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Ari on Business

Natural Law #11: It generally takes a lot longer to make something great happen than people think

Early on in our work together Paul taught me that, in his view, “Professionalism means sticking with something long after the glamour has worn off.” Everything I’ve seen, heard, and learned since has supported that … Continued

Ari on Business

Natural Law #10: Whatever your strengths are, they will likely lead straight into your weaknesses

It took me a really long time to recognize the truth of this law. But having realized the reality of it I can’t recall a single time that it hasn’t proven true. I can tell … Continued

Ari on Business

Natural Law #9: Success means you get better problems

Although most of us are raised with the belief that effective work eliminates problems, the reality is quite different. We’re always going to have problems. The key is to pick the problems you want and … Continued

Ari on Business

Natural Law #8: To get to greatness you’ve gotta keep getting better. All the time!

The most successful organizations and individuals understand this. From medicine to the arts, non-profits, or pro sports—the best in any field are all going after improvement all the time. You can call it continuous improvement, … Continued

Ari on Business

Natural Law #7: Successful businesses do the things that others know they should—but generally don’t

While business books often focus on some stroke of Steven Jobs-like genius, I think that more often than not the real genius is mostly in doing the sort of drudgerous stuff that anyone who really … Continued

Ari on Business

Natural Law #6: If you want great performance from your staff, you have to give them clear expectations and training tools

This concept is the core of Zingerman’s Training Compact, which we developed under the leadership of Maggie Bayless, managing partner at ZingTrain, back in the mid-’90s. We’ve been working to live up to it—if imperfectly—ever … Continued