Hi Reader,

This week, I share some notes on picking the right tools to increase cooperation in teams (and families).

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What I'm writing

​The Tools of Cooperation and Change — This article discusses four types of tools for driving cooperation in organizations and how to assess when it’s appropriate to wield each type. Hint: The most effective cooperation tool in a given situation depends on the level at which people agree on where they want to go and how they want to get there.

What I'm learning

Pay attention when someone you admire disagrees with you. It’s a quick way to identify and correct limiting assumptions and beliefs. Source: Morgan Housel [Article]

Explaining a problem to someone else can help you solve it. That’s why programmers use a technique called “rubberducking.” To help debug code, they explain it to an inanimate object, such as a rubber duck. The goal is to break down the code into smaller pieces and potentially identify the root cause of the problem. Explaining something to someone (or something) else is a way to force yourself to develop a deeper understanding. Source: Kolade Chris [Article]

Resilience is the capacity to get back up and return to your normal state after a blow, such as a relationship failure, job firing, or traumatic experience. Resilience is the inner strength you use to return to your baseline. Lower resilience leads to higher anxiety rates, loneliness rates, depression rates, and suicide rates. Source: Neil Pasricha [Podcast]

Be a doer, not a talker. People avoid doing stuff because it’s hard and risky. Stop overplanning and overthinking, and take the risk of getting started on what you already have conviction on. History belongs to the doers. Source: Sam Altman [Interview]

What I'm thinking about

This question touches on self-deception and self-accountability. We often fall victim to the paradox of complaining about our situation while maintaining the behaviors, commitments, or beliefs that perpetuate that situation. We deceive ourselves into thinking undesired circumstances are outside of our control when, in reality, we’re avoiding a difficult decision, a challenging conversation, or honest self-reflection. If you frequently complain about something in your life, consider what you do to perpetuate it.

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-Rick Lindquist
​@ricklindquist​

P.S. One of the best parts of this newsletter is bouncing ideas with subscribers. Let me know what you think. I read every reply.