I'm a big fan of Jim Collins's books, so when I heard he had a new one out, I was excited to read it, and What to Make of a Life: Cliffs, Fog, Fire and the Self-Knowledge Imperative really delivered. It focused on individuals rather than companies and sought lessons and patterns across people's lives. I enjoyed learning about the paths of so many people he described, and the detailed timelines and supplementary materials were rich with so much data. It was fascinating to see how many people kept the fire burning so late in life and stayed productive and "facing forward in the saddle" until the end. I enjoyed the stories of the aviators, computer scientists, inventors, military generals, and artists. The biggest lesson I learned was to keep discovering and staying true to my encodings through all the shifts in life. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in leadership, psychology, or even career pathing. My main takeaways and notes on the book are below. 1 a life transformed
Life altering cliffs Fogs as funks Significant work well into later life Part 1 coming into frame 1 one big thing Discover and deploy encodings Durable capacities of a person’s intrinsic construction that lie within awaiting discovery through the experiences of life Flip the arrow of money Don’t measure life by amount of money Money as means to effort not result of it Focus the inner fire Crazy enthusiasm without burnout Focus energy in alignment with encoding Find personal hedgehog Hedgehog knows one thing really well Barbara McClintock Grace Hopper Singular hedgehogs for full life Serial hedgehogs throughout life Alan page Carl eller 3 a constellation of encodings Frame changes through life to focus on different stars in the constellation John Glenn Gordon cooper Framing of encodings can change throughout life What is visible can change Even accomplished people can languish when encodings fall out of frame To be in frame requires suitable hedgehog home Toni Morrison Encoded operating modes A thing you cannot not do Barbara Tuchman Awareness of encoding Translation to operating modes specific to the individual 4 flipping the arrow of money Robert plant Jimmy page Carol heiss Tenley Albright Economic streams Mastering scarcity Family wealth Spousal economics Funding for education or training Cross funding Salary Creative flywheel Business flywheel Social cause flywheel Earned earlier Direct personal support Special sources The work is the end in itself 5 focus the fire Alice Paul Lucy burns Love of the actual work Sources of fire Cause or noble purpose Trying to solve puzzle Social impact Love of the doing Extend out, circle back Choosing Social responsibilities Do all things not for glory but for joy Stress and drudgery tax in doing the hedgehog Battling entrenched forces of bureaucratic resistance Hard to change people’s minds Envigorating side passions Families and relationships Part 2 navigating cliffs and fog 6 cliffs Big changes in life 7 fog Michael j fox Maurice white Fog is not a defect Fog of youth Fog of disappointment Fog of success Fog of retirement When lost in the fog, avoid big irreversible decisions The bug book Record daily observations of how you feel and what gives you strength and your encodings Daily spreadsheet of what you did, how many creative hours, how you felt Scientist of the self A compass in the fog 8 simplex stepping Iterative small next best step Simplex algorithm Katherine graham Taking little steps iteratively and learn Raise the bar gently but relentlessly Learn then lead Georgia frontiere Preclear the fog when you foresee the cliff coming 9 roulette wheel of life Luck plays role in finding hedgehog There is not just one to discover Gerald ford Preparation plus luck Jimmy Carter Luck versus return on luck What luck, who luck, zeit luck Not all time in life is equal Natili moments Meet those unequal moments with unequal intensity Part 3 feeding the inner fire long and late 10 extend out, circle back Meryl Streep Debra winger Don’t confuse need for break with need to quit Water seeds from early life Changing color of fire Having more fun in life 11 choosing responsibilities Charles Colson John ehrlichman But for test: what are you doing that wouldn’t get done but for you Mothershed mantra Sit in the saddle facing forward not backward 12 feeding inner fire and doing great work late Roger sherman Benjamin Franklin Capabilities increase with age Raw encodings Cumulative experience Credibility equity Leadership is art of getting people to want to do what most be done 13 questions are better than answers Catalytic questions to consider What I most want is an x life where x is a single word What encodings have you discovered within. What do people who know you well see as your encodings. What portion of your energy is expended in frame with your encodings What can you do or stop doing to come more fully into frame What are your encoded operating modes that make you particularly effective What activities are you ok to pay hefty stress and drudgery tax to keep doing Have you found hedgehog What activity can you flip arrow of money How have your cliffs reframed your life What simplex stepping can you do before next cliff How to get more return on different types of luck How might you extend and circle back What seeds from earlier life remain dormant What responsibilities will you choose
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