I’ve been meaning to read Tyler Cowen’s Discover Your Inner Economist since it came out a decade ago. Cowen is an economics professor at George Mason University who describes himself as a “curious intellectual nerd polymath.” He also runs marginalrevolution.com, arguably one of the best economics blogs. While I was intrigued by the subtitle “Use Incentives…
If you are associated with marketing and advertising, you should read The Unpublished David Ogilvy. Actually, read it even if you aren’t. David Ogilvy is widely-considered the father of advertising. He founded advertising, marketing, and PR agency Ogilvy & Mather in 1948, and his legendary campaigns include Dove, Guinness, Hathaway, and Rolls Royce, Schweppes. In…
When the U.S. Navy chose Mike Abrashoff to become Commander of USS Benfold, the challenges which faced him were seemingly overwhelming. At the time, the Benfold was one of the worst-performing ships in the Navy; a “dysfunctional ship with a sullen crew that resented being there and could not wait to get out of the Navy.”…
A few years ago I wrote an article based on Wendy Wood’s theory that the key to breaking a habit is to break the routine associated with it. For example, Wood found college students were more successful in breaking their television habit if the TV were placed in an unfamiliar location. I joked that I…
During a recent interview, a non-native English speaker asked me how I have time to write. Unfortunately I misunderstood the question – or maybe I was too tired to think clearly – so I answered something like the following: I read around 30 books per year, mostly when I’m on planes. The interviewer seemed happy…
Herb Caen would have been 100 years old today. Don’t worry if you don’t recognize the name. ”Mr. San Francisco,” as he was sometimes called, wrote a Pulitzer-winning newspaper column for 60 years dedicated to his adopted hometown. Herb Caen was beloved locally but was largely unknown outside San Francisco. Caen’s influence was so great…
No, this isn’t some new comic from Scott Adams about Dilbert interacting with Donald Trump – although I’m laughing about the possibilities. Instead it’s a central tenet of Adams’ most recent book titled How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big. Adams relies on his trademark humor to describe “the strategies he has…
Matthew Frederick has a series of seven books titled 101 Things I Learned in (Architecture | Business | Culinary | Engineering | Fashion | Film | Law) School. They are self-described as “lessons and insights to orient the newcomer and inspire the experienced practitioner.” In each book, Frederick teams up with an expert practitioner to…
Be Positive. The world is awash with advice that we should have a positive attitude. As one aphorism goes, if you think you can, you can; if you think you can’t, you can’t. From motivational speakers like Tony Robbins, to advice books like The Power of Positive Thinking, to repeating daily affirmations, everyone seems to…
Over the holiday break, I read ‘The Demon-Haunted Book: Science as a Candle in the Dark’ by Carl Sagan. The book is not nearly as well-known as ‘Cosmos‘ but should be. It introduces the scientific method to non-scientists and provides advice on how to apply critical thinking. In Sagan’s words: What skeptical thinking boils down…