Shortform Books

The Dunning-Kruger Effect: Know Your Abilities

The 25 Cognitive Biases: The Kruger Effect

What is the Dunning-Kruger effect? How dangerous is the Dunning-Kruger bias? The Dunning-Kruger effect is the tendency of poor performers with excessive self-regard to greatly overestimate their abilities and project themselves as more capable than they really are. This cognitive bias leads people to overstep their circle of competence and get bogged down by ventures or responsibilities they are not ready for. Read on to learn more about the Dunning-Kruger effect.

The Slight Edge Quotes by Jeff Olson

Are you looking for The Slight Edge quotes by Jeff Olson? What are some of the most noteworthy passages worth revisiting? In his book The Slight Edge, motivational speaker Jeff Olson argues that success and failure are both a result of the “slight edge.” The slight edge is the idea that success is built over time with small disciplines executed on a consistent basis. Here is a selection of The Slight Edge quotes with explanations.

Invest in Your Employees to Make More Money, Faster

Do you own a business? How do you use your earnings? How can you use that income to generate even more income? If you run a business, you may be tempted to save your income for a rainy day (or to put in your pockets). However, the authors of Who Not How say that you’ll actually make more money, and faster, if you use that money to invest in hiring more employees. Here is why you should invest in employees rather than saving your money.

Association Bias: Why People Shoot the Messenger

The 25 Cognitive Biases: The Availability Bias

What is association bias? How can you curb bias from association? Association bias is the tendency to be easily influenced by irrational opinions about the relationship between two objects or events. It’s this bias that makes us associate high prices with quality. You can curb this bias by looking for facts that contradict your initial appraisal. Read on to learn more about association bias.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni

What is The Five Dysfunctions of a Team about? What are the five most common dysfunctions of a team, according to its author Patrick Lencioni? The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable explores how teams fail to work cohesively together through a dynamic, five-part model of dysfunction. The five dysfunctions are 1) absence of trust, 2) fear of conflict, 3) lack of commitment, 4) avoidance of accountability, and 5) inattention to results. Below is a brief overview of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni.

Vision and Values: Insights From the Book Scaling Up

What does the book Scaling Up say about your business’s vision and values? How do they impact growth? In his book Scaling Up, Verne Harnish discusses what you need to do to successfully guide your business as it grows from a small company or sole proprietorship into a firm employing hundreds or thousands of people. He argues that, first, you must articulate a clear vision for what you ultimately want your company to be—anchored by a core set of values. Keep reading for insights from the book Scaling Up.

The Power of Your Subconscious Mind Quotes

Are you looking for The Power of Your Subconscious Mind quotes by Joseph Murphy? What are some of the most noteworthy passages worth revisiting? In The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, Joseph Murphy explains how to train your subconscious mind to attract what you want in life. Since your subconscious mind is passive (it internalizes everything you think and embeds it into your psyche), you can influence it with conscious thought. Below is a selection of quotes with explanations.

How Do Social Class Hierarchies Develop?

How do social class hierarchies—such as the caste systems seen in America, India, and Nazi Germany—come into being? Why are castes so hard to abolish once they are established? A caste is a social class hierarchy that is formed based on arbitrary characteristics of difference (e.g. race, religion). According to Isabel Wilkerson, the author of Caste, there are eight tenets that form a caste system: 1) laws of divinity, 2) ingrained superiority, 3) dehumanization at the group level, 4) laws of heritage, 5) laws of love, 6) the purity of the dominant caste, 7) division of labor, and 8) terror

Why Modern Academia Fails to Practice Good Science

What does good science look like? What are the implications of scientific research being done in institutions that aren’t even involved in its implementation? In his book Skin in the Game, Nassim Taleb argues that modern academics fail to practice good science because they lack what he calls “skin in the game”—they are isolated from the real world in which their ideas are implemented. Taleb argues that areas of science and academia that lack skin in the game yield faulty, harmful ideas and theories that would cause major damage if implemented at a large scale. In this article, we’ll take

How to Be Persuasive and Always Get What You Want

What is the secret to mastering how to be persuasive? What is the danger in using psychological tricks to persuade people? You master how to be persuasive when you learn to use the psychological biases of people to get them to do what you want. This is how brands exploit the social proof bias of fans to get them to buy products promoted by their favorite celebrities. However, leveraging the psychological biases of people can backfire when it is done too transparently or it is used to achieve immoral ends. Read on master how to be persuasive and get people