From the category archives:
Lewis Terman recognized the importance of intelligence when he pioneered his IQ tests in the early 1900s. In his opinion, nothing about an individual is as important as IQ, except possibly morals. I would agree, except to add that you need to be smart enough to do the job, not too much smarter than that. [...]
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While sitting at a traffic light recently, I noticed the printing on the mini-van next to me: “The Reptile Experience: We’ll bring the reptiles to you. Birthday parties, Bar Mitzvahs, parish picnics.” As a former high school prom chairman and the host of hundreds of parties since, I can honestly say that including reptiles in [...]
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When I was in elementary school, inevitably some kid in the class would ask the nun, “Does handwriting count?” Not known for patience or suffering fools lightly, these nuns would invariably give the same answer, “It all counts.” Apparently some of the people making the news this week didn’t attend the same schools I did. [...]
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Today I have to do taxes. Any day that you do not have to do taxes, generally speaking, turns out better than a one when you do. Before anyone scolds me for not wanting to do my taxes, let me explain what I discovered. I spent a helluva lot of money last year on advice. [...]
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Most business and life challenges eventually show up in the title of a country / western song. Of course, most of the titles intend to address the problems associated with romantic relationships, but I think we’re remiss not to notice the ones for business building as well. “If I’d Shot You When I Wanted to, [...]
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Sometime in the past two years, perhaps while I was distracted by the vampire craze, zombies started presenting a more menacing presence. Scores of television programs, movies, and books have seemingly sprung from nowhere to teach us to survive a zombie attack. For example, Max Brooks, son of Mel Brooks and Anne Bancroft, has dominated [...]
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Last year my friend, Debbie, was dating a man named Bill. As any smart boyfriend would do, he asked Debbie what she wanted for Christmas. She told him she’d like a new sweater and then showed him the kind of thing she had in mind. Bill mentioned that she could use a one-cup coffee maker [...]
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In 2005, one year after receiving a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, Steve Jobs told an audience: “Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.” The most productive chapter in Steve Jobs’s career occurred in the six years after that [...]
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Since referrals are the coinage of my realm, I recently asked an executive coaching client, Greg, the CFO of a large company, to refer me to another executive in his organization. Apparently it worked, because a week later one of the vice presidents set up a meeting with me. When I met the vice president, [...]
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Esteemed Irish colleague, Patrick Daly, shared this story on a website we both frequent: An economist, a chemist and a physicist are marooned on a desert island. Their only food is a can of beans, but they have no can opener. The physicist says, “Let’s try to focus the tropical sun onto the lid – [...]
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