A quick visit to California
Read moreToday, I am temporarily putting aside my discussion of mastery, greatness, and deliberate practice, and choosing instead to give a quick recount of my latest trip. Last week, I spent five days in San Francisco with a group of executives from Portugal. I was there to speak to the group about my book, The New Marketing: Social media, email, and
A message from Michael Jordan on talent and practice
Read moreI once heard the illustrious basketball player Michael Jordan discussing his public image with a group of journalists. At one point, he answered a question concerning what he thought people did not know, or what they misunderstood, about him. One particular element of his answer struck me, and stayed in my memory: that people tended to think of him as
The origins of greatness
Read moreTwo weeks ago, I wrote of recent findings that are causing most experts to modify their views about the origins of genius. In essence, the latest studies are showing that most of the amazing accomplishments we attribute to some mysterious natural talent are in fact far more acquired abilities than inborn qualities. Not surprisingly, my interest in this subject began
A visit to Harvard
Read moreAs some of you may recall, I had planned to continue in the coming weeks with the concept of deliberate practice, and I certainly will do so next time. However, I have also been reminded that, for much of the summer, I have said that I would write about some of places I went in the busy June to August
Reflections from Latin America, on leaders born and made
Read moreThe past few weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind, touring South America with little time to rest or reflect. Most days, I have events and encounters that make me think, “I should write about that.” But, as the days go on, I tend to get busy with the things in front of me, and the “great” ideas of
Lewis and Clark, a historical example of stories of purpose
Read moreLast night, while watching images of Mars on television, I began thinking about the concept of exploration in general. When I was a child in school, I was always fascinated by stories of the frontier, of courageous individuals and groups who ventured into the unknown. In high school and at university, my favorite subject was world history, and in particular