RadReads n°159
SUBSCRIBE // The marriage decision, statistics in a misleading age, the modern manager guide, intentions vs. time
‘Sup RadReaders,
Welcome to our newest community members. We’re constantly growing, in fact, we’ve got our first happy hour in Washington DC on March 14th (sign up). I’m also humbled by the number of responses for the Frank Ostaseski podcast(and book review).
Our webinar series continues onwards with How to Start Blogging on March 9th. The video and slide presentation for the Omnifocus webinar are now live.
The Marriage Decision: Everything Forever or Nothing Ever Again
21 mins | Wait But Why
What better way to honor Valentine’s day than with a quirky and thought-provoking post on arguably the biggest decision we make. Even if you’ve taken the plunge, this essay captures fear, “trusting your gut,” avoiding edge cases amidst our primal forces. (Serial entrepreneur Auren Hoffman and I talked extensively about marriage as a “default option” on the podcast.)
Stepping into your shadow
57 mins | Rad Awakenings | iTunes | Google Play
Abby Raphel grew up in a two stoplight town in rural Florida, where she raised hogs, swam competitively, and was exposed to leadership at a young age when she joined the Future Farmers of America. She started modeling in college and moved to New York with two bags and two phone numbers. But as a “broke and B-rate model,” she went on to teach young girls about self-esteem then founded the Redwoods Initiative, an investment education company that helps the uber-wealthy navigate their money. also discuss self-improvement and privilege, the role of hyper-agents in effectuating change, and confronting your shadow.
Tim Harford’s guide to statistics in a misleading age
15 mins | Financial Times
How does one develop “everyday practical numeracy?” Harford uses the “index card trick,” that is, fitting everything you need to know on one card. The six tricks: observe your feelings, understand the claim, get the back story, put things in perspective, embrace imprecision, and be curious. (PS — the story was not paywalled, as of the time of writing. Try Googling it, if you have issues.)
The Indispensable Document for the Modern Manager
11 Minutes | First Round Review | HT: @ryandawidjan
We’ve written in the past about User Manuals, IMHO an under-utilized tool for transparency within a team. User manuals clarify social norms and facilitate different working styles and expectations. This one is particularly cool because the author is hyper-aware of his own quirks and expectations such as “[let’s avoid] recency bias in 1:1s,” “track sophistication of new hire questions.” and “on micro-management, I’m hands-on until I trust you.” Noted!
You Never Have Time Only Intentions
4 mins | Raptitude | HT: @morganhousel
I’ve recently been obsessed with time. It’s a never-ending source of anxiety that also causes strange non-economic behaviors. Because of time’s ephemerality, we never actually control it — thus we never “have time,” only “intentions.” And this isn’t just semantics “there’s a tremendous difference between believing you own and control the upcoming three hours, and understanding that you have intentions for it but don’t own it.”
Below the Fold
LONG READS
🐺 Too Clever By Half (20 mins, Epsilon Theory): A wonderful, finance-heavy post on playing the meta-game, through the lens of “coyotes vs. raccoons.”
🏂 Chloe Kim: the face of the Korean Olympics (7 mins, The San Diego Union Tribune): I love reading about the sacrifices made by other parents for their children, particularly through the perspective of immigrant parents.
🖥 How to Design Social Systems (Without Causing Depression and War) (13 mins, Joe Edelman): This takes a bit of time to get rolling, but if you’re interested in design thinking, community, and social media it’s a wonderful piece.
ICYMI
🎙 Have a plan, hold it lightly: Don’t miss Frank Ostaseski on this moving podcast about fear, delayed gratification, and mystery. I also reviewed his must-read book The Five Invitations.
💼 RadJobs: Some sweet new gigs this week including an investment associate at a high growth NYC family office, Instagram, Facebook, Netflix, SafeGraph, Pantera Capital, and Sole Bicycle Co. If you’re looking to have your dream job delivered directly to your 📱, sign up here!
✅ How to use Omnifocus A YouTube video and presentation on why anyone would pay $50 for a to-do list app.
LAST WEEK’S MOST READ
🚀 Crafting a life (15 mins, The Economist 1843): Are there cracks in the Neoclassical economics belief that work is, by definition, a cost?
