Holding wrong opinions in one’s head and making bad decisions based on them instead of having thoughtful disagreements is one of the greatest tragedies of mankind.
If I can reconcile my emotions with my logic and only act when they are aligned, I make better decisions.
Most people initially find this process very uncomfortable. While most appreciate it intellectually, they typically are challenged by it emotionally because it requires them to separate themselves from their ego’s attachment to being right and try to see what they have a hard time seeing.
The individual’s incentives must be aligned with the group’s goals.
When I ask why, a common answer is: “I want to make up my own mind.” These people seem to think that considering opposing views will somehow threaten their ability to decide what they want to do. Nothing could be further from the truth. Taking in others’ perspectives in order to consider them in no way reduces your freedom to think independently and make your own decisions. It will just broaden your perspective as you make them.
I used to think that memory-based, conscious learning was the most powerful, but I’ve since come to understand that it produces.
Radical open- mindedness and radical transparency are invaluable for rapid learning and effective change.
Use “double-do” rather than “double-check” to make sure mission-critical tasks are done correctly. Double-checking has a much higher rate of errors than double-doing, which is having two different people do the same task so that they produce two independent answers.
Evolve or die. This evolutionary cycle is not just for people but for countries, companies, economies – for everything. And it is naturally self-correcting as a whole, though not necessarily for its parts.
The more open- minded you are, the less likely you are to deceive yourself – and the more likely it is that others will give you honest feedback.
Don’t mistake possibilities for probabilities.
Software developers, mathematicians, and game-theory modelers aren’t running away with all the rewards; it is the people who have the most common sense, imagination, and determination.
Any damn fool can make it complex.
It takes a genius to make it simple.” Think of Picasso. He.
Even experts can make mistakes; my point is simply that it pays to be radically open-minded and triangulate with smart people.
Embracing radical truth and radical transparency will bring more meaningful work and more meaningful relationships.
I have seen people who agree on the major issues waste hours arguing over details.
Whatever success I’ve had in life has had more to do with my knowing how to deal with my not knowing than anything I know.
Closed-minded people focus much more on being understood than on understanding others.
Watch out for “department slip.” This happens when a support department mistakes its responsibility to provide support with a mandate to determine how the thing they are supporting should be done.