Central points versus name-calling In Adam Grant’s book “Think Again” he references Paul Graham’s “hierarchy of disagreement”, saying:“In the hierarchy of disagreement created by computer scientist Paul Graham, the highest form of argument is refuting the central point, and the lowest is name-calling.”This hierarchy wasn’t one that I was familiar with, so I took some to understand what it looked like. Here is Graham’s essay that explains it, with the hierarchy going like like:Name-calling: Th...

Central points versus name-calling In Adam Grant’s book “Think Again” he references Paul Graham’s “hierarchy of disagreement”, saying:“In the hierarchy of disagreement created by computer scientist Paul Graham, the highest form of argument is refuting the central point, and the lowest is name-calling.”This hierarchy wasn’t one that I was familiar with, so I took some to understand what it looked like. Here is Graham’s essay that explains it, with the hierarchy going like like:Name-calling: Th...

What is the desired outcome? I’ve shared a few times on here how good decisions can have bad outcomes, and vice-versa, but that only really counts if you know what your desired outcome is. In that post above, the desired outcome was clear — the Seahawks wanted to score a touchdown. At other times, though, the outcome can be a bit foggier. Take this blog for example. I’ve written every day for a bit over 1300 days, and I’ve explained why I’m doing it, but it’s still a very difficult outcome to...

What is the desired outcome? I’ve shared a few times on here how good decisions can have bad outcomes, and vice-versa, but that only really counts if you know what your desired outcome is. In that post above, the desired outcome was clear — the Seahawks wanted to score a touchdown. At other times, though, the outcome can be a bit foggier. Take this blog for example. I’ve written every day for a bit over 1300 days, and I’ve explained why I’m doing it, but it’s still a very difficult outcome to...

Communicate one thing Attention is a scare resource, so when someone is willing to give you their attention it’s wise to make good use of it. The Founders podcast recently released a fantastic episode that dug into this, and I encourage you to check it out. The main idea is that while it can be tempting to unload everything that you want to share, the more you share the less likely that the other person will remember any of it. If you share one thing, they’ll likely remember that one thing. I...

Communicate one thing Attention is a scare resource, so when someone is willing to give you their attention it’s wise to make good use of it. The Founders podcast recently released a fantastic episode that dug into this, and I encourage you to check it out. The main idea is that while it can be tempting to unload everything that you want to share, the more you share the less likely that the other person will remember any of it. If you share one thing, they’ll likely remember that one thing. I...

Time traveling through your notes I’ve only been taking solid daily notes for about four years now; that may sound like a lot, but compared to many folks it’s not much at all. One of those that has been doing this far longer than I have is Ryan Holiday, some of whose books you’ve likely read. He recently shared how his note-taking habit can feel like time-traveling, and I’m a bit jealous of how far back he’s able to go. For example, here is Holiday talking about “The Great Gatsby”:One of my f...

Time traveling through your notes I’ve only been taking solid daily notes for about four years now; that may sound like a lot, but compared to many folks it’s not much at all. One of those that has been doing this far longer than I have is Ryan Holiday, some of whose books you’ve likely read. He recently shared how his note-taking habit can feel like time-traveling, and I’m a bit jealous of how far back he’s able to go. For example, here is Holiday talking about “The Great Gatsby”:One of my f...

Pay attention to what you pay attention to Attention is likely the greatest asset in the world. If you want to sell products, sell ads, lead an organization, or lead a movement, you need people to pay attention to you. There are ways to do it well, and there are ways to do it unethically, but this post is more about watching our own attention to see where it goes. Adam Grant was recently chatting with John Green on his podcast, and John shared some great insights he had picked up when it come...

Pay attention to what you pay attention to Attention is likely the greatest asset in the world. If you want to sell products, sell ads, lead an organization, or lead a movement, you need people to pay attention to you. There are ways to do it well, and there are ways to do it unethically, but this post is more about watching our own attention to see where it goes. Adam Grant was recently chatting with John Green on his podcast, and John shared some great insights he had picked up when it come...

Sifting through the chaff and grain There are certain people in your life that are indispensable. They can be indispensable in various ways, but I loved this description from Dinah Maria Craik (from her book “A Life for a Life“, as shared in Kevin Paul Scott’s “Inspired Every Day“). Dinah said:“Oh the comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are—chaff and grain together—certain that a faithful hand ...

Sifting through the chaff and grain There are certain people in your life that are indispensable. They can be indispensable in various ways, but I loved this description from Dinah Maria Craik (from her book “A Life for a Life“, as shared in Kevin Paul Scott’s “Inspired Every Day“). Dinah said:“Oh the comfort of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are—chaff and grain together—certain that a faithful hand ...

