On his first day of practice as a UCLA Bruin, a wide-eyed Bill Walton marched into the locker room, eager to learn from his new coach, John Wooden. [1] “Men, this is how you put your shoes and socks on,” instructed Wooden, removing his shoes and socks before an audience of bewildered college freshmen. “We […]

One rainy Saturday in May, three friends walked into a barber’s to learn the golden rule of personal finance. [1] “Invest ten percent of all you make for long-term growth,” said Roy, the barber Dave, Cathy, and Tom had come to seek advice from. “If you follow that one guideline, someday you’ll be very rich.” Roy […]

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln sat down at his desk to write one of his generals a long, scathing letter. General Gordon Meade, then commander of the Union Army, had disobeyed the President’s orders to capture General Robert E. Lee and the Confederate Army when the South found themselves trapped between the Potomac River and […]

In 2012, the travel website, Expedia, learned that, for every 100 customers who booked travel on Expedia, 58 of them placed a call afterward for help. [1] One of the benefits of self-service, from a company standpoint, is maximizing efficiency and minimizing expenses. Longer call times between customer service agents and customers incur higher costs.  And […]

During the spring of 1902, Hanoi, Vietnam, was on the brink of its first bubonic plague outbreak. Years earlier, French colonists built nine miles of sewage piping in a bid to modernize the city with basic amenities like running water and, in particular, flushing toilets. [1] The problem was, while well-built, the sewer’s warm, moist […]