There is not enough time or space here to fully assess the mystifying process of Thin Slicing. Best defined as one's ability to use our internal computation to arrive at rapid conclusions, through which a little bit of knowledge, takes us a long way. I highly recommend casting back to Mal Gladwell's book "Blink," which exposed us to case studies of thin-slicing applied. From military war games to pivotal moments in business, our acquired sense for processing a combination of observation, instinct, raw data, and a sixth sense about a situation, result in thin slicing our way to a decisive outcome.

Once Vic Braden, then one of the world's top tennis coaches, began to notice something strange when he watched a match. If you've played tennis you know players are given two chances to successfully hit a serve, and if they miss on the second chance, they "double fault." What Braden began to notice was that he always knew when a player was about to double fault. Further, having developed this uncanny predictive skill, Braden could make this call with players he'd never seen before! Braden was not "lucky," since 'luck' is winning the lottery. Braden could simply call it every time: "Oh no, double fault coming." This began to haunt Braden since he had no explanation. Braden couldn't identify howhe knew ... just that he was always right, regardless of the match or the player.

For nearly two decades I worked on Auditorium Music Tests (AMTs), where respondents either went to a hotel ballroom or to a local field service to take a music test. The endless list of problems that could, and did, arise frequently was enough to age me more than I ...

My recent essay on coaching stirred a lot of response. One of our favorite subtexts comes with periodic visits to performance and the "coaches" who inspire it. Any endeavor has its share of 'C' students -- people who wandered onto the stage, had their moments in the ...

Managers everywhere are looking for an edge. There is no handbook for excellence. Only ideas... People don't rise to low expectations. Fly in the face of conformity. Stay humble: Success is almost never your own doing and rarely irreversible. Really great ...

A Regional VP asked, "How long will it take for a new, local morning show to deliver ratings?" I said, "It typically takes 12 to 18 months before you start seeing initial results, and much longer for the show to outperform the station." He responded, "I don't have ...

When coaching talent during performance reviews, managers all too quickly often gloss over positive points and in great detail, focus on areas for improvement. Sure, strengths are mentioned in a sort of drive-by-stroking but are seldom given the same emphasis as ...

Thirty-three mariners, one mega-storm, blind ambition, and the sinking of the massive container ship El Faro. In her recently released masterpiece "Into the Raging Sea," Rachel Slade describes the macabre comedy of errors leading to the worst American shipping tragedy ...

On-air personalities have a calendar full of appearances, promotions and events in the summer months. Promotions and events are opportunities for you to make new fans and to solidify relationships with old fans and clients. Caution Pick your shots carefully when ...

How many times have you watched an NFL wide-out drop an easy catch, just before turning upfield for a long gain? And, there's the NHL all-star positioned right in front of the net for an easy one-timer, instead fanning on the shot. It happens because even talented ...

Audiences in the U.S. today are more divided than ever. Many media hosts struggle with how to discuss certain controversial stories, and wonder if they should discuss them at all. Some radio shows avoid the polarizing topics of the day. Seven out of 10 people in the ...