exploit
verb
make full use of and derive benefit from (a resource).

People get really bent out of shape about pretty much everything these days. One of the things that really trigger people is precision in language. Specificity is intimidating to the monkey mind because the monkey mind wants to make sense of things quickly and force everything into the nice and comfortable paradigm it has adopted. The more specific and/or precise the language, the harder the monkey mind has to work in order to figure out how to get it to blend in with their lazy, nebulous belief system.

"Exploit" is one of those words.

Last week Dan and I thought it would be fun to let people listen in on our daily conversations so we fired up zoom and let a couple of dozen people sit in as we went back and forth on the concept of "exploit" and "unexploitable".

The article, video, and audio are on the link above, the video is embedded below.

Remember, that things move.

Part of not getting triggered by words is understanding the context they are used in both locally (in the current conversation) and globally (the conceptual framework). Most words that elicit en emotional reaction do so because the listener is only partially aware of the local environment and often completely unaware of the conceptual framework to explain its meaning. Since things move, this can be dynamic; not black and white, but a sliding scale or spectrum.

The Explore/Exploit tradeoff is an example of a conceptual framework. It happens to be the one underpinning many of my decision-making processes. The explore/exploit trade-off simply asks: "since resources are finite, should I explore new options or exploit the ones I already know?"

For example:

• You found one slot machine that pays off a little bit better than the others you've tried. Should you explore, looking for even better ones or should you exploit this one right now?

• You are actively dating and you like one suitor better than the others, so far. Should you get more serious? Get married? (exploit) or keep options open and continue to explore?

• Should you go out to your favorite restaurant that you know you love (exploit) or should you explore and try new ones you might like better? (explore)

• Your facebook ads are performing really well. Should you increase your adspend on Facebook (exploit) or use the extra profit to explore other platforms? (explore)

As you can see, "exploit" is not inherently offensive or nefarious. Why does it feel like it is? More on that shortly. Answering the questions above might further highlight the importance of remembering that things move.

Answers:

• You found one slot machine that pays off a little bit better than the others you've tried. Should you explore, looking for even better ones or should you exploit this one right now?

It depends on how long you are going to be in the casino, playing slots. If it's only 5 minutes you have the highest probability of the best outcome by exploiting what you know. If you just moved in and plan to be there for 5 years, exploring would give you the highest probability of the most favorable outcome.

• You are actively dating and you like one suitor better than the others, so far. Should you get more serious? Get married? (exploit) or keep options open and continue to explore?

It depends on how much time you have. If you are young and healthy exploring, much to the chagrin of the other party will likely give you the highest probability of the most favorable outcome. If you are older, have enough experience to know your tastes or there is some urgency exploiting will likely make more sense.

• Should you go out to your favorite restaurant that you know you love (exploit) or should you explore and try new ones you might like better? (explore)

It depends on how long you are going to be there. If it's your last night in town you have the highest probability of a positive outcome of going with what you already know you love (exploit). If it's your first night in town and you're staying a while, you would want to explore to get the highest level probability of a positive outcome.

• Your facebook ads are performing really well. Should you increase your adspend on Facebook (exploit) or use the extra profit to explore other platforms? (explore)

It depends on how long you expect to run your business and how long you expect FB ads to be profitable. If you want a short-term cash grab to quickly exit - exploit what you know works. If you want long-term sustainability, explore other options.

This is not new.

In the '90s the box office's top 10 were all new and original. Over each decade there are, on average, more sequels in the top 10. As the way we watch movies changes, Hollywood understands that the old system doesn't have long so they exploit what they know people already like instead of exploring potential new franchises.

I can watch industries and/or companies and their behavior tells me a lot about how much time they

I find this very useful. I also think I would have a hard time extracting any value from it if I was overly sensitive to the words (exploit, in this case) being used.

So why does it feel like some words that are not inherently offensive or nefarious elicit such a visceral reaction?

Because the monkey mind is exploitable. The monkey mind gets overly euphoric and irrationally fearful. When companies/individuals recognize that you are not in a state of sobriety they know that you will not think about the tradeoff. They know that you do not have a conceptual framework to stop and think "should I explore (step back and be thoughtful about resources and time) or should I exploit (make the purchase)?

People, generally, don't like the word exploit because they are on the wrong side of it. They explore when they should be exploiting and they exploit when they should be exploring - and they are too triggered by words to take the time to understand the difference and potential applications.

In (Un)Exploitable, I touch on that briefly, but then we talk about some of the ways we benefit from exploitation (two people getting married at the right time for the right reasons is making full use and deriving full benefit from the relationship) and the way we wreck ourselves by being exploitable.

We're probably going to do it again this week if time allows. "Fly on the wall" or "over the shoulder" is one of my favorite ways to show up.

Note: in case you missed previous entries...
You will notice that in the real world, things are measured by probabilities and risks, not certainties and absolutes. The answer to each of the questions posed above starts with "it depends" - in this case it's time-bound. Every single person has their own individual answer. Your monkey mind won't like that.

Too bad.

Nic