To learn anything:
Step 1: Identify a topic.
Step 2: Try to explain it to a 5-year-old.
Step 3: Study to fill in knowledge gaps.
Step 4: Organize, convey, and review.
True genius is the ability to simplify, not complicate.
Simple is beautiful.
Frameworks provide clarity in complex situations.
Here are 20 useful frameworks (on startups, investing, writing, & life):
To learn anything:
Step 1: Identify a topic.
Step 2: Try to explain it to a 5-year-old.
Step 3: Study to fill in knowledge gaps.
Step 4: Organize, convey, and review.
True genius is the ability to simplify, not complicate.
Simple is beautiful.
"Study the undeniable arrows of progress." - @wolfejosh
The future is extremely difficult to predict—but there are clues.
Look at the trend line of progress and where it's pointing—directionally, not precisely.
Invest (or build) accordingly.
Place all of your tasks on a 2x2 matrix of urgency and importance.
(1) Important & Urgent
(2) Important & Not Urgent
(3) Not Important & Urgent
(4) Not Important & Not Urgent
Prioritize, delegate, or delete accordingly.
The goal is to minimize the number of regrets in life.
When faced with a difficult decision:
(1) Project yourself into the future.
(2) Look back on the decision.
(3) Ask "Will I regret not doing this?"
(4) Take action.
High expectations lead to high performance (and vice versa).
If you consistently see people as their potential, they will achieve more.
When you're occasionally let down, consider it a tax you pay for all the benefit from those you believed in.
If forced to choose between two options of seemingly equal merit, choose the one that doesn’t look the part.
The one who doesn’t look the part has had to overcome much more to achieve its status than the one who fit in perfectly.
Centralized Friend Group: one cluster of friends with shared backgrounds and beliefs.
Decentralized Friend Groups: small clusters of friends unconnected to each other.
Opting for decentralized friend groups is the key to independent thought.
Truly successful people rarely feel the need to boast about their success.
If someone regularly boasts about their income, wealth, or success, it’s fair to assume the reality is a fraction of what they claim.
Modern work culture is a remnant of the Industrial Age. It encourages long periods of steady, monotonous work unsuited for the Information Age.
To do truly great, creative work, you have to be a lion.
Sprint when inspired. Rest. Repeat.
Jerry Seinfeld would hang a huge calendar on the wall and use a red marker to put an X over every day that he completed his daily writing.
It wasn't about the writing being good, it was about the consistency.
Applies to more than just writing...
New innovation may take root by providing a simple solution to a segment of a market that is under or over-served by incumbents.
Upstarts provide the exact level of product/service needed and relentlessly drive this wedge to expand.
Skin in the Game means that the key principals participate in both the upside and downside associated with any decisions.
Always look for its presence in any new situation.
Avoid games where those making the rules don't have any skin in the game.
Hamilton Helmer's "7 Powers" is a holy grail of business strategy.
The 7 Powers are the foundation of durable value creation:
(1) Cornered Resources
(2) Counter-Positioning
(3) Network Economies
(4) Scale Economies
(5) Switching Costs
(6) Branding
(7) Process Power
Old Way: Learn to Play.
New Way: Play to Learn.
We are living in an unprecedented era—historical boundaries are being broken, enabling anyone to participate.
If you're trying to learn anything new, insert yourself into the game.
It's the only way.
A framework for analyzing the competitive intensity of a given market.
The five forces to consider:
(1) Competitive Rivalry
(2) Supplier Power
(3) Customer Power
(4) Threat of Substitution
(5) Threat of New Entry
Thoughtful consideration = better outcomes.
"What the smartest people do on the weekend is is what everyone else will do during the week in ten years." - @cdixon
Observe the weekend projects of the smartest people in your circles.
Odds are those will become a key part of our future.
Invest accordingly.
If someone proposes a crazy idea, ask:
(1) Are they a domain expert?
(2) Do I know them to be reasonable?
If yes on both (1) and (2), you should take the idea seriously, as it may be an asymmetric bet on the future.
If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s probably a duck.
You can determine a lot about a company or person by regularly observing its or their habitual characteristics.
If something cannot be settled by experiment or observation, it is not worth debating.
This will save you from wasting a lot of time on pointless arguments.
Jeff Bezos famously said that investing in what might change is risky, but investing in what will stay the same is safe.
The future is hard to predict, so looking for constants you can deliver against may provide a cleaner path to success.
