Mental Model
Most value is created after version one
A product-management maxim encouraging teams to learn from actual use and improve after an initial release
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Mental Model
Motivated Reasoning Spiral
The self-reinforcing process by which desired conclusions shape the reasoning that's supposed to evaluate them
Mental Model
Motivational Interviewing Core Skills
Motivational Interviewing (MI), developed by William Miller and Stephen Rollnick, is a collaborative conversation style for strengthening a person's own motivation for change
Mental Model
Motivational Interviewing Principles (Miller & Rollnick)
Motivational Interviewing (MI), developed by Miller and Rollnick, is a collaborative conversation style for strengthening a person's own motivation for change
Mental Model
Mottainai (Waste Nothing)
Mottainai is a Japanese term expressing a sense of regret and moral discomfort at wastefulness, encompassing concepts of reduce, reuse, recycle, and respect in a single word
Mental Model
Motte-and-Bailey Fallacy
A motte-and-bailey pattern alternates between a stronger consequential claim and a more defensible narrower claim, treating defense of the latter as if it supported the former
Cognitive Move
Move to Think
A short, comfortable bout of movement (1 to 5 minutes) can restore the attention or initiation the task needs; then retest the same mental function.
Mental Model
Moving the Goalposts
Changing the criteria for success after they've been met, making satisfaction of the argument impossible
Mental Model
Moving the Goalposts Pattern (Extended)
The communication failure where the criteria for persuasion or achievement are changed after they've been met, making satisfaction impossible
Mental Model
Mr. Market
Benjamin Graham's allegory of a business partner who repeatedly offers to buy or sell at changing prices
Mental Model
Multi Criterion Decision Making
Multi-criteria decision making compares options across several relevant dimensions using explicit constraints and tradeoff assumptions
Mental Model
Multi-Armed Bandit Problem
The classic explore-exploit problem: you face multiple slot machines ('arms') with unknown payoff rates
Mental Model
Multi-Issue Negotiation Preparation Protocol
A preparation protocol for negotiations involving multiple issues, designed to maximize joint value through strategic trade-offs
Mental Model
Multi-Party Negotiation Dynamics
Multi-party negotiations introduce complexities absent from bilateral deals: information management becomes harder (what each party knows about others' positions), process design matters enormously (who speaks when, what…
Mental Model
Multi-Sided Platform
A business model that creates value by facilitating interactions between two or more distinct user groups who need each other
Mental Model
Multiple Identity Integration
Multiple identity integration (MII) describes how individuals manage the relationship between their various social identities—professional, cultural, gender, ethnic, religious, political, and others
Mental Model
Multiplication
In Josh Kaufman's business usage, multiplication means reproducing an entire process or operating system so it can deliver value in additional instances
Mental Model
Muqaddimah Framework for Historical Analysis
The Muqaddimah (1377), Ibn Khaldun's prolegomenon to his universal history, establishes a methodology for historical analysis that demands causal explanation rather than mere chronicle
Mental Model
Murder in Trafalgar Square
Dennett describes people with different experiences and information routes who nevertheless share the belief that a murder occurred in Trafalgar Square
Mental Model
Murphy’s Law
An engineering adage used as a prompt to anticipate plausible failures and design proportionate prevention or recovery
Cognitive Move
Must protect
The tier for outcomes you will never trade away, no matter how much the other outcomes gain. If an option violates one, it is off the table before you compare it. Keep this tier small, one or two items at most.
Cognitive Move
Must-coexist
Some pairs cannot be staggered. Flag the two items that have to be true at the same moment, not merely both done eventually, because finishing one early and letting it lapse leaves you no further ahead.
Cognitive Move
Must-precede
Marks a hard ordering link: item B literally cannot start or finish until item A is done. You are testing necessity, not habit. Ask what physically or logically breaks if you flip the order. If nothing breaks, it is not this kind of link.