10x: If you can’t be a monopoly, Peter Thiel believes you must be 10x better than your competition. This holds true for organizations and individuals alike. Is there a person that has the same title, or performs the same job you do at your competing organization? Then you have a pretty good idea, after some thought, of what it will take for you to be 10x better than that competing person.

11^th man: Always have a person in the group of decision-makers who dissents (contrarian thinker) and has a good argument against the majority. Not a fluffy devil’s advocate, but someone that can passionately defend their point. If they upset you, they are probably right.

Anarchy vs. Anarchism: Anarchism is the feeling that things are not working out for the individual. Rules and regulations are compressing and pushing against the individuals’ ideas and needs of freedom/autonomy. This is where the repercussions of treating your employees like children (infantilism) start to show. Anarchy is what happens when the individual can no longer tolerate the compression of rules. They act out. The press and politics have demonized anarchy because what we see of it is when people riot and loot. This is the extreme of anarchy. The signs of “civilized” acts of anarchy are all around you. It’s the derogatory office cartoons hanging on the cubicle wall for all to see. Or the choice to not wear the required safety-toe boots on the worksite. And pushing the length of breaks past the allotted time or an excessive number of “smoke breaks”. Maybe the worst sign is that you are creating an anarchical organization…The latest Bansky shows up on your business’s wall. 😦

Being smart takes hard work: Yes, there are some people who have physical/mental issues that may have trouble with this. But for most of humanity, we are not born smart. To become smart, in the things we want to be smart in, takes work. Hard, earnest time and effort with the resources to learn from. I believe that humans can learn anything. Quantum physics? Get the books, watch the videos, read the lectures, attend the schools. You can learn it. But it is hard.

Black Swans: COVID is not a Black Swan, Political influence of markets is not a Black Swan. A Black Swan is an incomprehensible event that smacks you in the face. Mitigate the hazards of that!

Drift: The normalization of deviance. Think, Enron, NASA, and Customer Service at your nearest Big Box Retailer. It is a problem for organizations and individuals alike.

Gall’s Law: A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be patched up to make it work.

Get them to say “No”: This is the idea that when attempting to get the desired outcome, ask a question that requires “No” to be the answer. Once the person you are persuading accepts that they are not complying, it is much easier to persuade them to follow your process and give you the outcome you desire.

Good explanations: The best definition I have found to describe this comes from David Deutsch. Good explanations are, “[e]xplanations that are hard to vary in the sense that changing the details would ruin the explanation”. Deutsch uses the example of Greek gods, their infidelity and sorrow, being the reason for seasons. Norse mythology also used gods, different ones than the Greeks, for the reasoning of the change of season. The details of the explanations vary between the choice of the godhead and their tales. This is not a good explanation. David then reminds us that seasons are caused due to the tilt of the Earth and that as it rotates around the sun in a one-year cycle, the angle of the hemispheres is causation for the change of season. As this explanation is far-reaching and can hold true for planets anywhere in the universe, it is a good explanation.

Goodhart’s Law: When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to become a good measure. A popular variant of this: Zero injury initiatives.

Have a smile for everyone you meet. And a plan on how to kill them: This is my take on a quote by retired Marine Corp four-star General and former Secretary of Defense James Mattis.  Working within the environs I have, and many of my readers do, this is quite poignant. Also, self-explanatory.

Hock Principle: Simple, clear purpose and principles give rise to complex and intelligent behavior. Complex rules and regulations give rise to simple and stupid behavior.

If it doesn’t make sense, pay attention: This is another Peter Thiel-ism. When stocks should be going up (or down) per historical experience or economic theory, and they are not. Pay attention. When money is rolling in, but employees are running out. Pay attention. Etcetera.

If it is hard to do, do it: Chances are good, that it is hard to do, or difficult to perform, few others doing it. The return on investment of doing what others aren’t is very high. Don’t pass up the chance to be better than others.

Listen well: When a person is speaking to you, keep your mouth shut, and your eyes on the person. Not looking at your watch, phone, or the ceiling. Respond with a version of, “So, I understand what you are saying is (insert your topic here). Is that correct?” Don’t be thinking of a response until the person has finished speaking. A little delay while you decide what to say conveys that you care about the person and their ideas.

Memento Mori: We all die, quit worrying about it. Understanding that you may die at any moment changes the way we live our lives.

Monopoly: If you were going to open a pizza parlor would you choose a site in a shopping center with another pizza place in it, or would you look for a center where your pizza is the only option for a few miles? Monopoly.

Occam’s Razor: Quit overthinking it. Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS).

Opportunity Cost: The loss of something when choosing another. This is what happens when you choose to stay late at work and lose out on dinner with your family. If you are scoffing at this, read the next topic…

Parkinson’s Law: The notion that work expands to fill the time available for its completion. Don’t let it do that to you.

Post-mortem everything, before you do it: Known as a “premortem”. Once a plan is made, but before implementation, those involved should ask; Six months from now, this project has failed, why?

System 1 and System 2 Thinking: Made popular by Daniel Kahneman but has been understood for a very long time. The main takeaway is understanding that System 1 thinking is high-speed answers to questions and problems based on previously experienced or learned models. Due to the speed of decision make and lack of detail, this may end poorly. When time can be taken, and more thought must occur to achieve the best outcome, we implement System 2 thinking. This is when our brains step back, collect information, and create a more detailed response.

The Pause: Nature abhors a vacuum. So do people. When someone is not willing to talk about a subject, answer a question, or is just plain giving you the silent treatment. Ask a question and patiently wait. Thank you to Chris Voss.

The Peter Principle: This is how bureaucracies are made. An employee continues to be promoted into higher ranks until they reach a level of incompetence. Then, once there they stagnate and protect one another. If any actual work is performed by them, it is only to preserve their existence. Often to the detriment of the organization.

Theory of constraints: Find the speed bumps and brick walls that are in the way of organizational goals. Remove them. You will need to reread [this] before you begin removing constraints.

Truly Understanding: I can read about a topic in a book or a website. But do I really know it? There is a difference.

Utilize your influence to empower others: This is Leadership 101. It’s not about you, it’s about your people.

Make it a great day,

Eddie

P.S. If you see anything here that interests you comment below, or reach out via email: interesting@eddiekillian.com