In theory, everyone living in the EU has skin in the game in the COVID reaction, because if we screw it they and their families are at higher risk of being infected.
2/ One problem of the interconnected world is that skin in the game must be faster in its action. That's because it's faster and easier than ever to make a mistake that affects millions.
3/ In practice, to avoid major disasters, skin in the game must either have some element of quasi certainty (you will get sick, you will get caught).
4/ Take the example of Musk. Does he have skin in the game?
Debatable, IMHO. On the one hand, sure, he's an entrepreneur who put his finances on the line.
OTOH, he keeps breaking the law with no accountability whatsoever.
5/ Similarly, do the politicians who screw up with COVID have skin in the game?
In theory, yes. They live in the communities that get sick if they screw up.
In practice, no. Most of them are still there, still causing damage.
6/ I believe that we should put more effort in distinguishing between theoretical and practical skin in the game, and ensure that in our complex interconnected world skin in the game is fast and certain enough to protect us.
7/ An example. Does it look like skin in the game? No fine, no penalty. Even worse: a lesson that there’s no skin in the game.
I recently got a small grant (courtesy of Kanro, Vitalik Buterin's foundation) to produce some educational materials regarding the pandemic response.
These 10 one-pagers are the first batch of educational materials.
Any feedback?
1/10
Some more background about the one-pagers. They are meant for people who are already onboard with the need to properly react to an eventual future pandemic but don't have the vocabulary or examples to explain to others what they can do and why.
2/10
A simple model to understand indoor infection risk
Nothing about graduation rates (literacy rates, yes).
Instead:
– Knowing what matters for society to work well
– Being able to find a value-adding role in society
– Having learned that personal improvement is achievable
Things such as:
– What brings prosperity?
– What did countries that were wealthy and democratic do (or didn't do) that caused them to become poor or totalitarian
Seems banal, but…
2/6
…we only discuss how good it's to be prosperous or democratic without discussing how to get there or how not to fall back to the default state (poverty / absence of rights)
3/6
A problem of many organizations is that they are aware of the needs of employees (impact, recognition, growth, fair salary, etc) but fulfill them as they would with a checklist: let's do this superficially, checked, done.
Some examples (& solutions) ↓
1/8
Example #1: recognition.
Many companies and managers know that employees want recognition.
But they fulfill this need in a very superficial way. With a small internal award, a certificate, etc. Top red flag: it's HR-driven and/or feels cringe.
2/8
The alternative:
– make it personal: it should come from the boss or the boss' boss.
– make it congruent: a moment of recognition followed by a year of no recognition feels (and likely is) fake.
3/8
Whenever we desire an outcome but not the actions that would make us achieve it, we end up with inaction, busywork, shortcuts, excuses, and, ultimately, frustration.
(a thread of highlights from the first chapter of my book "The Control Heuristic")
1/14
You probably do not have a decision-making problem, but an action-taking one
2/14
Decision-making is not the same as action-taking.
The cortex is mostly responsible for taking decisions, and the ~basal ganglia determines whether we act on our decisions.