Twilight of the Idols by Neitzsche

Every now and then I like get the urge to read classic books. This time, I thought I'd try Twilight of the Idols by Nietzsche.

I don' t think I'm going to make all the way though this book. Nietzsche doesn't really agree with me.

First off. I think he is less philosophy and and more like self-help. He is a lifestyle coach. He wants us to live vibrant, exciting & meaningful lives and has major problems with any system of values that doesn't nurture that.

But, in his thrust for vibrancy, he looses depth. While there is a lot to be said for living like that. Sometimes it's good to slow down. To be more thoughtful.

Thinking in Systems

By Donella H. Meadows.

Systems exist wither we like it our not. From Meadows perspective, everything is part of a system. The end of one system, and the beginning of the next is an arbitrary point that we choose for our convenience, and not because that's the actual reality.

When you analyze a system, don't zoom in too much and loose perspective, or zoom out too much and end up with something academic. Scale the system definition to the size of the problems you are engaged with.

Problems and the way out...

I like the way that Meadows calls out "Problems and the Way Out" not "Problems and Solutions." The solution to many system solutions isn't a black or white flip of the switch, but a lot of work to slowly change the path of the system.

Problem-- Policy Resistance-- when the actors try to pull the system in a direction other than the desired new goals.
The way out-- Let go. Bring in all the actors and use the energy formerly expended on resistance to seeking mutually satisfactory ways for the goals to be realized.

Problem-- the tragedy of the commons.
The way out--
1. Educate and exhort everyone so they understand the consequences, or
2. Strengthen the feedback link, regulate, or,
3. Privatize

Problem-- Drift to Low Performance
Allowing future performance to drift based on past performance, especially if there is a negative bias in perceiving past performance.
The way out-- Keep performance standards absolute

Problem-- Escalation. There is a reinforcing feedback loop carrying the system into an arms race.
Solution--
1. Avoid getting into this trap
2. Refuse to complete
3. Negotiate a new system with balancing loops to control the escalation.

Problem-- Success to the successful. Winners have a reinforcing feedback loop that allow them to keep winning more.
The way out--
1. Diversification. The system has to support diversification.
2. Strictly limiting the faction of the pie any one winner my have.
3. Policies that level the playing field. Policies that devise rewards that do not bias the future competition.

Problem-- Shifting the burden to the Intervenor. Superficial solutions that do not solve the underlaying problem.
The way out--
1. Avoid getting into this situation.
2. Take the focus off short term relief and put it on long term restructuring. Do so quickly. The longer you wait, the harder the withdrawal process will be.

Problem-- Seeking the Wrong Goal.
Systems are very sensitive to the goals of the feedback loops, and not necessarily the goals of the designers.
The Way out-- Specify indicators and goals that reflect the real welfare of the system. Be careful to not confuse effort with result or you will end up with a system that is producing effort, not result.

Shakespeare: The World As a Stage

By Bill Bryson

What's fascinating about Shakespeare is how little we actually know about him. We have copies of most of his plays. We have some legal records, his birth, marriage, will & death certificates and a few mentions of him in various public records. And that's it. We know next to nothing about who he was like as a person. We have no personal letters. No letters from friends. No personal effects. Everything we know about him personally is conjecture. This book covers the endless conjecture, and how it came to being.

That we know so little of him isn't that surprising. We know very little about anyone who lived at that time. In addition, for any Shakespeare's artifacts to have survived to today, they would have had to survive calamities such as the Globe Theater fire of 1613, the Great London fire of 1666, and the bombings of London in World War 2. It is surprising is that we have as much as we have.

And the conspiracy theories... that someone else wrote Shakespeare's plays. The book emphatically disagrees with them. There is no evidence that someone other than Shakespeare wrote his plays.

Talking to Strangers

Malcolm Gladwell books are fun to read regardless of how solid the intellectual foundations are.

In Talking to Strangers, Gladwell argues that humans have three biases that break down when we are dealing with strangers.

Default To Truth-- We presume that people are telling the truth unless the evidence is overwhelming. We had to behave this way, or society would break down. This works against us when we a stranger deceives us. It also means we should not think harshly of people who were deceived by strangers. It's the way we are wired.

Transparency-- we think that the way we express our emotions, is the way everyone expresses their emotions. Everyone, especially strangers, will express their emotions differently. We should not judge someone because they didn't express their emotions the way we did.

Coupling-- Our actions are associated with the opportunities to take that action. Make it more difficult to commit suicide one way, and the suicide rate will go down. The suicidal won't find another way to kill themselves. Maybe the stranger is acting a particular way because of the time and the place, not because the stranger is bad.

How should we deal with strangers? With caution and humility

Mojo. How to Get It, How to Keep It, and How to Get it Back When you Need it

By Marshall Goldsmith with Mark Reiter

I've read this book before, but I can't find the notes. 

