Leading people well is mostly about incentives, expectations, and seeing second-order effects. These models are the ones that matter most.
People don't buy what you do — they buy why you do it
Real motivation comes from autonomy, mastery, and purpose
People rise (or fall) to what's expected of them
Goodhart's law: when a measure becomes a target, it stops measuring
The cobra effect: when the fix makes the problem worse
People get promoted until they reach the job they can't do
Focus on your Circle of Influence, not your Circle of Concern
Judge decisions by their quality, not their outcome
Second-order thinking: always ask 'and then what?'
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