Aim with purpose
Imagine if I picked you up from your house and drove you to the airport so you could catch a flight, but you had not yet decided where to go. You might get lucky and have a wonderful adventure, but chances are that your trip will be costlier and... more
Sin
“To sin” means “to miss the mark.” And you have missed it. Weak-willed. Timid. Malleable. You are mediocre. How did you let this happen? Why do you continue to let this happen? Your dreams of greatness lie wet and soggy, like a loaf of bread... more
DO IT
Following a process helps you improve the quality of your decisions. Too often we let thoughts bang around in our heads and never apply a process to structure our thinking. I created the acronym DO IT (Define Observe Imagine Test) to help me... more
Negotiate job offers
You could lose over $1 million over your career if you choose not to negotiate when receiving job offers. And you may be surprised by research that says negotiators who put forward their offer first usually come out ahead. Learn how to negotiate... more
How to beat robots and build wealth
Career decisions determine where you invest the majority of your time. These important life decisions have a huge impact on your well-being and quality of life—and your risk of being replaced by a robot. In the industrialized economy of the 20th... more
Culture of envy
Envy causes pain and unhappiness and can even lead to emotional or physical violence. We slip into envy when we resent others for their achievement or good fortune. There are two types of envy. Malicious envy wants the person who has found good... more
How to evaluate job offers
Learn why pro-con lists are bad. Instead use mental models (e.g., Prestige test, Hell yeah or no, Make a bet) and the job decision scorecard to help you compare scenarios, assess risk, improve your thinking, and evaluate options.... more
Treat mental fitness like physical fitness
Do you dedicate time to improving your mental fitness? Most of us believe we should take active steps to improve our physical health, dedicating time to exercise and making an effort to eat healthier food. However, many of us don’t think much... more
Write down your decisions
Write down and track decisions to improve your judgment over time. If you are not evaluating your decisions, how do you know you are making the right choices? Good outcomes are not a good indicator of a good decision. How much was due to luck?... more
Have fewer opinions
We are not experts on most things, so why does everyone need to have an opinion on so many issues? It’s very difficult to convince yourself of a new idea if a contradictory idea is already anchored in your thinking. We are too frequently blinded... more
Tell a better story to make more money
Your story is your most valuable asset. Get the job you want by learning to tell it well. Effectively telling your story is key to persuading, influencing, and inspiring the people you want to work with. Don't settle for making less money in a job... more
Don’t trust your gut
The more complex the situation, the less you should trust your intuition, which is your brain’s attempt to make decisions based on patterns it recognizes from a lifetime of experiences. Unfortunately, our brains can’t process the level of... more
Let the best ideas win
Good ideas survive deep skepticism and intense competition. Stress-testing ideas exposes their weaknesses and highlights their strengths. Innovation happens when people are encouraged to put forward their best thinking, no matter their status,... more
Make fewer decisions
Create habits and automate decisions to save time and energy. Every decision we make throughout the day requires attention and carries an opportunity cost; thus, creating decision-making systems can make you more productive and less frazzled. Once... more
Busting the myths about work and success
Do you believe any of the myths about work and success? See what the research has taught us about the best predictors of job satisfaction. The results surprised me! If you hold any of these misconceptions, you may benefit from what I’m going to... more
Always take the red pill
Always seek out the truth even if it contradicts the beliefs you hold. Self-deceit and ignorance can harm you. In the science fiction movie The Matrix, Morpheus (played by Laurence Fishburne) offers Neo (played by Keanu Reeves) a blue pill and a red... more
Get multiple job offers
Persuading decision-makers that you are the best person for the job is essential. But you also need to align the timing of the job offers. Use principles of persuasion and learn how to run a tight process to get multiple job offers. It doesn't do... more
Build high performance teams
A group of people will be smarter and stronger than any one individual. Our prosperity has been built on this principle. Cooperation requires a common goal. Banding together to fight off predators. Hunting animals faster or stronger than you.... more
Rules for decision making
Without rules we risk getting jerked like a puppet, simply reacting to conditions around us. Rules for behavior and communication allow us to work together more effectively, and rules can also help you make better decisions. Just as programming... more
Opportunity cost
You make dozens of decisions every day. And every decision you make has a cost. By deciding to pursue one thing, you’re saying no to something else. At work, if you decide to participate in a meeting, that timeslot is filled and you can’t spend... more
