I think I’m going to start muting people who write threads with “n simple tips to X your Y”
It’s not the ‘tips’ that I object to, it’s the ‘simple’.
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Even relatively simple techniques need actionable handles to be useful.
I … wish I have a better definition of actionable handles, but there’s a real qualitative difference between someone who has put a technique to practice before and one who is just regurgitating shit.
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Examples of actionable handles:
- “when you try this for the first time you will feel horrible.”
- “make sure the pan is hot and the oil is cold, you don’t want to scrape your egg off the bottom after this is done”
- “tell your subordinate that the 1-on-1 is for everyone”
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Basically it’s something, anything, that tells me “ok, the author has done this thing and has thought through how it might go wrong when giving advice.”
Whereas “10 simple tips from Jeff Bezos that will make you more successful” guy will probably go “write a PR/FAQ it so easy!”
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(Dear reader: it is not easy)
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1/ Say you want to copy Amazon's PR/FAQ. Well, after 8 months and 3 attempts, I’m comfortable enough with the process to say that it works.
(Caveat: I've never worked in Amazon, so had to figure this out from books and from working with Colin Bryar).
What I've learnt:
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If I’d had to bet, I’d say over 90% of those offering “tips” have never actually accomplished anything…other than providing unsolicited tips.
Also beware of “romantic” sounding “success stories.”
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Be skeptical of success “origin stories.”
They are often told as if the path is simple, straight forward, heroic, & inevitable.
That’s not how “success” works.
“Success stories” usually don’t disclose the messy, serendipitous, arduous, & near fatal parts of the journey. twitter.com/adammgrant/sta
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