Geoffrey Colvin
 |
Geoffrey Colvin | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Harvard University[1][better source needed] New York University (M.B.A.)[citation needed] |
| Period | 2005-present[2][3] |
| Genre | Nonfiction |
| Subject | Economics, finance, business[citation needed] |
| Relatives | Shawn Colvin (sister)[citation needed] |
| Website | |
| www | |
Geoffrey Colvin is a Senior Editor-at-Large at Fortune Magazine,[4][2] a position he has held since at least 2005.[3] He is co-author—with Larry Selden (of the Columbia Business School—of Angel Customers and Demon Customers (2003),[5] and sole author of the Penguin-Portfolio books, Talent is Overrated (2008), The Upside of the Downturn (2009), and Humans Are Underrated (2015).[not verified in body]
Early life and education
[edit]![[icon]](/everything/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion with: third-party source-derived statements affirming Colvin's interview assertions, with further such sourced content on birth and family (DOB, parents, siblings, early residences and education). You can help by adding missing information. (July 2026) |
In interview, Geoffrey Colvin has stated that he was "born and raised in Vermillion, South Dakota",[when?] leaving there with his parents at age of 14 years.[1][better source needed] His sister, Shawn Colvin, is now a singer/songwriter.[citation needed] Again, by his own description, he attended and graduated from high school in Carbondale, Illinois, and went to college at Harvard, where he was an economics major.[1][better source needed] He went on to earn an degree from New York University's Stern School of Business.[3][better source needed]
Career
[edit] | This section needs expansion with: the usual WP:INDEPENDENT source-derived timeline of major career affiliations and achievements, with preexisting WP:VERIFY-violating unsourced statements sourced (and corrected to those identified sources), or removed if no source is found. You can help by adding missing information. (July 2026) |
As of July 2026, Geoffrey Colvin is serving as a Senior Editor-at-Large for Fortune Magazine,[2] a position he has held at least since 2005.[3]
Colvin co-led a successor to Louis Rukeyser's Wall Street; when that 2002 CNBC launch, again a Rukeyser-hosted program—itself descended from the cancellation of the PBS program, Wall Street Week with Fortune, that same year—ended a two year run for reason's of the host's health. Colvin and Karen Gibbs co-anchored a program with the same "Wall Street Week with Fortune" name, on its return to PBS, until its cancellation in 2005.[6]
As of this date,[when?] his daily reports "Inside Business" and “Fortune Business Update” could be heard on the CBS Radio Network;[citation needed] as of this date,[when?] he had made more than 10,000 broadcasts.[citation needed]
Published works
[edit]Colvin is co-author with Larry Selden (of the Columbia Business School) of Angel Customers and Demon Customers (2003),[5] as well as sole author of the Penguin-Portfolio books, Talent is Overrated (2008), The Upside of the Downturn (2009), and Humans Are Underrated (2015).[according to whom?]
As sole author
[edit]- Colvin, Geoff (2008). Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else (1st ed.). London, England: Penguin. ISBN 9781101079003. Retrieved July 6, 2026. Note, the first edition hardcover edition of this work is otherwise associated with the ISBN 9781591842248.
- —, — (2009). The Upside of the Downturn: Ten Management Strategies to Prevail in the Recession and Thrive in the Aftermath (1st ed.). New York, NY: Portfolio-Penguin. ISBN 9781591842965. Retrieved July 6, 2026.
- —, — (2015). Humans Are Underrated: What High Achievers Know That Brilliant Machines Never Will (1st ed.). New York, NY: Portfolio-Penguin. ISBN 9781591847205. Retrieved July 6, 2026.
With co-authors
[edit]- Selden, Larry & Colvin, Geoff (2003). Angel Customers and Demon Customers: Discover Which is Which, and Turbo-Charge Your Stock (1st ed.). New York, NY: Portfolio-Penguin. ISBN 9781440626715. Retrieved July 6, 2026.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Note, the first edition hardcover edition of this work is otherwise associated with the ISBN 9781591840077.
