萊蒂西婭·加斯卡聯合成立并負責運營全球首家致力于研究企業失敗癥結的智庫Failure Institute。這位墨西哥裔企業家爭取到一些優厚的投資和研究合作伙伴，其中包括政府機構、有影響力的投資基金、拉美跨國企業、墨西哥蒙特雷理工學院商學院和拉美開發銀行。各方合作的遠大目標是，幫助世界各地的企業領袖從失敗中吸取教訓。你有沒有創業失敗過？不妨隨手做做這份調查，找找問題所在。

剛開始Failure Institute組織了一系列名為“搞砸之夜”（FuckUp Night）的活動，將企業家召集在一起分享失敗的經歷，類似非營利機構TED大會。這項自曝其短的標志性活動如今成為致力于幫助企業家成功的全球項目，每個月約有1萬人在六大洲77個國家將近250個城市演講分享。

這一切始于2012年。當時，加斯卡第一次創業剛失敗，當時她想創業做社會公益：向墨西哥城的富人出售當地女性制造的手帕。后來加斯卡與朋友把酒夜話坦率分享創業失敗的經歷，發現這是“最有意義的一種商業對話”，因為這時交流起來非常坦誠，全是現實經驗教訓。為什么不認真做起來呢？“搞砸之夜”就這樣應運而生。

加斯卡在初創媒體Ozy有如下精彩的介紹：

在確立分享形式兩周后（每位演講者通過十張PPT圖片分享個人經歷，演講時長七分鐘）組織了第一期“搞砸之夜”，首批約1000場分享活動如期舉行。“搞砸之夜”的新任首席執行官恩尼克·奎克稱，活動發展情況完全沒摻水分。他們不能在Facebook、谷歌或者Twitter之類社交媒體宣傳，“因為我們的（英文）名稱里有不雅的詞”，但又不可能改名（不過在一些伊斯蘭國家允許主辦方使用首字母簡稱）。“人們失敗了就是會破口大罵，不會輕飄飄地說什么‘真討厭’之類的，”奎克解釋。他認為，“搞砸之夜”骨子里有一種“朋克、地下”的氣質，坦誠是核心。全球多個城市的潛在主辦方聯系“搞砸之夜”團隊，希望每月支付一小筆費用，換取使用這一品牌的許可。可口可樂、微軟、花旗銀行等約40家公司已經付費，在企業內部舉辦員工的“搞砸之夜”。

加斯卡將這一輪創業稱為失敗得來的遠見。和“搞砸之夜”這個名字一樣，這種對失敗的嚴肅審視既接地氣又不乏趣味，無論是從數據分析還是整體文化轉變方面看，這項全球運動對打造全球商業生態系統真正出了一份力。（某些國家的人看待失敗比其他國家冷靜。）通過全球每月約200場“搞砸之夜”分享會和Failure Institute專注的調查，加斯卡及其團隊可能比學界和傳統案例研究認識更深刻。

而且這個創新本身就很棒。還有誰愿意分享慘痛的創業經歷？如果你能上“搞砸”大會分享，我會給你備好美酒。

媒體關注

到處都是克里斯，克里斯·派恩吐槽好萊塢缺少多元化

克里斯·派恩不但有表演不錯，還吐得一手好槽。他在熱門綜藝節目《周六夜現場》完成了一場非常有趣的首秀，他指出現在有太多叫克里斯的英俊白人男子占據大銀幕，要么是動作明星要么是超級英雄。這本來就夠諷刺了，更逗的是，同臺的美國黑人女演員萊斯莉·瓊斯根本分不清克里斯·派恩和其他一堆克里斯誰是誰：克里斯·埃文斯、克里斯·海姆斯沃斯和克里斯·帕拉特。《華盛頓郵報》的記者艾米·王（音譯）一陣見血地指出，大銀幕上到處是溫和英俊而且完全可以相互替代的白人演員是有原因的，好萊塢的商業模式總是“想打安全牌”，如果演員的名字聽起來像黑人或者西班牙人沒法讓投資方滿意。

粉絲拿了好成績 饒舌天后妮琪·米娜包學費

這是非常暖心的一幕。上周六晚，一位粉絲在Twitter上問米娜：“你愿意幫我付學費嗎？”米娜驚人地做出一系列善舉，資助能證明自己取得好成績并可能證明學費的學生，全部或者部分承擔學費。很多優秀孩子展示了成績和需求。有人在Twitter上表示：“我的學費還有500美元沒付，我是單親媽媽養大的，家里還有個弟弟……我來自紐約皇后區，你可算幫大忙了。”妮琪，別管別人怎么說你“一時興起不可持續”。傳說中有位好姑娘不斷將可能在沙灘上曬死的海星拋回大海，你也是個好姑娘。