Follow me @SahilBloom for more threads on business, finance, and decision-making.
I plan to expand on many of these frameworks in individual threads in the future…
If you’re a company, DM me for details on how you can have your roles featured. https://t.co/OrTeubzGii
More from Sahil Bloom
10 threads to accelerate your career:
How to Win (without talent or luck)
20+ principles compiled from the most impressive leaders and thinkers in the world.
20 Ways to Stand Out in a Hiring Process (that don’t involve your resume)
You can stand out without fancy degrees or credentials—learn how.
Common Interview Questions (& how to nail them)
Interviews suck—proper preparation makes them suck slightly less.
How to Write Cold Emails (or DMs)
Because one lucky break can make all the difference…
How to Win (without talent or luck)
20+ principles compiled from the most impressive leaders and thinkers in the world.
How to Win (without talent or luck):
— Sahil Bloom (@SahilBloom) October 16, 2021
20 Ways to Stand Out in a Hiring Process (that don’t involve your resume)
You can stand out without fancy degrees or credentials—learn how.
The hiring process is ultra-competitive.
— Sahil Bloom (@SahilBloom) May 31, 2021
But you\u2019ve incorrectly been told that the only way to stand out is by having fancy degrees and credentials.
THREAD: 20 ways to stand out in a hiring process (that don\u2019t involve your resume):
Common Interview Questions (& how to nail them)
Interviews suck—proper preparation makes them suck slightly less.
The interview process is ultra-competitive.
— Sahil Bloom (@SahilBloom) August 7, 2021
But with proper preparation, it is possible to stand out.
THREAD: 20 common interview questions, what they really mean, and how to nail them:
How to Write Cold Emails (or DMs)
Because one lucky break can make all the difference…
One cold email can change your life.
— Sahil Bloom (@SahilBloom) October 24, 2021
Here's how to write a great one:
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Fake chats claiming to be from the Irish African community are being disseminated by the far right in order to suggest that violence is imminent from #BLM supporters. This is straight out of the QAnon and Proud Boys playbook. Spread the word. Protest safely. #georgenkencho
There is co-ordination across the far right in Ireland now to stir both left and right in the hopes of creating a race war. Think critically! Fascists see the tragic killing of #georgenkencho, the grief of his community and pending investigation as a flashpoint for action.
Across Telegram, Twitter and Facebook disinformation is being peddled on the back of these tragic events. From false photographs to the tactics ofwhite supremacy, the far right is clumsily trying to drive hate against minority groups and figureheads.
Declan Ganley’s Burkean group and the incel wing of National Party (Gearóid Murphy, Mick O’Keeffe & Co.) as well as all the usuals are concerted in their efforts to demonstrate their white supremacist cred. The quiet parts are today being said out loud.
The best thing you can do is challenge disinformation and report posts where engagement isn’t appropriate. Many of these are blatantly racist posts designed to drive recruitment to NP and other Nationalist groups. By all means protest but stay safe.
There is co-ordination across the far right in Ireland now to stir both left and right in the hopes of creating a race war. Think critically! Fascists see the tragic killing of #georgenkencho, the grief of his community and pending investigation as a flashpoint for action.
Across Telegram, Twitter and Facebook disinformation is being peddled on the back of these tragic events. From false photographs to the tactics ofwhite supremacy, the far right is clumsily trying to drive hate against minority groups and figureheads.
Be aware, the images the #farright are sharing in the hopes of starting a race war, are not of the SPAR employee that was punched. They\u2019re older photos of a Everton fan. Be aware of the information you\u2019re sharing and that it may be false. Always #factcheck #GeorgeNkencho pic.twitter.com/4c9w4CMk5h
— antifa.drone (@antifa_drone) December 31, 2020
Declan Ganley’s Burkean group and the incel wing of National Party (Gearóid Murphy, Mick O’Keeffe & Co.) as well as all the usuals are concerted in their efforts to demonstrate their white supremacist cred. The quiet parts are today being said out loud.
There is a concerted effort in far-right Telegram groups to try and incite violence on street by targetting people for racist online abuse following the killing of George Nkencho
— Mark Malone (@soundmigration) January 1, 2021
This follows on and is part of a misinformation campaign to polarise communities at this time.
The best thing you can do is challenge disinformation and report posts where engagement isn’t appropriate. Many of these are blatantly racist posts designed to drive recruitment to NP and other Nationalist groups. By all means protest but stay safe.
