Traction Heroes

A reading from a famous director's memoir sparks a discussion about a key trait for gaining traction: boldness coupled with the ability to get things done.

Show notes:

• Every Man for Himself and God Against All (audiobook) by Werner Herzog
• Aguirre, the Wrath of God
• Comedian 
• The Attributes: 25 Hidden Drivers of Optimal Performance by Rich Diviney

Harry offers a short reading from a surprising source about an important question: How do you decide when it's time to let go? 

Show notes:

• What Would Harry Do? by Juliana Sharaf 
• Necessary Endings by Henry Cloud
• The Innovators Dilemma by Clayton M. Christensen
• Kodak  
• Harry’s newsletter

Jorge and Harry discuss how to proactively shift your mental models to get unstuck.

• Framers by Kenneth Cukier, Viktor Mayer-Schönberger, and Francis de Véricourt
• Breakneck by Dan Wang
• Precision questioning
• Iceberg model

Jorge and Harry discuss a classic book about how to avoid getting in your own way through overthinking.

Show notes:

• The Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Gallwey
• Stick (Apple TV show)
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
• Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel
• Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
• Esther Dyson

Jorge and Harry discuss a book focused on using AI to lead better — and has underpinnings that align with the show's themes.

Show notes:

• More Human by Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter
• The Mind of the Leader by Rasmus Hougaard and Jacqueline Carter
• The Glass Cage by Nicholas Carr

Harry reads a passage from a book by Robert Pirsig that raises questions about what authentic effort looks like — and the traps inherent in its trappings.

• On Quality by Robert Pirsig
• Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig
• Lila by Robert Pirsig
• Traction Heroes Ep. 11: Gall’s Law
• Atomic Habits by James Clear

Harry gives Jorge advice on how to focus on strategically important things.

Show notes:

• The ONE Thing by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
• unfinishe_ – Jorge's new consultancy with Greg Petroff
• The Power of a Positive No by William Ury
• The Harry Max Boot-up Protocol (How to get going in the morning) by Christina Wodtke
• Essentialism by Greg McKeown
• Impro by Keith Johnstone

On the folly of designing complex systems in one go, from the top down.

Show notes:

• Traction Heroes ep. 6: Chesterton's Fence
• Traction Heroes ep. 2: Unprecedented
• The Design Squiggle
• Systemantics by John Gall
• A New Kind of Science by Stephen Wolfram
• Wardley map

What keeps you from doing the things you know you need to do, when you need to do them? The answers go deeper than you think.

Show notes:

• Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
• Innovation Games by Luke Hohmann
• Nonviolent Communication Marshall Rosenberg

How do you act effectively in times of uncertainty? One way is by asking yourself better questions. In this conversation, Harry shares a framework to do just that.

Show notes:

- Masters of Uncertainty by Rich Diviney
- 8 1/2
- Cascading Choices Framework by Roger Martin

Implementing changes – especially irreversible and potentially catastrophic changes – requires humility and understanding. In this conversation, we discuss Chesterton's fence and the art of mindful change-making.

Show notes:

• The Thing by GK Chesterton
• Chesterton’s fence
• Seeing Like a State by James C. Scott
• Systemantics by John Gall
• Gall’s law
• Christopher Alexander
• Drift Into Failure by Sidney Dekker

Acting skillfully entails choosing the right thing to do at any given moment. But these actions must also serve higher-level goals. In this conversation, we explore the relationship between both levels of priorities.

Show notes:

• On Grand Strategy by John Lewis Gaddis
• The New How by Nilofer Merchant
• Playing to Win by A.G. Lafley and Roger Martin
• Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman
• Innovation Games by Luke Hohmann