In Saudi Arabia, crown prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud is expected to succeed his 86-year-old father, King Salman. (In practical terms, MBS is already in charge.) The West is watching as Joe Biden’s team negotiates with the Saudis about the terms of the leaders’ first talk, which is expected in the coming months. Over […]
God’s Get-Rich-Quick Scheme
Rabbi Daniel Lapin says that God has a plan for your life. And fortunately for you, that plan involves getting rich. Inspired by his Jewish faith and the Torah, Lapin has developed 10 commandments for making money. The first one is simple enough: believe in yourself, and your business. People often mistake the business world […]
Decoding Cultural Difference
The effects of globalization mean that you’re probably talking with folks from all over the world every day, at work or at home. But the same conversation style might be considered rude in Japan and meek in France. How should we navigate these differences? Understanding different norms across cultures can make or break a transaction […]
The Third Big Bang
When the Biological Big Bang kicked off hundreds of millions of years ago, complex organisms seriously leveled up. Scientists are still trying to figure out why life on Earth changed so much during the Cambrian Period, shifting from single-cell organisms to the much more complicated plant and animal life we know today. Michael Dell, the […]
Warren Buffett’s Best Advice
When Warren Buffett was just 11 years old, he predicted that he’d become a billionaire. (He was certainly right!) Everyone assumes that he became one of the richest men in the world by making investments. But a key factor in his success was also not making investments. Buffett chooses the companies he invests in very, very carefully. […]
Can You Spy the Lie?
Special equipment and advanced training aren’t necessary. All you need is to learn how to interview people properly and evaluate how they respond. Take body language, which carries all sorts of information. The classic visual indicator that someone is lying is nodding the head while verbally denying something (or vice versa). A liar might also […]
Is it Time to Purge Your Clients?
It may sound crazy, but it might be time to “fire” some of your clients. Business owners should value quality over quantity when it comes to their client and customer lists. Good clients should make you excited to work for them. They should be pleasant to collaborate with. And they should always pay you what […]
Can We Eliminate Extreme Poverty?
About 10 percent of the world’s population lives in extreme poverty. But what may surprise you is that, until somewhat recently, poverty was near universal. Almost everyone in the world was extremely impoverished, except for a lucky few. So what happened? Starting around 1820, population and economic growth accelerated dramatically. This expansion happened all over […]
Why “Move Fast and Break Things” is Bad Advice
The hardest part of any project is getting started. This is especially true when it comes to launching a new business. Entrepreneurs often feel pressure to “move fast and break things,” as Mark Zuckerberg used to say. But as Facebook demonstrates, it can be enormously difficult to go back and fix things later. Businesses aren’t […]
Don’t Do All the Work
Entrepreneurs are famous for working too hard. They stay up late, work through holidays and weekends, neglect their families, and cancel plans with friends. In many circles, these terrible habits are regarded as part and parcel of getting a successful business off the ground. But what if things could be different? Instead of sacrificing your […]