This installment of V&V covers Aaron Cohn of Laundry Puppy. He recently sold to FlyCleaner and we caught up around Thanksgiving for a debrief. Down-to-earth and super personable, Aaron is still helping Laundry Puppy clients through FlyCleaner and helping FlyCleaner maximize their investment in him. Acquisition for Talent. Big Learn: You really can do just …
“It’s Easier To Make Something 10 Times Better Than To Make Something 10% Better” – Astro Teller, head of Google X My students who struggle the most start 30-60 points away from their target score. It seems so close. But the brutal truth is that most won’t make it. In the hordes of students I …
This is the abbreviated version of a Saturday Night Live skit (Basement Karate – Bryan Cranston). What was so striking was the little boy’s reaction to getting shellacked by his old man. I have heard some of the exact same phrases out of my GMAT students…. I know, I know, I shouldn’t laugh . . …
The most obvious expression of talent is that which is shown externally. A fast athlete,the top of the class, MacArthur grants . . . some talent is innate, the rest is cultivated. Can we do better cultivating the good stuff? That might depend – what is our definition of the good stuff? We fixate on …
As students struggle to determine how to invest their time wisely, one question dominates the conversation.
Do I make incremental improvement or do I start from the beginning?
In proper CYA fashion, it depends . . .
But what it depends upon may surprise you.
The best way to win? Be better. How much better? Soul crushingly better. Sound cruel? The Weekend Journal shared a great piece about the Superstar effect – how some stars are so much better than everyone else in the field that they literally crush their competition before the game/match/negotiation begins. Boris Spassky, Bobby Fishcher’s rival …
Everyone’s favorite Intimidators The Weekend Journal recently published an article on one of my favorite topics – the Superstar Effect. They also kindly included a list of the most famous intimidators. Here is that list: Muhammad Ali – noting himself as the “greatest” and following it up with a nasty punch . . . very …
Lionel Tiger shares the history of monkeys and medal in his latest Op-Ed piece for the Wall Street Journal. He posits that there is a biological need for humans to have games such as the Olympics
Like our primate cousins, competition is in our blood.
Is this just more justification for what my less athletically-inclined friends call ‘testosterone-fueled’ children’s games?
Or is there a verifiable, quantifiable biological need?
I was fortunate to receive an advanced copy of Seth Godin’s latest, Linchpin. I had a very hard time writing an appropriate review on Amazon. What others reviewers are raving about is how this book is about doers . . . kind of, but not really. This book is about people who fancy themselves single-handedly …
The newsletter this week includes a favorite item from Mrs. Thatcher: “Democratic nations must try to find ways to starve the terrorist and the hijacker of the oxygen of publicity on which they depend.” A few weeks ago the Wall Street journal published an opinion piece worth a revisit. The original piece by Warren Kozak …
Sports Stat of the Week It’s all in the numbers…. Never mind what happened Sunday afternoon . . . I turned off the second display in my office and focused on teaching our Advanced Quant class. The students didn’t have to know the Boys were being destroyed by Future Rapper Favre. (Pants on the Ground? …
What do you call it when a defender “bounces” a puck into his own goal? Ready? . . . Heart Breaking. Actually I can’t believe I have yet to find the term . . . surely there is a term for this phenomenon given what my beloved Robi had to say about it, “I hope …
Brett Favre is looking royal in purple. Hard to believe he recently crossed into 40. Though they lost to the Cardinals . . . “I’m anxious to go watch it on the news because I’m pretty sure everybody is going to talk about what Brett Favre did wrong, and not talk about how our defense …
Bringing Sexy Back – Time Management Lisa, assistant project manager at Paladin Principals, and I were talking about guys this afternoon and we discovered that we both find some of the same traits super sexy in men. What is that number one trait . . . #1 Time Management It’s not that we want our …
If you do some digging at katemckeon.com you will discover that I am a fan of outsourcing. Who wouldn’t be? Get the best talent to do the best work at the best price. That at least is the mantra of outsourcing . . .And oftentimes, outsourcing a project works. But then there are times it …
Happy 234th Birthday to the United States Marine Corps! A big thank you to those who have served and those who will serve. Bob Parsons, the Chief Nutty-Nut at GoDaddy.com creates a rousing tribute to the Marine Corps each year in celebration of the evening at Tun Tavern in Philadelphia, November 10, 1775. The Few, …
So you’re a lefty and life is tough? Stop your whining. Look at the numbers . . . you’re in pretty good company . . . if you can survive adolescence. This week we compare the salaries of left-handed pitchers with the average salary of all pitchers over the past 20 years. I can …
Ever feel like you’ve started on the wrong foot? Maybe the project didn’t get off to a good start or the date started with you falling down a flight of stairs . . . I hear these things, um, happen…. Can you get the win after a rough start? On October 26th, 2009, the Toronto …
Mastery is a path, not a destination so I thought I would clarify a few things that have come up in comments . . . You can be better than 95% of all other people after you have persevered for 1000 hours in one area. So if you are a runner, does that mean you …
That’s it. I’m pulling out the brat card. I had an epiphany today. . . . As much as I push to find pockets of excellence whether they be academic, athletic, artistic or some combination thereof, excellence is what I “do.” It’s my research it, my downtime reading, and to paraphrase Austin Powers, “it’s my …