13 Leadership Lessons from Chegg President and CEO Dan Rosensweig ( SHS 1979)
My ongoing series in partnership with Entrepreneur, If I Knew Then: Leadership Lessons, sets the stage for a unique platform to host virtual fireside chats with high-profile CEOs of major brands, from Indeed and Nextdoor, to GoDaddy and DocuSign. These insightful sessions spotlight the minds of successful leaders as they share advice and lessons for both current and future entrepreneurs.
For our latest episode, I wanted to talk to one of Silicon Valley’s most influential CEOs about how his company instantly scaled up to meet the exponential demand in business due to the pandemic. With universities closed and students forced to quickly adapt to online learning, I invited Chegg president and CEO Dan Rosensweig to share his knowledge. Since he took the role in 2010, the long-established textbook rental model has transformed into a leading direct-to-student online learning platform, resulting in 64 percent year-over-year revenue growth and 69 percent subscriber growth. Chegg is now worth $11 billion, with 4 million subscribers in 190 countries and a total of 252 million content views of Chegg Study.
Read moreIs The Dating App OkCupid Fat-Friendly?
As I continue on my virtual quest to find love, I took some time to evaluate the effectiveness of Tinder and opted to delete it altogether. Interacting with the app gave me zero joy. After my unsavory experience, I decided to diversify my dating apps, being more intentional about what kind of relationship(s) I am looking for and what apps would warrant the best results.
This inspired me to download OkCupid, an app created for folx to find deeper connections and, hopefully, “The One.” Created by Sam Yagan, Chris Coyne, Max Krohn and Christian Rudder, the platform is owned by Match Group, the dating app conglomerate that I discovered to be the owner of Tinder, Hinge and several other services. Knowing this, I was already leery about OkCupid and what it would have to offer. However, I tried to go into the process with an open mind and created a profile.
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Should the internet be a place where people are free to insult each other?
In Both Sides Now, author and ethicist Leslie Cannold (SHS 1983) presents two sides of an argument and then it’s over to you: what do you think is true, and what do you think Cannold really believes?
Today she asks: as the yearly debate around Australia Day flares up in the press and on social media, do traditional ideas about free speech and censorship still make sense?
Read moreVisionary Proprietor, Lisa M. Berman (SHS 1984) , of Sculpture to Wear Gallery Celebrating 22nd Anniversary
Visionary Proprietor Lisa M. Berman of Sculpture To Wear Gallery will celebrate their 22nd Anniversary. The inaugural exhibition Structural Integrity - Jewelry's Foundation in Bergamot Station Art Center in Santa Monica not only launched the West Coast iconic gallery but the careers of dozens of important designers of today. Sculpture To Wear, similar to the Algoncqin in NYC was the gathering place to find the most interesting and cutting edge works creating a new genre of art – Wearable ART by international artists. Art Directors and Stylists loved working with the unusual pieces because they made a bold statement and Berman innately understood their vision. From the cutting edge shows which were curated geographically or with a specific theme in mind, the works were shown in a museum quality presentations and caught the eye of collectors and museums alike.
Read moreEric Alterman (SHS 1978) on Holding Trump Enablers Accountable
I’ve been forced to write about Donald Trump an awful lot during the past five years and the problem I always face when writing in a limited space, like this one, is which of his countless horrific qualities to focus on. The same thing happens when I need to address the consequences of the policies of his administration. There are so many terrible ones, so many victims and so many enablers. I always found myself asking, “Who deserves a thousand words today?”
Not today. I don’t dispute the genuine horror, outrage and sadness genuinely patriotic people feel at seeing the desecration of one of the most potent symbols of American democracy. I share those feelings. But another part of me is glad about it. Finally, Trumpism has clarified itself. It’s not about “economic insecurity.”
Read moreThomas Ricks(SHS 1973) : Politics, as Seen from Aristotle to Trump
On January 5th, Thomas Koenig was joined by Thomas Ricks to discuss his latest book, First Principles: What America’s Founders Learned from the Greeks and Romans and How That Shaped Our Country. Mr. Ricks is a journalist and author specializing in military affairs and national security. He was part of Pulitzer Prize-winning teams at both The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post and is currently a Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security. In this interview with Mr. Koenig, Mr. Ricks discusses how ancient Roman and Greek philosophies can inform contemporary politics, how the Founders were influenced by these philosophies, and the policy changes he supports after having explored these ideas in First Principles. This interview was conducted one day prior to yesterday’s events at the United States Capitol.
Read moreGish Jen (SHS 1973) : A Writer in a Genre of Her Own
Gish Jen will discuss her newest book, The Resisters, at an online event sponsored by the Scarsdale Library, on Thursday night January 14 at 7:30 pm. Sign up here:
Some authors don’t fall neatly into a genre. Their books cannot fit tidily into a designated section of the bookstore or be catalogued as women’s fiction or immigrant literature. One such author is Gish Jen, who is not easily categorized as a person or as an author.
Read moreBoth Sides Now: Should Dan Andrews apologise for locking down Melbourne’s housing towers?
In Both Sides Now, author and ethicist Leslie Cannold (SHS 1983) presents two sides of an argument, and it’s up to you to decide what’s true.
Today: In December, the Victorian ombudsman found that citizens subjected to hard lockdown in Melbourne’s public housing towers had their human rights violated. Should the Andrews government apologise?
On July 4 last year, the Victorian government ordered residents of nine inner-Melbourne public housing towers to be detained, effective immediately.
The state, having been in lockdown with the rest of the country since March, had been enjoying the return of limited freedoms, before restrictions were reimposed to defeat what we now know would become a second wave.
Read moreFresh Air Weekend: Nina Totenberg (SHS 1962); 'Watchmen' Writer Cord Jefferson
Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:
Nina Totenberg On Amy Coney Barrett, Anita Hill And Saying Goodbye To RBG: NPR's legal correspondent has spent decades covering major shifts in the Supreme Court. "Often, in the beginning, I was the only woman in the newsroom," Totenberg says.
Emmy-Winning 'Watchmen' Writer Explores Generational Trauma And Racism: The HBO show uses sci-fi and superheroes to examine American racism. Cord Jefferson wrote the episode in which the main character goes back in time and to relive the trauma of the 1921 Tulsa Massacre.
Read moreCavs’ Larry Nance Jr., Lindsay Gottlieb (SHS 1995) among those to congratulate Browns
So many of us Cleveland Cavaliers fans are big-time Cleveland Browns fans, too, clearly. One Cavs player in Larry Nance Jr. definitely is one of those Browns fans as well.
Nance, who continues to come on for the Wine and Gold, is a guy whose father, Larry Nance, was one of Cleveland’s best forwards in team history. Nance Sr., who was a two-time All-Star for Cleveland, and had his number retired by Cleveland, of which Jr. has switched to wear to commemorate him, though, is so beloved by Cavs fans.
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