Traction Heroes

Harry shares an important insight from a personal place: we must not just get better at giving feedback, but receiving it as well — and it can be especially difficult when feedback is part of your professional skillset.

Show notes:

• Thanks for the Feedback by Douglas Stone & Sheila Heen
• Management of the Absurd by Richard Farson
• Naïve realism

Jorge digs out an influential book from his past to discuss a critical issue in decision-making.

Show notes:

• The Art of Computer Game Design by Chris Crawford (PDF)
• Finite and Infinite Games by James P. Carse
• UX Design Innovation: Challenges for Working with Machine Learning as a Design Material by Graham Dove, Kim Halskov, Jodi Forlizzi, and John Zimmerman (PDF)
• AlphaGo (Full movie) 

It's easy to feel frustrated and powerless — but organizational leaders have more agency than they might think in today's world.

Show notes:

• Incorruptible by Eric Ries
• Sentient Design by Josh Clark and Veronica Kindred
• Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth
• Incorruptible by Design — Eric Ries Long Now seminar

Many so-called accidents can be prevented with a bit of forethought. In this conversation, we explore ways to avoid bad outcomes by preparing beforehand.

Show notes:

• There Are No Accidents, Only Collisions by Alan Levar
• Traction Heroes Ep. 2: Unprecedented
• The Checklist Manifesto by Atul Gawande
• Pass Labs
• Four Types of Problems by Art Smalley
• Drift Into Failureby Sidney Dekker
• The Problem Is Not the Problem by Harry Max (video)

Determining what to track is essential for effective management. But focusing on just a few measures can lead us to miss important things.

Show notes:

• Seeing Like a State by James C. Scott
• How Buildings Learn by Stewart Brand
• Pace layers
• Strategies for Learning from Failure by Amy C. Edmondson (HBR gift link)
• What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter

Jorge shares one of his core mental models — from an unexpected source.

Show notes:

• Axis Thinking by Brian Eno
• A Year with Swollen Appendices by Brian Eno
• Polarity Management by Barry Johnson
• The Problem Is Not the Problem by Harry Max

On the risks of unquestioningly delegating sense-making to technology in general (and AI in particular.)

Show notes:

The Glass Cage by Nicholas Carr

Our perceptions of what someone else will say or do can influence what they actually end up saying or doing — leading to a dangerous vicious cycle.

Show notes:

• Beyond Belief by Nir Eyal
• Liminal Thinking by Dave Gray
• The Matrix
• Mistakes Were Mad (but Not By Me) by Caroll Tavris and Elliot Aronson

Harry and Jorge discuss one of the latter's favorite means for gaining traction: the MacGuffin, a concept with a storied pedigree in cinema.

Show notes:

• Dark Matter and Trojan Horses by Dan Hill
• Trim tab
• The New How by Nilofer Merchant
• Human-Centered Security by Heidi Trost
• Tempo by Venkatesh Rao

On the importance of mindfulness for gaining traction — and how you can practice to become more mindful.

Show notes:

• Original Love by Henry Shukman
• The Informed Life ep. 75: Hans Krueger on the Cycle of Emotions
• The Tim Ferriss Show ep. 531: Henry Shukman
• The Way App
• Waking Up
• The Ultimate Coachby Amy Hardison and Alan D. Thompson
• Being in the World

We tackle a key reading from a classic book to solve a perennial problem: how do we talk about what we do so we don't undersell our value?

Show notes:

• Competing Against Luck by Clayton M. Christensen, Karen Dillon, Taddy Hall, and David S. Duncan 
• Managing Priorities by Harry Max
• MECE principle
• Positioning by Jack Trout and Al Ries

A conversation about something that's emerging as a central theme in the podcast: how to avoid fooling yourself so you can achieve your goals by seeing more clearly.

Show notes:

• The Art of Action by Stephen Bungay
• Sunset Boulevard (1950 film)
• John Boyd
• Traction Heroes Ep. 6: Chesterton's Fence
• Crazy Time by Abigail Trafford

Is your business in service to the bottom line or something higher? Whichever you pick will influence the organization's culture.

Show notes:

• Tim O’Reilly in a Nutshell by Tim O’Reilly
• Rosenfeld Media
• Shai Agassi
• OODA loop
• Thinking In Bets by Annie Duke
• The Art of Actionby Stephen Bungay
• Makers and Takers by Rana Foroohar

How do you get useful information from people when the very act of asking might compromise the answer? Harry offers insights from a surprising source.

Show notes:

• Confidential by John Nolan
• Climbing the Ladder of Business Intelligenceby James E. Cates, Sam S. Gill, and Natalie Zeituny 
• Precision questioning
• EnlivenWork