Interesting Stuff From The Harvard Business Review
“A wise man recognizes the convenience of a general statement, but he bows to the authority of a particular fact.” – Oliver Wendel Holmes (The Poet at the Breakfast Table, 1872)I didnt find that one compelling idea that I always look for and expect to find in everything I read…
READ MORELiving Rich: Watch Great Movies
Last Tuesday, in Message #325, I tried to talk you into reading a really great book. I argued that since you probably have very little time to devote to pleasurable reading, the books you read should be the kind that will give you the most pleasure. I said that there…
READ MOREWhat Would You Do Differently Next Time?
“Wherever there are beginners and experts, old and young, there is some kind of learning going on, and some sort of teaching. We are all pupils and we are all teachers.” – Gilbert Highet (The Art of Teaching, 1950) If you apply yourself and follow ETRs guidelines, you will end…
READ MORE17 Ways To Brighten Up A Gloomy Day
It is inexcusable to pass along bulk mail as a daily message, but every so often I come across something that I am sure you will appreciate. The following, sent to me by RH (and I don’t think I even know RH) were designed to “maintain a healthy level of…
READ MORECynicism Is Only Good With Beer And Peanuts
“I was going to buy a copy of ‘The Power of Positive Thinking,’ and then I thought: What the hell good would that do?” – Ronnie Shakes If you want to become company president or make your own business grow, you have to be strong and positive. Smart people are…
READ MORELiving Rich: Read Great Books
Jane Austin’s “Pride and Prejudice” may be the best-loved novel of all time. Yet, when I first read it — in my late teens — I found it both formidable and inconsequential. Its language — the diction and the syntax — was too antiquated for me then. And the content…
READ MOREBeing Organized: Is It Really Necessary?
“Divide the fire, and you will sooner put it out.” – Publilius Syrus (Moral Sayings, first century B.C.) Somebody wrote me the other day asking if I “really do all the organizational stuff” that I recommend. “I dont think Id have time for anything else,” he said. The answer is…
READ MORESelling Is Serious Business. Treat It That Way.
“The advertisements in a newspaper are more full of knowledge in respect to what is going on in a state or community than the editorial columns are.” – Henry Ward Beecher (Proverbs From Plymouth Pulpit, 1887) Dominos Pizza has just “discovered” what it should have known all along — you…
READ MOREWhy A Liberal Arts Education Is Best
I am sometimes asked — and I dont know why that is — what course of study I recommend for college students wishing to become successful in business. My answer usually provokes skepticism if not scorn. I recommend a liberal arts education. In the age of the Internet and the…
READ MOREHow To Have A Great Memory
“I never forget a face, but in your case I’ll be glad to make an exception.” – Groucho Marx Wouldnt it be great if you had the type of memory that would never let you forget a name . . . or a birthday . . . or an appointment,…
READ MOREMore On Criticism
“If you haven’t got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me.” – Alice Roosevelt Longworth Im reading a newsletter on leadership that says since “no one likes to be told hes wrong,” the shrewd executive will do everything he can to make his criticism indirect. Ive…
READ MOREIs Your Product/Service Good? Don’t Ask, At Least Not Directly
What do you say when, after suffering through a very mediocre meal, the restaurant owner or manager comes over to your table, puts his hand on your shoulder, and says, “Was everything OK?” Do you ever say, “Glad you asked. Actually, everything sucked”? Or do you assure the nice man…
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