Mental Model
Sequence of Returns Risk
Sequence of returns risk is the danger that negative returns early in retirement permanently impair a portfolio's ability to sustain spending, even if average returns across the period are fine
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Mental Model
Servant Leadership
Robert Greenleaf's philosophy that the primary role of a leader is to serve those they lead—removing obstacles, providing resources, developing people, and creating conditions for others to succeed
Cognitive Move
Service
Ask what job the thing is supposed to do, and make that job the unit instead of the object. Where the other lenses cut by parts, timing, people, or connections, this one cuts by function, so anything delivering the same result counts as the same unit.
Cognitive Move
service blueprint
A swimlane with a line of visibility drawn across it. Above the line goes what the other person sees or feels. Below it goes the work that makes each of those moments possible. Reading down from a bad moment tells you which supporting step failed. Reading down from a moment with nothing under it tells you the support does not exist yet, which is a different problem and a different fix.
Cognitive Move
Set and membership
Draws each group as a region, so what belongs to both, to only one, and to neither becomes a place you can point at.
Cognitive Move
Set Stop
Before you start, name the dose, the worsening threshold that ends the attempt, the reopening condition, and where you'll route next.
Mental Model
Setting the Standards
The strategic principle that whoever sets the standards for an industry, domain, or relationship CONTROLS the competitive landscape—because standards determine what counts as success, what's measured, what's valued, and…
Mental Model
Seven Ways To Cooperation
Cooperation can be supported by mechanisms including repeated interaction, information about conduct, institutional rules, and structured social interaction
Mental Model
Seventh Generation Principle
The Seventh Generation Principle, rooted in the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Great Law of Peace (Gayanashagowa), mandates that decision-makers consider the impact of their actions on seven generations into the future -- appr…
Mental Model
Seventh Generation Thinking
Rooted in Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy) governance, Seventh Generation Thinking requires evaluating every significant decision for its impact on the next seven generations -- roughly 175 years
Mental Model
Sexual Communication Model
Research consistently identifies sexual communication as the strongest predictor of sexual satisfaction—stronger than sexual frequency, technique, or compatibility
Mental Model
Sexual Script Theory
Sexual script theory, developed by William Simon and John Gagnon, proposes that sexual behavior follows culturally constructed 'scripts'—learned sequences of who does what, when, where, and with whom
Mental Model
Sexual Self-Schema
Sexual self-schema theory, developed by Barbara Andersen and Jill Cyranowski, describes the cognitive generalizations about sexual aspects of the self that are derived from past experience and that guide the processing o…
Mental Model
Sexual Wellness Lifecycle
The sexual wellness lifecycle recognizes that sexuality is not static but evolves through predictable phases across the lifespan, each with distinct challenges and opportunities: adolescent sexual development (identity f…
Mental Model
Shadow Testing
A practitioner approach to testing interest in a prospective offer before fully developing it
Mental Model
Shannon's Information Theory (Bits, Bandwidth, Signal-to-Noise)
Shannon's framework quantifies uncertainty, coding, and reliable transmission for probabilistic sources and channels under specified constraints
Mental Model
Shapers (Personality Archetype)
Dalio’s practitioner label for people who combine an ambitious vision with the ability to organize and persist in bringing it into reality
Mental Model
Shared Calendar Sync Protocol for Couples
A logistical protocol for keeping both partners informed and aligned on schedules, reducing the coordination failures that generate resentment
Cognitive Move
Shared state
Put the facts two people both need in one live place they can each see and update, instead of letting them live in someone's memory, inbox, or private notes.
Mental Model
Shared Vision
Peter Senge's learning discipline where a group develops a genuine, shared picture of the future they want to create—not compliance with a leader's vision but authentic collective aspiration
Cognitive Move
Shared workspace
Put the state somewhere everyone involved can both see and change, not just read. The other carriers can live in one person's notebook. This one only works if the others have write access and actually use it.
Cognitive Move
Sharp Handoff
State the current state, requested output, owner, deadline, check, and exception path, then ask for confirmation.
Mental Model
Shi (Strategic Advantage/Positional Energy)
Shi refers to potential energy inherent in a configuration — position, timing, and momentum combined
Cognitive Move
Shift
Can you change your approach when the evidence or conditions say the current one isn't working?