Career Opportunities with Douglas E. Welch

How to Make Smart Decisions Without Getting Lucky – Farnam Street

Few things will change your trajectory in life or business as much as learning to make effective decisions. Yet no one really teaches us what it means to make consistently high-quality decisions.

I started working at an intelligence agency on August 28, 2001. Two weeks later, the world would never be the same. 1

My computer science degree lost its value after a few promotions. I came from a world of 1s and 0s, not people, families, and interpersonal dynamics.

Just out of school, I found that my decisions affected not only my employees but their families. Not only my country but other countries. However, there was one small problem. I had no idea how to make smart decisions. I had no idea how to reduce errors. I only knew I had an obligation to make the best decisions I could. But where do you start?

Read How to Make Smart Decisions Without Getting Lucky – Farnam Street

Managing people | Andreas Klinger

Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash

I believe almost all first-time founders burn out their first employees as they learn how to manage groups of people. If this advice helps avoid a few cases, it’s worth writing it down.

I wrote this article for managers of small teams/startups. I’d assume that most might not apply to management in larger enterprises. Btw here are my recommendations on joining hypergrowth companies in general.

Read Managing people | Andreas Klinger

Remote work, innovation, and the Great Resignation – Vox

Employees want to work from home. Their bosses, however, can’t wait to get back to the office. Knowledge workers think being remote makes their jobs better, while managers worry the arrangement could cause the quality of work to suffer. But in scapegoating remote work, companies may be disguising the real scourge of creativity right now: too much work.

Read Remote work, innovation, and the Great Resignation – Vox

Why Tacit Knowledge is More Important Than Deliberate Practice – Commonplace – The Commoncog Blog

I want to spend an essay talking about tacit knowledge, and why I think it is the most interesting topic in the domain of skill acquisition. If you are a longtime Commonplace reader, you’ll likely have come across this idea before, because I’ve written about it numerous times in the past. But I think it’s still good idea to dedicate a whole piece to the topic.

Tacit knowledge is knowledge that cannot be captured through words alone.

Think about riding a bicycle. Riding a bicycle is impossible to teach through descriptions. Sure, you can try to explain what it is you’re doing when you’re cycling, but this isn’t going to be of much help when you’re teaching a kid and they fall into the drain while you’re telling them to “BALANCE! JUST IMAGINE YOU ARE ON A TIGHTROPE AND BALANCE!”.

Read Why Tacit Knowledge is More Important Than Deliberate Practice – Commonplace – The Commoncog Blog

The False Theory of Idea Scarcity – Phil McKinney – Innovation Mentor and Coach

“The world has a limited amount of resources.”

While there are many resources that are finite, some believe there is a finite number of ideas. But, in reality, this theory of idea scarcity is a myth. When an idea creates the spark that leads to something new being created, it takes the place of something old and the creative cycle starts again with a new idea. The only way to run out of ideas is to stop creating.

Ideas are the most valuable thing in existence. Some say ideas are worth more than money, land, or even oil and coal because they can create something new from nothing! Ideas give life and meaning where there was none before the idea came along.

The creative process can be long and difficult, but it’s always rewarding. But there are roadblocks that can impede the creative cycle.

Read The False Theory of Idea Scarcity – Phil McKinney – Innovation Mentor and Coach