No. 488 — September 4th, 2022 — Read on FS

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FS

"Since focus requires saying no, it also means really smart people and good competitors are saying no to really good ideas. If you’re a person trying to find your way in an organization, it’s worth thinking about the most focused people around you and the best idea they’re not working on. If you’re a company, it’s worth thinking about what your best competition is not doing. You can often figure this out by interviewing smart focused people from another company."

— Focus to Win

Insight

“There is no greater fool than he who thinks himself wise; no one wiser than he who suspects he is a fool.”

— Marguerite de Valois

Tiny Thought

Clear writing gives poor thinking nowhere to hide.

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Etc.

"The funny thing about teenagers is that very often the best of them, the most interesting and curious, are rather lousy high school students. They have other things on their minds than geeking out every single point on the AP U.S. history exam. They are very often readers, and preparation for elite-college admission does not allow one to be a reader; it's far too time consuming. These "lousy" students were often among my favorites, and I never feared that they were going to lose a chance at a great education because they didn't have the stuff of an "elite" admission. They themselves were smart. They didn't need some Ferrari of a college nudging them along the path to a great education; they were going to get one wherever they went."

— Caitlin Flanagan

"The problem isn't that you're too busy. You are too busy, but that's not the problem. If you view being busy as the problem, there is no solution. You will always be too busy, and that will never change. As Andy Grove once noted: "A manager's work is never done. There is always more to be done, more that should be done, always more than can be done." The problem is that you're acting like a firefighter instead of a fire marshal."

— Ed Batista

In Synthesis, kids learn how to solve complex problems as a team. They dive into simulations of life-like challenges and practice communicating their ideas, testing their strategies, and taking action together as a team.

“My kids are growing so much in Synthesis because they finally understand why they’re learning.” – Shane