First, as a rule, if you tell people “look how organized I am,” the universe will then throw a proverbial wrench into your gearbox and howl with a laughter only the cruelest of taskmasters can howl. Last night, after a marathon of calls and busyness, I was making dinner and remembering I still didn’t write … Continue reading How To Use Status To Create (Or Destroy!) Value
Tag: behavioral psychology
Dostoyevsky On The Habits We Accumulate
Fyodor Dostoyevsky (h/t James Clear) said, “It seems, in fact, as though the second half of a person’s life is made up of nothing but the habits they accumulated during the first half.” This is only partly true. I know for me, and I’m sure for many of you reading this note, you figured out … Continue reading Dostoyevsky On The Habits We Accumulate
Two Types Of Trust
David Burkus has a fascinating post up about the “Two Types of Trust on Teams.” Here’s the short version: Trust is what enables teams to work well together. More trust = better, less trust = worse. The two types of trust worth focusing on (and building/rebuilding) are Cognition-based trust and Affect-based trust. Cognition-based trust is … Continue reading Two Types Of Trust
Understanding Human Behavior Isn’t A Wrench, It’s Gravity
Understanding human behavior isn’t a wrench, it’s gravity. Biases exist. Understanding them isn’t another tool in the toolbox. They’re… Newtonian. They're foundational to everything else. Biases and behaviors are the starting point. They’re the operating systems we all run on. We don’t have to fix them, we have to work with them. h/t Brian Portnoy and … Continue reading Understanding Human Behavior Isn’t A Wrench, It’s Gravity
Podcast Of The Week: Diana Chapman On Trusting Your Instincts
I’ve mentioned Diana Chapman before in these notes here, here, and here. The book she co-authored, The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, had a major impact on me last year. I’m all for hearing her in updated, thoughtful conversations right now. She recently joined Shane Parrish to talk about the drama triangle, responding to challenges, … Continue reading Podcast Of The Week: Diana Chapman On Trusting Your Instincts
Self-Compassion > Self-Criticism
“You’re a beautiful girl,” the old man from her ancestral country said. She felt the warmth of his compliment glow deep inside her. He continued, “Don’t ever shave your mustache.” Poof. It was out. Dr. Kristen Neff is a leading researcher on self-criticism and that’s one of her stories. It made me laugh out loud … Continue reading Self-Compassion > Self-Criticism
Feeling The Feels
I've felt like a real piece of you-know-what lately. I've let people down, gone back on promises, and figured new things out that made past beliefs look downright stupid. This life business... it's hard. There's a core idea I keep coming back to in order to help. Our thoughts and the facts about anything we … Continue reading Feeling The Feels
Nothing Has Value Until We Add This Word
“Mine.” That’s it. The shirt in the thrift shop? Somebody gave it away. It doesn’t even exist until we see it and pay for it. Now, from the point where we say, “that could be mine,” to the point where we have made the purchase and made it our own, the value has risen exponentially. … Continue reading Nothing Has Value Until We Add This Word
What’s Your Spoonful Of Sugar?
Your product or service solves a problem. Great. But, how are you going to get people to use it? The great philosopher Mary Poppins inspired my favorite question: What’s the spoonful of sugar? I see the medicine. I know how it works. I know why it works. I know they need to take it. But… … Continue reading What’s Your Spoonful Of Sugar?
You Can(‘t) Make It Up
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. Like those times when the sheer coincidence of things that are happening makes you feel like there’s a scriptwriter in the sky pulling your strings. Other times, fiction becomes our reality. This actually happens all of the time. This is what I'm thinking about today. Fiction becomes reality when … Continue reading You Can(‘t) Make It Up