The Game of Few

The Game of Few

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Latest — Feb 12, 2023

Avoiding ruinous empathy

For any manager looking to improve, probably the strongest book recommendation I would give is Radical Candor, by Kim Scott. The core idea is that as a manager you should care personally about your direct reports, but that you should also challenge them directly. When you have both of these

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Specialisation is for insects

“A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch

Great Teams Have Psychological Safety

I recently finished reading "Smarter, Faster, Better" by Charles Duhigg - a great read full of insights about how the most productive individuals and organisations work. One of the best sections is about what makes a good team and it refers extensively to work done by Google during "Project Aristotle"

The Pressure to Appear Consistent: American POWs in Korea

Why did so many American Prisoners of War (POWs) collaborate with the Chinese during the Korean War? In 1950, with the Cold War in full swing, Korea's northern communist faction invaded their Southern compatriots with the support of China and the USSR. In response, the United Nations, led by the

Are you living in a computer simulation?

The philosophical case for believing that you're living in a simulation.

Thinking About Risk: The Mind Your Portfolio Principle

“To take control of one’s own life or financial affairs may seem to create uncertainty, but taking control is a prerequisite of security in a world that is inescapably uncertain.” — The Long and The Short of it, John Kay So much of our choices are determined by our attitudes

Pursuing Impossible Goals: Lessons From Nike

“The cowards never started,” he’d tell me, “and the weak died along the way - that leaves us.” Shoe Dog is the autobiographical account of how Phil Knight founded and grew Nike from nothing to become the biggest sportswear and shoe brand in the world. Since it’s release

The New ABCs of Selling

Daniel Pink makes a compelling case for a new frame of mind: Everyone does sales. It's an entirely human activity and one that doesn't deserve the bad reputation it often gets.

The Hard Thing Rule

“In our family, we live by the Hard Thing Rule.” — Angela Duckworth, Grit Last week, I wrote about Grit, the excellent book written by Angela Duckworth. In it, she makes a compelling case for why the most important personality trait to develop is not talent, it's grit. The most successful

Why Grit Matters

“I have always maintained that, excepting fools, men did not differ much in intellect, only in zeal and hard work; and I still think this is an eminently important difference.” — Charles Darwin When I was in my final year at school, I remember being deeply offended by a comment made