Compared To What? A Lesson In Price Setting And Price Comparisons

Nobody knows what anything costs. I mean, we (hopefully) know what we pay when we click “buy now,” but our conscious awareness of “good deal” and “bad deal” are, on average, abysmal. Here’s how we can use this lack of intuitive sensibility to our advantage. Obligatory disclaimer: This knowledge, first and foremost, is to not … Continue reading Compared To What? A Lesson In Price Setting And Price Comparisons

Why Do We Do It That Way? There’s A Time To Imitate And A Time To Question

A young James P. O’Shaughnessy was watching his mom prepare a ham for dinner and noticed she cut the edges off in a very particular way. Ever the curious one, he asked, “Why do you cut the ham like that?” Somewhat surprised she said, “I don’t actually know - that’s just the way MY mom … Continue reading Why Do We Do It That Way? There’s A Time To Imitate And A Time To Question

Nazi-Fighting Field Mice And Always Having A Margin Of Safety

There are two types of conservative: the kind where you avoid risk, and the kind where you broaden your definition of success. The first is about limiting the potential outcomes to something certain. The second is about opening up to a range of acceptable outcomes, also called having a margin of safety. The distinction matters … Continue reading Nazi-Fighting Field Mice And Always Having A Margin Of Safety

Common Sense Is At Least As Important As Science

We’ve all struggled to help somebody while they insisted on doing something illogical, suboptimal, or just plain senseless. Whether we care to admit it or not, we’ve all done the same things too. With the anti-science/pro-science crowds getting all flustered by the headlines lately, it’s a good time to step back and remember the importance … Continue reading Common Sense Is At Least As Important As Science

I’d Like To Make A Motion That We Face Reality

Life advice from the philosopher comedian Bob Newhart, I’d like to make a motion that we face reality. Use this quote: in meetings, conversations, and disputes. The only rule is actually following through to the facing of said reality. A word of warning: not everybody wants to face reality at times, and that includes ourselves. … Continue reading I’d Like To Make A Motion That We Face Reality

Podcast Of The Week: “Deterministic Thinkers In A Probabilistic World,” Or “When JP Met Rory”

Sometimes you just want to hear two of your favorite people hang out with each other.* James O’Shaughnessy had a nearly two-hour talk with Rory Sutherland on the Infinite Loops Podcast this week. O’Shaughnessy is an OG quant investor/behavioral psychology fanatic/philosopher/et al, and Sutherland is one of the greatest (and most entertaining) marketing minds of … Continue reading Podcast Of The Week: “Deterministic Thinkers In A Probabilistic World,” Or “When JP Met Rory”

The Key To Innovation: The Creativity Leap

Natalie Nixon just published what I’m calling my favorite business book of 2020, The Creativity Leap. Here’s her big idea: I define creativity as the ability to toggle between wonder and rigor in order to solve problems and to deliver novel value. And I see inquiry, improvisation and intuition as the practices that increase those … Continue reading The Key To Innovation: The Creativity Leap

Learning From The COVID Crisis’ Complexities

Rory Sutherland made this point, “Isn't it interesting that the whole world's scientific elite are trying to solve a problem that, in most cases, your immune system solves within a week?” There are so many interesting variables inside of this, let’s dissect a few we can broadly apply. The scientific elite. The real experts. The … Continue reading Learning From The COVID Crisis’ Complexities