We do this with teaching consistently. Three is the magic number. I’m not sure why the rest of the numbers work well, I have always heard three, but it would stand up to reason the others are equally as effective.

It is funny how the brain functions, we can absorb so much if we pre-seed it and prepare it for what is coming.

That is why framing conversations also works well. Here is what we are going to discuss…brain is like oh ok cool, got it, let’s go.

It is also a reason pretexting works so well in social engineering attacks. We frame what we want the brain to think and understand, so when the attack commences, the brain doesn’t red flag it, it expects the condition.

This is one major reason I write; to continue to think, to process things. Sure, I use AI considerably in a lot of areas, like summarizing things, pulling out key points or to-dos, I even have it evaluate what I write, fix grammar, test the content to see if it is unique, cohesive, or compelling.

But, I don’t want to offload all of my thinking to AI and stop thinking. Similar to Paul’s point in the article, we used to get strong by working, now we workout to gain strength because working, in most cases, doesn’t provide this benefit for us.

I want to think and to think well. One of my favorite books this year is, “Clear Thinking” by Shane Parrish. I have invested a lot of time and energy into learning improve my thinking. It would be a shame to outsource it to token prediction algorithms.

Oh this resonated. Part of the issue I run into when thinking of writing a newsletter is the sheer amount of input I have. How do I filter down the most important things.

I like the idea of the 5 Big Things, it forces me to pick the one favorite article per day and discuss it. Then release on Friday with the Top 5 Favorites or whatever.

Seems helpful for their situation, as well. I work on a wide variety of initiatives daily. Top 5 Most Impactful or something similar might be helpful for the blog we are starting to discuss our projects around IT and Security.

Great questions for 1:1s.

Definitely aligns with one of my other articles I saved today on the things we do to impress others [[3-2-1: On Impressing Others, the Power of the Mind, and the Hidden Costs of Success]] by James Clear.

Even in 1:1s, I think leaders often forget the 1:1 is not for us to dominate, but rather, it is time for those in our charge to discuss their goals, desires, dreams, plans, challenges, etc.

It is time for us to listen and lead. We need to listen well, ask great questions, and support those we are called to support and grow.

I like these questions a lot from Dan, now I need to stop talking other than to start asking them.

It is insane the amount of effort we, or at least I, waste on posturing and people-pleasing that will dissipate in the minds of people in seconds. One of my core values is to do things for the betterment of people, that is to add value to their lives.

There are so many areas this can be applied to in our interactions with people. Did it help someone feel better? Did I slow down and invest in their lives? Listening - actual, careful, active listening is expensive! What tremendous perceived value is contributed by listening to people without asserting our agenda. For transparency, I suck at this, but attempting to get better. I mean I have important things to say! More often than not, what I have to say is never nearly as valuable or important as what they have to communicate. I regularly need to remind myself to shut up!

I love the quote, I think by James Clear or maybe Shane Parrish, need to track it down. Stop being the most interesting person in the room and be the most interested person in the room.

Teaching retreat thinking through contentment