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When Troy Henikoff entered Brown University in Rhode Island, he had the dream of designing sail boats for a living. He knew he liked to build and create things, but also knew he needed to enroll in a graduate program. The plan was to go to Brown, get an undergrad degree in engineering and go…
The Road To General Manager At age 18, Billy Beane had more hype surrounding him than LeBron James did coming out of high school. Scouts would flounder to his high school and drool at the opportunity of drafting the 6′4, power hitting sensation. The New York Mets got that opportunity, taking Billy with the 20th pick…
I received an email from Jonna Sotelo, a real estate agent that had come across what we were doing, and referred me to her sister, Nicole, for a possible interview in Chicago. In my exchange with Nicole I learned a few things from our correspondence. 1) She was passionate for making a difference through striving…
When we walked into the Chicago Housing Authority headquarters we wondered if we were in the right place. The unassuming security guard, who questioned the validity of my Arizona driver’s license, didn’t seem to fit what I had imagined of the organization that is single handedly changing the face of public housing in Chicago. But…
As we walked up to Scooter’s on a calm Tuesday evening in the Chicago neighborhood off Paulina, we met with Mary Jane Grinstead, who casually rode up on her bike. Mary Jane is from a small town in Missouri. Over the moderate hustle and bustle of the crowd entering and exiting Scooter’s for their highly…
The day before we were to depart for Chicago, I emerged from Trader Joe’s into the blistering triple digit desert heat in Phoenix, talking with Type A’s CEO Anna Belyaev with my phone pinched between ear and shoulder while clutching an armful of groceries. “Uh huh. Yeah. That’ll work. 8:30 Thursday morning at the Westin?…
had a serious problem with alcohol. She had worked for IBM for 17 years in her first real job out of college. She was very successful despite her long nights of drinking, followed up by early morning meetings. For some reason she had no problem fighting off the hangovers and pulling it together…
Storytelling is the oldest form of communication. A good storyteller includes the audience in the experience. As a result of this intimate inclusion, people are much more likely to remember a story than a statistic. Lynn Hazan is passionate about communicating and combines her love for storytelling into her recruiting business. She has told stories…
Twenty years from now, 99% of the people you know will have a life that is more difficult than the one they are living today. They will work harder and longer, have more responsibilities to worry about and will be stuck in a “this” and then “that” mentality. (”This” meaning a job that brings no…
is an award-winning film composer, recording artist, songwriter, producer, pilot, cook, world traveler, and author of a new book. He has worked on projects such as Phantom of the Opera and The New Adventures of Pipi Longstockings, where he created, composed, and conducted the musical scores. He also is involved in raising awareness…
I love golf because no matter how frustrating it can be, there always comes a point where you admit to yourself that the way in which you smack a little, white ball around is not a reflection of the type of person that you are. Plus, I mean, you’re out enjoying nature with a group…
Gary Pressy was born and raised on the south side of Chicago. He has been with the Cubs for 20 years. He was playing the organ in Harry Carry’s restaurant when the Bartman ball was blown up, and played Take Me Out To The Ballgame at longtime Cubs announcer Jack Brickhouse’s funeral. He got the…
To this point, we’ve heard 23 different stories of how people have broken into the sports industry, and no story is the same. We have come to the obvious realization that there is not one standard path to get in! These sports stories are among the most entertaining that I’ve heard on the trip. I…
Rachel wanted to do something entrepreneurial when she decided to get her MBA at the University of Chicago. That something she was looking for turned out to be Econfidant.com, an online service that provides personalized, confidential dating & relationship advice. She created the site with a friend after identifying the lack of relevant dating &…
We immediately had a similarity with Jen when we sat down at our business office, aka Starbucks. She took a 3 1/2 month road trip in an RV when she graduated college too! Unfortunately that road didn’t lead her to her true passion, but she learned a lot along the way. These lessons later gave…
Deb knew from the beginning that she wanted to develop and run her own successful business. She spent much of her career building skills with a variety of organizations that would enable her to achieve that end goal. She investigated many entrepreneurial opportunities, but nothing seemed right…until recently. She is now pursuing a project in…
Rule #1: do not call someone the wrong name; especially if they are helping you out while in town. Yep, this happened to me at the end of a great interview with “Monica” who I accidentally called “Melissa.” This small slip-up could have hurt our project a lot seeing as how Monica had been helping…
Nicolaas Bloembergen is one very smart man. In his little 86 year old, 5’ 5” frame, he articulately explained, in a Dutch accent, how he won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1981 for his work with non-linear optics and lasers. He talked about other technologies such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and nuclear spin…
It’s funny how we can become so blinded by responsibility that we don’t realize how out of wack our priorities have become. Katie had her epiphany when she realized that she was rushing her daughter back to bed so that she could return to her open e-mail account. She realized then and there that she…
Gary grew up in show business. His father was a press agent for big names like Marilyn Monroe, Bette Davis, Henry Fonda, Joan Crawford, Cary Grant, and many others. His father was one of the best in the business. He must had some clout to have his young son Gary be babysat by Marilyn Monroe…
Laura Allen started out wanting to be a journalist. She went to Eugene Lang College in New York City, where she received a partial scholarship majoring in writing and literature. It was there that she fulfilled her parents’ dream for her of getting a college degree. She was raised in your typical working class household;…
On a rainy day in the middle of summer in New York City, huddled under the umbrellas that we bought on a street corner for $2.99 each, we made our way to the CBS building at 51 W. 52nd Street, the home of Cushman and Wakefield. Cushman and Wakefield was founded in 1917 in New…
Growing up, Chris always knew that he wanted to work in the news business, despite both of his parents being doctors. At a young age he dreamed of being a reporter on camera and before he graduated college he got his first taste of the business through an internship at NBC for the Today Show.…
We met up with Lisa down on Fifth Avenue in New York City. We were running a little late after catching a bus. Unfortunately, once we got off the bus we had to walk three blocks in the pouring rain. And I mean it was pouring! Tamir and I tried to take cover as we…
