Gabriel Mizrahi is a writer and management consultant in Los Angeles. He has written articles, white papers, comedy, and pop music. He is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post and the creator of The North Korea Blog, a hub for interesting and funny content from the hermit kingdom. Previously, he worked with Cirque du Soleil, where he helped design the company’s strategy, developed partnerships and business models, and analyzed new products and services. Before the circus, he was a management consultant at Deloitte, where he worked with companies in North and South America.
Business
Is It Wrong to Outsource Your Own Job?
Bob was a software developer who churned out code for a critical infrastructure company. And he was a good one. So good, in fact, that he was recognized in performance reviews as the best developer in the building, a reputation enhanced by an “inoffensive and quiet” demeanor that made Bob the sort of chap “you wouldn’t look at twice in an elevator,” according to a Verizon case study. That’s what made him so effective. Late last year, Verizon’s security team was hired by Bob's company to investigate the secrets of Bob’s success in pulling off what is either an epic ethical and security breach, or a brilliant operating model that reflects the beauty of the modern economy.
Business
Why Gangnam Style Marks a Triumph of South Korean Tech
When the sleek, sexy, preposterous world of PSY's “Gangnam Style” surged to become the number one video on YouTube, it offered us a glimpse of the new South Korea: an engineering powerhouse that rivals the West, a competitive economy that drives innovation, and an increasingly successful exporter of cultural memes.
Arab Spring
Why Revolution Can’t Come to North Korea
If you woke up tomorrow morning with the desire to, say, overthrow your government, you couldn't have picked a better day. Before you left the house, you could tag some inspirational photos of homemade signs on Facebook; Tweet out a few patriotic blasts with locations of the day's protest spots; email friends, family, and sympathetic bloggers with firsthand reports and mission statements; Skype with a foreign journalist in one of those romantic grainy interviews you see on CNN; and, if you had a few extra minutes, create a Freedom Playlist to rock out to, because every revolution needs a soundtrack. This is the golden age of grassroots regime change. Unless, of course, you woke up in North Korea.
