Essentialism Flashcards
(47 cards)
What is “essentialism?”
The disciplined pursuit of less.
What are the 3 steps to essentialism?
- Explore and Evaluate
- Eliminate
- Execute
What is the “power law?”
What did Nathan Myhrvold, former CTO of Microsoft day about it?
Certain efforts produce exponentially more results than others.
“The top software developers are more productive than average software developers not by a factor of 10x or 100x or even 1,000x but by 10,000x.”
What is the reality of what is important?
We live in a world where almost everything is worthless and very few things are exceptionally valuable.
“You cannot overestimate the unimportance of practically everything.” -John Maxwell
How do non-essentialists think of trade offs vs. essentialists?
Nonessentialist: “I can do both.” “How can I do it all?”
Essentialist: “what is the trade off I want to make? “
“What can I go big on?”
How can we have focus?
We need to escape to focus.
Example: Newton 2 years working on Principia Mathematica
What are the differences in ways of listening between essentialists and non-essentialists?
Non-Essentialist: pays attention to loudest voice; hears everything being said; overwhelmed by all the information
Essentialist pays attention to the signal in the noise; hears what is NOT being said; scans to find the essence of the information
What are the differences in what an non-essentialist
THINKS-DOES-GETS vs. essentialists?
Non-essentialist:
THINKS: All things to all people
DOES: The undisciplined pursuit of more
GETS: Lives a life that does not satisfy
Essentialist:
THINKS: Less but better
DOES: The disciplined pursuit of less
GETS: Lives a life that really matters
What are the different ways essentialists and non-essentialists THINK? Offer examples.
Non-essentialist:
THINKS: All things to all people
“I have to” “It’s all important” “How can I fit it all in?”
Essentialist: THINKS: Less but better "I choose to" "Only a few things really matter" "What are the tradeoffs?"
What are the differences in what essentialists and non-essentialists DO? Offer examples.
Non-essentialist:
DOES: the undisciplined pursuit of more
1) Reacts to what’s most pressing 2) says “yes” to people without really thinking 3) tries to force execution at the last moment
Essentialist:
DOES: The disciplined pursuit of LESS
1) Pauses to discern what really matters 2) Says, “no” to everything except the essential 3) Removes obstacles to make execution easy
What are the differences in what essentialists and non-essentialists GET? Offer examples
Non-essentialist:
GETS: a life that does not satisfy
1) Takes on too much, 2) Feels out of control 3) Is unsure of whether the right things get done 4) Feels overwhelmed and exhausted
Essentialist:
GETS: A life that really matters
1) Chooses carefully in order to do great work 2) Feels in control 3) Gets the right things done 4) Experiences joy in the journey
How do essentialists and non-essentialists think about play?
Non-essentialist: “play is trivial” “play is a waste of time”
Essentialist: “play is essential” “play sparks exploration”
How can you reconnect to play?
Mine your memories of past play experiences. What excited you as a child? How can you recreate that today?
How do essentialists and non-essentialists think of SLEEP?
Nonessentialist:
- One less hour of sleep is one more hour of productivity
- Sleep is for failures
- Sleep is a luxury
- Sleep breeds laziness
- Sleep gets in the way of “doing it all”
Essentialist: “protect the asset” (YOU)
- One more hour of sleep equals several more hours of much higher productivity
- Sleep is for high performers
- Sleep is a priority
- Sleep breeds creativity
- Sleep enables the highest levels of contribution
What does Derek Sivers say about selecting what to do?
No more Yes. It’s either HELL YEAH or No.
If the answer isn’t a definite yes than it should be a no.
What does Derek Sivers say about telling people your goals?
DON’T DO IT
https://www.ted.com/talks/derek_sivers_keep_your_goals_to_yourself?language=en
If something is just or almost “good enough,” what is the real answer about it (or them)?
NO.
what is the 90 percent rule?
As you evaluate an option, decision or person, think of the most important criterion for the decision, and then give the option a score of 0 to 100. If you rate it any lower than 90 percent, automatically change the rating to zero and reject it.
How do essentialists and nonessentialists select opportunities?
Nonessentialist:
- says yes to almost every request or opportunity
- uses broad, implicit criteria: “if someone else is doing it, I should”
Essentialist:
- says yes to only the top 10% of opportunities
- Uses narrow, explicit criteria like, “Is this exactly what I am looking for?”
What is the “killer question” to ask regarding clothes in your closet…or activities to eliminate?
“If I didn’t already own this, how much would I spend to buy it?”
“If I didn’t have this opportunity, what would I be willing to do to acquire it?”
What is the essential question to ask that will uncover your true priorities or reveal the best path forward for your team?
“What will I (we) say NO to?”
How do you say “no” gracefully?
- Separate the decision from the relationship
- You don’t have to use the word “no” to gracefully say “no”
- Focus on the trade off
- Remind yourself that everyone is selling something
- Remember: saying “no” requires trading popularity for respect
- A clear “no” can be more graceful than a vague, noncommittal “yes.”
What are the 8 options in the “No Repertoire”?
- The awkward pause
- The soft no (or the “no but”)
- Let me check my calendar and get back to you
- Use e-mail bounce backs
- Say, “Yea. What should I deprioritize?”
- Say it with humor
- Use the words, “you are welcome to X. I am willing to Y.”
- I can’t do it, but X might be interested
What is the “sunk cost bias”?
Keep investing in something that’s losing because you have already sunk so much. Good money after bad.
“The more we invest, the more determined we become to see it through.”
It’s harder to let go.
