Geoff Colvin
Geoff Colvin is an American business journalist and longtime Fortune editor-at-large focused on leadership, economic change, high performance, and the future of work. He is best known for Talent Is Overrated and Humans Are Underrated, and for his CBS Radio commentary, delivered in more than 15,000 broadcasts reaching millions of listeners weekly.
Biography & Author's Journey
Geoff Colvin built his career from a combination of small-town origins and elite business education. Raised in Vermillion, South Dakota, he studied economics at Harvard and later earned an M.B.A. from New York University’s Stern School of Business. That academic path gave him the language of markets, incentives, and institutions, but his professional identity formed in journalism: over a long tenure at Fortune, now stretching into a fourth decade, he became one of the magazine’s most durable interpreters of leadership, globalization, corporate strategy, technology, and human performance. Public biographies also note his membership in the Council on Foreign Relations. ((https://fortune.com/author/geoff-colvin/))
Quotes
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Talent Is Overrated
Geoff Colvin
Challenges conventional wisdom about innate talent, revealing how deliberate practice is the true key to achieving world-class performance.
Humans are Underrated
Geoff Colvin
Explores how uniquely human skills like empathy and creativity will become more valuable as technology advances in the workplace.
Talent Is Overrated
Geoff Colvin
Challenges conventional wisdom about innate talent, revealing how deliberate practice is the true key to achieving world-class performance.
Humans are Underrated
Geoff Colvin
Explores how uniquely human skills like empathy and creativity will become more valuable as technology advances in the workplace.
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Business, Finance, Tech & Human Performance
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Growth, Tech, Investing & Creative Innovation
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Daily Growth: Lead, Philo & Body Language
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Community Voices
"With clarity and precision, Geoff Colvin exposes one of the fundamental misconceptions of modern life"
— Daniel H. Pink
"Geoff Colvin has written a fascinating study of great achievers from Mozart to Tiger Woods"
— Donald Trump
"Geoff Colvin's fresh take on how to respond to the rise of brilliant machines is as wise as it is inspiring"
— Dominic Barton
"Geoff Colvin has done all of us a great service"
— The Leadership Challenge
"In Humans are Underrated, Geoff Colvin makes the case that there is no point trying to beat machines at their own game"
— Financial Times
"The core principle underlying Geoff Colvin's new book is that hard work pays"
— Management Today
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From Columbia University alumni built in San Francisco
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
"Instead of endless scrolling, I just hit play on BeFreed. It saves me so much time."
"I never knew where to start with nonfiction—BeFreed’s book lists turned into podcasts gave me a clear path."
"Perfect balance between learning and entertainment. Finished ‘Thinking, Fast and Slow’ on my commute this week."
"Crazy how much I learned while walking the dog. BeFreed = small habits → big gains."
"Reading used to feel like a chore. Now it’s just part of my lifestyle."
"Feels effortless compared to reading. I’ve finished 6 books this month already."
"BeFreed turned my guilty doomscrolling into something that feels productive and inspiring."
"BeFreed turned my commute into learning time. 20-min podcasts are perfect for finishing books I never had time for."
"BeFreed replaced my podcast queue. Imagine Spotify for books — that’s it. 🙌"
"It is great for me to learn something from the book without reading it."
"The themed book list podcasts help me connect ideas across authors—like a guided audio journey."
"Makes me feel smarter every time before going to work"