美國雜志Ebony裁員了。

記錄非裔美國人生活的月刊Ebony將裁撤將近三分之一編輯，并與姐妹刊物Jet合并。主編基爾·凱爾斯將離職，雜志將離開1945年創刊以來的總部芝加哥遷往洛杉磯。2016年5月，創辦Ebony和Jet的家族企業Johnson Publishing將兩家雜志賣給德克薩斯州的私募公司CVG Group。母公司變動帶來了震動，不久就出現了諸多問題。一些Ebony欠薪的自由職業者開始公開抱怨，在Twitter上都用統一標簽“Ebony欠錢”。

穆斯林的身份和形象分析

評論家內斯林·馬利克為穆斯林定義了一系列文化符號上的“身份矩陣”和“特權級別”，可以用于預測穆斯林可能遭遇怎樣的歧視或者騷擾。馬利克寫道：“一些穆斯林可以借助身份特征獲得某種通行證。其用處基本上要看個體能否輕易融入占主導的富人文化氛圍。聽起來很夸張，但事實如此。”她還描述了近來對穆斯林身份的諸多分析，既有非穆斯林世界的，也有一些身為穆斯林的批判人士——激進的憤怒青年，或穆斯林嬉皮士。

視頻：一位購物者對穆斯林女性說“真希望當初沒讓你來我們國家。”

事件發生在美國弗吉尼亞州雷斯頓一家Trader Joe超市。當時，隊列中一位好心的顧客讓一名女子插到自己前面。不知什么原因，那位插隊的女士開始閑聊，說起另一名戴著頭巾的女穆斯林顧客怎么不好。在允許閑聊女士插隊的顧客確認戴頭巾的顧客是穆斯林后，就出現了令人難堪的一幕。通過馬利克的穆斯林身份矩陣觀察，我們會發現這次交流很有教育意義。首先可以看到，針對戴穆斯林頭巾的顧客，那位女士很坦然地公開發表反伊斯蘭言論。其次，在被一位事后證明為伊斯林的人質疑后，那位震驚的女士試圖以更尖刻的言辭為自己辯護，她提到了女性的割禮和據稱為“穆斯林”的美國前總統奧巴馬。這次事件是個教訓，告訴人們提醒一位對穆斯林并不友好的頑固分子，會有什么結果。

覺醒的領袖

多個極端種族主義的白人組織得到免稅待遇。

這樣的組織有很多！田納西大學諾克維爾分校社區發展經濟法律診所所長、法學助理教授艾瑞克·阿瑪蘭特希望改變現狀。他的長篇論著值得一讀，假如你想盡可能了解改進種族問題或者稅收立法的靠譜觀點，那就更要好好拜讀了。阿瑪蘭特的論點很簡單：“在批準免稅流程中，美國國稅局沒能辨別仇視種族平等的組織，這不僅意味著，納稅的公眾實際上為仇視組織的活動提供補貼，還會影響慈善組織的免稅地位。”他有什么對策？將“教育機構”的廣義定義縮小為給予學位的機構，博物館或動物園之類遠程學習和文化機構，清除與合法機構一樣享受免稅的仇恨組織。“第501(c)(3)條規定源于古老的英文法律，幾乎沒有經過公開宣傳、討論和考量。法條本就過時，執法的還是國稅局。說好聽些，國稅局財力單薄，說難聽些，國稅局根本沒法判定機構是否應該免稅。”看起來是不是值得企業的朋友們游說一番？不是所有英雄都像蝙蝠俠一樣身披斗篷，很多都穿緊身褲。

最新披露的信函顯示，美國前總統尼克松曾擔心，國內的種族主義會促使全球其他國家地區倒向共產主義。

這封信落款日期是1959年，當時美國政府擔心同前蘇聯的冷戰愈演愈烈。信函寫在副總統官方使用的信紙上，主題是取消學校的種族隔離。信中尼克松寫道：“我為種族分裂對世界大國的影響深表擔憂。全球大部分地區的人都是有色人種，他們痛恨基于種族主義的侮辱。”他推測，一旦美國人看來像種族主義者，全球其他地區就會紛紛投靠共產主義，“那將造成災難性的后果，導致我們周圍充滿敵意最后被孤立。”尼克松還表示反對偏執的種族主義：“我不接受希特勒的優等種族觀，同樣也不接受劃分劣等種族的原則。”隨著此后競選總統失利，尼克松反對種族主義的傾向明顯不見了。此人看起來一身正氣，也只會整出亂攤子。

