Rio Richardson

Here are some ways to put second-order thinking into practice today.

1. Always ask yourself, “And then what?”


2. Think across time — What do the consequences look like in 10 minutes? 10 months? 10 Years?


3. Create templates like the second image above with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd order consequences. Identify your decision, think it through, and write down the

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Many of the simple market opportunities, the easy and obvious things, are either dominated by pseudo-monopolies, like Google, or are blood baths filled with thousands of minnows (see SaaS)

There are two modes of information discovery: foraging and hunting. Foraging is passive. You don’t have a clear goal; you just wander and scroll until something catches your interest. Hunting is active and purposeful. You know what you’re looking for and are consciously searching for it. A good information diet needs both

the creative process typically involves three steps:

1. Collecting: Gathering interesting ideas


2. Connecting: Drawing connections and organizing materials


3. Creating: Producing something new

The frameworks that got us here, of jobs-to-be-done or product-market fit, will be insufficient going forward. For founders to have extraordinary outcomes, they will have to find alpha in markets that aren’t easily understood.

Which is to say, technology alone won’t be enough. The other essential ingredient will be taste. Technology without taste... See more