I have read two books written by Daniel Pink. Both were simple and good. The recent book was simply title When. This is a book telling us to be mindful of time and think a bit more how we should use it when. There were many gold nuggets. I shall list a few that were quite meaningful to me.
1. Every day, every project and every venture has a peak, trough and a rebound. We should be mindful of our own cycles and try not to make important decisions during the trough.
2. In the context of a venture or a project, the middle is a crucial moment where teams break or breakthrough. It is important to know this and garner all resources to make sure we handle the middle trough well. Daniel has the following four strategies to help us move towards breakthrough:
i) Go for small wins - if the task is too big and overwhelming, break it down and go for small wins.
ii) Moving beats stationery - walk around, exercise, do something. Not doing anything will mean falling down the slippery slope.
iii) Social beats solo - as retail investors, we tend to think alone, it is important to ask friends, seek help and advice. The wisdom of crowds beat solo thinking. This works in life, not just for investing.
iv) Outside beats inside - Daniel advocates that we should always connect with nature. It could be as simple as having plants around us. But nothing beats going to the park for a stroll to clear the mind.
3. Here's the last bit about timing. There are times when we should go first and times we should not. We should go first when there are few competitors and we can make strong impressions. We should not go first when we are the default choice, or when there are too many competitors and when we are in an unknown environment.
Overall, I really like his style of writing. Simple and clear and hence worth the effort to jot this down for future reference.
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