The Sunday Summary: Effortless effort, work-life tolerance, and paying attention to what you’re paying attention to In an effort to help me keep up with everything I post each week, here is my latest “Sunday Summary” of my posts from the week. Mon, June 17: Productivity versus activity Employees absolutely shouldn’t be using mouse jigglers and other tools to fake their activity, but if that’s the best measure you have for how much work is being done, that’s a far greater problem that needs to...

The Sunday Summary: Effortless effort, work-life tolerance, and paying attention to what you’re paying attention to In an effort to help me keep up with everything I post each week, here is my latest “Sunday Summary” of my posts from the week. Mon, June 17: Productivity versus activity Employees absolutely shouldn’t be using mouse jigglers and other tools to fake their activity, but if that’s the best measure you have for how much work is being done, that’s a far greater problem that needs to...

The Sunday Summary: Great listeners, simple communication, and sifting through the chaff and grain In an effort to help me keep up with everything I post each week, here is my latest “Sunday Summary” of my posts from the week. Mon, June 24: Niagara Launcher for Android I’m trying a new “launcher” for my phone and I really like it so far. Tue, June 25: Who is the best listener you know? I’d like to think it’s me, but I know it’s absolutely not. Wed, June 26: Communicate one thing Simplifying y...

The Sunday Summary: Great listeners, simple communication, and sifting through the chaff and grain In an effort to help me keep up with everything I post each week, here is my latest “Sunday Summary” of my posts from the week. Mon, June 24: Niagara Launcher for Android I’m trying a new “launcher” for my phone and I really like it so far. Tue, June 25: Who is the best listener you know? I’d like to think it’s me, but I know it’s absolutely not. Wed, June 26: Communicate one thing Simplifying y...

Who is the best listener you know? I was recently reading Kevin Paul Scott’s “Inspired Every Day“, and one little statement he made hit me very hard. He simply said:“Who is the best listener you know? What is that person’s impact on you and others?”It hit because this should (in theory) be me, but it’s not. It’s hard to really gauge that kind of skill, particularly when trying to compare yourself to others, but I’m confident that Ali, Brooke and Robert are all better than I am, and likely man...

Who is the best listener you know? I was recently reading Kevin Paul Scott’s “Inspired Every Day“, and one little statement he made hit me very hard. He simply said:“Who is the best listener you know? What is that person’s impact on you and others?”It hit because this should (in theory) be me, but it’s not. It’s hard to really gauge that kind of skill, particularly when trying to compare yourself to others, but I’m confident that Ali, Brooke and Robert are all better than I am, and likely man...

You control the pen I recently read the excellent book “Banana Ball“, the story of the Savannah Bananas baseball team. I was well-aware of the team, but have yet to attend a game and the book was fantastic. One part of the book talked about the Negro baseball league and how it was always underappreciated. It’s been more appreciated in recent years, as MLB classified the seven “major Negro leagues” as additional major leagues in 2020, and then integrated the Negro league statistics into its re...

You control the pen I recently read the excellent book “Banana Ball“, the story of the Savannah Bananas baseball team. I was well-aware of the team, but have yet to attend a game and the book was fantastic. One part of the book talked about the Negro baseball league and how it was always underappreciated. It’s been more appreciated in recent years, as MLB classified the seven “major Negro leagues” as additional major leagues in 2020, and then integrated the Negro league statistics into its re...

Niagara Launcher for Android One of the popular features on Android phones over the years is the ability to change to a different launcher. The “launcher” is essentially the software that controls your home screen and app layout — the main grid of icons that you swipe through. Years ago I used to experiment with different launchers quite a lot, but lately I’ve been content to stick with the default Android launcher. However, two things recently happened that caused me to give a different laun...

Niagara Launcher for Android One of the popular features on Android phones over the years is the ability to change to a different launcher. The “launcher” is essentially the software that controls your home screen and app layout — the main grid of icons that you swipe through. Years ago I used to experiment with different launchers quite a lot, but lately I’ve been content to stick with the default Android launcher. However, two things recently happened that caused me to give a different laun...

If you’re a leader, you’re a teacher Jim Sinegal was one of the cofounders of Costco and had some amazing quotes captured over the years. My favorite, while not related to this post, was what he told his successor as he was stepping down: “If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.” For today’s quote, though, he was talking about the intersection of leadership and education. In a recent episode of Founders (which was focused on Steve Jobs), they shared this quote from Ji...

If you’re a leader, you’re a teacher Jim Sinegal was one of the cofounders of Costco and had some amazing quotes captured over the years. My favorite, while not related to this post, was what he told his successor as he was stepping down: “If you raise the effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.” For today’s quote, though, he was talking about the intersection of leadership and education. In a recent episode of Founders (which was focused on Steve Jobs), they shared this quote from Ji...