Category Archives for "Book Notes"

How To Think (Book Notes)

By Austin Collins

• Introduction: Thinking should be thought of as part art and part science:
  • Science: The mechanics of how the brain itself works, including things like cognitive biases and other evolutionary shortcuts that may not serve us well in today’s world.
  • Art: How we use our conscious cognitive processes to navigate our connections with, and perceptions of, the world around us.
• Chapter 1: Always question the foundation of assumptions upon which you build your house of logic.
• Chapter 2: To improve the quality of your thinking, be willing to change your position if someone presents you with a superior one.
• Chapter 3: Instead of assuming someone is wrong and trying to explain why, try finding the answer to this question: “How is it I know for sure they are wrong?”
• Chapter 4: We self-sabotage with a false, zero sum reality when we frame an argument with militarized metaphors, such as: “I think they will destroy my argument if I use that strategy.”
• Chapter 5: Thinking of people as individuals instead of lumping them together in classes will minimize assumptions, which are usually inaccurate and potentially harmful.
• Chapter 6: If you can’t imagine a situation in which you would change your mind about a certain position, there is a good chance you have lost touch with logic.
• Chapter 7: Our positions become easier to examine if we look at them through the eyes of an honest, rational person who holds an opposing view.
• Conclusion: Improving your thinking requires a fundamental character shift to support improvements in thinking technique.

Peak (Book Notes)

By Austin Collins

Peak – Secrets from the new science of expertise by Anders Ericsson, Robert Pool (Eamon Dolan/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, April 5, 2016)

If you want to get better at getting better, this book is for you. It is empowering to watch science disprove many of our commonly held limiting beliefs about things like “potential” and “natural talent.” Expertise in nearly anything is attainable through disciplined, long term application of a systematic framework for improvement. I have applied lessons from Peak to improve the quality of my practice. As a result, both the rate and the quality of my learning have impoved. Our entire family will continue to benefit from these lessons.

• Introduction: As humans, we create our own potential by training our brains, and are not limited to a predetermined amount of “potential.”
• Chapter 1: “Purposeful Practice” is a specific practice methodology optimized for continued progress, and includes:
  • Concrete, measurable goals of incremental improvement
  • Rapid, honest feedback loop
  • Continually pushing through current limits
• Chapter 2: “Purposeful practice” increases your physical ability to perform what you are practicing (including measurable changes to your brain), which disproves the theory that ability is predetermined by genetics.
• Chapter 3: Sidestep the limits of short term memory and increase performance by building and upgrading “mental representations,” which include:
  • Pieces of new data
  • Meaning (which turns pieces of new data into “chunks” stored in long term memory)
  • Retrieval structure
• Chapter 4: The fastest and most certain path to expert performance is “Deliberate Practice,” in which “purposeful practice” is guided by an expert coach.
• Chapter 5: Focus on developing skills, not increasing your knowledge.
• Chapter 6: Increase motivation by maximizing reasons to persist and minimizing reasons to quit.
• Chapter 7: Huge progress is possible at any age through either “purposeful practice” or “deliberate practice.”
• Chapter 8: Natural intelligence can provide an edge at the most basic levels of skill acquisition, but the quantity of “deliberate practice” is the only clear predictor of future mastery.
• Chapter 9: Teaching is most effective when skills (not just information) are taught with a combination of deliberate practice and expert mental representations.

Living Forward (Book Notes)

By Austin Collins

I always thought the term “Life Planning” sounded ridiculous. Life is way too dynamic to indulge in the delusion that we can plan out the distant future. I’m grateful that I read Living Forward and gave Hyatt & Harkavy the opportunity to prove me wrong. The book explains why and how to create a living document called a “Life Plan.” A Life Plan helps you live directionally correct. The ongoing process behind the Life Plan holds you accountable, while simultaneously growing and changing with you. This unique blend of flexibility and accountability aligns well with the Personal Leverage™ model.

