Author Archives: Greg McKeown

The One-Word Answer to Why Warren Buffett and Bill Gates Have Been So Successful

When Bill Gates first met Warren Buffett, their host at dinner, Gates’ mother, asked everyone around the table to identify what they believed was the single most important factor in their success through life. Gates and Buffett gave the same [...]

12 Myths That Lead To A Busy, Unfulfilling Life

15 years ago, I quit law school to pursue one overarching question: “Why do capable people fail to break through to the next level?” The answer to the question, to my great surprise, is success. I first noticed the phenomenon while [...]

Why We Humblebrag About Being Busy

We have a problem—and the odd thing is we not only know about it, we’re celebrating it. Just today, someone boasted to me that she was so busy she’s averaged four hours of sleep a night for the last two [...]

To Do Things Better, Stop Doing So Much

Greg McKeown, author of Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less, on the importance of being “absurdly selective” in how we use our time. Click here to listen to the HBR ideacast with Sarah and Greg TRANSCRIPT SARAH GREEN: Welcome to the HBR [...]

Greg on NPR: All Things Considered

[do action=”npr-things-considered-2014″ /] Greg McKeown was on NPR’s program All Things Considered on July 26th 2014. Feel free to listen to this 6m segment on “Lessons In ‘Essentialism’: Getting More Out Of Life By Doing Less”. The story synopsis is [...]

Greg Featured in Harvard Business Review

Greg was featured on the Harvard Business Review website on the importance of being “absurdly selective” in how we use our time. You can see the full article page by visiting here: https://hbr.org/2014/07/to-do-things-better-stop-doing-so-much/ You can listen to the full audio below:

The Globe and Mail: Don’t get caught up in the busyness bubble

Greg was featured in the article on The Globe and Mail website in the article “Don’t get caught up in the busyness bubble”. Read the full article by going here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/careers/career-advice/life-at-work/dont-get-caught-up-in-the-busyness-bubble/article19652371/ Quoted Article: You’ve read about the Tulip Bubble, the mania [...]

Greg Quoted by NBC News

Greg McKeown was quoted in the article “Leaning In, Burning Out and the Humblebrag” by Martha C. White on NBC News. Read the full article by going here: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/careers/leaning-burning-out-humblebrag-n142761   Quoted Article: Being overscheduled, overtired and generally overwhelmed has become something [...]

Greg Featured in Fast Company Article “How To Get More Done By Having Less To Do”

Greg was featured in the Fast Company article by Laura Vanderkam titled “How To Get More Done By Having Less To Do”. You can read the full article by going here: http://www.fastcompany.com/3032221/the-future-of-work/how-to-get-more-done-by-having-less-to-do Quoted article posted below: Ask anyone how their life’s [...]

If I Read One More Platitude-Filled Mission Statement, I’ll Scream

Let’s start with a game. Below are three mission statements from three Fortune 500 companies. Try to match each company with its mission statement: How did you do? The largely indistinguishable statements make the task almost impossible. Such statements may [...]