Action Figure Daniel

Category: Notes

  • “Intuitive Listening” by Christiane Northrup and Mona Lisa Schulz

    • We recreate things that are not resolved so we can try to fix it
    • We need someone to be able to call and ask, “Am I crazy?”
    • When coupled, we tend to balance each other
    • Life is about generating, retiring is about not generating, focus on the generating
    • Your Money, My Money, and Our Money is very important to maintain
    • You need separate “dance spaces”
    • Self-esteem needs to be balanced across
      • Intellect
      • Body
      • Prowess
      • Spirituality
      • Relationships
    • Emotions are energy in motion
    • You cannot rely on your original tribe forever
    • Being opposite of you family does not make you better, just different
    • A script gives you infinite freedom; You can act it out however you want
    • Premature cognitive commitment to being trapped
    • Keep pushing your life until just before you are not effective

  • “The Happiness Hypothesis” by Jonathan Haidt

    • We have so much “wisdom” that it is no longer useful because it is not accessible
    • The brain has a confabulator that makes up stories about what it is doing
    • Controlled processing is limited but automatic is not really
    • Controlled processing requires language
    • We need to learn how to distract the elephant to manage stimulus
    • Whenever we have a goal, the automated system monitors your progress towards that goal
    • The elephant really holds the reigns but the rider can piece words together
    • “No, I dropped them back there but the light is better over here”
    • “Our life is the perception of our mind”
    • People often hurt themselves base of their behavior
    • “Nothing brings happiness unless you are content with it”
    • Elephant is all about like/dislike or approach/withdraw
    • You have to change your repartee to change your outputs
    • Be nice on the first interaction, then do reciprocity
    • Reciprocity is a way to extend evolution’s familiar bonds
    • Language may have been a replacement to physical grooming
    • Gossips is mostly critical
    • We do not generally approve of gossips even though we all gossip
    • Concession counts as reciprocity
    • Scandal is great entertainment because we get to flaunt our morals
    • You can only react to what we think someone did
    • The elephant leans on a position and then looks for confirmation
    • We overestimate our own virtue but do well as estimating others’
    • We create “makes sense” stories and then stop looking for explanations
    • Children use touch to return to baseline
    • Romantic love can be “passionate” or “companionate”
    • Learn to make sense of trauma
    • “Self” interferes with our ability to have awe
    • Religion does not need God
    • People need a clear goal
    • Staying grounded requires us to have vital engagement

  • “Leading Without Authority” by Keith Ferrazzi

    • Co-elevation is a mission driven approach to problem solving
    • “Everyone” (that you need to accomplish your mission) is on your team
    • Come to the table ready to learn new ideas
    • Follow-up with remote workers
    • “Always do what you are afraid to do” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
    • Look for people’s “blue flame”
    • Fan that flame
    • The point of being vulnerable is to make connections
    • “Committed to the mission and to each other”
    • Everything will be innovated, it will either be you or someone else
    • “Recontracting” ensures everyone is in the same page before collaboration begins
    • Avoid “bake and ship” solutions because people hate them
      • ^^ Especially if you are going solicit feedback and engagement
    • Say, “I’m not sure I understand”
    • “Land the plane” at the end of each meeting
    • Always ask permission before providing feedback
    • Focus on coaching future behavior, not critiquing past behavior
    • Avoid “why did you do this?”, instead use “what did you think about this alternative?”
    • Praise anything that aligns with your goals
    • You will meet resistance, focus on the wins instead of the misses

  • “Switch” by Chip Heath and Dan Heath

    This one is all about fostering an environment of change. The authors compare the mind to an Elephant (our emotional side) and a Rider (our logical side) with changing being the path we are walking down. They talk about ways to motivate the Elephant (who can get through almost anything if it wants to), directing the Rider (who can make good decisions, as long as choices are clearly identified) all while making sure the desired path of change is as clear as it can be.

    Interesting tidbit: the authors cite a study by physician Donald Redelmeier and psychologist Eldar Shafir:

    A doctor is reviewing the medical records of a 67 year-old patient who is suffering from chronic hip pain. At this point, the man has tried every medication known and his regular doctor was forced to recommend a hip replacement (a painful and, at the patient’s age, risky procedure that will entail a long recovery process). As the doctor is reviewing the medical records a new and promising drug is announced. The question is: should the doctor recommend the surgery or try the new drug. In this scenario, 47% of doctors chose to try the new drug. Under a slightly different scenario, this time two drugs were introduced, only 28% of doctors opted for either drug.

    The authors attribute this dramatic change to the Rider being overwhelmed by the sudden additional options and so defaulted to the original choice of surgery without really considering its implications. An example of the Rider needing to have choices clearly marked.

    • You have an elephant and rider within you
    • Self-control is an exhaustible resource
    • This exhaustion inhibits creativity
    • Try to appeal to the rider first
    • “Invented here” is a powerful motivation
    • Learn by doing
    • What looks like resistance is often a lack of direction or decision paralysis
      1. Find the bright spots
      2. Script the critical step
    • To the rider, the analysis is often more fun than the doing
    • Redirect the energy into an emotional engaging goal

    Daniel’s notes

    • Direct the Rider. What looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity. So provide crystal-clear direction. (Something like, “Drink 1% milk” instead of “Reduce the cream content in your milk”.)
      • Look for bright spots. Places where success is already happening.
    • Motivate the Elephant. What looks like laziness is often exhaustion. The Rider can’t get his way by force for very long. So it’s critical that you engage people’s emotional side—get their Elephants on the path and cooperative. (Think of the cookies and radishes study and the boardroom conference table full of gloves.) 
    • Shape the Path. What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem. We call the situation (including the surrounding environment) the “Path.” When you shape the Path, you make change more likely, no matter what’s happening with the Rider and Elephant. (Think of the effect of shrinking movie popcorn buckets.)

  • “The Efficiency Paradox” by Edward Tenner

    • Gaining efficiency in one place often means boosting consumption elsewhere
    • Maximal efficiency eliminates serendipity, even if it is desirable
    • If people believe something to be true, the consequences of the belief will be real
    • We lose something when shifting from using tools to managing tools
    • Software agreements protect companies better than hardware usage instructions
    • Self-delusion does wonders for innovation
    • It took 5 years for Britannica to go from peak sales to stop printing
    • “Computers don’t do what you want them to do, they do what you tell them to do.”
    • “Everything is miscellaneous”
    • Fake news is more like an invasive species, forcing out real news
    • Campbell’s law
    • Efficiency amplifies specific practices or minor advantages
    • We mistake speed for efficiency and ignore quality
    • Books are a “place” as much as they are content
    • Using GPS prevents our brain from mapping a route
    • “Local shortcuts” lose value when everyone is using them
    • A reminder that the more we use automation, the more we lose the manual skills
    • A limited “decision tree” can greatly speed up responses and related accuracy
    • ~30% of medical deaths are related to delayed diagnosis
    • Slow internet connections force us to more closely consider returned data