Coming soon to The Bank of Notes.
In-Depth Breakdown of Phil Jackson’s New Book, Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success (Bleacher Report)
Good God this book looks amazing. Even the cover is beautiful.
Eleven Rings: The Soul of Greatness (Preview)
May 22, 2013
Motivational Psychology basketball, coaching, eleven rings, leadership, phil jackson, teamwork, the soul of greatness Leave a comment
Nicomachean Ethics – Aristotle (Friendship)
January 7, 2013
Human Psychology, Philosophy, Social Dynamics aristotle, ethics, friendship, goodwill, happiness, philosophy, pleasure, virtue Leave a comment
“In poverty as well as in other misfortunes, people suppose that friends are their only refuge.” (1155a11)
“When people are friends, they have no need of justice, but when they are just, they do need friendship in addition” (1155a26)
“Friendship is not only necessary but also noble, for we praise those who love their friends, and an abundance of friends is held to be a noble thing. Further, people suppose good men and their friends to be one and the same.” (1155a29)
“Those who swiftly make proofs of friendship to each other wish to be friends but are not such unless they are also lovable and know this about each other. For a wish for friendship arises swiftly, but friendship itself does not.” (1156b30)
Friendship based on utility belongs to those who frequent the marketplace. And although the blessed have no need of useful people, they do of pleasant ones (1158a22)
“He who would accuse the other of not pleasing him would appear laughable, since it is possible for him not to spend his days together with him. But friendship based on utility is prone to accusations.” (1162b17)
“Goodwill seems, therefore, to be the beginning of friendship, just as the pleasure stemming from sight is the beginning of erotic love.” (1167a3)
“To be like-minded is not for each to have the same thing in mind, whatever it may be, but to have it in mind in the same way” (1167a34)
“For him who has produced it [a benefaction], then, the work endures (for what is noble is long-lasting), whereas for the recipient, its usefulness passes away.” (1168a16)
The serious person, insofar as he is serious, delights in actions that accord with virtue and is disgusted by those that stem from vice, just as the musical person is pleased by beautiful melodies and pained by bad ones. And a certain training in virtue would arise from living with those who are good (1170a9)
“Having more friends than is sufficient for one’s own life…is superfluous and an impediment to living nobly.” (1170b26)
“And with a view to pleasure too, a few friends are enough, just as with seasoning in food.” (1170b28)
“One’s friends ought to be friends with one another, if all are going to spend their days with one another, but it is a task for this to happen among numerous people. It is also difficult for many to share intimately in both joys and sufferings, for it is likely to happen that one shares simultaneously the pleasure of one person and the grief of another.” (1171a7)
“It is not possible to be a friend to many if the friendship is based on virtue and on what the people involved are in themselves, and it is desirable enough to find even a few people of this sort.” (1171a19)
“Seeing friends is itself pleasant, especially for someone suffering misfortune, and is some aid in not feeling pain: both the sight of a friend and his speech are apt to console one, if he is tactful, since he knows his friend’s character and in what ways he is pleased and pained.” (1171b3)
The Art of Seduction – Robert Greene (The Coquette)
November 24, 2012
Human Psychology, Social Dynamics andy warhol, confidence, coquette, flirting, independence, interpretation, jealousy, narcissism, self-containment, sigmund freud Leave a comment
An absence, the declining of an invitation to dinner, an unintentional, unconscious harshness are of more service than all the cosmetics and fine clothes in the world.
-Marcel Proust
“Once you satisfy someone, you no longer have the initiative, and you open yourself to the possibility that he or she will lose interest at the slightest whim.” (71)
“Hot and cold, hot and cold—such coquetry is perversely pleasurable, heightening interest and keeping the initiative on your side.”
