After a long career as a business reporter on the Wall Street Journal and Fortune, Erik Calonius has contributed to some of the most engaging business books in recent years, most notably collaborating with Dan Ariely on the influential bestseller on cognitive psychology, Predictably Irrational.
Here, Calonius picks out what it is that allows true business greats to achieve what they do. He attributes this above all to vision—what he calls "the laser beam of foresight"—that allows them to think, get ahead of the pack and stay there. The icons he selects range from the predictable—Steve Jobs, Sir Richard Branson, Intel's Andy Grove—to quantum mechanics expert Richard Feynman and Jeff Hawkins, designer of the first Palm Pilot.
Given Calonius's credentials, it's no surprise that Ten Steps Ahead sticks fairly closely to a neuroscience-based explanation of why these visionaries are such high achievers. This is a book packed with wit, insight and wisdom. It seems that as scientific research expands what we know, so the business applications and ramifications of that knowledge also increase.
