Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Inspired by Malcolm Gladwell: 6 Tools to Help Slay the Giant

I really enjoyed Malcolm Gladwell's David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants. To help crystallize the points I took away from the book, I've written up a terse list summarizing them. See his book for all the details.

Without further ado I give you: 6 Tools to Help Slay the Giant:

  1. We have a hard time telling what's a strength and what's a weakness. Find yours. Find your giant's.
  2. We assume that a lot of something is good and lacking something is bad, when the opposite can be true. What are you lacking? What does the giant have a lot of?
  3. The underdog need not follow the rules. Giants love the rules and are often optimized to win the game within them. What rules or conventions can you ignore?
  4. Too much of a good thing turns into a bad thing. See #1 and #2.
  5. Don't assume people will act rationally. The giant thinks he knows how you're going to behave. Prove him wrong.
  6. A difficulty can take a person in one of two directions: it can harm them, or it can form a challenge that when overcome makes them even stronger. What difficulties can or did you turn into a strength building exercise?

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