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
Category: better doing
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
500-year old drawing reminded nobles of mortality.
Ryan Holiday uses some interesting historical references to remind us that we, even in today’s age of technology, are still mortal. | learn more
Why winners keep winning.
Of Dollars and Data, in its classic analytical style, takes on the subject of cumulative advantage. This is intuitively understood, but the data is eye-opening anyway. “In all the lives you could be living, in all of the worlds you could simulate, how much did luck play a role in this one?” | learn more
Intertia: the force that holds the universe together.
“Inertia is the force that holds the universe together. Literally. Without it, things would fall apart. It’s also what keeps us locked in destructive habits, and resistant to change.” | learn more
Tactics to hack back distractions.
As humans, we are genetically prone to be distractable. Based on an interview with Hooked author Nir Eyal, this First Round Review article offers concrete tactics to staying focused. |learn more
Being better than your resume.
Remember the research about why entrepreneurs start companies rather than join them? This interesting article digs into how people make choices on whether to invest in signaling (resume building) or ability (skill building). | learn more
Keep the degree of difficulty down.
Fred Wilson, a top VC, has some great advice: “In many sports, like diving, gymnastics, skating, etc, the way to win is to perfectly execute a high degree of difficulty move. In startups, I advise founders to avoid that way of thinking and try to execute a simple dive and hit the water perfectly.” | learn more
Why I overestimate my contribution to my team.
“Every person in a team overestimates his or her contributions to the team. The bigger the team, the greater the overestimation…” | learn more
The 6 ways of influence.
This short post reminds us about specific ways that humans are susceptible to influence, and how we can watch out for them in everyday life. | learn more
One order of operations for starting a startup.
Michael Seibel from YCombinator wrote an essay discussing how to put the first thing first when starting a business. | learn more
Stay on script.
Nick Maggiulli from Of Dollars and Data reminds us about the importance of sticking to investment plans. That means avoid chasing the newest “hot” investment! | learn more
Saying ‘no’ to the non-essential.
“People who say yes to everything have a lot of speed. They’re always doing stuff but never getting anything done. Why? Because they don’t think in terms of velocity. Understanding the difference between speed and velocity will change how you work.” |learn more