Tap Dancing to Work: Warren Buffett on Practically Everything
Category Archives: Sharpening Your Skills
51 Practical Lessons for a Lifetime
One of my coaching clients recently turned 51 and, upon my encouragement, prepared a list of lessons he’d learned in the “school of hard knocks.” With his permission, I present below a distillation of his wisdom. Measure twice, cut once … Continue reading
The only thing that matters: The Relevant Results
In New York city, a taxi driver and a priest die on the same day and knock on Heaven’s door. Saint Peter receives them and shows the taxi driver and the priest around. The taxi driver’s home for eternity is … Continue reading
What I’ve been reading: “Fooled by Randomness” (+ Book Summary)
In “Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and in the Markets,” Lebanese American essayist Nassim Nicholas Taleb discusses cognitive biases and irrationalities that drive human behavior and decision-making. Principal ideas: Luck, chance, and randomness play a … Continue reading
“It pays to advertise” / Advertising’s Hallowed Origins
I’ve been reading Ogilvy on Advertising, written by David Ogilvy (1911–1999,) the founder of Ogilvy & Mather. Ogilvy is one of the founding fathers of modern advertising and spent his life preaching the benefits of research in salesmanship, long informative … Continue reading
What to do when you are overwhelmed with things to do
If you are overwhelmed by the extensive demands on your time or by the number of projects that seem permanently stuck on your to-do list, here’s a technique to organize your projects more effectively. Make a table with three columns: … Continue reading
Roger Ebert: “Try to contribute joy to the world”
After surviving a disfiguring spell of thyroid cancer, legendary film critic and Pulitzer Prize-winner Roger Ebert passed away on Wednesday at age 70. Roger Ebert wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times for 46 years and syndicated his movie reviews to more … Continue reading
Two-Minute Mentor #4: Is a task worth doing worth doing poorly?
You don’t have to give 110% or even 100% to everything you do. Successful people are very selective about when they push themselves to the max — only when the stakes are high enough. Not everything you produce has to … Continue reading
Two-Minute Mentor #2: When in Doubt, Do
One of the most insidious obstacles to achievement is our tendency to resign to the many pessimistic voices in our heads that advocate caution and forethought before making decisions. Instead of accepting failure as an inherent possibility in any undertaking, … Continue reading
Two-Minute Mentor #1: Argue like the Wright Brothers
The Wright brothers, most notable for their invention of powered flight, liked to debate with each other. Wilbur and Orville found that a constructive way to identify solutions to many problems they encountered or resolve their interpersonal conflicts was to … Continue reading
Nine Easy Rules to Avoid Being Criticized
Rule 1: Always strive to please others and agree with everybody Rule 2: Do not attempt to change people’s minds Rule 3: Do not try a new idea or pursue any worthwhile goal Rule 4a: Conform to established ways of … Continue reading
