The Mirror Test: What do you See?
Almost a decade ago, after more than 25 years at JWT — now a memory for tens of thousands of us, after its evaporation into the WPP machine — I was replaced behind my back. A subordinate was quietly promoted. I was informed after the fact. It wasn’t just a personnel change. It was a […]
How to Emotionally Survive This Political Era
Lately, the political world has crept into my office with more intensity than I’ve seen in years. Not as headline talk, but as atmosphere. It settles in like fog—rage for some, quiet despair for others. A few days ago, Donald Trump posted an unhinged screed defending Pam Bondi while claiming the Epstein files were a […]
When Fear Replaces Ambition: The (Chinese) Consumer on the Back Foot
I spent years helping brands decode the Chinese consumer from inside the marketing world. Today, as a psychoanalyst, I find myself returning to that world with a different question—not what people buy, but why they retreat or reach in moments of cultural stress. Something deeper is shifting in China—beyond economic data. It’s not just about […]
The China I Knew: Mourning a Vanishing Vitality
Psychoanalytically, we mourn not just people or places—but the conditions that once made mutual recognition possible. The China I knew pulsed with possibility, curiosity, and warmth. People often ask me, “Do you miss it?” My answer: “I miss the China I knew.” It was a place of growth—personal, relational, and fueled by ambition. I spent […]
What Does Trump Have to Do with Managing a Team?
If you lead people, Trump is your business. Not because you have to share your politics at work, but because the people you manage live in a civic environment that shapes their moods, agency, fear, and fatigue. If you want to motivate or simply understand them, attunement to forces beyond office walls counts. I say […]
Paranoid-Schizoid Nation: A Nation Divided Can’t Compete
I spent 22 years in China. For most of that time, I was a skeptic of Chinese innovation. From cars to coffee, the products were shoddy, copycat, and lacked brand equity. I believed fervently that America’s faith in bottom-up innovation, powered by individuals and decentralized markets, was our greatest and most unquantifiable strength. I no […]
What AI Therapists and AI Coaches Can’t Do
This New York Times article tells the story of a woman with epilepsy who formed a bond with an AI chatbot trained in therapy. She described feeling less alone, emotionally recognized, and gained the confidence to reach out to others. When our internal experience is reflected with emotional precision, it can reduce shame and foster […]
