Private equity’s lure is a mix of prestige (Harvard, Dartmouth and Wharton alumni dominate), power (former U.S. President George H.W. Bush is amongst Carlyle’s advisers) and pay. Vice presidents routinely make upwards of $250,000 in cash compensation before the equity compensation is included.

Private equity’s appeal could be likened to the enduring popularity of the ancient Chinese card game, Mah Jongg, neither Byzantine rules nor limited seats has dampened the demand for on watchers to [hopefully] become players. Ready to “buy-in” into the buyout game? The Carlyle Group's recent push into Africa may be your biggest "tell" for a successful path to the industry.

Kim Kardashian and Harvard Business School have a lot more in common than enviable endowments. The school and its alumni have made considerable investments in pursuing technology-enabled entrepreneurship. A number of HBS, and other top MBA, alumni have plunged into the world of fashion e-commerce, starting companies similar to Kim’s ShoeDazzle or the Olsen Twins’ StyleMint. Not to be outdone by new rivals, established brands, such as the French fashion house of Louis Vuitton and the Italian fashion house of Salvatore Ferragamo, have, respectively, invigorated their business lines with mobile apps and strengthened their balance sheets with initial public offerings (IPOs) this year. Michael Kors has also followed suit with an IPO this month. With the rise of women in business, the business of fashion – in particular online apparel - has experienced spectacular growth. Our gift to you: a special report revealing a desirable opportunity for the sophisticated professional. You could say ‘tis the season of fashion.

Religion seems to have found even the most ardent atheists among us. The forsaken lumber, some occupy Wall Street, irritated by great expectations lost. A terse combination of fear, frustration and forced austerity has left many feeling hapless.

All investments contain intrinsic risk and the potential for increased value; your education & training is no different. To a certain extent, these investments in your human capital require faith. Blind faith, however, has left many of us with our guard down feeling like an unsuspecting boxer on the receiving end of a Floyd Mayweather blow. A succession of recent articles such as “Is the MBA Worth It?” “College Educated Can’t Find Jobs” “US Workers Need to Re-train” has done little to instill confidence. Not quite future “masters-of-the-universe” statements such as “Well, at least I have a job” have become commonplace. Implicitly, these professionals’ investment model place a premium value on security. The caution is warranted. The wrong decision for you could be absolute folly or worse.

The recent Miss Universe contest held in Brazil managed to focus globalization’s appeal in a way that no Goldman Sachs research report (even with the catchy “BRIC” acronym) ever could!

The Economist continued to illuminate the global dimensions of human potential by recently hosting a fascinating two-day conference entitled Human Potential: The Next Level of Competition (“the conference”). Within a hyper-connected global marketplace for talent the shade of your collar, whether blue or white, is of little significance. All face the risk of being commoditized. But how do you stand out from your global peers to capture that plum job or secure your seat in the incoming class of that top graduate program? Today, your business career at some point will almost surely require global experience – a welcomed treat for the prepared; a terrifying prospect for the indistinguishable. The Crimson Oak team was inspired by the conference to share our thoughts and sharpen the discussion by confronting a few unanswered questions. Through segmenting the levels of competition, we provide you with pragmatic take-aways highlighting possible pathways to success. These segments increasingly overlap. The idea of a 40 year old American male, “credentialized” executive being supervised by a 25 year old foreign-born female executive is no longer inconceivable.

Do you really have to stop wearing white after Labor Day (U.S.)?

Maybe. Situational awareness, dress-for-success and emotional intelligence are all effective tactics that would call for compliance. None of these tactics, however, quite encompasses the subtle art of calibrating discrete information and leveraging it for sustained success. The holistic strategy of “setting the table” we believe is the most impactful. Employing these “setting the table” techniques can have a tremendous positive impact on increasing the chances of you winning acceptance to a competitive graduate program, landing an angel investor or earning that coveted new job. Crimson Oak has distilled the “setting the table” concept into simple S-A-A Principles: Style, Affiliation and Advocacy. A careful look at seemingly “natural” scenarios will show successful execution of the SAA Principles.

After the lights dim, the chants from the crowds cease and the showers of praise dry up, will you be remembered? The scenario happens on the NBA basketball courts, the football (soccer) fields of Europe and across University campuses worldwide. Whether you are a recent advanced degree graduate or recent college graduate the annual ritual of graduation is the same and marks the promise of another phase of competency and success. A few years later, however, some inevitably fade to black, others marinate in a self-described, but not self-accountable, mediocrity. For a fortunate few, they grow and lead. If 80% of success is simply “showing up” then certainly the pre-cursor of “being remembered”, in order to be invited, must be even more critical to your success!