-
How to Solve a Problem using Upstream Actions
Story of VanMoof In 2015, Dutch Bicycle company VanMoof began shipping their bicycles to US customers. While the bikes were getting sold like hotcakes, however they faced lot of problems in shipping them to their customers. The company’s logistics handler weren’t careful while handling the packages which resulted in causing damage to the product. Almost 25% of the bikes were damaged during shipping, due to which they recieved a lot of flak from their customers. In an interview to CNN, VanMoof’s co-founder Taco Carlier explained “We asked ourselves, what do Americans really love? What would prompt couriers to be delicate with a parcel?”. After several hours of brainstroming, they came…
-
How To Develop Bias For Action
Some lessons have to be experienced before they can be understood Michael Batnick (Investor) Story of Java Jacket Back in 1989 Jay Sorensen a struggling realtor, pulled into a coffee shop drivethrough to get his morning cup of coffee. While on the way out of the drive through coffee spill burned his fingers, forcing him to release a blistering hot cup of coffee onto his lap. While this incident may not have been good for Jay’s lap, it was however phenomenal for his career as he chanced upon an innovative idea which went on to make the life better for millions of routine coffee drinkers. The incident made Sorensen realise…
-
How To Avoid Zero Sum Games
The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit. Nelson Henderson You spend your blood and sweat to complete a project but on the day of presentation your colleague/manager takes all the credit of your work. You are casually chilling with your friends and someone in your group starts boasting about the expensive new stuff they just bought. Only to get attention ! Your maternal/paternal aunt can’t stop exaggerating the acadamic performance of her son/daughter, with an ulterior motive to humiliate other parents during a family gathering. If you have ever come accross such situations, then you have already got a…
-
How to be a First Principles Thinker
For we do not think we know a thing until we are acquainted with its primary conditions or first principles and have carried our analysis as far as its simplest elements Aristotle Ability to make a decision is a superpower and the chief enemy of a good decision is lack of sufficient perspective on a problem. That is when first principle comes to rescue, it helps an individual gain the well rounded perspective in order to tackle the problem but before we dwell into how an individual becomes a first principles thinker, let’s understand what is first principle thinking, how does it works and how it can be leveraged to…