I appreciate reading Goldsmith.Goldsmith focuses on executive coaching. I wish there was a version of this book for people who aren't executives. I can still take much away from it. 

I intentionally reread this book since I am starting a new job. 

Five qualities we need to bring to an activity in order to do it well are...

1. Motivation,

2, knowledge,

3, ability,

4, confidence,

5, authenticity...

Four ingredients to have great Mojo..
1. Identity... who do you think you are?
2. Achievement... what have you done lately?
3. Reputation... who do other people think you are?
4. Acceptance... what can you change? What is beyond your control?

Four Pointless Arguments...

1. Let Me Keep Talking... Talking when you should listen.

2. I've had it rougher than you. People don't change their mind because someone else has had it rougher than they. Kids don't listen when you say "When I was your age I....

3. Why did you do that? You can't judge everyone's actions through the lens of "Am I being respected, or disrespected?" People will do things that annoy or enrage us. It's almost impossible to get to the bottom of why they did them. Don't waste your time trying.

4. It's not fair. 

"These four loosing arguments all have the same end result. We don't change the outcome. We don't help our organizations or our families. We don't help ourselves. We only lower our Mojo."

Change you or it. Don't keep whining about it. Don't be passive aggressive.

Tools for building Mojo...

1. Establish Criteria that matter to you.

2. Find out Where You're Living. 

3. Be the optimist in the room. But realistic, but optimistic. 

4. Take Away one Thing. Simplify. Focus

5. Rebuild One Brick at a Time

6. Live your mission in the small moments too.

7. Swim in the blue water...Find your niche. Don't copy everyone else.

8. Think though when to stay and when to go.

9. Hello, Good bye. Be prepared for abrupt exits.

10. Adopt a metrics system-- measure yourself in real ways. Against targets that affect your criteria. 

11. Measure the bad things. Not just the good. Reduce the bad things.

12. Influence Up as Well as Down.

When Goldsmith coaches someone he asks they...

1. Let go of the past. You cannot change the past. 

2. Tell the truth. Not just what they want to hear. 

3. Be supportive and helpful. Be encouraging, not cynical or sarcastic. 

4. Pick something to improve yourself, so everyone has skin in the game, rather than just judging. 

Peter Drucker's five questions for solving problems...

1. What is your mission? Why does your organization exist in the first place? What are you trying to accomplish for your customers?

2. Who are your customers? Describe the person you wish to satisfy with your actions.
3. What does your customer value? What is it that you do especially well that you are uniquely suited to provide to your customers? How can you exceed the standards set by your competition?4. What results are you trying to accomplish? How do you measure success?5. What is your plan? How do you go about satisfying your customers and getting the results that are most important?

Why We Sleep

By Matthew Walker Phd.

An interesting book, though it has it's limits. We can describe far more about sleep, than we can prescribe ways to improve it. For years, I've gone through bouts where I walk up at 3am and stay awake for an hour or so. I was hoping to find a cure for that. But no.

To the best of our knowledge, to get the best sleep...
1. Stick to a schedule.
2. Exercise, but not late in the day.
3. Avoid caffeine and nicotine
4. Avoid Alcohol before bed.
5. Avoid large meals before bed.
6. Don't take naps after 3pm
7. Relax before bed
8. Take a hot bath before bed.
9. Have a good sleeping environment, cool, low noise, no bright lights
10. Expose yourself to 30 minutes of sunlight a day, morning is best.
11. Don't lay awake in bed.

The Power of Habit: Why we Do What We Do in life and Business...

By Charles Duhigg

Much of this book lines up with "The Tipping Point" There is an important core to this book that I want to remember...

How to change habit loops. We all have many habits. They are of the form...

Stimulus... Habit... Reward...

The Habit could be smoking, could be nail bighting, going to Facebook, getting angry.. any of thousands of things. Most people try to break a habit with self discipline... don't do that! Resist! Duhigg suggests we spend time to understand the stimulus and the reward.

1. Every time we engage in a habit, record the time, what you were doing, and what you were feeling. 

2. Record the rewards of the habit.

3. When you understand what stimulus kick off a habit, develop a specific plan to deal with the stimulus, and figure out a satisfying reward.

For example, I want to go running every morning. Instead, I just get out of bed and make coffee. In this situation, try laying out your running closes the night before and set up the coffee maker. Now, get dressed first thing in the morning, and have coffee as a reward when you get back.

You will have to play around with identifying the stimulus, and finding the appropriate rewards. Sometimes they may be simple... to relieve stress, breath deeply for a few seconds, instead of having a candy bar.  Sometimes they may be complicated... If I habitually put off financial planning because of anxiety, then what? Reward myself with a nice bottle of wine?

I want to combine this with Goldsmith's Triggers. The ideas that we will be more successful if we limit our personal change at any one time to...

1. Creating new behavior.

2. Eliminating an old behavior

3. Accepting something regretful

4. Preserving, or growing something positive.