Shortform Books

Luck and Success: Succeeding by a Roll of the Dice

What role does luck play in success? Do you tend to attribute your own successes to luck or effort? People often overestimate the influence of effort in success. Though hard work, skill, and intelligence are often necessary first steps toward success, they rarely account for runaway success, which is far more often due to luck—a positive rare event plus a lack of negative rare events. In today’s article, we’ll talk about luck and success—how huge of a role luck plays in bestowing success and why we often mistake it for skill.

Why Socioeconomic Status and Depression Are Linked

What is the relationship between socioeconomic status and depression? Why are highly unequal societies more likely to have higher rates of depression? Socioeconomic status and depression are intertwined because an individual with a low or threatened social status is more likely to feel depressed. This problem is particularly acute in highly unequal societies. Those at the lower rung of the ladder are depressed because of their status, while high-status people feel depressed from the thought of falling down the ladder. Read more about the relationship between socioeconomic status and depression.

How to Apply the Playing to Win Framework

What is the Playing to Win Framework? How can you apply the Playing to Win strategy framework? The Playing to Win framework is a set of five choices that include having a winning aspiration, knowing where to play, knowing how to win, developing core capabilities, and fine-tuning your management systems. These choices help you win in the marketplace. You can only use the framework successfully after answering the five questions in the strategic choice cascade. Read on to learn how to implement the Playing to Win framework.

The Top 3 Benefits of International Trade

What are the benefits of international trade? How does foreign trade affect the internal job sector? International trade allows scarce global resources to go towards their most valuable uses. This may mean a loss of jobs in one sector with the creation of jobs in another, but the economy is overall more efficient and the population at large benefits. In this article, we’ll look at the three primary benefits of international trade: absolute advantage, comparative advantage, and economies of scale.

The Ideal Team Player: Book Overview

What is The Ideal Team Player about? What are the key qualities of an effective team player, according to its author Patrick Lencioni? In his book The Ideal Team Player, author and business consultant Patrick Lencioni explains how to spot, hire, and coach a model team player. Building on his previous book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, which focused on group dynamics, he defines three essential personal qualities or “virtues” the ideal team player embodies—humility, hunger or drive, and people skills. Below is a brief overview of the key concepts and takeaways.

What Are the Gifts of Imperfection? The Three Cs

What are the gifts of imperfection from Brené Brown’s book? How can the three gifts help you cultivate worthiness? The three gifts of imperfection, according to Brené Brown, are courage, compassion, and connection. Together, these three gifts will help you live a Wholehearted life filled with happiness and self-acceptance. Continue reading to learn about the three gifts of imperfection.

Story Marketing: The Selling Power of Storytelling

What is story marketing? How can telling a good story make your marketing strategy more effective? Story marketing uses good storytelling to make a marketing strategy more compelling. Information about the product or idea is subtly woven into a gripping narrative that grabs people’s attention. If your story is interesting or exciting enough, people will retell it to their friends and family—and they’ll pass on information about your product or idea in the process. Find out how to create an effective story marketing strategy below.

Solution-Based Therapy: A Tool to Facilitate Change

What is solution-based therapy? How does it differ from other forms of psychotherapy? Unlike many forms of therapy, solution-based therapy doesn’t look into the past. Instead, it focuses on the problem at hand. It helps you identify solutions by answering specific questions. Read more to learn about solution-based therapy.

The Power of Positive Thoughts: Believe and Succeed

Do you believe that you can manifest reality with your thoughts? How do thoughts influence one’s personality and life experiences? Your thoughts are powerful—they dictate the type of life you lead, the kind of person you are, and the experiences you have. Your thoughts can create or change the conditions around you. You can think yourself into or out of a situation. Here is how you can embrace the power of positive thoughts to change yourself and your life for the better.

Improve Your Learning Retention: Retrieval Practice

What’s the best way to practice memory retention? How do you improve the accuracy and the speed with which you recall information? The most effective way to improve learning retention is through retrieval practice. Retrieval is any exercise that requires you to recall the information or skill you’ve learned. Retrieval practice can take the form of a classroom quiz, self-testing with flashcards, and making up your own questions about key concepts to test yourself later. Learn more about how to improve learning retention using retrieval practice.