• Chapter 1: Our default way of navigating life, “the drift,” can be counteracted by a flexible, action oriented system of intentionality called a Life Plan.
• Chapter 2: A Life Plan is like a GPS: If you clarify your current position and intended destination, your “GPS” helps you make better real time decisions to keep you on track.
• Chapter 3: There are 6 main benefits of a life plan, including clarity, alignment, balance and accountability.
• Chapter 4: Hindsight is 20/20: Writing your own eulogy provides the perspective of hindsight to help you shape a more meaningful future.
• Chapter 5: Prioritize each area of responsibility in your life, and then imagine each one as a bank account with its own unique balance.
• Chapter 6: In order to move in the right direction on purpose you must first define what “on track” looks like.
• Chapter 7: Maintain momentum when writing your life plan by scheduling a full 8 hour block of uninterrupted, technology free time.
• Chapter 8: Create space in your life to execute your Plan by doing the following:
  • Schedule your time in advance
  • Protect your time by using the “positive no” method to set boundaries
• Chapter 9: Make your Life Plan a part of your active subconscious by scheduling frequent reviews that include reading the entire document.
• Chapter 10: An effective Life Plan is contagious, because others will naturally be drawn to the changes they see in you and in your life.

For other book notes in the same 1 sentence per chapter style, click here.

A Spy’s Guide to Thinking (Book Notes)

By Austin Collins

Spies are faced with unique decision making challenges. High stakes situations with global security implications demand an intelligent, precise and rapid process for evaluation and decisive action. A decision making process with proven effectiveness in the spy world can be applied to any situation. This book shows how to apply the process to your own decisions with concise, actionable examples. The hour you invest to read A Spy’s Guide to Thinking will instantly upgrade the quality of your decisions.

• Chapter 1: Use the following thought flow “Loop” to give your attention a focused and productive track to run on: Data > Analyze > Decision > Action > Repeat.
• Chapter 2: The first question to ask when evaluating an interaction with someone else: What kind of game do they think we are playing?
• Chapter 3: As you move from data collection towards action, commitment of time and resources increases, while access to relevant information decreases.
• Chapter 4: Create “positive sum” opportunities to engage others, using what you learn as the “Data” for the start of your next “Loop.”

For other book notes in the same 1 sentence per chapter style, click here.

Extreme Ownership (Book Notes)

By Austin Collins

Extreme Ownership is the most useful leadership book I’ve ever read. Using these principles, I’ve become a better parent, husband, and professional. Empowering. Applicable. Tactical. Legit.

• Chapter 1: “Extreme Ownership” is a leadership philosophy in which I assume complete personal responsibility for my team, creating an empowering culture of connection & continuous improvement.
• Chapter 2: If I tolerate or justify subpar performance, or blame anything or anyone other than myself, I am not taking “Extreme Ownership.”
• Chapter 3: When I understand and communicate the strategic “why” behind the mission, it creates “connective tissue” that aligns the team toward winning.
• Chapter 4: When I check my ego and take ownership, others can see the real issue without becoming defensive.
• Chapter 5: I must take ownership for identifying and facilitating the coordination of all available resources to accomplish our common goal.
• Chapter 6: By maintaining simplicity and confirming my communication is understood, I help everyone stay focused on the mission when things get hectic.
• Chapter 7: I can use the principle of “Prioritize and execute” in real time to make my team’s actions more effective by using these 3 steps:
  1. Relax
  2. Look around
  3. Make a call
• Chapter 8: A decentralized leadership structure, with a max 4-6 direct reports, allows every leader to specialize, stay focused & maintain effectiveness.
• Chapter 9: Strategic planning should be systematized to empower everyone on the team with ownership of constant improvement.
• Chapter 10: I need to take ownership for leading everyone in my world, including up the chain (superiors), and down the chain (subordinates).
• Chapter 11: Disciplined standard procedures create freedom to engage creatively and bring my gifts to any situation.

For other book notes in the same 1 sentence per chapter style, click here.