Talent is Overrated
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Colvin published Talent is Overrated.[when?][where?][citation needed] It's thesis that the greatest achievers succeed through lifelong "deliberate practice."[quote needs citation] Colvin characterizes it as “activity designed specifically to improve performance, often with a teacher’s help; it pushes the practicer just beyond, but not way beyond, his or her current limits; it can be repeated a lot; feedback on results is continuously available; it’s highly demanding mentally, whether the activity is purely intellectual, such as chess or business-related activities, or heavily physical, such as sports; and it isn’t much fun".[quote needs citation] "Some 40 years of research show that specific, innate gifts are not necessary for great performance", Colvin says; "great performance is far more available than most people realize".[quote needs citation]
Humans Are Underrated
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Colvin published Humans Are Underrated.[when?][where?][citation needed] It argues[according to whom?] that as technology advances with increasing speed, the most valuable skills in the economy will be skills of deep human interaction—empathy, creative problem-solving in groups, storytelling—and that developing these skills will be crucial to the futures of individuals, companies, and nations.[citation needed] The book suggests[according to whom?] that while demand for such skills is rising, supply may be falling as our increasingly digital lives cause these skills to atrophy[citation needed]. The imbalance of supply and demand, Colvin concludes, is making these skills even more valuable.[citation needed]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 Lamb, Brian; Sloan, Allan & Colvin, Geoff. Q&A: Allan Sloan and Geoff Colvin (interview). C-SPAN. Retrieved July 6, 2026.
Allan Sloan and Geoff Colvin talked about their Fortune Magazine cover story... Geoffrey Colvin: I was born and raised in Vermillion, South Dakota... We moved away... when I was 14 years old and I finished high school in... Carbondale, Illinois... And, then I went off to college... to Harvard. Majored in Economics...
{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)[independent source needed] - 1 2 3 Fortune Staff (July 5, 2026). "[About Us] Our Mission—Change the World by Making Business Better / Who We Are". Fortune.com. New York, NY: Fortune Media Corporation. Archived from the original on July 5, 2026. Retrieved July 8, 2026.
Geoff Colvin, Shawn Tully /Senior Editors-at-Large
- 1 2 3 4 Colvin, Geoffrey & Bossidy, Larry (2005). "Larry Bossidy" (interview by Colvin, with brief Stern byline bio). Stern Business Leadership. Stern Chief Executive Series. No. of issue is Spring/Summer. pp. 2–5. Retrieved July 6, 2026.
Mr. Bossidy was interviewed by Stern alumnus Geoffrey Colvin, who is Senior Editor-at-Large of Fortune and co-anchor of 'Wall Street Week with Fortune' on PBS.
{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Note, this article does not state the MBA, only that he is an alumnus, and it contains no other biographical content, but as this is a Stern publication, the opening biographical content is viewed as third party (despite Colvin's authorship role vis-à-vis the interview). - ↑ Statement valid as of July 5, 2026.
- 1 2 CBS Staff (July 6, 2026). "Larry Selden / Professor Emeritus of Business / Finance Division" (faculty publication webpage). Columbia Business School (CBS; Business.Columbia.edu). New York, NY: CBC, Columbia University. Retrieved July 6, 2026.
- ↑ Taube, Michael (February 13, 2024). "A&E: Remembering Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser". Troy Media (TroyMedia.com). Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: Troy Media. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
Further reading
[edit]- Taube, Michael (February 13, 2024). "A&E: Remembering Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser". Troy Media (TroyMedia.com). Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: Troy Media. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
- Broughton, Philip Delves (October 29, 2008). "The Hard Work of Getting Ahead" (book review, Talent is Overrated). The Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com). New York, NY: Dow-Jones/News Corp. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
- Colvin, Geoff & Fortune Staff (June 24, 2026). "Geoff Colvin". New York, NY: Fortune Magazine. Archived from the original (contributor biosketch) on June 24, 2026. Retrieved July 7, 2026. Note, employer biographies are typically employee-supplied, even composed, and so are not WP:INDEPENDENT sources.
- Colvin, Geoff (October 20, 2008). "Patricia Sellers—Leadership by Geoff Colvin [Guest Post: Geoff Colvin's New Take on Talent]". New York, NY: Fortune Magazine. Archived from the original on March 8, 2013. Retrieved July 7, 2026.
