Dov Seidman | |
|---|---|
 Dov Seidman at LRN Knowledge Forum 2014 | |
| Born | May 13, 1964 San Francisco, California, US |
| Alma mater | Harvard Law School |
| Occupation(s) | Author CEO of LRN Columnist |
| Board member of | 92nd Street Y |
| Website | LRN Leadership |
Dov Seidman (born May 13, 1964) is an American author, attorney, columnist and businessman.[1] He is the founder, chairman and CEO of LRN,[2] an ethics and compliance management firm,[3][4] and the author of How.
Early life edit
Seidman was born in San Francisco, California. His father, Alex, was a Polish-born physician who died in 1992.[2] While on a trip with his mother, Sydelle, and his two siblings, Ari and Goldee, to Israel, his mother decided that they would remain there; at the time, Seidman was 3 years old.[5] He returned to the United States in 1977, when he was 13. Seidman is dyslexic.[6] Seidman’s dyslexia is the subject of a case study in the book The Dyslexic Advantage.[7]
Education edit
In Israel, Seidman did not excel in his studies. He had difficulty with the Hebrew language and because his mother shifted between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, he had been enrolled at four different schools. When his mother brought him back to the United States, he found success in sports but still suffered in school. Because his family had moved a lot during his childhood, the first time he was in the same school for two consecutive years was when he started the 11th grade in Beverly Hills High School.[2] He scored 970 on the SAT exam (at the time scored out of 1600). He was accepted to the University of California, Santa Barbara while his best friend had been invited to attend UCLA. Determined to attend what he considered a first rate school, Seidman wrote a letter to UCLA pleading with them to be accepted, and they agreed, on condition that he take an English language course.[5]
Seidman attended UCLA simultaneously for both bachelor's and master's degrees in philosophy, graduating summa cum laude in 1987.[8] He then received another bachelor's degree with honors from Oxford University in philosophy, politics and economics, where he was a Newton-Tatum scholar and served as captain of the Balliol College crew team.[8] Following Oxford, he attended Harvard Law School, where he served as teaching fellow for professors Alan Dershowitz, Morton Horwitz[8] and Michael Sandel, graduating in 1992.[9]
Career edit
Seidman's career included stints at the Washington, D.C office of O'Melveny & Myers, Arnold & Porter, Steptoe & Johnson, Office of the Legal Adviser at the U.S. State Department and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.[8]
LRN edit
Seidman launched the Legal Research Network in 1994 with the intent of creating a professional legal research firm for corporations, instead of them hiring inexperienced lawyers to advance through time consuming and laborious research.[2]
He was able to pre-sell a $500,000 contract to MCI based on the idea.[10] He raised $2 million from 42 investors to launch the company.[5]
Only few weeks after the launch of LRN (previously referred to as Legal Research Network, and sometimes also referred to as the Legal Knowledge Company), the company found mention on the front page of The Wall Street Journal. Soon afterwards, large corporations such as Motorola, Johnson & Johnson, DuPont and Chevron were signing on for LRN's services.[2]
American Lawyer magazine wrote about Seidman in a feature story called "Should You be Afraid of This Man?" because of concerns in the legal industry that LRN would undercut law firms by charging substantially less.[11]
Seidman eventually shifted the company direction toward ethics and regulatory compliance, as well as corporate culture, governance and leadership. His position, explained in the journal Strategy + Business, is that the most sustainable businesses are also the most moral, through “sustainable values” rather than “situational values”. [12]
Seidman testified before the U.S. Sentencing Commission about the need for companies to develop ethical cultures instead of ‘check-the-box’, compliance-only approaches, and his testimony helped shaped the amendments to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines[13]
Seidman created a flat reporting structure at LRN which emphasizes "collaborative management." A New York Times column he wrote described the company as moving toward self-governance with staff reporting to the company mission instead of having formal titles.[14]
Best-selling author edit
Seidman wrote a book entitled: How: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything... in Business (and in Life), published in September 2007. In 2011, How: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything, an expanded edition, was published. The expanded edition contains a foreword written by former United States President Bill Clinton. "How" is a philosophical framework for the changing role of behavior, governance, culture and leadership in contemporary society. Divided into four parts, it covers the topics such as how trust and reputation are critical to prospering in business and how modifying ones actions and decisions can make the road to success easier to navigate. The second edition of his book became a New York Times Best Seller.[15]
Columnist edit
Seidman is a columnist for DealBook in the New York Times; the digital Wall Street Journal,[16] Forbes,[17] and The Huffington Post.[18]
In an article in the the Harvard Business Review, Seidman says that while the world previously transitioned from an "industrial economy" to a "knowledge economy", it is now moving to a "human economy". Workers will no longer have an advantage over increasingly intelligent machines, but will be valued for "essential traits can't and won’t be programmed into software, like creativity, passion, character, and collaborative spirit—their humanity, in other words."[19]
Legal battle edit
The first sentence of Seidman's book is: “This is a HOW book, not a how-to book,” and Seidman uses the tag line “how matters” when providing his insight into success in business[20]
Chobani, the yogurt company, began an ad campaign in 2014 centered on the phrase "how matters," emphasizing that there are many types and brands of yogurt but that how it is made makes all the difference in the world. Seidman said that Chobani used ‘how’ to connote that they are an ethical company, appropriating the foundation of his philosophy.
