Errol Gerson on being all in:

I have a life philosophy that has worked for me and for many of the thousands of students I have had the privilege of teaching over the past 48 years.

If you do 50% of one thing and 50% of another, you do 100% of neither.

Another way of understanding this is, 'The main thing is to make the main thing, the Main Thing.'

When you focus on being the best at what you 'think about most of the time,' you exemplify yourself, and you stick out 1/8th of an inch.

I had a student at Art Center who was a very talented Illustrator and a gifted musician and was torn between both.

I shared my life philosophy with him, and he chose music — and that young man was Mike Shinoda of the megaband Linkin Park.

He chose to do 100% of one thing and, along the way, became a member of one of the most successful bands worldwide.

Tomorrow begin focusing all your effort and attention on 100% of what makes you unique, and WRITE IT DOWN DAILY!

To hear this and other profound insights directly from him, please join a special Brigadoon Monthly call on Wednesday, February 17 @ 2:00 pm ET.

Full details below.

This call will do you right.

-Marc


Brigadoon February Call with Errol Gerson

Title: INTRA-Preneurship

Time + Date: 2:00 pm ET | Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Speaker: Errol Gerson| Adjunct Professor @ Art Center

Born and raised in Apartheid in South Africa, Errol Gerson left for the United States in 1966. Here, he received an MBA in Finance and Management and founded his own firm. Errol is a Professor at the Art Center College of Design. He’s been teaching Entrepreneurship, Leadership, and Business Management for almost half a century (and counting) and mentored over 6,300 students on success and effectiveness.

Errol Gerson has been a Board member and Advisor for the Los Angeles chapter of AIGA over the years. In 2017 he was awarded the AIGA Fellow Award for his immense contribution to the creative community.

Format:

Brigadoon Monthly Calls are 45-minute moderated discussions led by a subject matter expert in an emerging issue shaping commerce and culture.

The guest speaker makes opening remarks for ten minutes and takes questions for the balance of the call.

All calls happen using Google Meet.

Just like all Brigadoon gatherings, Brigadoon House Rules govern the session. The call is powerpoint free, the recording is private, and participants are free to use data from the discussion but are not allowed to reveal who made any comments or participated.

Cost:

Brigadoon Monthly Calls are free to all Brigadoon Members in good standing and their guests or $25.00 for other participants.

Good pod this: David Hieatt speaks with Gav Thompson

I can't say enough good things about David Hieatt.

From hosting a world-class event in a cowshed...

To leading this small town to make jeans again...

From being profiled in an Apple ad...

To believing in the power of email newsletters...

David is the real deal.

David is an entrepreneur, maker, maverick, wordsmith, Liverpool fan, father, husband, and dreamer.

In this pod, Being Amazing Despite..., David chats with Gav about his road to becoming amazing.

David started his career in advertising while being somewhat distracted by his obsession with sports brands.

This obsession turned into his skateboarding and BMX brand, Howies.

David and his wife, Clare, built Howies into a very successful and uber-cool brand that they eventually sold.

David talks about his regret at selling Howies at the wrong time to the wrong people and how that "despite" actually fed and led to the phenomenal growth and success of both The DO Lectures and his and Clare's brilliant Made in Wales jeans company, Hiut Denim Co.

Good pod this.

Listen here.

Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.

-Marc

Mars | Brigadoon Weekend

Brigadoon Weekend = Global Street Smarts
February 6, 2021

Mars

This edition of Brigadoon Weekend is Mars.

If all goes to plan, there will be the roar of Mars excitement in early 2021, when new missions to the Red Planet reach their target and begin sending data back home.

Mars, the planet most like ours, has been an alluring dream across the centuries. The Ancient Egyptians called Mars "Har dècher," which means "the red one," establishing the planet as a generational foundation of legends, gods, and mystery.

Unlike the cold silent world of the Moon, the Martian landscape is filled with possibility, but to make humans a multi-planetary species, we must be able to survive there.

But how?

There are no rivers, no lakes, no oceans. Accessible oxygen we enjoy on Earth would need to be chemically produced.

Also, the environment is no Côte d'Azur.

Mars is known for its red dust and the terrain is bewilderingly empty - think Bullhead City, Arizona planet-wide. Plus, Mars suffers from frequent seismic activity, with tremors shaking the ground about once a day, suggesting a long-term cooling planet.

Regardless of the life thriving challenges, culturally, Mars is so important to us as humans, when Matt Damon started in the 2015 film The Martian, it generated over $100 million in box office revenue and received 7 Oscar nominations, including Best Motion Picture of the Year.

Even today, when entrepreneurs and explorers face herculean challenges, they are inspired by Damon's character in the film.

Stranded on Mars and knowing that no one is coming to rescue him any time soon, he declares: "'In the face of overwhelming odds, I'm left with only one option. I'm going to have to science the shit out of this.'"

This can-do spirit is on full display today as public and private explorers make the possibility of Mars more possible.

From the United Arab Emirates to Elon Musk, resources, energy, and dreams are being poured into the landing and ultimately thriving on Mars.

These Mars dreams are possibly best captured by Sarah al-Amiri.

When she saw the Andromeda Galaxy image at the age of 12, the image pushed her to learn as much as she could about space.

Today at age 33, she is the deputy project manager and science lead of the UAE's Mars mission, dubbed Amal — Arabic for hope.

In a region defined by turmoil, she never thought she would lead her country beyond Earth's stratosphere and toward Mars.

"We're a new country that is late to the competition in the global perspective," al-Amiri told the British scientific journal Nature. "It's natural for people to think this was crazy," she added, referring to the UAE's Mars mission.

