Rich Karlgaard is a journalist, entrepreneur, and speaker. He has been with Forbes for 27 years and became publisher of Forbes magazine in 1998. Rich has written three books, “Life 2.0: How People Across America Are Transforming Their Lives by Finding the Where of Their Happiness,” and “The Soft Edge: Where Great Companies Find Lasting Success.” His latest book is “Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievement.” What was the trigger that pushed Rich to write “Late Bloomers?” Rich grew up as a late bloomer himself. He was at non-fulfilling “dead end jobs” up until his late 20’s, even with gaining a college degree. He doesn’t see his 20’s as a time of being lazy or having a lack of motivation, he simply didn’t feel like he was ready to enter the adult world. He also has two children whom he raises in Silicon Valley. He knows the added pressures being put on children and what those repercussions look like– from low self esteem to even suicide in teenagers. He felt a need to point out some of the major misconceptions adults may have about schools, tests, and the learning curve in each child. Rich makes arguments for gap years, mandatory military service, and reforming how we look at academic tests. Americans are slipping every year compared to other counties and their youth. This has trickled into human resources and legal sides of companies that have turned to ranking employees with more tests and categorizing personalities based off data. Rich’s books, articles, and speeches also primarily focus on fundamentals of business, necessity of constant innovation, and the importance of building the right corporate culture. In this episode of Trend Following Radio: Late bloomers Kylie Jenner SAT scores Importance of high IQ Sports Illustrated Passion vs. Mission Gap years West coast offense and Bill Walsh Mike Milken