“The critics were both baffled and intrigued by the coldness of Warhol’s work; they could not figure out how the artist felt about his subjects. What was his position? What was he trying to say? When they asked, he would simply reply, ‘I just do it because I like it,’ or, ‘I love soup.’ The critics went wild with their interpretations…”
There is a way to represent one’s cause and in doing so to treat the audience in such a cool and condescending manner that they are bound to notice one is not doing it to please them. The principle should always be not to make concessions to those who don’t have anything to give but who have everything to gain from us. We can wait until they are begging on their knees even if it takes a very long time.
-Sigmund Freud, in a letter to a pupil
Cold Coquettes create space by remaining elusive and making others pursue them. Their coolness suggests a comfortable confidence that is exciting to be around, even though it may not actually exist; their silence makes you want to talk. Their self-containment, their appearance of having no need for other people, only makes us want to do things for them, hungry for the slightest sign of recognition and favor.” (73)
“A bout of distance engages the emotions further; instead of making us angry, it makes us insecure. Perhaps they don’t really like us, perhaps we have lost their interest. Once our vanity is at stake, we succumb to the Coquette just to prove we are still desirable.” (74)
A man is also challenged by the female Coquette’s independence – he wants to be the one to make her dependent, to burst her bubble. It is far more likely, though, that he will end up becoming her slave, giving her incessant attention to gain her love, and failing. For the narcissistic woman is not emotionally needy; she is self-sufficient. (74-75)
“Do not confuse self-absorption with seductive narcissism. Talking endlessly about yourself is eminently anti-seductive, revealing not self-sufficiency but insecurity.” (75)
“The Coquette must first and foremost be able to excite the target of his or her attention. The attraction can be sexual, the lure of celebrity, whatever it takes. At the same time, the Coquette sends contrary signals that stimulate contrary responses, plunging the victim into confusion.”
“Remember: obvious flirting will reveal your intentions too clearly. Better to be ambiguous and even contradictory, frustrating at the same time that you stimulate.”
“Coquettes are never jealous — that would undermine their image of fundamental self-sufficiency. But they are masters at inciting jealousy: by paying attention to a third party, creating a triangle of desire, they signal to their victims that they may not be that interested. This triangulation is extremely seductive, in social contexts as well as erotic ones.” (76)
“Coquettes face an obvious danger: they play with volatile emotions. Every time the pendulum swings, love shifts to hate. So they must orchestrate everything carefully.” (78)
Game-Based Marketing – Gabe Zichermann & Joselin Linder
October 22, 2012
Business, Motivational Psychology customer loyalty, funware, game-based marketing, incentives, leaderboards, loyalty programs, marketing, point systems, virtual goods Leave a comment
“Funware is a design philosophy that helps us mesh games with marketing.” (29)
“Everything can be made more fun.”
“Game mechanics are levers used to drive user behavior.”
“Passive games are different from active games in that most players don’t even realize a game is being played.” (43)
“Points provide the basic underpinning of scorekeeping, and social networking sites provide a unique opportunity to drive scoring behavior.”
“Rules, whether obvious or not, are essential both for maintaining order and for effective Funware design.”
Success is much less interesting if it’s not social and others don’t see you win.
“Social networks provide an unparalleled opportunity to market using game mechanics.” (62)
“Leaderboards are often the best initial Funware mechanics to use as they are cost-effective and easy for users to understand.”
“Even simple leaderboards like the ‘friend count’ on Facebook can have a profound effect on user behavior.”
“Point systems let you incentivize many behaviors and fine-tune the value of actions and cost of rewards at will.” (89)
Badges and their conspicuous display are an essential mechanism for conveying and reinforcing user success.
“Levels and status are powerful tools for creating loyalty and driving user behavior.”
“Although prizes generate a lot of PR buzz, they don’t deliver lasting loyalty in and of themselves.” (110)
“Frequent flyer ‘games’ are among the most successful and popular loyalty programs.” (139)
“Points in [frequent flyer programs] are often used to encourage incremental elevations in expenditure.”
“The virtual goods market is growing rapidly from a $5.5 billion level in 2009.”
