The first step in solving a problem in the engineering world is to define the requirements. Simply put, the goal is to systematically determine what the solution will do. Take a Roomba for example. When someone had the idea of deploying an autonomous vacuum cleaner indoors, the engineers likely first defined exactly what they expected …

Manually watering the grass is boring. It isn’t physically tasking, and it takes almost no mental effort. Yet I find a remarkable sense of peace and clear thinking while working that makes it quite enjoyable. It’s similar to the feeling I get when I’m chopping up vegetables or doing manual work in an Excel spreadsheet. …

In the sales world, there’s immense pressure to close. Companies, and employees, want to win the business they’re pursuing and sometimes they’re willing to bring it in at any cost. For the traditional salesman, it’s considered a compliment to be called a “shark” or a “wolf.” It’s even said that the ABCs of sales is Always Be Closing. …

There’s an old question that’s often used to illustrate our lack of financial maturity: Would you rather have $100 today or $200 a year from now? And the lesson that follows is the surprising fact that more than a few people tend to choose the cash now rather than doubling their money in a year. …

Simplicity can come from mastery, or it can come from ignorance. On the surface, the two situations might seem similar, but they’re very different. When we begin learning a new skill or trying to understand a new subject, it seems simple because we can’t comprehend all of the things that we don’t yet know. You’ve …

In seemingly every statistics class, the topic of the lottery comes up eventually. And almost inevitably, the teacher and the textbook agree that the lottery is fueled by irrational people who don’t understand how statistics work. But I don’t think that’s the whole story. I certainly agree that people who play the lottery as a …

Baking instructions aren’t exact. They can’t be. It’s ironic because the delicate nature of baking calls for a high degree of precision for the ingredient amounts and the mixing order and technique. But the provided baking time needs to be a range. Why? Variability. Ovens aren’t exactly alike. The time it takes for brownies to …

It’s easy to make plays when your team is winning and everything’s going well. But what about when you’re down? What about when you’re on the road and your opponent has all of the momentum? What about when things aren’t going your way, or it just isn’t your day? That’s when the real leaders step …

I used to think that the 40-hour work week was the dream. You show up at 8 or 9, clock out at 5, and then have your entire nights and weekends to spend how you’d like. But as I spent some time living this lifestyle, I quickly grew tired of it. Sure, I’m a big …

I used to be crippled by big decisions. I would go back and forth, imagining all of the different ways that each option could play out. But eventually, I found a way to deal with these situations. How? It started during my college application process. I was interviewing for a spot at an Ivy League …