Three of this week's Good Reads are oriented to personal development, while one gives us background on Janet Yellen, the most powerful woman in the world today. The last article, calling your attention to the 100 year anniversary of World War I, points to some recent odd fungal findings from old military hospitals (the fungus lives on!).
The Atlantic's Ann Hulbert on How to Escape the Community College Trap. What will it take to get a student through the two year process in just three years? This is a very important question for a lot of businesses. According to one successful program the answer is a lot of pushiness. In fact, as hulbert writes, for a student to graduate in two-and-one-half years, like Daquan McGee, is shockingly rare. But the Borough of Manhattan Community College has found a way to achieve the graduation objective. And this may be one way to narrow the gap between the haves and the have-nots.
Adam Grant on Why Men Need Women. I've been saving this opinion piece, but now that you're thinking about taxes is good time to pass it on. Grant is one of the best HR and personal development gurus in the country. And a lot of fun, as well. He answers his question ...
Time Magazine’s Rana Foroohar on Janet Yellen: The Sixteen Trillion Dollar Woman. Are more new jobs on the way this year? And what about the housing market? Where will the woman with the largest economy in the world put her emphasis? Fascinating biography that provides a terrific opportunity for reading the subtexts. And. . . most significantly, what Yellen does will probably impact all of us.
Phil Rosenzweig on Making Better Decisions Over Time. No question but what the technique of deliberate practice can drastically improve performance, but "knowing its limits is as important as understanding its value." Rosenzweig is one of those readable academics who ticks off fascinating, practical information rather consistently. And this article is not an exception to that rule. For example, "what's the secret to a good free throw?" You'll find out that after months of research there are three features, but it's especially important not to aim for the exact center of the basket: but 11" past the front rim and about two inches beyond the midpoint." That's fun. But the rest is exceedingly helpful info for every businessperson.
NYTimes' Steve Erlanger on Diaries of British Soldiers Detail Horrors of World War I. A full 100 years later, voices emerge from the trenches. When Europe went to war in 1914, was it more than a skirmish? Supposedly it was the "war to end all wars," but history has since shown that to be wrong, desperately wrong. Now European countries are commemorating the Great War in differing ways--especially those that have had combat on their own soil. Among the odd findings was that a rare fungus discovered in Scotland on the grounds of an old military hospital "may have been carried from Flanders Fields on the boots of First World War soldiers."
Flickr photo: OnlyByGrace