Ira Riklis Blog

Ira Riklis has invested in many different businesses. According to this source, he has invested in an Internet-service provider, a hedge-fund consolidation company, a ladies-clothing designer and marketer, a ski-equipment rental chain, and various real estate partnerships with an emphasis on strip-shopping centers.

So Ira’s interest in skiing extends to his business life (or did). What about Diana Riklis? She uses her degree in education and has a firm belief in community giving and the well-being of children. They both support political and religious causes. She teaches and is a member of the board of the Ramaz School, a private  school. She’s a member of the executive committee of the Board of Jewish Education of Greater New York.

She is also an active member of the education and community-services affiliations-review committee of the UJA-Federation of New York. Also the United Jewish Appeal’s committee for early-childhood education, and most recently, the Rose Biller endowment-fund committee. She also sits on New York’s Mt. Sinai Hospital Children’s Foundation board.

Ira Riklis and his wife are both active in many different business, educational, artistic, political and religious issues and causes.

First the parents. Ira D. Riklis W’76 WG’77 (meaning a bachelor’s and masters from Wharton school of business) and Ira’s wife Diana Rausnitz Riklis C’76 GEd’77 (master’s of Education). They are also alums of the University of Pennsylvania. Their family is quite dedicated to the school as you’ll see below. His daughters went to the school also.

Their daughter Jordana Leah Riklis, graduated from the School of Arts and Sciences in the Class of 2000, summa cum laude. She was also undergraduate Class secretary.

Talia Jill Riklis C’02, is pursuing a master’s degree in economics at Penn. She’s donated to political campaigns, like her father.

Meshulam Riklis immigrated from Turkey but he also had an interest in high ed. He got a mathematics at Ohio State University. Like his son Ira, he had an interest in film.

We’ve talked a lot about the importance of having a good coach, when it comes to skiing or anything you want to master. You can tell that Ira Riklis values his skiing coach Mike Bartasuis. He’s the coach that Ira spent 20 years looking for. He’s the one who took Ira from intermediate or advanced to an expert level skiier.

Here’s a photo of Ira Riklis with Mike (it’s rare to find photos of Ira Riklis online). This was taken at Ira’s birthday party. The two have become good friends.

There are a few people who’s influence literally changes our lives and takes us on an elevated course. We feel that without them we could never reach our potential. Mike is obviously one of those coaches who has made an impact and who is a master at teaching. His skills are rare.

What people have made an impact on your life?

Here’s the secret. There is no magic pill or secret formula to being successful. Instead, according to Ira Riklis who is a successful businessman: it takes a goal, persistence, and plain, old, hard work.

Another successful businessman and author Malcolm Gladwell says this in his book Outliers

“The difference between the “haves and the have not’s”is 10,000 hours. Gladwell calls it the 10,000 Hour Rule. He points to phenomenal successes like Bill Gates and The Beatles. These were not particularly brilliant or gifted people—just hard workers. They put in 10,000 hours of more of consistent work on their focus.”

- More about the book in Wikipedia

Do you agree? What have you been so passionate about (for Ira Riklis, it’s skiing and business) that you would gladly throw yourself into it to be successful?

I think another interesting thing is how many people who work hard in life are just as popular (or more so) after they die! They stop doing the work and other people pick up where they left off and make a lot of money doing it. In other words, a measure of your successs is that your legacy continues long after you do.

Your ability to master anything starts with your instructor (says Ira Riklis) and their skiing technique. Again, this could easily apply to life and business.

There is an art to mastering anything and it is in taking something from being recited steps to flawless execution of a task. If you don’t get the rhythm you need to do this, then you’ll fall.

Most teachers tell you a set of moves and set you thinking your way through a difficult task (in this case becoming a master skier):

• lower your left shoulder
• raise your right shoulder
• lean your torso in
• push your bottom out
• bring your left elbow
• lower your right elbow
• balance your weight evenly on your feet but bend your knees
• lean into the ball, etc., etc., etc …

But the point Ira Riklis makes is this:  you can’t think your way through a ski turn at the expert level, you simply have to move with the rhythm (like dancing).

Here’s another approach to mastery:

Identify the ONE thing in your technique which stops you from getting the rhythmic motion you need. Work on that ONE thing so that it becomes something you can do from memory (muscle memory). In other words what was stopping you is changed and practiced until it becomes easy for you. Until you do it without effort and flawlessly every time. You dance.

Genius.