Category: Learnings

Learnings

Effective status systems are easy to understand, even by people who aren’t familiar with the domain

Chris Labs

Credit card struggle with this issue. Gold cards used to be restricted to people who spent heavily and had a stellar credit history. Nowadays, is platinum better or worse than sapphire? This bewildering mix of colors, minerals, and exclusive words creates a chaos of consumer confusion such that people don’t know how well they are doing – much less how they compare with anyone else. Contrast that with medals given out at the Olympics or your local track meet. If entrants told you they won silver, you know exactly how well they did. Even someone who knows almost nothing about … Continue reading Effective status systems are easy to understand, even by people who aren’t familiar with the domain

Learnings

People don’t just care about how they are doing, they care about their performance in relation to others

Chris Labs

Getting to board a plane a few minutes early is a nice perk of achieving Premier status. But part of what makes this a nice perk is that you get to board before everyone else. Because levels work on two, well, levels. They tell us where we are at any time in absolute terms. But they also make clear where we stand relative to everyone else. -Contagious, p.47 Continue reading People don’t just care about how they are doing, they care about their performance in relation to others

Learnings

Why do people talk so much about their own attitudes and experiences?

Chris Labs

It’s more than just vanity (excessive pride in or admiration of one’s own appearance or achievements); we’re actually wired to find it pleasurable. Harvard neuroscientists Jason Mitchell and Diana Tamir found that disclosing information about the self is intrinsically rewarding. In one study, Mitchell and Tamir hooked subjects up to brain scanners and asked them to share either their own opinions and attitudes (“I like snowboarding”) or the opinions and attitudes of another person (“He likes puppies”). They found that sharing personal opinions activated the same brain circuits that respond to rewards like food and money. -Contagious, p.33 Continue reading Why do people talk so much about their own attitudes and experiences?

Learnings

The battle is between two wolves inside of us…

Chris Labs

One is Fear. It carries anxiety, concern, uncertainty, hesitancy, indecision and inaction. The other is Faith. It brings calm, conviction, confidence, enthusiasm, decisiveness, excitement and action. The grandson thought about it for a moment and then meekly asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?” The old Cherokee replied, “The one you feed.” -The One Thing, p.211 Continue reading The battle is between two wolves inside of us…

Learnings

You should let your employees modulate their own space the way they want

Chris Labs

In 2010, a study was conducted to see why environment was the best for the employees. Which environment would lead to the most productivity and happiness. They tested 4 layouts: One was stripped down: bare desk, swivel chair, pencil, paper, nothing else. The second layout was softened with pot plants and almost abstract floral images. Workers enjoyed this layout (2nd) more than the minimalist one and got more and better work done there. The third and fourth layouts were superficially similar, yet produced dramatically different outcomes. In each, workers were invited to use the same plants and pictures to decorate … Continue reading You should let your employees modulate their own space the way they want

Learnings

Are you doing this to simply do the best you can do, or are you doing this to do it the best it can be done?

Chris Labs

HIghly productive people don’t accept the limitations of their natural approach as the final word on their success. When they hit a ceiling of achievement, they look for new models and systems, better ways to do things to push them through. […] A different result requires doing something different. Too many people reach a level where their performance is “good enough” and then stop working on getting better. -The One Thing, p.179 Continue reading Are you doing this to simply do the best you can do, or are you doing this to do it the best it can be done?

Learnings

Virality is not born, it is made: Even everyday items can become viral

Chris Labs

It’s a common belief to think that exciting products have a better chance of becoming viral, it might be true. But it’s not a necessity. Back in the days, Blendtec was just starting and they did not have a big marketing budget. At the time, and still to this day, Blenders are not a very exciting topic. But what Blendtec did is put everyday items in the blender and blend them. Marble balls, golf balls, an iPhone, a Samurai sword, etc. They filmed the experiments and posted them on Youtube. In the first week the videos racked up 6 million … Continue reading Virality is not born, it is made: Even everyday items can become viral

Learnings

When sending stuff (to test or review) to people you should always send 2 of them

Chris Labs

…a few years ago, one company did something slightly different. It sent me two copies of the same book. Now, unless I’m mistaken, there’s no reason for me to read the second copy, once I’ve read the first. But these publishers had a different goal in mind. […] but they also mentioned that they sent a second copy so that I could pass it along to a colleague who might be interested. That’s how word of mouth helps with targeting. Rather than sending books to everyone, the publishers got me, and others, to do the targeting for them. Just like … Continue reading When sending stuff (to test or review) to people you should always send 2 of them