Summary
- Got inspiration from Poor Charlie’s Almanack – understand the main principles in the big fields (law, psychology, business, engineering, physics, etc.) and understand the importance of good choices. This book is Endersen’s take on how to make good decisions
Key Takeaways
- Curiosity and character are the foundation of good choices
- Must learn how to stay curious – fear of failure is maybe the biggest inhibitor of curiosity
- Curiosity – Learning – Listening – Incentives – Consider the Context – Start by considering the end and its opposite – Emotional Intelligence
- A questioning mentality is much better than a knowing mentality
- Must formulate good questions – ask why, why not, and what if
- Knowing the name of something is not the same as knowing what it is (Feynman)
- Must be ready to act on new information, especially when it contradicts our world view / opinions
- Be interesting by being interested
- Must be lifelong learners. Once we reach a basic level of competency, the drive often diminishes but you cannot let this happen. Excessive ego is also terrible for learning. Strive to learn something new every day, no matter how small. This will aggregate into something amazing over a lifetime
- Can learn either directly from own experiences or from those of others. Nothing can displace direct learning, but it must be followed by reflection and assimilation. Far better to learn from the mistakes of others
- The best way to learn is to teach and to read – have a questioning mindset and childlike curiosity
- Communication might be the most important life skill of all – make sure to listen more than you speak
- Lens distorters which can lead to miscommunication- inaccurate / vague language, different histories and cultures, different contexts, irrational expectation of rationality
- Become a better communicator – have a learning lens on (be a listener), make the other person the center of attention, be courteous, double check your gut feelings, find your words (be able to clearly articulate the contrary view), be conscious of your non verbal communication, choose quality over quantity
- Incentives matter a lot – they drive behavior and we underestimate them at our peril. Think through the incentives of people you are dealing with and their second order consequences
- Incentives not just monetary – blood donations went down when people were paid as the charitable aspect was reduced
- Should appeal to interests, not reason
- You usually get the behavior your reward and it’s crazy to incentivize behavior that you don’t want
- You must carefully consider the circumstances and the context – absolutes are extremely rare
- People are great at comparing alternatives but not what is missing
- Aim to be contextually dependent
- Ask if there is a better question
- Consider what might be missing
- For important decisions, don’t think twice. Think thrice
- Use checklists
- Develop your own decision making frameworks and keep decision journals
- Think like a scientist would – the focus of the ‘scientific method’ is on empirical and measurable evidence
- Consult others who have real and relevant experience
- Widen the diversity of your own experience
- Nothing occurs in isolation – consider the context and recognize that it is different for everyone and changes over time. Don’t be dogmatic
- Start by considering the end (invert!) – why are we here and what do we want to achieve? – determine what matters most to you, what you want to build and leave behind, what a fulfilling and unfulfilling life looks like
- Considering the route to avoid helps reveal the more rewarding road
- For better emotional intelligence, strive to improve in the following areas: acceptance, awareness, character, communication, compassion, equanimity (composure), honesty, interdependence, patience, perspective, resilience, sociability,
What I got out of it
- A really great book which reflects many things I completely agree with. Worth a re-read at some point