Notes
Business
Organizations of all types use the term “family” to describe themselves. In a time when loneliness is pervasive, this can be a heartfelt sentiment. It plays into our inherent need to belong to a group, our tribalism. But it’s also misleading and produces a false sense of security. It often does more harm than good.
Sam Walton's 10 Rules for Running a Successful Company
Sam Walton began in retail as a management trainee at J.C. Penny in 1940. While there, one of his managers told him he wasn’t cut out for retail. Fast forwarding a few years, Walton was operating the most successful Ben Franklin store in the entire franchise system. He then went on to found his own retail company: Wal-Mart. Today, the rebranded Walmart has outlived Walton, employs over two million employees globally, and is worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
Clearly, Walton had a business framework that worked.
Competitors are oftentimes clearly defined. Think sports, debate, and political elections. When entering those arenas, you know exactly who you are going up against. But life isn’t always that way.
Sometimes competition comes from where you least expect it.
Mental Models
Everyone, everywhere, at some point in their lives, has believed something that was wrong. This isn’t new. People used to think the Earth was flat. Or that the Earth was the center of the universe. Or that bloodletting was an effective medical practice. And so on.
Forming an incorrect belief isn't a defect in humanity. But holding onto it is.
Decision frameworks take many forms, but one that helps determine the appropriate speed of a decision is the one-way or two-way door framework. This framework asks a simple question: is my decision reversible?
Most people are adept at first-order thinking, able to anticipate the immediate effects of their actions. It’s a basic skill we must develop in adolescence. First-order thinking is simple and quick. There are sometimes benefits to speed in decision-making. But it’s immensely limiting, and often counterproductive, to move swiftly without much regard for direction. That's why we need second-order thinking.
Performance
In falconry, yarak is the state that falcons must be in for their best hunting. When falcons are not in yarak, they are poor hunters.
Yarak can be represented on a spectrum. Starvation is on one end of the spectrum, where the animal is deficient in energy. Contentment is on the other end, where the animal has no motivation to find food. Yarak is the confluence of particular conditions that motivate optimal performance.
Yarak is great for falconers. But it's also immensely useful for individuals and leaders because the principles behind yarak apply to people as well.