoic Principles for Leading Through Uncertain Markets
Markets swing; character shouldn’t. Three Stoic principles I’ve relied on through four decades of cycles, corrections, and boardroom pressure.
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The Sword That Cuts Kairos
Time wears two faces: Chronos, the river that flows for everyone, and Kairos, the single blade that flashes once across it. On the I Ching, Yin and Yang, and Mencius’s vast, unyielding spirit.
Read articleEntering the U.S. Market from Asia: What to Review First
Before capital or operations move, a handful of structural questions tend to determine whether a U.S. entry goes smoothly — entity structure, timing, and the right local relationships among them.
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A Practical Checklist for U.S. Market Entry
A grounded look at the sequence most companies follow when entering the U.S. — from initial legal structure decisions through building a first local partnership.
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Risk and Insurance Considerations for Cross-Border Operations
Operating across borders introduces risk exposure that domestic-only insurance programs often miss. Here’s what tends to get overlooked.
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Property Tax Review as a Cost-Savings Lever
Property tax assessments are not always final. A structured review can sometimes reveal opportunities that are easy to miss.
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