People, books, and breakthrough ideas—connected to the mental models and moves you can use.
3,456 entries
Grant that the effect is real and roughly where you think it came from, then ask whether a different chain of steps actually produced it. Same outcome, different route. It matters because a fix aimed at the wrong route changes nothing.
The deliberate practice of generating multiple options before choosing, because decision quality is fundamentally bounded by the quality of alternatives considered
Amae ('sweet dependency' or 'presuming upon another's indulgence') is psychoanalyst Takeo Doi's concept describing the Japanese relational dynamic of passively expecting and receiving nurturing care from others
Roy Amara's observation that people tend to overestimate the impact of a new technology in the short run and underestimate it in the long run
The middle line names the drift that warrants a change without warranting a stop. You write the observable signal that says the plan is fraying, and you pair it with one response: adjust the plan or go collect better evidence before the next round.
The deliberate use of unclear, open-to-interpretation communication to maintain power, avoid accountability, and create an environment where the speaker can claim to have meant whatever is most convenient after the fact
The preference for known risks over unknown risks—even when the unknown risk might be more favorable
Pauline Boss identified a devastating form of grief that occurs when loss is unclear—when someone is physically present but psychologically absent (dementia, addiction, traumatic brain injury) or physically absent but ps…
Nietzsche's amor fati is an aspiration toward affirmation of one's life and fate
Find out how much, how often, how fast, and in what direction something is moving.
Dennett imagines inserting the belief that someone has an older brother in Cleveland and asks what connected beliefs and abilities would be required
The personal failure pattern where the pursuit of optimal decision-making prevents any decision from being made
Name where you are now and the specific change you want, so progress means something.
The first piece of information encountered on a topic disproportionately influences subsequent judgments, even when the anchor is arbitrary or irrelevant
The extended model of anchoring beyond Tversky and Kahneman's original finding: anchoring doesn't just affect numerical estimates—it shapes entire frames of reference for evaluation
The first number put on the table in a negotiation disproportionately influences the final outcome, even when both parties know it's arbitrary
A tactical protocol for using the anchoring bias to your advantage in negotiations while defending against others' anchors
The anchoring bias applied specifically to consequential decisions where the first number, frame, or reference point encountered disproportionately influences the final judgment, even when the anchor is arbitrary or deli…
Anecdotal reasoning becomes unreliable when an individual story is used to establish a general frequency, causal effect, or expected result without adequate support
Anniversary reactions are predictable intensifications of grief, anxiety, or somatic symptoms that occur around the date of a significant loss or trauma
Save one real, completed case and write the reasoning in the margins beside it. Unlike a blank template or a checklist of steps, it preserves the judgment calls: why you chose this answer, what tripped you up, what good looked like.
A comprehensive year-end protocol for evaluating career trajectory, satisfaction, and strategic positioning
A structured year-end protocol for evaluating the quality of your major decisions over the past 12 months, designed to build decision-making skill over time
Durkheim's concept describing the breakdown of social norms and values that leaves individuals without clear behavioral guidance, producing anxiety, alienation, and social dysfunction