Crazy good.

MARS DEEP DIVE

The case for space: John Loftus writes, what good can aiming for Mars do at a time like this? Quite a lot, actually.

How a small Arab nation built a Mars mission from scratch in six years: Elizabeth Gibney in Nature magazine writes, the United Arab Emirates’ Hope orbiter is the Arab world’s first interplanetary spacecraft — and has jump-started science in the country. Will the momentum last?

"We're a new country that is late to the competition in the global perspective," al-Amiri told the British scientific journal Nature. "It's natural for people to think this was crazy," she added, referring to the UAE's Mars mission.

Life on Mars: Why the race to the red planet is back on: Space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock on the flurry of missions that have blasted off for Mars.

If all goes to plan there will be a roar of Mars excitement in early 2021, when missions to the Red Planet reach their target and begin sending data back home.

Mars suffers frequent seismic tremors, Nasa mission finds: FT reports, the level of activity is higher than on the Moon but less than on Earth, scientists say.

The race for Mars takes China-US tensions Into outer space: Bruce Einhorn writes, both countries plan to visit the red planet, the moon, and more.

---

BRIGADOON WATCHES | RAMEN

TheSimplySpace: What has the NASA Opportunity Rover found on Mars?

NASA: Countdown to Mars: A story of Perseverance

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum: Mars 2020: Entry, descent , and landing (seven minutes of terror)

Tech Vision: Elon Musk's plan to colonize Mars

Vox: Will we survive Mars? - Glad you asked

RealLifeLore: The bizarre way we'll keep track of time on Mars

---

BRIGADOON READS | BOOKS ON MARS

Mars: Our Future on the Red Planet by Leonard David

The Martian by Andy Weir

The Case for Mars: The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must by Robert Zubrin

Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson

Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach

The Sirens of Mars: Searching for Life on Another World by Sarah Stewart Johnson

Once Upon a Time I Lived on Mars: Space, Exploration, and Life on Earth by Kate Green

---

BRIGADOON EVENTS

Brigadoon February Call | INTRA-Preneurship
Errol Gerson| Adjunct Professor @ Art Center
February 17, 2021

Brigadoon Whiteboard Call | February 19, 2021

Brigadoon Whiteboard Call | February 26, 2021

Brigadoon Whiteboard Call | March 5, 2021

Brigadoon Whiteboard Call | March 12, 2021

Brigadoon March Call | Customers are the Disruptors
Dr. Leigh George | CEO @ Freedom
March 17, 2021

Brigadoon April Call | Less Logic. More Magic.
Rory Sutherland - Vice Chairman @ Ogilvy UK
April 21, 2021

Brigadoon May Call | The Poetry of Leadership
Fateme Banishoeib | heARTist + Founder @ ReNewBusiness
May 19, 2021

Brigadoon June Call | Adventures with Fiat Pandas + Autogrills + Negronis
Matt Hranek | Founder + Editor @ Wm Brown Magazine
June 16, 2021

More details and passes - click here.

Thanks for supporting Brigadoon. See you next week.

-Marc

Curation + commentary by Marc A. Ross | Founder @ Brigadoon

Brigadoon is always powerpoint free and conversation-driven for better insights and connections.

More @ thebrigadoon.com

Why be a Brigadoon Member?

+ Business intelligence
+ Extraordinary networking
+ Global street smarts
+ You'd be a great addition





"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."

"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."

This quote is the first thing Errol Gerson says to his students at the start of each semester.

Gerson has been teaching entrepreneurship, leadership, and business management at Art Center in Pasadena, California, for the past 45 years.

Gerson's challenge from the start is to change how his students look at things using a tool he calls 'reframing' or merely seeing things differently.

He intends to force a test of his students’ paradigms as a means to foster learning.

This test is essential because, as we know, learning always comes from our ability to reevaluate, reexamine, and rethink.

To hear this quote and other profound insights directly from him, please join a special Brigadoon Monthly call on Wednesday, February 17 @ 2:00 pm ET.

Full details below.

Please join the call. This is going to be a good session.

-Marc

Brigadoon February Call with Errol Gerson

Title: INTRA-Preneurship

Time + Date: 2:00 pm ET | Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Speaker: Errol Gerson| Adjunct Professor @ Art Center

Errol Gerson has been teaching Entrepreneurship, Leadership, and Business Management at Art Center for the past 45 years.

In that time he has taught over 6100 students and has personally mentored well over 3000 students.

Gerson received a BS in Accounting from USC in 1970, and after receiving his MBA from USC in 1971, he spent eight years at a Big 8 public accounting firm.

In 1979 he co-founded a CPA Business Management firm with three other USC grads, then sold it in 1992. Gerson co-founded Cow Interactive with four Art Center grads.

In 1999 he joined CAA Agency as the Director of New Media. In 2004 he left CAA and became the Principal at the Gerson Group, a Strategic Management Consulting company, where he is in practice today.

Errol is a Senior Adviser to the American Institute of Graphic Arts and does Entrepreneurship and Marketing workshops and seminars across the country.

Format:

Brigadoon Monthly Calls are 45-minute moderated discussions led by a subject matter expert in an emerging issue shaping commerce and culture.

The guest speaker makes opening remarks for ten minutes and takes questions for the balance of the call.

All calls happen using Google Meet.

Just like all Brigadoon gatherings, Brigadoon House Rules govern the session. The call is powerpoint free, the recording is private, and participants are free to use data from the discussion but are not allowed to reveal who made any comments or participated.

Cost:

Brigadoon Monthly Calls are free to all Brigadoon Members in good standing and their guests or $25.00 for other participants.

Sign up - click here.