A Lesson from Hugh Laurie
Adventures in Awesome Living
by Sunil Bali, Chief Energy Officer, 11-09-11
In the medical drama "House" - the world's most watched TV show in 2008 and now in its 8th season - Dr. House treats only those who come to him as a last resort. These are the patients with seemingly unsolvable illnesses.
Invariably, House quickly assimilates the information available, makes a diagnosis and prescribes treatment. Often he's wrong, but the patient's response to the treatment gives him more information into what's wrong.
Or, to put it another way, his action enhances clarity.
Planning, planning and more planning doesn't always make for the best decisions.
Research increasingly shows that we think better on our feet when we make a quick, but not necessarily exhaustive review of the information available and go with our gut. This is well documented in psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's classic book Flow and more recently in Malcolm Gladwell's excellent book Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking
When Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay, bought Skype for $2.6Bn, she was asked what her future plans were for eBay. Her reply was, "Forget about 5 year plans, we're working on 5 day plans here."
I'm sure Whitman had looked 5 years into the future, but given that product and business life cycles are so short, Whitman and her team had to work out much of the plan as they went.
Based on a large body of evidence, Gladwell argues that "decisions made very quickly can be every bit as good as decisions made cautiously and deliberately."
He quotes a study undertaken in 2006 which showed that people can accurately predict the result of political elections after seeing just 10 seconds of footage of the candidates.
At some point you have to stop thinking, stop planning, stop procrastinating and do something.....anything!
So what decision have you been putting off? Trust your instincts, make a decision (TODAY!) and run with it.
Quotes
All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better - Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security - John Allen Paulos.
Happiness is like a butterfly.
The more you chase it, the more it eludes you.
But if you turn your attention to other things,
it comes and sits softly on your shoulder.
- Henry David Thoreau
People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason the world is in chaos, is because things are being loved, and people are being used - Unknown
Humour
One Liners
1. You offer someone a sincere compliment on their moustache and suddenly she's not your friend any more.
2. This one goes out to all the amnesiacs out there, and don't think you know who you are.
3. The neighbour just asked if I was stealing his wi-fi, it felt like such an invasion of my piracy.
4. Baby with a bib that said, "This dumbass put my cape on backwards."
5. Exorcism is nothing but the removal of a beast implant.
6. All knight diners were big during the Renaissance period.
7. It takes a long time for a giraffe to swallow his pride.
8. I wonder how things worked out for the guy that grabbed the bull by the horns.
9. When we got married she treated me like a God. A few years later and the letters have been reversed.
10. I hate it when you're making your way home drunk, minding your own business, and someone steps on your fingers.
To your success,
Sunil
Website
by Sunil Bali, Chief Energy Officer, 11-09-11
In the medical drama "House" - the world's most watched TV show in 2008 and now in its 8th season - Dr. House treats only those who come to him as a last resort. These are the patients with seemingly unsolvable illnesses.
Invariably, House quickly assimilates the information available, makes a diagnosis and prescribes treatment. Often he's wrong, but the patient's response to the treatment gives him more information into what's wrong.
Or, to put it another way, his action enhances clarity.
Planning, planning and more planning doesn't always make for the best decisions.
Research increasingly shows that we think better on our feet when we make a quick, but not necessarily exhaustive review of the information available and go with our gut. This is well documented in psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's classic book Flow and more recently in Malcolm Gladwell's excellent book Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking
When Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay, bought Skype for $2.6Bn, she was asked what her future plans were for eBay. Her reply was, "Forget about 5 year plans, we're working on 5 day plans here."
I'm sure Whitman had looked 5 years into the future, but given that product and business life cycles are so short, Whitman and her team had to work out much of the plan as they went.
Based on a large body of evidence, Gladwell argues that "decisions made very quickly can be every bit as good as decisions made cautiously and deliberately."
He quotes a study undertaken in 2006 which showed that people can accurately predict the result of political elections after seeing just 10 seconds of footage of the candidates.
At some point you have to stop thinking, stop planning, stop procrastinating and do something.....anything!
So what decision have you been putting off? Trust your instincts, make a decision (TODAY!) and run with it.
Quotes
All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better - Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Uncertainty is the only certainty there is, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security - John Allen Paulos.
Happiness is like a butterfly.
The more you chase it, the more it eludes you.
But if you turn your attention to other things,
it comes and sits softly on your shoulder.
- Henry David Thoreau
People were created to be loved. Things were created to be used. The reason the world is in chaos, is because things are being loved, and people are being used - Unknown
Humour
One Liners
1. You offer someone a sincere compliment on their moustache and suddenly she's not your friend any more.
2. This one goes out to all the amnesiacs out there, and don't think you know who you are.
3. The neighbour just asked if I was stealing his wi-fi, it felt like such an invasion of my piracy.
4. Baby with a bib that said, "This dumbass put my cape on backwards."
5. Exorcism is nothing but the removal of a beast implant.
6. All knight diners were big during the Renaissance period.
7. It takes a long time for a giraffe to swallow his pride.
8. I wonder how things worked out for the guy that grabbed the bull by the horns.
9. When we got married she treated me like a God. A few years later and the letters have been reversed.
10. I hate it when you're making your way home drunk, minding your own business, and someone steps on your fingers.
To your success,
Sunil
Website
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