Thing are feeling pretty uncertain right now, so lets talk about a tool that was designed by psychologists for therapy, adopted by intelligence analysts to predict enemy actions, and which is incredibly useful for anyone thinking about types of uncertainty- the Johari Window. 1/4
It became a joke when cited by Rumsfeld during the Iraq War: “there are known knowns...things we know we know. There are known unknowns...we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns-the ones we don't know we don't know..." But it is profound.
Known knows are facts - these are the things you don’t need to plan, they are what you know are true: how have you responded to COVID so far?
Known unknowns are uncertainties, things you know will happen, but don’t know how they will work out. COVID will end, but how & when?
Finally, there are unknown unknowns: risks that you cannot plan for, because we can't expect them. COVID was an unknown unknown.
This system is useful for thinking through your plans and risks. To see how, I sketch out how to use it for founders here:
Classic thread of people posting their smartest jokes. 3 favs:
➖Is it solipsistic in here, or is it just me?
➖Q: Who does Polyphemus hate more than Odysseus? A:Nobody!
➖It's hard to explain puns to kleptomaniacs because they always take things literally reddit.com/r/AskReddit/co…
Okay, one more:
Q: What does the "B" in Benoit B. Mandelbrot stand for?
A: Benoit B. Mandelbrot.
Because you insisted (note: you did not insist), one more;
Three logicians walk into a bar. The bartender says, “do all of you want a drink?”
Logician 1 says: “I don’t know”
Logician 2 says: “I don’t know!”
Logician 3 says: “Yes!”
This is an example of an academic paper that is immediately useful to entrepreneurs. We know the easiest way to raise VC is to have done it before, but this paper used deep studies into startups to lay out an alternate path that works just as well, but is more complicated... 1/7
The first step is what they call "casual dating" - this involves having casual talks with VC BEFORE you need the money to build ties. In these talks, you want to discuss your business, but not ask for money. You can't wait until you need $, it takes ~83 days to close a deal! 2/
While VCs are generally happy to have these conversations with startups that look promising (half or more of VC associate time is spent sourcing deals), you usually need a warm introduction to get an initial meeting. More on that 👇3/7
A 2021 lesson: the story of the pyramids is a story of great things made through trial-and-error & learning from failure...
Start with the first pyramid: the not-very-pyramid-y Step Pyramid of Djoser, designed by Imhotep. It was the tallest building in the world for 40 years 1/7
This inspired Sneferu, who wanted a pyramid of his own, a real pyramid: the Pyramid of Meidum!
Wait, you haven't heard of it? That is because it immediately collapsed as it was built using sand & had the wrong angle & was really unstable. It was the tallest thing for 5 years 2/7
Snerferu tried again. This is the Bent Pyramid. Halfway through building the Bent Pyramid, the Meidum Pyramid collapsed.
Aha - the builders learned something! The 54° angle they were using was not going to work, so they changed it to 43°. It was the tallest thing for 5 years 3/
Resolution science: if you want to make New Years resolutions that will actually make you happier (and that you can achieve), then 👀 this chart. The world’s top happiness researchers were polled on the most effective & feasible ways for people to make themselves happier.... 1/
Super effective & achievable based on the research :
👨👩👧👦 Invest in family and friends
💃🏻Join a club
🤹♂️Be mentally & physically active
👩❤️👩Be nicer & kinder to others
🌲Experience nature
🛌Get more sleep
🙏🏻Practice your religion, if you have one
💰Enroll in automatic savings
2/
Lowest in effectiveness and feasibility for making you happy:
🧹Decluttering
🍃Becoming vegan
🖥 Eliminating screens
🏡Owning your own home
🤱Having kids
There’s more detail in the open access paper: /3 link.springer.com/article/10.100…
Avoid jerks; civility wins in organizations. If you're civil, your coworkers are 59% more likely to share info, employees work 71% harder, and health and well-being receive boosts, too! This study is a great summary of the research, with tips for leaders. assets.yukonarchives.ca/Porath_Does_Ci…
Plus, firing toxic workers helps more than hiring more superstars in a study of 58,000 service workers.
🌟A top 1% superstar increased performance by $5,300
💀A toxic worker costs $12,800 in extra turnover alone.
Three questions help screen for toxicity: insight.kellogg.northwestern.edu/article/hire-a…
Of course, this screen doesn't work for innovators. But that doesn't tolerating jerks. Bad behavior spreads. Look at teammates of steroid user/star player Jose Conseco. After working with him they had "mysterious" performance boosts that vanished after drug testing was mandatory.
A thread of cool papers showing odd unintended consequences of generally good ideas, starting with the fact that car seats saved lives, but also discouraged families from having more than 2 children, since they couldn't fit more than 2 seats in a car! 1/n
When smoking bans are implemented in bars and restaurants, smokers drink more instead, leading to 4% more fatal drunk driving accidents in areas where there a lot of smokers. (Though benefits of smoking bans likely outweigh costs) 2/n
Pokemon Go led to far more deaths than Grand Theft Auto. In fact, violent video games (and movies) decrease crime because people stay in to play, rather than going out where there might be issues. 3/n