Strategy

Good thinking is expensive. Bad thinking costs a fortune.

One way to force yourself to think is to write. Good writing requires good thinking.

Forcing yourself to make your thinking visible gives poor thinking nowhere to hide. You can’t simply take a few minutes here and there, get the gist of the problem, and expect to have clear writing. It doesn’t... See more

“The ultimate form of preparation is not planning for a specific scenario, but a mindset that can handle uncertainty.”

The generalist becomes more powerful when they develop a specialty where they can apply their broad insight.

The specialist becomes more powerful when they develop a broader surface area of knowledge to connect with their expertise.

Which side are you favoring right now? Would you benefit from a broader area to apply your already honed skills? Or do... See more

Do I need to spend more time searching for better information or do I need to spend more time acting on the information I already have? Is the bottleneck strategy or execution?

Usually they are half-day to day-long sessions, depending on the complexity of the project. And they are done after the decision is made to proceed with project. Premortems are not designed to change the decision about whether to do the project but to mitigate risk factors. That changes the incentives for people. The basic format is listing the... See more

whenever something isn’t working, I put my best A players on it immediately because I want to decide as fast as possible whether it’s an execution problem or an idea problem.

“It is nearly impossible to have your best idea the first time you think about something.

The most likely way to uncover important insights is to frequently revisit a problem. The longer you’re in the game, the more ideas bubble up to the surface.

Time unlocks insights.”