Back to Volume 9
	Richness of the Human Experience By David Finn

Helen Keller’s autobiography tells an amazing story. She suffered extraordinary disabilities— the lack of hearing, sight and voice—and her early years were spent in complete isolation from the rest of the world. Over time she was able to overcome her limitations and become one of the most brilliant and sensitive individuals of her time.

In Kathy Bloomgarden’s article, New Breed of CEOs, she describes the importance of broadening one’s vision to include ethicsbased judgement. She is encouraged that current business school graduates emphasize the importance of integrity, leadership and public concern to strenghten their ability to be responsible managers.

The article by Wendy Mensch and Avery Hudson, Disclosure and Drug Research, points out that in the new “age of transparency” the pharmaceutical industry faces an increasing public demand for more open and comprehensive information about new drugs undergoing clinical trials.

In his interview for MOVE, Walter Cronkite expresses his view that we are living in the most dangerous period in the history of the world. He is convinced that the United Nations is our only hope of preventing disaster. He also believes that five hundred years from now, the day man landed on the moon will be the one day that will be remembered.

Robert Ferris writes about Navigating the Rules of Financial Communication at a time when new government requirements call for increased transparency to maintain public trust. He quotes SEC Chairman, William Donaldson, as saying that this “will eventually translate into greater credibility in the American capital market.”

In The Notion of Time, Emmanuel Tchividjian traces different attitudes towards measuring time as well as the meaning of time over the centuries. In the practical world, public relations people often charge on the basis of time, which is reasonable but sometimes misleading, since valuable achievements can sometimes be accomplished in short periods of time.

Missing is the title of an article by Jessica Switzer, about a special crisis in her life—the disappearance of her stepsister while sailing on a catamaran in the Pacific with her boyfriend. She offers some constructive advice on how to handle crises effectively. Having a passion for books is the subject of the article entitled How the Love of Books has Enriched My Life. It is a personal story about how certain books can help shape one’s life. There is reason to hope that the joy of having a library in one’s home, with the continued presence of books that have enriched one’s life, will never disappear.

Harlan Cleveland, a leading educator, editor, government official, philosopher and longtime Ruder·Finn friend, assesses the state of the world in his article, Learning to Lead Anew. He concludes that today the world no longer needs the U.S. “to make all the bugle calls—especially if its bugle is rusty and its leaders can’t remember the tune.”