In the latest episode of his Pinkcast, Dan Pink offers guidance on how to respond more effectively to people when they come to us with complications, confusion, and complaints. Usually, when people come to us with a problem or grievance, we try to respond with a quick solution to the issue at hand. This is … Continue reading Dan Pink: Three Simple Words for Dealing with Challenging Situations
I recently discussed the importance of feedback with my students, and encouraged them to actively solicit feedback, as well as get used to giving constructive feedback. I told them they could practice their constructive feedback on me. But now it seems like I may need to update my slides and talking points a bit, thanks … Continue reading How to Get Effective Feedback: Don’t Ask for It
Most people are taught that if you get stuck on achieving a goal, it may be helpful to ask for some advice. Well in this week's Pinkcast, Dan interviews Wharton professor Katy Milkman who offers two tips that might at first glance appear counterintuitive. Katy is the author of the book: How to Change: The … Continue reading Want Some Advice? Give It, Rather Than Get It…
The following email, and subsequent response from Dan Ariely, were originally 156 words; I've cut it to 97 words, a decrease of almost 38%. Dear Dan, For years, I’ve been organizing a charity event for an animal rescue organization. Every year people tell me I’ve outdone myself, and it’s starting to feel like an expectation … Continue reading Let’s See If Less Is More…
It's "Every Other Saturday" day, which means there is a good chance that there is a Dan Ariely column in the Wall Street Journal. So imagine my delight when I turned to the Review section, and there it was, two questions for Dan. That meant the odds were pretty high that my blog today would … Continue reading Smile! You’ve Been Caught on Candid Camera…
I'll admit it. Over the years there have been times when students have asked me a question to which I didn't quite know the answer, but for some reason, I decided to answer anyway. Sometimes I got lucky and gave the right answer, and sometimes I've given the wrong answer. And sometimes I gave an … Continue reading The Art of Giving an Effective Non-Answer
At the end of this past academic year, I decided to send an email to my former students, asking them to share advice on what helped them to succeed academically and what helped them to succeed socially. I sent the email to two groups of students - seniors who had just graduated, and freshmen who … Continue reading How to Succeed Academically and Socially as a College Freshman: Advice from Recent Grads and Last Year’s Freshmen
Help me if you can, I'm feeling down And I do appreciate you being round Help me get my feet back on the ground Won't you please, please help me - lyrics from Help! by the Beatles Unlike the Beatles, most, if not all of us, avoid asking others for help. There may be several … Continue reading Getting Better at Asking for Help
Art Carey, a reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, shared some words of advice he received from Jack Bogle a few years ago. Carey asked Bogle the following question: "Pretend I am your son. What advice would you give me about how to live a long, happy, honorable life?" Here's a summary of what Bogle had … Continue reading Some Fatherly Words of Wisdom from Jack Bogle, Founder of Vanguard Investments, to My Sons
Earlier this week, Paul Ryan, the former Speaker of the House, took some heat for offering Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) some unsolicited advice on how to be a good member of Congress. Ryan said he had advised Ocasio-Cortez to “take it easy, just watch things for a while, don’t ruffle, you know, see how it works first.” He … Continue reading Some Words of Advice
Borden's Blather 