My younger daughter came home from school today with the results of some exams. While we were sitting in traffic, she told me that she didn’t get a ten (A+) on her math test because of some stupid mistakes. She did it almost perfectly, but can only look at the mistakes and repeat that she …
There are many examples of people with high IQs who are incredibly successful in their fields. Moreover, for many people, IQ equals worth, but despite this popular perception, IQ may not be the ability that differentiates star performers. It’s emotional intelligence that makes the difference. A few years ago, one of my students participated in …
The days around Halloween are a good time to talk about fear and how it affects our behavior. Fear always limits our responses and shapes our risk aversion. Fear management is, and always has been, a matter of survival. 30,000 years ago, humans were surrounded by many dangers. Risk-takers were less likely to survive. Cowards …
There is a paradox at the heart of achieving excellence. Many individuals and organizations prioritize performance and achieving high standards, which is undoubtedly important. However, an exclusive focus on performance can lead to a fixed mindset, where individuals become risk-averse and reluctant to step out of their comfort zone. According to Eduardo Briceño in his …
Doubts. Fear. Every time uncertainty visits us, there’s a lot going on inside of us. At times, we cover up our fear with a suit of false confidence; other times we get caught up and freeze without responding. Developing confidence is a work in progress for many of us. When we lost it Not everyone …
Confirmation bias is the tendency to seek out information that supports our existing beliefs, thoughts, or values. In other words, we value facts and evidence that prove us right, and dismiss or undervalue relevant evidence that contradicts us. How do you know you know? The earth is flat. Or at least that is what some …
Education has never been more important. Unlike in the past, learning has become a lifelong process. It doesn’t end when we leave school. Over the last fifty years, the concept of learning has evolved. Learning can no longer be divided into a time and place to acquire knowledge and a time and place to apply …
How do you know you’re right? Do you ever question your thinking on an issue? How often do you stick to thoughts that were formed in a different context, with the information you had at the time? Understanding our mental models is a way of clearing the cobwebs in our mental storeroom and also a …
How often do we listen to answer instead of listening to understand? The absolute truth is that we already know what we are saying. Which means, in other words, that there’s nothing we can learn by just listening to ourselves. Listening to answer is just a matter of ego. And it prevents us from doing …
This year I started teaching a new course at the university. It was aimed to the third-year students with the intention to teach them basic abilities to work in group and develop good communication skills. We briefed them to develop a complex project in groups, formerly defined, and gave them almost five months to complete …
