Shortform Books

Charlie Munger: The Reciprocation Tendency

The 25 Cognitive Biases: Reciprocation Tendency

What is the reciprocation tendency? How can reciprocity be harmful? The reciprocation tendency is the inclination of humans to reciprocate both favors and harm done to them. The reciprocation of favors enhances social cohesion and group cooperation, while the reciprocation of harm deters bad behavior in the future. Reciprocity can be harmful when the tendency is exploited by manipulators who use small concessions to demand big favors. Read on to learn more about the reciprocation tendency.

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: Discussion Questions

Are you looking for The Five Dysfunctions of a Team discussion questions? What are some of the key themes and ideas to discuss? In The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni explores how teams fail to work cohesively through the lens of the five-dysfunction model. Further, he gives advice on how to recognize and root out each dysfunction by working your way up the dysfunction pyramid. To help you evaluate your team on each of the five dysfunctions, we’ve put together some discussion questions.

Scaling Up: Rockefeller Habits for the 21st Century

How do Scaling Up and the Rockefeller Habits compare? How do they address 21st-century business realities? Author Verne Harnish presents the ideas in his book Scaling Up as a “2.0” version of the Rockefeller Habits—the business principles that guided the career of John D. Rockefeller. Both frameworks provide insights for successfully growing your business, with Scaling Up modernizing the Rockefeller Habits for our time. Read more to learn about Scaling Up and the Rockefeller Habits.

The Power of Your Subconscious Mind: Review

Is Joseph Murphy’s The Power of Your Subconscious Mind worth reading? Do you believe that you can influence your subconscious mind with conscious thought? In The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, Joseph Murphy argues that you need to align your conscious thoughts with a higher power and have faith that your life will dramatically improve. He supports his argument with anecdotes that demonstrate how people have applied their conscious thoughts to solve a variety of problems, create happiness, and improve their lives. Here is a quick review of The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy.

Skin in the Game: Quotes by Nassim Taleb

Are you looking for Skin in the Game quotes by Nassim Taleb? What are some of the most noteworthy passages worth revisiting? According to intellectual provocateur Nassim Nicholas Taleb, all human systems and endeavors fail because they lack “skin in the game”: something to lose if they don’t achieve their goals. We ignore this simple failsafe far too often, but, according to Taleb, it’s the single most important contributor to human progress. Below are some of his top Skin in the Game quotes with explanations.

How the Dominant Caste Maintains Its Superiority

How does the dominant caste in a hierarchical social system maintain its power over the “low-level” citizens? What methods do they use to ensure their continuing rule? In her book Caste, Isabel Wilkerson discusses how the dominating class in a caste system establishes and maintains its control over the lower classes. They do so in four ways: 1) dehumanization at the group level, 2) laws of heritage, 3) laws of love, and 4) purity of blood. Let’s explore each in detail.

The Importance of Continuous Learning to Life Success

What is the importance of continuous learning to success in life? What is the right way to learn? The ability of voracious readers to see the world differently and to constantly develop solutions to complex problems affirms the importance of continuous learning. To succeed in life, you need to spend each day trying to be smarter than when you woke up. The best way to learn is to figure things out yourself instead of being spoon-fed information that has been modified to suit the machinations of others. Read on to discover more about the importance of continuous learning.

Nassim Taleb: Risk Defines Reality

Do you consider yourself a risk-taker? How does risk-taking enrich your life? In his book Skin in the Game, Nassim Taleb argues that risk-taking— having skin in the game—is the essence of life itself. As Taleb puts it, “real life is risk-taking.” He means this literally—by definition, a life without risk is not real life. Taleb is saying that risk defines what we consider to be reality and creates meaning by defining value. In this article, we’ll explore Taleb’s take on risk (that is, having your skin in the game, as Taleb puts it).

The Milgram Study and the Dangers of Blind Obedience

What is the focus of the Milgram study? Why is the experiment so important? The Milgram study was carried out by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram to explore the tendency of people to obey orders from authority figures even when they contradict their personal values. The experiment is important because it helps us understand why seemingly decent people will blindly follow flawed leaders to do bad things. Read on to learn more about the discoveries of the Milgram study.

How to Find the Right Person for the Right Job

Why is it better to hire an expert to do a difficult job for you rather than trying to do it yourself? How can you go about finding the right person for the right job? In their book Who Not How, Sullivan and Hardy say that you will always be better off hiring somebody to do a job for you than trying to figure it out yourself. Not only are you guaranteed to get a better result, but it may even end up cheaper than if you try to do it yourself and end up making the situation worse. Here’s