How do you learn? Most likely, the first thing that comes to mind is memorization: digesting facts and figures and spitting them out when asked of you, whether you’re ready or not. Not cool. In the digital age -- with information slapping us silly -- how we learn is increasingly more important than what we learn. Of course, Millennials are showing the culture that experience carries more weight than anything else. This is correct. Experience also applies to the learning process; yep, learning is not really about being smart -- it’s about learning how to learn. It’s a skill we can all master, and from there, proceed to kick ass in business and in life. Ulrich Boser, a senior fellow...
Time really is on their side: The Rolling Stones -- featuring Mick Jagger and Keith Richards -- managed to survive for decades against the most impossible odds, roadblocks and dead ends. In the beginning, they were gunning the gas; now they’re coasting on cruise control, but they’re still in motion. However, like actual rolling stones, they’ve powered through and tossed aside every obstacle in their very determined way, with the heft and thrust of a fully stocked Brinks truck. The Rolling Stones were many things, but above all, they were a business not to be fucked with. When you step back and take a real good look --as writer Rich Cohen has done in his new book The Sun &...
“I leave my stuff all around the house, like every guy,” says Cully Pratt, regarding the spark that inspired his custom, handmade Cully Pepper Trays. Each tray is carved from wood, and then an image of the customer’s choosing is superimposed on its flat surface (burned or painted). This touch makes it more than just another knicknack; it becomes both meaningful and useful -- it gathers your personal belongings instead of gathering dust. Now you know what to buy for the guy who loses everything. “It’s an everyday pocket-dump tray that is rugged and looks tough,” he says. “You can throw your wallet and keys and stuff in there so you don’t lose them. It just becomes a personalized gift...
Remember learning the rule “if you can’t say something nice, say nothing?” Kim Scott calls bullshit on that. As a faculty member at Apple University and a former longtime director at Google, she learned all about happy, productive workplaces, and what makes them the land of pure imagination. Her own startup, Candor, Inc., is building the mothership for excellent communication in business. The idea: to get everyone moving in the same direction -- and keep them moving. The rules of this game are so simple and logical that, of course, they sound revolutionary and daring. The key: feedback. And that’s a mutual deal, among everyone in the organization, including the most great and powerful bosses. To be really great at...
When shit got real for attorney Brian Cuban, he preferred not to wrap it up neatly with a common and often overused phrase. “I don’t like the term rock bottom,” he says, “because people associate it with death or accidentally killing someone in an auto accident or going to jail. I don’t think you need to hit rock bottom in order to recover. Rock bottom is whatever gets you sober. I prefer the term recovery tipping point.” Still, what led to Brian’s own tipping point was dramatic enough; in fact, no TV movie-of-the-week could hold it all: failed marriages, psychiatric hospital stays, and a short drive to the brink of suicide. That, along with image issues like body dysmorphic disorder,...
