Traction Heroes

We explore how understanding human group behavior might inform AI safety — and how that might also make us better stewards of human groups.

Show notes:

• How Minds Change by David McRaney
• The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt
• The One and the Ninety-nine by Luke Burgis
• Wanting by Luke Burgis

Different people have different ways of learning. Knowing how you and those you work with learn best will help you gain traction.

Show notes:

• Managing Oneself by Peter Drucker
• Story by Robert McKee
• Dialogue by Robert McKee
• Training From the Back of the Room by Sharon L. Bowman
• Robert F. Mager
• The Workshop Survival Guide by Rob Fitzpatrick and Devin Hunt
• Write Useful Books by Rob Fitzpatrick
• Please Understand Me by David Keirsey and Marilyn Bates

Are you more of an analytical or a holistic thinker? The answer might depend on the culture in which you were raised — and understanding that can help you gain traction.

Show notes:

• The WEIRDest People in the World by Joseph Henrich
• Beyond Culture by Edward T. Hall
• The Long Now Foundation
• What Your Machines Should Do by Stefanie Hutka
• The Art of the Long View by Peter Schwartz
• Cultures and Organizations by Geert Hofstede
• Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory

How do you delegate authority while maintaining coherence? One way is by establishing solid principles.

Show notes:

• Becoming a Principle-Driven Leader by Charles and Chase Koch
• Good Profit by Charles G. Koch
• The HP Way by David Packard
• Incorruptible by Eric Ries
• Principles by Ray Dalio
• Traction Heroes Ep. 11: Gall’s Law
• Traction Heroes Ep. 16: OODA Loops
• Reading Notes: “Becoming a Principle-Driven Leader” by Jorge Arango
• Normative

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

AI gives us the ability to prototype faster than ever before — which is great, as long as we remember that there's underlying work to be done.

Show notes:

• The Clock of the Long Now by Stewart Brand
• How Buildings Learn by Stewart Brand
• Maintenance of Everything, Part One  by Stewart Brand
• Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
• Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
• The World as a Total System by Kenneth Boulding
• Living in Information by Jorge Arango
• Liquid Glass

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 Failure by 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