Influences

You are what you eat. Here is a sample of things I have taken to heart.

Marginal Revolution and Conversations with Tyler

It is difficult to describe the breadth of topics of Tyler Cowen. These sources are curiosity fertilizer, with deep and unique takes; regularly challenging, provoking and fascinating. Any upfront investment in context you choose to make is worthwhile.

Stratechery and Exponent

Deep analysis about tech giants and how the world is changing. I like Ben Thompson’s high quality of output, and that he set up his life and business around the principles of how he believes the world works. A refresh on Disruption Theory and Conservation of Attractive Profits, a new theory of Aggregation, and other concepts factor into my professional life. The Internet Rainforest has been a useful communications bridge to business people who aren’t Internet native.

Theory of Constraints

Identifying the “next biggest constraint” is a useful lens for decision making. At the very least, it requires the identification of goals and the forming of an understanding the operation and its context.

Chris Voss - Never Split the Difference

Having an emotionally intelligent approach has made a subtle but profound difference to my most valuable interactions. I’ve found the recommended preparations more effective than BATNAs for negotiations, and the techniques help enrich the way I communicate with people in general.

Wardley Mapping

I found this first principles approach to business strategy magnetic, starting with Sun Tsu and John Boyd. The elements of a map make sense for collaborating on a problem, the lookup tables for doctrine are handy, and the continual reminder to look for climatic patterns that drive landscape changes is valuable.

Bret Victor

Bret is a strange and brilliant thinker. His demonstrations feel natural and post-hoc obvious, yet years later still feel novel. How are we not moving more quickly towards such a world?

Jocko Willink - Extreme Ownership and Dichotomy of Leadership

Extreme Ownership resonated with my natural intuitions and reinforced my biases. Dichotomy of Leadership influenced me to find the trade-off and bring more balance.