Blogs related with: Ricardo Salinas' Library

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  The Road to Serfdom

  I want to share some thoughts on "The Road to Serfdom," a magnificent book by Austrian philosopher and economist Friedrich A. Hayek that remains relevant today, despite having been written in 1944.
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  The Inevitable

  I’d like to address this article to our youth. Let’s think about the next two decades. Over the past few months I've brought up the topic during talks at universities throughout Mexico. Many of you will develop your careers in this period and it’s worth taking a few moments to think about what may happen.
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  Economics in a Nutshell

  Economics writer Henry Hazlitt does a great job explaining complex issues simply in "Economics in One Lesson". Although the book was first published in 1946, it’s more relevant today than ever.
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  Never Give Up

  I recently received a copy of "Grinding it Out, The Making of McDonalds," written by the company founder Ray Kroc in collaboration with another author.
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  On the Shoulders of Giants

  Sunday October 30 will mark the 66th anniversary of the founding of Grupo Elektra. The group has grown from a small factory that assembled radios with a handful of employees to a true multinational conglomerate with over 60,000 employees and operations in industries as diverse as banking, retirement fund management, microcredit, securities brokerage and of course, retailing.
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  Hernán Cortés: Visionary and Creator of a New Nation – Part 3

  Conclusions... and a television series to settle accounts with the past
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  Hernán Cortés: Visionary and Creator of a New Nation - Part 2

  Shortly after Cortés’ arrival in what is now Mexico, an Aztec delegation made its appearance and brought sumptuous gifts, which amazed the Spaniards. Moctezuma, the great Mexica Tlatoani, had been aware of the Spaniards in the Antilles for more than two decades, thanks to an extensive intelligence network.
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  Hernán Cortés: Visionary and Creator of a New Nation – Part 1

  Hernán Cortés led a fascinating life. This is not only because with very few resources -albeit with much practical and political astuteness- he defeated the most powerful empire in Mesoamerica, but also due to his firm conviction to create a great mestizo nation, without Spanish domination and with a deep respect for the ancestral indigenous culture.
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  The March of Folly

  The history of humanity is often a litany of surprising economic, technological, and social advances. Unfortunately, setbacks are also recorded, especially those related to decisions by top government officials that have resulted in terrible consequences for millions of people.
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  Winning Mindset

  In recent university talks on leadership and cultural change, I have emphasized mental constructions that have become formidable obstacles on the road to economic development.
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  Renew or die

  I would like to share my recent contribution to the Mexican dailies El Financiero and El Horizonte. I hope you find it interesting.
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  The Crusades Through Arab Eyes

  Volumes have been written about the Crusades, the series of wars in which European Christians sought to take, by any means, the holy places under Muslim control between the 11th and 13th centuries AD. If we seek peace, it is particularly interesting to understand the views of the different parties to the conflict. "The Crusades Through Arab Eyes," written by Amin Maalouf, focuses on how Muslims viewed the series of battles that lasted almost two hundred years.
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  Presentation Zen

  One quality that we value at Grupo Salinas is being fast and simple. In a globalized world, rapid response is key and simplicity is a necessary condition to achieve speed. But simplicity has value in itself. Simplifying complexities is a sign of useful intelligence.
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  More on the Rational Optimist

  Two years ago in this blog I shared my views on a book written by Matt Ridley entitled The Rational Optimist. According to Ridley, humankind has developed an unmatched capacity to resolve its most pressing challenges. Nevertheless, it is interesting to discover that in the past two hundred years pessimists have dominated the debate on the global issues that matter the most. But ever since Malthus, they have all failed in their dark forecasts.
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  Six Thinking Hats

  I recently posted a blog on what I believe to be the basic rules for success in business, which happened to be one of the most visited by readers. But business issues are never-ending, and luckily there is always additional material to share with readers.
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  The Panama Canal - Part 3

  The new Republic of Panama, initially represented by Bunau-Varilla, granted the United States perpetual rights to the canal and a large area of eight kilometers on each side of it in exchange for a sum of 10 million dollars and an annual rental payment of 250,000 dollars. Once the U.S. government acquired all the rights, machinery, equipment and the construction work already completed by the Compagnie Nouvelle du Canal de Panama for US$ 40 million, it moved in to resume this mammoth project, although on many levels it had to be started over from scratch.
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  The Panama Canal - Part 2

  Given the failure of the French initiative, the United States, under the leadership of Theodore Roosevelt, took up the project of an inter-oceanic canal. The U.S. Navy was gradually gaining worldwide hegemony and after the war against Spain in 1898, Washington concluded that a canal in Central America was essential to ensure the maritime supremacy of the rising world power.
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  The Panama Canal - Part 1

  The complex labyrinth of events that led to the building of the canal represented a great human odyssey from which we can draw innumerable lessons. On August 3, 1914, a date very close to the outbreak of World War I, the Cristobál, ship carrying cement, unceremoniously undertook the maiden voyage through the canal and a few days later, on August 15, the Ancón was present for the official opening. Last year I had the opportunity to read the fantastic book by David McCullough entitled The Path Between the Seas, which in its more than 600 pages chronicles the monumental work of engineering, policy decisions, and financial arrangements required to build the Panama Canal.
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  The Classics and Their RelevanceToday

  History is fascinating, but The Classical World by Robin Lane Fox is particularly noteworthy. The book describes a thousand years of human development, from the 8th century BC with Homer to the dawn of the Christian era with Emperor Hadrian.
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  The Great Degeneration

