You may already know, but cannot be reminded too often, that your brain’s priority is not truth, but rather narrative consistency. | learn more
Category: better doing
All things sales: 16 mini-lessons for startup founders.
This series of short videos by a16z partner Peter Levine is aimed at teaching sales basics to technical founders. | learn more
How to ask for a pay raise.
“Kelly Coffey, CEO of JPMorgan Chase’s US Private Bank, shared advice on the topic.” | learn more
The contractor who blows away deadlines.
This is about “construction guru C.C. Myers.” What a guy! “In 2007, for example, when a stretch of Interstate 80 collapsed in Oakland, a competing firm came in with a bid of $6.4 million. C.C.’s bid? $800,000. As usual, he zipped through the project and finished in a breezy 17 days — compared to the 50 days estimated by the state — earning a $5 million bonus.” | learn more
The disproportional power of anecdotes.
“As humans, we make decisions emotionally, and justify them rationally. And nothing helps us do both quite like the anecdote. It gives us the push we need to make the decision we want, and enough data to feel good about it. BUT…” | learn more
Self-care: 8 tips for founders to take care of themselves.
Alex Iskold, serial founder and Techstars NYC managing director for the past 5 years, shares his experience and learnings throughout the years of stressful startup life. | learn more
The secret to ant efficiency is idleness.
New research shows that ants intuitively understand the proverb ‘too many cooks in the kitchen.’ | learn more
Strategy vs. tactics.
Farnam Street goes into detail on the difference between the two, and why they both matter. I can’t say you’ll learn anything particularly new from this read, but I did enjoy the prompt to think about the topic. | learn more
How to make friends, according to science.
Here’s a short article about the topic of friendship, full of academic journal references. | learn more
5 mental models for parenting.
From the mind of Farnam Street’s Shane Parrish: “No topic provokes more unsolicited advice than parenting. The problem is, no matter how good the advice, it might not work for your child or your particular situation. Here are 5 principle-based models you can apply to any family, any situation, and any child.” | learn more
Netflix culture deck.
I mentioned this deck a few weeks ago when linking to a video by Netflix former Chief Talent Officer Patty McCord. I decided to dig it up and take another run through it. Now that I have, I’m reminded of just how great it is. If you haven’t seen it lately (or at all), now’s a great time! | learn more
Double loop learning.
Farnam Street once again teaches us how to learn. I don’t like the name of this, but I do like the concept. “Double loop learning is about data-backed experimentation, not aimless tinkering. If a new idea doesn’t work, it’s time to try something else.” | learn more
How likely do people think ‘likely’ is?
“Why you should use percentages, not words, to express probabilities.” | learn more
Seneca on the shortness of time.
This post from Farnam Street covers a really important topic it’s easy to ignore: “Time is invisible so it’s easy to spend without proper consideration to its value.” | learn more
Hunter S. Thompson’s letter on finding your purpose and living a meaningful life.
The famed author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas wrote a letter to his friend Hume Logan that’s worth reading. | learn more
Hyperbolic discounting: why you make terrible life choices.
What a fun title :). “Hyperbolic discounting is a cognitive bias, where people choose smaller, immediate rewards rather than larger, later rewards.” | learn more
Smarter, not harder: how to succeed at work.
“As I looked around, I noticed that the most successful people I know have one thing in common: they are masters at eliminating the unnecessary from their lives. The French writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry hit on the same idea, writing in his memoir, ‘Perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.’” | learn more
The scientific argument for mastering one thing at a time.
The bottom line of this post is that by mastering one thing at a time to the point where it becomes second-nature (he calls it “automaticity”), you’re best able to master a lot of things over time. Steady progress over time has the best odds of success. | learn more
The heartbeat of a business.
Fred Wilson had a short and sweet blog post this week about what he calls “the heartbeat”. This is the regular pace at which a company operates. I have called this a cadence in the past, but I like the term heartbeat so may steal it in the future. | learn more
Rethinking how we manage people.
Patty McCord, former Chief Talent Officer at Netflix, helped build their strong culture of success. A few years ago, I saw a deck that outlined how they think about roles/employment and it blew my mind. Patty breaks down her BS-free views in this video, which I’m a big fan of. | learn more
Why your work environment matters.
Farnam Street Blog tackles the negative impact that most office environments have on decision quality. Thankfully, the post also offers actionable advice on how to fix the problem. | learn more
Harsh truths that will make you a better person.
This is the first post I’ve read from Eric Barker, and it won’t be the last. I really enjoyed his writing style and his message. | learn more
The value of probabilistic thinking.
“Probabilistic thinking is a useful tool to help us evaluate potential outcomes so we can make the best possible decision. Learn why it matters, and how to use this powerful mental model.” | learn more
How to slow down time.
This author calls BS on the narrative that time speeds up as we age because each year is incrementally a smaller share of our lives. He makes a compelling argument about what really speeds up time and how to address it. | learn more
The best of resignation letters.
Sam Hinkie was the GM of the Philadelphia 76ers (NBA) until he resigned in 2016. On his way out, he wrote a 13-page letter. It’s rare for someone to impart this much wisdom on their way out of an organization. (I’m not a huge b-ball fan, and enjoyed this anyway, so don’t let that scare you). | learn more