2012年被槍殺的非裔美國高中生特雷沃恩·馬丁將被佛羅里達紀念大學（FMU）授予學位。

學位是馬丁喜歡的航空方向，如果他仍然在世應該會很高興。FMU這所傳統美國黑人大學將于今年5月13日的開學典禮期間授予他學士學位，馬丁的父母特雷西·馬丁和塞布麗娜·富爾頓將代表他接受學位。富爾頓也是FMU的畢業生。校方的聲明寫得很感人，其中寫道：“我們的校友塞布麗娜充分體現了力量與尊嚴，她呼吁人們更關注暴力事件的其他受害者，同時推動整個社會更平等、更公正。”點擊查看更多內容，如果你不想影響周一的心情，就別看評論了。

經典名言

我可能會想成為美國黑人女作家托妮·莫里森，頂多也只是想想。上電影學院的時候，我發現一種全新的講故事方式，非常適合我，而且我講得很開心。這種新方式讓我茅塞頓開，看世界的方式都變了。多年后，我終于有機會和托妮·莫里森共進晚餐，她卻一直聊我制作的醫療劇《實習醫生格蕾》。假如我沒有調整想法，放棄模仿她轉而努力發掘自己的潛力，估計永遠沒機會跟她這樣吃飯聊我寫的劇。

——美國著名編劇、制作人珊達·萊梅斯（財富中文網）

譯者：Pessy

審稿：夏林

Leticia Gasca co-created and runs the Failure Institute, the first think tank devoted to studying the nuts and bolts of business failure. The Mexican-born entrepreneur has some well-heeled investment and research partners: Government organizations, impact investment funds, Latin American multinationals, Mexico’s EGADE Business School and the Development Bank of Latin America among them. Their lofty goal is to help business leaders from around the world learn from their mistakes. Did you have a business that failed? Take this handy survey and help the cause.

The Failure Institute started as a series of one-off events called "FuckUp Night," an evening that brings entrepreneurs together to share stories of their failures in a TEDx style setting. It remains the irreverent signature event of a now global program devoted to helping entrepreneurs succeed; some 10,000 people a month are showing and telling in almost 250 cities in 77 countries on six continents.

It all started in 2012. Gasca was fresh off her first failed attempt at social entrepreneurship, selling handicrafts made by indigenous women to wealthy folks in Mexico City. After a mezcal-filled night of sharing candid stories of dead businesses with friends, she realized it was “one of the most meaningful business conversations ever,” honest and full of real learning. Why not make it a thing? FuckUp Night was born.

From Gasca’s delightful profile in Ozy:

After settling on a regulated format (each speaker would have seven minutes and 10 slideshow images to share their story), the first FuckUp Night was organized a couple of weeks later — the first of around 1,000 events that have taken place to date. The growth has been totally organic, says Yannick Kwik, the new CEO of FuckUp Nights. They cannot market events on Facebook, Google or Twitter “because we have the word ‘fuck’ in our name,” but changing the name is out of the question (although hosts in certain Islamic countries are allowed to use the acronym, FUN). “When someone fails, they say ‘Fuck!,’ they don’t say ‘Darn this’ or anything else,” says Kwik, arguing that FuckUp Nights’ “punk, underground” roots have honesty and frankness at their core. Potential hosts from cities around the world contact the FuckUp Night team seeking a license to use the brand for a small monthly fee. Around 40 companies, from Coca-Cola to Microsoft to Citibank, have paid to host private FuckUp Night events for employees.

Gasca has embraced her calling as a failure visionary. And as fun and profane as it all sounds, the serious examination of failure has a real contribution to make to the global business ecosystem, in both data analysis and a collective culture shift. (Some countries are cooler with the idea of failure than others.) With some 200 FuckUp Night meetings a month around the world and dedicated Failure Institute surveys, Gasca and her team are on track to generate far deeper insights than anything available from academia or traditional case study models.

And it's an inspiring idea. Anyone got any worst practices to share? You get the FuckUp license, I'll bring the tequila.

On Point

One of the many white men named Chris poked fun at Hollywood’s lack of diversity

Chris Pine is both a talented actor and a good sport; his first-ever SNL monologue was a funny riff on how many scruffily handsome white guys named Chris are currently taking up space on the silver screen as action stars and super heroes. It was a fun conceit, made even funnier by the early appearance of Leslie Jones who confused him with the other Chrises: Evans, Hemsworth, and Pratt. The Washington Post’s Amy Wang correctly points out that these types of non-threateningly handsome white men are now interchangeable for a reason. In a Hollywood business model that has a “tendency to play it safe,” a Regular Jamaal or Jimena Q. Citizen are not going to fit the bill.

Got good grades? Nicki Minaj pays

It was a joy to watch unfold. Saturday night, after a fan tweeted the star asking, “Well you wanna pay for my tuition?” Minaj went on a surprise giving spree, funding some or all of the school fees for anyone who could prove they had good grades and could verify the costs with their school. A lot of excellence was on display along with some real need. “I have $500 left of my tuition to be paid, single mother raising me and my lil bro.. from Queens, you would help a lot,” tweeted one. You in the back - relax with the “it’s not sustainable” grumbling. You keep throwing those starfish, Nicki.