  Recently, during the awards ceremony of Limpiemos Nuestro México 2013 cleanup campaign, I commented on the importance of collaboration between civil society, government, and companies to resolve serious problems that affect us all. Awareness and action are key to achieving the cultural change that Mexico needs to embark on, because "a journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step."
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  The Zimmermann Telegram

  In 1917 the war in Europe was bogged down. The United Kingdom knew that only the United States could provide it with a needed advantage. However, our northern neighbors remained firm in their neutrality. There was even strong support for Germany within some circles, but that’s another story.
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  Myths and Curses

  This past weekend I had the honor of attending the Guadalajara International Book Fair, where my friend Jacques Rogozinski launched his book, Mitos y mentadas de la economía mexicana. Jacques shares his insight and experience as a public official concerning the economic issues that we all are interested in, or at the very least affect us.
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  The Red Queen

  I recently revisited an interesting book by evolutionary scientist Matt Ridley that was the subject of a previous blog. Ridley addresses the hypothesis known in the scientific community as The Red Queen, where continuous adaptation is necessary for a species to keep in shape with respect to its environment.
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  Why Nations Fail?

  I appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with the Spanish-language edition of Newsweek. With this in mind, here is my first contribution that I sent to the magazine that circulates throughout the hemisphere.
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  Trust and Money

  Despite some recent apparent signs of improvement, in the past two years we’ve had very negative economic news from Europe, particularly from countries such as Spain, Ireland, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, and Portugal. High unemployment, failed banks, fiscal insolvency, and a growing distrust of markets are just a few of the difficulties.
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  The secret to happiness

  What’s the secret to happiness? For decades, psychologists, sociologists, philosophers, scientists, spiritualists –and those lacking in that department– have tried to respond to this question. This summer it’s worth pondering such issues that transcend the realm of everyday concerns.
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  Starting Over: a way of life

  Reading a good book is always a pleasure, but if the work has been written by an endearing individual, the gratification multiplies. This is the case with the book Starting Over: a way of life, in which Luis J. Echarte, a senior manager at Grupo Salinas, shares his personal experiences and his vision of the world of business as a global executive who is not afraid of transformation.
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  Abundance

  Is it possible that advancing technology will permit us to end poverty, sickness, and otherserious problems? According to the book Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think, written by my friend Peter H. Diamandis and Steven Kotler, humanity should prepare itself for an abundant future. - See more at: http://ricardosalinas.com/blog/blog.aspx?lang=en&guid=005623de-ac25-46c4-8253-1cd1c188a50a#sthash.CBJJBTOp.dpuf
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  Freedom to communicate, a fundamental right

  Ideas make us unique; as human beings we define ourselves by them. However, they have little impact if we lack the ability to communicate. For example, if we did not have the ability to convey the scientific achievements we have obtained over the centuries, it would be impossible to accumulate the knowledge that we have gained.
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  The Rational Optimist

  Blessed by an interesting and diverse professional career, Matt Ridley, whose claim to fame is as a zoologist, banker, journalist, and expert on evolution, is an author worth getting to know. In his latest book, The Rational Optimist, he invites us to adopt a positive view of the world, human capacity and global trade. According to Ridley, mankind has developed an unmatched capacity to resolve its most pressing challenges. Still the same, the pessimists have dominated the discussion of the most important global issues over the past 200 years. However, since Thomas Malthus, they have all failed in their forecasts.
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  The Wealth of Nations

  It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages.
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  Your Call Is Not That Important to Us

  "Your Call Is (Not That) Important to Us", by Emily Yellin, addresses the crucial importance for companies to focus on service. The book illustrates the issue with several cases of company call centers that have lost their reputation or even cease to exist because of a lack of customer attention.
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  Dead Aid

  One of my favorite talks from Ciudad de las Ideas was presented by Dambisa Moyo, a brilliant economist from Zambia whose focus on poverty, development, and economic cooperation has been recognized, although not always accepted, throughout the world.
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  The Criollos in the Mirror

  One of my biggest passions is Mexican history. Every time I learn more about this topic, I realize that our history is neither linear nor simple, nor Manichean, as some politicians would have us believe.
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  The Collapse of Complex Societies

  Se habla mucho sobre catástrofes naturales, extinción de recursos naturales, invasiones, o los malos manejos de los gobiernos como causas de la decadencia de muchas civilizaciones destacadas –me vienen a la mente las distintas teorías sobre el colapso de los mayas, por ejemplo, donde una simple búsqueda en Google nos ofrece múltiples resultados.
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  The Five Routes of Hernán Cortés

  Fomento Cultural Grupo Salinas (FCGS) recently presented the book “Las cinco rutas de Hernán Cortés” by Juan Miralles, one of the top historians in Mexico.
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  Change is Possible

  n my End of the Year Message, I commented that “success should not immobilize us. […] Each of the sectors in which we participate will continue evolving, and Grupo Salinas should be at the forefront of this evolution.” We will continue to promote change. I also commented on this topic in a reference to the book "The Tipping Point," written by Malcolm Gladwell.
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  “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s”

  Here are some quick reflections on a book on the life of Julius Caesar, one of the most important figures in history. Some of the lessons from this man, who dictated a good part of global political, economic and military actions in the 1st century BC, are still valuable today.