August 18, 2024 | #590 | read on the web | Free Version

Welcome to Brain Food, a weekly newsletter full of timeless ideas and actionable insights you can use.

Insights

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“No one ever made a decision because of a number. They need a story.”

— Daniel Kahneman

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“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The storyteller sets the vision, values and agenda of an entire generation that is to come.”

— Steve Jobs

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“For a long time, I looked for consensus. I think consensus is really the enemy of scale, and so I used to say, “Whenever we’re making an important decision, there should be winners in the room and losers. We shouldn’t find that negotiated settlement that everyone is happy with. Somebody should be unhappy, three or four people should walk out unhappy, and one should walk out happy, and we’re all going to be good with it.” As you get bigger, the gravity pulls you towards consensus, and I think consensus is the enemy of greatness.”

— Brian Halligan

Tiny Thoughts

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“The best way to think is to write.”

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“You don't need more intensity, you need more consistency.

Intensity impresses; consistency transforms.”

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“So many advantages come from being willing to look like an idiot in the short term.

You stay silent in an important meeting, afraid to voice your critical thoughts and watch the project fail. You don't write the novel because people might not read it. You don't admit you were wrong and repeatedly make the same mistake. You don't go to the gym because it means you would have to admit to not knowing what to do. You don't ask the person out because you're scared of rejection. You don't start the business because you might fail. You don't say sorry because you're waiting for the other person to go first ...

A few seconds of discomfort changes everything.

(Share Tiny Thought one, two, or three on X).

Mental Models

The Map Is Not the Territory

"The map is not the territory is a reminder that our mental models of the world are not the same as the world itself. It’s a caution against confusing our abstractions and representations with the complex, ever-­shifting reality they aim to describe.

Mistaking the maps for the territory is dangerous. Consider the person who has a great résumé and checks all the boxes on paper but can’t do the actual job. Updating our maps is a difficult process of reconciling what we want to be true with what is true.

In many areas of life, we are offered maps by other people. We are reliant on the maps provided by experts, pundits, and teachers. In these cases, the best we can do is to choose our mapmakers wisely, to seek out those who are rigorous, transparent, and open to revision.

Ultimately, the map/territory distinction is an invitation to engage with the world as it is, not just as we imagine it to be. And remember, when you don’t make the map yourself, choose your cartographer wisely."

— Source: The Updated Great Mental Models v1: General Thinking Tools

Reading

Steve Jobs on happy accidents:

"Process makes you more efficient. But innovation comes from people meeting up in the hallways or calling each other at 10:30 at night with a new idea, or because they realized something that shoots holes in how we’ve been thinking about a problem. It’s ad hoc meetings of six people called by someone who thinks he has figured out the coolest new thing ever and who wants to know what other people think of his idea."

— Source: Insanely Simple: The Obsession That Drives Apple's Success

+ (Members can read my highlights from Insanely Simple here).

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Thanks for reading,

— Shane

P.S. Peru has a lot of different potatoes.

P.P.S You can use this link to share this newsletter https://fs.blog/brain-food/august-18-2024/

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