Even noncompetitive people will compete in competitive situations. (159)
A major consideration in game design is the type of player the game is supposed to attract. In the context of Funware, there are five main player types:
Driven by a desire to meet goals and gain status and points. They prefer a game that is winnable, although playing well may be more important than finally winning. Perhaps most importantly, they desire praise and recognition, and so do not like games that only attract other achievers.
Want to meet and interact with other people in their game. They prefer cooperative to competitive play, and generally have long lists of friends and contacts.
Like nothing better than digging through a complex environment and uncovering new challenges and tasks. They are most likely to set their own goals, and so do not need a game with extensive leveling systems or objectives.
Are competitive and love beating other players or showing off their power. Games must be winnable to attract killers, and they prefer it if the odds are stacked in their favor.
Brands that implement games early will be at a distinct advantage over latecomers.
Generation G is the most technologically savvy, competitive, and socially networked. (180)
Kids who grow up on games are going to expect gamelike experiences in all aspects of their lives.
TIL
October 15, 2012
The Bank of Notes News autodidact, flipping the funnel, learning, self education, Seth Godin, seth's blog Leave a comment
“So what did you learn about today?”
Undoubtedly, you’ve been asked this before: it’s the classic dinner-table question after a long day of school. Just because it has become a cliche, however, does not mean that it isn’t an insightful and important question to ask.
I brought this up because it just occurred to me that the question “What did you learn today?” is rarely reciprocated to the adult that asked it in the first place. Once you grow up and leave school, you’re considered to be a static, finished product. Like a chair. Or some kind of Ken doll.
I think that’s a big mistake.
Imagine a highly-talented programmer spending decades designing a new iPhone app, finally launching it, but then never releasing an update for it! The app might even be very good, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s accumulated years worth of valuable customer feedback since the launch. His audience, and his world, are now calling for a different type of gift from him – and he has no excuse not to give it.
The lifelong learner builds a deeper and more stable relationship with his environment; the adult who can’t be bothered has no choice but to cling desperately to the familiar, watching helplessly as his small corner of the world withers away.
To paraphrase Michael Ellsberg in The Education of Millionaires: “Just because you’ve left school doesn’t mean you should leave learning.”
This has been my guiding principle for more than a year – and to make sure I continue, I’ve decided to share the most profound idea, tip, or lesson that I learn, each day, in a new series called Today I Learned (TIL for short). You can find it on my personal blog.
Each TIL blog post will be very brief, even briefer than the average Seth’s Blog.
Speaking of Seth Godin, he’s the one who inspired me to do this.
The reason I’ve decided to make this kind of content is because today I learned “The real power of blogs comes from the fact that they can be as specific as you’d like.” (Seth Godin, Flipping The Funnel)
The Personal MBA – Josh Kaufman (Working With Others)
October 12, 2012
Business, Human Psychology, Motivational Psychology, Social Dynamics authority, communication, cooperation, dale carnegie, expectations, influence, josh kaufman, management, micromanagement, personal mba, testimonials Leave a comment
Force is all-conquering, but its victories are short-lived…Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.-Abraham Lincoln
“The major benefit of self-education when working with others is knowing what skill looks like.” (276)
Avoid bloated committees – keep your teams “elite and surgical.”
“Effective communication can only occur when both parties feel safe. As soon as people start to feel unimportant or threatened in a conversation, they start ‘stonewalling,’ shutting down communication. The threatened party may continue to interact, but mentally and emotionally, they’ve withdrawn from the conversation.” (280)
Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.
-General George S. Patton
“Micromanaging isn’t simply annoying – it’s extremely inefficient. Not only does spelling out every single detail make people feel less important, it actually impairs their effectiveness. No set of instructions, no matter how detailed, is capable of covering every contingency. When something inevitably changes, micromanagement fails.” (284)
“Commander’s intent is a much better method of delegating tasks: whenever you assign a task to someone, tell them why it must be done. The more your agent understands the purpose behind your actions, the better they’ll be able to respond appropriately when the situation changes.”