In 2014, Seidman sued Chobani and its advertising agency, New York City based Droga5, for allegedly violating his trademarks of the word "how" in relation to values and behavior in the corporate sphere.[21] Both Chobani and Drago5 rebuffed the suit by claiming they had never even heard of Seidman and that the terms in question are too broad to reasonably consider as trademarked.[1]
As of April 2015, Chobani has dropped their contentious ad campaign. Chobani claimed the decision to introduce a new campaign had "nothing to do with the pending litigation," adding that the company was no longer working with Droga5.[22]
Awards and honors edit
Seidman gave the commencement address at UCLA College of Letters and Science in 2002.[23] He was given the Jurisprudence Award by the Anti-Defamation League in 2003.[24] In 2008, the Economic Times named Seidman one of the Top 60 Global Thinkers of the Last Decade.[25] Since 2008, Seidman and LRN have been the corporate partner of The Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity’s Prize in Ethics Essay Contest, an annual competition for students to analyze ethical issues.[13] In 2009, Seidman was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Human Letters by the Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion[26] Seidman was a keynote address speaker at the United Nations Global Compact in 2015.[27]
Seidman was selected as the keynote speaker before the NFL owners in 2014, advocating that the NFL create a culture of high expectations, where tolerance and respect are the norm.[28]
Seidman addressed the Fortune-Time Global Forum at Vatican City about the moral imperative of global leadership.[29]
Seidman was a member of the RAND Institute for Civil Justice Board of Overseers.[8]
Personal life edit
Seidman resides in New York City, New York with his wife, Maria Seidman and two children.
External links edit
References edit
- ^ a b The New York Times If the Word ‘How’ Is Trademarked, Does This Headline Need a ™?, October 5, 2014
- ^ a b c d e "An Ethical Vision: ADL to honor attorney's efforts to raise moral standards of businesses". The Jewish Journal. March 6, 2003. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved Sep 6, 2015.
- ^ Clancy, Heather (October 26, 2013). "Disruptor - Dov Seidman, founder and CEO, LRN". ZDNet. Archived from the original on Sep 17, 2015. Retrieved Sep 17, 2015.
- ^ Friedman, Thomas L. (June 23, 2012). "The Rise of Popularism". The New York Times. Archived from the original on Mar 31, 2015. Retrieved Sep 17, 2015.
- ^ a b c Haaretz.com Dov Seidman's secret: You don't have to be a sucker to succeed, July 1, 2012
- ^ Heisel, William (July 5, 2009). "His keen sense of ethics has paid off handsomely". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved Sep 17, 2015.
- ^ Eide M.D.,M.A., Brock L.; Eide M.D., Fernette F. (July 31, 2012). The Dyslexic Advantage: Unlocking the Hidden Potential of the Dyslexic Brain. Plume; Reprint edition. ISBN 978-0452297920. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Bloomberg.com Bloomberg Business - Executive Profile: Dov L. Seidman
- ^ Forbes.com Dov Seidman - Contributor
- ^ "A Principal with Principle". Harvard Law Bulletin. 1 April 2004. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
- ^ Osborne, D.M. American Lawyer, "Should You Be Afraid of this Man?" June, 1995 (profile of Legal Research Network)
- ^ Kleiner, Art (29 May 2012). "The Thought Leader Interview: Dov Seidman". Strategy + Business. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
- ^ a b Clancy, Heather. "Disruptor - Dov Seidman, Founder and CEO, LRN". ZD Net. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
- ^ Seidman, Dov. "Letting the Mission Govern the Company". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ "NYT Best Seller list - How: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything". The New York Times. November 6, 2011. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved Sep 17, 2015.
- ^ "The Experts". The Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ "Contributor". Forbes - Dov Seidman. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ "Contributor - Dov Seidman". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ Seidman, Dov. "From the Knowledge Economy to the Human Economy". HBR.org. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- ^ Seidman, Dov (September 21, 2011). How: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything. Wiley. ISBN 978-1118106372.
- ^ Tracy, Abigail. "The Tweet That Got Chobani Sued for Millions". Inc. Inc. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
- ^ The New York Times Chobani Puts Its Ad Money on Becoming a Lifestyle Brand, April 30, 2015
- ^ "The president of the Directors Guild of America, the speaker of the California Assembly, the managing editor of The Wall Street Journal and a Nobel Laureate were among the invited speakers at this year's commencement, with ceremonies concluding this past weekend". UCLA Spotlight. The University of California, Los Angeles.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|url=(help) - ^ Madnick, Wendy J. "An Ethical Vision". The Jewish Journal. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ Bureau, ET. "Top 60 Global Thinkers of the Last Decade". The Economic Times. The Economic Times. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ "Dov L. Seidman to receive Doctor of Humane Letters, Honoris Causa, at Hebrew Union College - Jewish Institute of Religion Graduation Ceremonies". Hebrew Union College -- Jewish Institute of Religion. Hebrew Union College. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ "'Business can be a global force for good,' Bans says as General Assembly honours UN Global Compact". United Nations News Centre. United Nations. Retrieved 3 August 2015.
- ^ Pompei, Dan (24 March 2014). "Can This Man Help Save the NFL's Soul?". Sports on Earth. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- ^ "The LRN CEO talks about the moral imperative of modern leadership". Fortune.com. Time Inc. Retrieved 11 January 2017.
- ^ "LRN". LRN.
- ^ "How is the Answer". How is the Answer.
- ^ "The How Colum". Forbes.