Academics, who work for long periods in a self-directed fashion, may be especially prone to putting things off: surveys suggest that the vast majority of college students procrastinate, and articles in the literature of procrastination often allude to the author's own problems with finishing the piece.
James SurowieckiThe desire for reinvention seems to arise most often when companies hear the siren call of synergy and start to expand beyond their core businesses.
James SurowieckiPopular as Keynesian fiscal policy may be, many economists are skeptical that it works. They argue that fine-tuning the economy is a virtually impossible task, and that fiscal-stimulus programs are usually too small, and arrive too late, to make a difference.
James SurowieckiBesides great climates and lovely beaches, California and Greece share a fondness for dysfunctional politics and feckless budgeting.
James SurowieckiIn practice, downsizing is too often about cutting your work force while keeping your business the same, and doing so not by investments in productivity-enhancing technology, but by making people pull 80-hour weeks and bringing in temps to fill the gap.
James Surowiecki