Frequently asked questions about thinking, epistemology, and cognitive tools. 1490 answers
Your emotional state when you perceive something becomes part of what you perceive.
Shared vocabulary does not guarantee shared meaning.
Shared vocabulary does not guarantee shared meaning.
Shared vocabulary does not guarantee shared meaning.
Shared vocabulary does not guarantee shared meaning.
Online messages strip context that face-to-face communication provides automatically.
Online messages strip context that face-to-face communication provides automatically.
Online messages strip context that face-to-face communication provides automatically.
Online messages strip context that face-to-face communication provides automatically.
Online messages strip context that face-to-face communication provides automatically.
Pick your last five messages sent via text, Slack, or email. For each one, write down: (1) what you intended the tone to be, (2) what contextual cues you relied on the recipient having, and (3) what the message would mean to a stranger reading it cold. Count how many of the five could be misread..
Assuming your reader shares your context by default. You'll know you're in this failure mode when someone responds to your message with unexpected hostility or confusion and your first thought is 'but it was obvious what I meant.' It was obvious to you. You had the context. They didn't.
Online messages strip context that face-to-face communication provides automatically.
The structures and incentives of an organization determine individual action more than personality does.
The structures and incentives of an organization determine individual action more than personality does.
The structures and incentives of an organization determine individual action more than personality does.
The structures and incentives of an organization determine individual action more than personality does.
Pick one behavior in your organization that frustrates you — missed deadlines, siloed communication, risk aversion, whatever recurs despite everyone agreeing it's a problem. Now answer: What does the system reward? What does it punish? What does it measure? Map the actual incentive structure, not.
Agreeing that 'systems matter' while still blaming individuals when something goes wrong in your own organization. The test isn't whether you can cite Deming in a meeting. It's whether, when a colleague underperforms, your first question is 'What about this system made this outcome likely?' rather.
The structures and incentives of an organization determine individual action more than personality does.
Where you work physically changes how you think.
Where you work physically changes how you think.
Where you work physically changes how you think.
Where you work physically changes how you think.