At about 5 AM on April 18, 1906, the world in and around San Francisco began to shake. On the sixth floor of the Palace hotel, Enrico Caruso was awakened by the shaking. From his window, he saw “the buildings toppling over, big pieces of masonry falling.” He heard cries and screams from the street below. The » Read More
Category: History
The Margaret Rudkin Lessons
All in all, Margaret Rudkin was having a wonderful life. She grew up on Long Island, the oldest child in a second-generation Irish family. After working for a bank, she took a job at a brokerage where she met her husband. They moved to a splendid farm in Southern Connecticut, where Margaret set about raising their three » Read More
Willie Mays and “The Catch:” Rules for Performance
When the discussion turns to who is the greatest baseball player ever, you always hear the name “Willie Mays.” Leo Durocher described him this way: “He could do the five things you have to do to be a superstar: hit, hit with power, run, throw, and field. And he had that other ingredient that turns a » Read More
Top Gun Rules
Top Gun the movie, is a fanciful account of Naval aviators doing things that would never happen in real life. The jets are the real stars. Reality is something different. The Navy Fighter Weapons School (“Top Gun”) is the result of a performance problem. The performance was aerial combat. The problem was » Read More
The Neiman Marcus Rules
When Stanley Marcus told Neiman’s story, he often began by saying that “Neiman Marcus was established as a result of the bad judgment of the founders.” That usually got the audience’s attention. There were three founders: Stanley’s father, Herbert Marcus, Herbert’s sister, Carrie » Read More