Ebony Magazine gets downsized

Ebony magazine, the monthly chronicle of African American life, is cutting nearly one-third of its editorial staff and consolidating operations with its sister publication, Jet. Also gone is the editor-in-chief, Kyra Kyles. The magazine will be moving to LA; Chicago has been home to the publication since 1945. Johnson Publishing, the original family founders of Ebony and Jet, sold both publications to Texas-based private equity firm CVG Group in May 2016. The transition was a rocky one nd troubles soon followed, including a spate of unpaid freelancers who took their grievances public under the hashtag #EbonyOwes.

On Muslim identity and profiling

Nesrine Malik has created an “identity matrix” and “privilege scale” for Muslims, a rubric of cultural markers that predicts how likely it will be that a Muslim person will be identified and discriminated against or otherwise harassed. “Certain attributes and accoutrements offer some Muslims a ‘pass,’” she writes. “A pass almost always depends on the ease with which an individual can blend into the affluent dominant culture. It sounds dramatic, and it is.” She goes on to describe the current slate of Muslim identities ripe for outside analysis and “othering,” from the radicalized, angry youth, to the Mipsters, or Muslim hipster.

Code Switch

The incident happened in a Reston, VA Trader Joe’s after one shopper kindly allowed a woman to cut ahead of her in line. Out of nowhere, the line-cutter started killing time by saying negative things about yet a third shopper who was wearing a type of head covering called niqab. When the shopper who let the woman into line identified herself as Muslim, a nasty conversation ensued. The exchange, viewed through the Muslim identity matrix, is instructive. First, we see that the woman making Islamophobic remarks felt comfortable publicly targeting the shopper wearing niqab for abuse. Second, the shock of being confronted by a person who turned out to be Muslim forced the woman to escalate her rhetoric; in an attempt to defend herself, she mentioned genital cutting and “the Muslim” Obama. An object – now viral – lesson of what happens when you remind a bigot that they’re not among friends.

The Woke Leader

Many white supremacist groups are tax-exempt

A lot of them! Eric Amarante, Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Community Economic Development Clinic at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, would like to remedy that. His lengthy essay is worth a read, particularly if you are in the business of making robust arguments on racial remedies or tax law. But his argument is simple: “The IRS’s inability to identify hate groups in the tax-exempt application process not only means that the tax-paying public effectively subsidizes the activities of hate groups, but it also cheapens the tax-exempt status of all charities.” His solution? Narrow the overly broad definition of an “educational organization” to degree-granting institutions, distance learning and cultural institutions like museums or zoos, and eliminate the hate-based organizations that get swept in along with the legitimate ones. “The 501(c)(3) statute was adopted from ancient English law with little fanfare, debate, or thought. Enforcement of this poorly-considered law was entrusted to the IRS, an agency that, at best, is underfunded, and, at worst, is poorly suited to determine tax-exemption.” Does it seems like something worth lobbying about, corporate allies? Not all heroes wear capes, but plenty carry briefs.

A newly resurfaced letter showed that Nixon feared racism in America would drive the rest of the world toward Communism

The letter was dated 1959, a time when the U.S. was worried about a deepening Cold War with the former Soviet Union. The letter was written on official Vice Presidential stationary; the subject was school integration. “I am deeply concerned with the impact of racial division in terms of world power,” he wrote. “Most of the people of the world belong to the colored races. They deeply resent any slurs based on race.” If we look like a bunch of racists, then the rest of the world flocks to communism, he reckoned. “That would leave us disastrously isolated in a hostile world.” He also stated his personal opposition to bigotry. “I could not accept Hitler’s idea of a master race. I cannot accept the equally false principle of an inferior race.” One unsuccessful presidential bid later, his moral case against racism disappeared, evidently. This guy seemed decent, but Dick 2.0 was a disaster.

Trayvon Martin will get a posthumous degree from Florida Memorial University

The degree will be in aviation, a subject which delighted Martin when he was alive. The HBCU will award the bachelor’s degree during commencement ceremonies on May 13. Martin’s parents Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton will be on hand to accept it; Fulton is an FMU alumna. “Sybrina, our alum, epitomizes strength and dignity as she uplifts other victims of violence while effecting change for a more equal and just society,” the school said in a lovely statement. Click through for more, but if you want to preserve your Monday mood, skip the comments.

Quote

I could dream about being Toni Morrison. Or I could do. At film school, I discovered an entirely new way of telling stories. A way that suited me. A way that brought me joy. A way that flipped this switch in my brain and changed the way I saw the world. Years later, I had dinner with Toni Morrison. All she wanted to talk about was Grey's Anatomy. That never would have happened if I hadn’t stopped dreaming of becoming her and gotten busy becoming myself.

—Shonda Rhimes