Happy Saturday! Here are your 5 things from the mind of Miles for this week.
Founder Nation? Astounding to me that 2 in 5 Americans surveyed want to start a business. I think that is higher than recent history. What are the reasons? (Someone told me that recently there are more searches online about starting a business than about finding a job. I couldn’t find a citation.)
Cheesy and Useful. Have you read Lencioni’s books on management? Cheesy stories, yes. Also, they offer useful insights and mental models. (Goldratt’s books are like this too.) I’ve read The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, The Five Temptations of a CEO, The Three Big Questions for a Frantic Family. I just read The Advantage where he lays out his theory without the fable. For example, I like the model of:
Vulnerability builds trust which is the basis for productive
Conflict about ideas that creates clarity and
Commitment to the plan, values or organization which allows for
Accountability. When team members are accountable to each other it drives a focus on
Results.
Misinformation. Is misinformation more or less of a problem today? It is hard to understand how spreading incorrect information about the outcome or conduct of elections helps democracy. Policy debate is great but relies on an underlying trust in elections and belief we can change leadership without bloodshed. Many argue that public health information falls in the same category. They say that spreading incomplete, incorrect or non-consensus views is dangerous. I get it. Also, the scientific process requires debate and alternative viewpoints. How do we distinguish between “misinformation” and an opinion we disagree with? Is it about intentions? What if the public is better informed and more polarized? Perhaps other factors are bigger drivers than misinformation. I’m still figuring this out!
Prices Again. Why have we seen a decade long trend of lower prices in some industries and higher prices in others? Explanations offered include luxury goods, signaling, government regulation, spending or monetary policy, wealth effects and the rise of technology. Will we see technology “eating” more industries and causing lower prices? Or will expectations about inflation overwhelm it all. I also wonder if we have defined quality in some cases in a way that requires low productivity (either requiring or expecting low worker to customer ratios?). It is challenging to reduce prices if increasing productivity of labor is not allowed. That said, I’m sure there are things we can do to improve prices in healthcare, education and housing.
Diana Chapman Does a Podcast (or Two). When I heard Diana Chapman (author of 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership) on the Tim Ferriss podcast, I thought it fit his turn towards higher exploring performance in the the emotional and mental realms. It was fun to hear her on The Knowledge Project. Listening to intellect-forward Shane Parrish work to understand body-heart-and-mind Diana was a treat.
Until next week,
Miles