In chemistry, activation energy is the energy that must be delivered to a chemical system in order to initiate a reaction, breaking bonds so that new ones can form.

The traditional German armies, with “their linear tactics, iron discipline, blind obedience and intolerance of independent action,”9 were initially unequipped to deal with Napoleon’s approach. Recognizing the need for a new strategy, the Germans developed Auftragstaktik or what we now call commander’s intent, which is the idea of sharing the

The more tools you have in your mental toolbox, the more likely you are to make better decisions. In turn, better decisions should free up your time and help you live a more meaningful life.

“satisficing,” we’ll often search for the first thing in our brain that satisfies our minimum acceptable conditions. This saves time and energy, but it doesn’t mean we get the best outcome.

It is not necessarily what is available that matters. What is scarce can be paramount too. We can see this in our own lives as well. If you skip on sleep to have more time, tiredness then becomes the limiting factor to your productivity, not time. In manufacturing, a bottleneck is a similar concept. A factory process can only move as fast as the

Even anarchist movements end up with leaders. Leadership is important. Getting rid of the title of “captain” or “boss” doesn’t change the fact that someone in the locker room or the boardroom is going to set the example for others, so it’s best to ask who we want that person to be. If we can’t avoid hierarchies, we need to recognize their presence

Perspective often comes from distance or time. If you’re trying to solve a problem and you’re stuck, try shifting your vantage point. Examples of this are moving up and contemplating the bigger picture, moving down and seeing more details, or assuming the perspective of other stakeholders—customers, suppliers, partners, government. Many problems

In biology, an ecosystem encompasses a community of interacting species and their nonliving environment. All components play a part in determining the characteristics, from the type of soil to the amount of sun or water available. Some animals cooperate, others compete, and changes in any component can affect both the fitness of individual species

Outside of physics, we consider something to have momentum if it is progressing in a particular direction in such a way that it would take a weighty outside force to stop it or change its direction.1