Publications & Articles
Explore my thoughts and insights on technology, development, and innovation
January 1, 2025
Adam GrantPotentialMotivationFinish EducationOpportunity
Opportunity and Inequity Systems
A Personal Reflection
A reflection on educational opportunity systems, focusing on Finland's model and personal experiences, highlighting how supportive environments and continuous learning create better educational outcomes.
November 3, 2024
PerseveranceConstancyLeague Of LegendsT1
What some LoL players can teach us.
Lessons of effort, confidence and perseverance in League of Legends
Sometimes they win, sometimes they lose, but they always try their best. Even if they fall, they get back up and keep playing. That's the way the players of T1, a computer game team, are. They teach us that you should never give up and that with teamwork you can achieve great things!
February 16, 2024
Product DesignPMVPMAPerfectionAdam Grant
Lovable Minimum Product
How the minimal adorable product teaches us to accept imperfections
Imagine you want to build a tower of blocks. At first, it might not turn out perfect. But that's okay, because you can keep adding blocks and changing it until it's just the way you want it. This is how we create new things. Sometimes, things don't turn out the way we expected at first, but that helps us learn and improve. It's like a giant game where you're always learning and creating! Want to know a secret? Great inventors and artists do the same thing. They make mistakes too and do things that don't work. But the important thing is that they keep trying and learning from their mistakes. This is how amazing things are made!
February 2, 2024
Character SkillsScaffoldingGrowthAdam Grant
Character Skills
What are character skills? Why do they matter in everything?
Learning is like playing the piano. You might think, "I'm not good at music," but that's not true! Even the best players started as beginners and practiced a lot. Think of learning as building a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger it gets. It's important to believe in yourself. If you think you can do it, you’ll try more and get better. Here’s the secret to learning: Practice: The more you do, the better you get. Believe in yourself: You can learn anything if you try. Don't fear mistakes: They're part of learning. Keep trying: Even when it's hard, don’t give up. Everyone learns at their own pace, so enjoy the journey!
February 1, 2024
NoiseBiasErrorDaniel Kahneman
What is noise and how does it affect us in organizations?
Notes on: Noise: A flaw in human judgment
Imagine you're trying to measure everyone's height in your class. If everyone uses the same ruler and measures correctly, you'll get pretty similar results. But what if some people use a yardstick, others use a meter stick, and some just guess? The results would be all over the place, right? That's kind of like "noise" in decision-making. It's when people make different decisions about the same thing, even when they should be making the same decision. For example, imagine two teachers giving very different grades to the same test. That's noise. Noise can happen in lots of places, like at school, at work, or even when judges decide how long someone should go to jail. It's important to try to reduce noise so that decisions are fair and consistent.
January 15, 2024
AttentionDistractionDaniel Goleman
Observations on attention
Notes on: Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence
Our attention is like a spotlight. It helps us focus on one thing at a time. There are different kinds of attention: paying attention to ourselves, to the world around us, and to other people. When we're focused, we can learn and remember things better. But our attention can be easily distracted, especially when we're feeling stressed or overwhelmed. To improve our focus, we can try to reduce distractions, manage our emotions, and find activities we enjoy.
January 1, 2024
MindThinkingDaniel Kahneman
The ascending and descending mind, the two layers
Notes on: Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence
Imagine your brain as a house with two rooms: The downstairs room: This is like a cellar full of things you've learned and experienced. Your habits, fears, and oldest memories are stored here. When you see something familiar, like a dog, this room quickly tells you, "That's a dog!" This is your fast mind (or ascending mind). The upstairs room: This is like a study where you think and solve problems. This is where you learn new things and create ideas. When you have to take a test or learn a new language, you use this room. This is your slow mind (or descending mind). Why are these two rooms important? The fast mind helps you do things automatically, like driving or eating. The slow mind helps you learn new things and solve problems.
December 14, 2023
ConcentrationWanderingDaniel Goleman
The balance between concentration and wandering
Notes on: Focus: The hidden engine of excellence
Imagine your mind is like a car. When you're focused, it's like driving on a straight road with no traffic. You feel good and can get where you want to go. But sometimes, your mind starts to wander, like the car is going off the road and driving around in circles. When that happens, you might feel sad or worried. It's like when you're in class and you suddenly think about what you're going to play later. It's normal for your mind to do that! But if you want to learn, you need to focus on what the teacher is saying.
November 23, 2023
ConcentrationCreativityDaniel Goleman
Concentration and its Paradox
Notes on: Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence
Concentration is key to learning, but distraction also plays a crucial role. Explore how mental wandering fuels creativity and how finding a balance between the rational and intuitive mind can lead to surprising innovations. Discover the importance of creating spaces for creative thinking in our daily lives.