Choosing Your Path: Persevere or Pivot

your Saturday roundup

Professionally, I focus on creating social benefit startups. In my Saturday morning emails I share what I’m learning and thinking. Topics range from better living and parenting to business and philosophy.

1. The Quit Book. A while back I finished a book about quitting and I keep thinking about it. An economist’s favorite mistake is the sunk cost fallacy. Yes, perseverance is often required for success. But, as they say, “You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away.” An economist, or a poker player, will tell you to make a forward looking expected value calculation when making a decision about continuing or changing course. You should ignore any previous efforts or expense. And the book Quit covers all this. With startups, founders often face the choice to persevere or pivot. In our venture studio, we have processes, clear pre-selected advancement criteria, and specific checkpoints to guard against escalating commitment to a startup idea that isn't working. We know how easy it is to become attached to a nascent business once you say, “I’m the founder of Such and Such Startup”. Be careful about attaching things to your identify too easily. Also, it’s good to have audacious goals as long as those goals carry with them an “unless…” (Knowing the power of sunk costs can work if you’re spending other people’s money. For example, Robert Moses pushed hard for politicians to agree to start construction projects knowing they wouldn’t want to stop even as the costs escalated.)

2. Quit Books to Finish More. As I’ve mentioned before, one of the best ways to finish more books is to start more books. Too many people tell me that they are committed to finishing each book that they start. They act as if they are demonstrating high character by following through. My argument is that the book doesn’t care. If the book is not serving you, stop reading it. If you’re not willing to quit a book, aren’t you reluctant to start a book unless you are confident it is worth the time? I prefer to consider starting a book a low stakes choice. I can stop any time (wait, is that what addicts say?) Personally, I finish about two-thirds of the books I start. Here are some more tips on reading more

3. The Kids are Alright. Want advice from parents with 6 grown kids? Check out The Kids Are All Right. Key recommendation: 

   1. There is not “one reliable path” to success. By this they mean there is not only one path of specific educational experiences with the “right” schools to reach prosperity and happiness. (I wonder what they think about the success sequence?)

   2. Kids are their own people growing up in a different situation than their parents. Even if you want to do so, you can not recreate your childhood. 

   3. Instead of (a) focusing on one path or (b) trying to recreate your childhood, they recommend building a relationship with and supporting your child to find their own path.

   4. They also argue that not all screen time is created equal and much of it is positive.

   5. My favorite part was the practical advice on making family work time fun.

   6. BTW, if you’re after a spicy take on parenting (or more precisely not becoming a parent) check out her other book.

Until next time,

Miles