Tag: analysis

The Malcolm Gladwell Problem

All of Gladwell’s tics are on display in service of an article that mostly feels bottom-drawer, like something rejected twice and then run out of sympathy.

An example: Gladwell cheerfully quotes Platinum Blue CEO (Mike McCready) on the wonderful job his software does separating hits from flops in the music business. His evidence? McCready claims to have ID-ed Norah Jones “Come Away with Me” album back in 2002 as a monster. How do we know McCready did this? He says he did, and Gladwell quotes him saying “a local newspaper in Barcelona” interviewed him then and he told them. But we are not told which newspaper, which day, etc.

Where gladwell is taken down a notch for his crappy analysis

you and your work

i was quite impressed by this talk transcript by richard hamming. his observations over 40 years as to why so few with the potential for greatness deliver ring very true. some of the takeaways:

  • pick your battles. don’t fight ‘the system’ when you should be pursuing your goals instead: The appearance of conforming gets you a long way
  • knowledge and productivity are like compound interest. The more you know, the more you learn; the more you learn, the more you can do; the more you can do, the more the opportunity.
  • Plant the acorns from which the mighty oak trees grow, which could be redefined as don’t get trapped by your success
  • Pick an important problem where you have a reasonable attack
  • Communicate the relevance of your work to a wide audience outside your field

thanks, lambda

action vs activity

Action is what achieves our goals, moves our business and personal lives forward, produces what we want out of life and actually gets the job done. It is immensely rewarding but is also very likely to be difficult and challenging.
Activity is all the things we fill our lives with in order to avoid taking action. Strangely enough activity often looks better than action to our colleagues or even to ourselves. If you are an executive or run your own business then productive, focused thinking must be one of your action priorities. Unfortunately thinking often appears to be “lazy”, compared to making phone calls, dealing with email, attending meetings and generally rushing around

top 10 delusions

  1. “God is on our side”
  2. The market is rational
  3. There is no such thing as reality
  4. We mustn’t be “judgmental”
  5. Laissez-faire capitalism is the prerequisite for trade and prosperity
  6. Astrology and similar delusions are “harmless fun”
  7. Thin air is solid
  8. Sentimental hysteria is a sign of emotional maturity
  9. America’s economic success is entirely due to private enterprise
  10. “It could be you. . .”

great list by francis wheen. via lance.