“When you communicate the intent behind your plans, you allow the people you work with to intelligently respond to changes as they happen.
“The best way to eliminate Bystander Apathy in project management is to ensure that all tasks have single, clear owners and deadlines.” (286)
The way to get on in the world is to make people believe it’s to their advantage to help you.
-Jean de la Bruyere, seventeenth-century essayist
“Convergence is the tendency of group members to become more alike over time…Convergence also means that groups have a tendency to police themselves. The norms of a group work like gravity – if they are violated, others will exert an influence on the rebel to bring them back in line.” (291)
“The best testimonials don’t necessarily contain superlatives: amazing, best, life-changing, and revolutionary have been so overused that people expect them and discount their expectations accordingly. The most effective testimonials tend to follow this format: ‘I was interested in this offer, but skeptical. I decided to purchase anyway, and I’m very pleased with the end result.’
“The reason this format is more effective than a litany of people gushing about your offer is that it more closely matches how your prospects are feeling: interested but uncertain.” (294-5)
“People have an inherent tendency to comply with Authority figures. This tendency begins in childhood – we wouldn’t survive for very long if we didn’t obey our parents most of the time. As we grow up, we’re socialized to respect and obey other Authority figures: teachers, police officers, government officials, and clergy. As a result, when an Authority figure asks us to do something, we’re very likely to comply – even if the request isn’t appropriate or doesn’t make sense.” (295)
“Developing a strong reputation in a certain area confers the benefits of Authority.” (296)
“Obtaining small commitments makes it more likely people will choose to act consistently with them later.” (298)
“By compensating their salespeople on a salary basis and giving generous bonuses based on long-term performance, (Norm) Brodsky and (Bo) Burlingham encouraged (their salespeople) to focus on making profitable sales versus sales at any cost.” (299)
“In the case of conflict, Perceptual Controls win over incentives every time.” (300)
“The best way to avoid Modal Bias [the assumption that our idea or approach is best] is to use inhibition to temporarily suspend judgment. Part of the value of understanding cognitive biases is the knowledge that you’re not immune to them, and simply knowing they exist doesn’t make them any less influential. Modal Bias is automatic – we have to use willpower to overcome it.” (301)
High achievement always takes place in the framework of high expectation.
-Charles Kettering
“In How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie recommends ‘Giving others a great reputation to live up to.’ ” (302)
“The Pygmalion Effect [the tendency of our expectations of others to become self-fulfilling prophecies] also features a paradox: having high expectations of people will produce better results, but it also increases the probability that you’ll be disappointed. The Expectation Effect means that our perception of the quality of someone’s work is a function of our original expectations.” (302)
“If you’re doing a formal assessment of someone’s performance, remember to judge performance objectively and quantitatively as much as possible.”
Motivational Quotes from Robert Greene’s “The 33 Strategies of War”
September 30, 2012
Motivational Psychology 33 strategies of war, death, finality, motivation, robert greene, urgency Leave a comment
Here’s a few of my favorite quotes from “The 33 Strategies of War”. I may do a full summary in addition to this if and when I ever finish the entire book, and not just the few chapters I thought (correctly) would be motivational.
A sense of urgency comes from a powerful connection to the present.
Leaving the past for unknown terrain is like death, and feeling this finality will snap you back to life.
Life has more meaning in the face of death. The risks you keep taking, the challenges you keep overcoming, are like symbolic deaths that sharpen your appreciation of life.
The more you want the prize, the more you must compensate by examining what it will take.
In order to avoid wasted effort and failed battles, start every mission by examining your real means rather than simply your desired ends.
If your opponents are never sure what messing with you will cost, they will not want to find out.
Instead of trying to dominate the other side’s every move, work to define the nature of the relationship itself.
