Obliquity: Why Our Goals Are Best Achieved Indirectly

“He says that the approach to solving problems that a lot of us use is that you have a big goal, which you break down into little bits. Then you come up with plans and goals and targets to achieve each of them in order to achieve your overall goal. That often doesn’t work. That rationalistic approach is a cause of many policy failures, because we don’t operate in a stable environment with full information about what we’re doing, and often there isn’t a linear relationship between causes and effects. In a complex system, a big effort can lead to no impact, and a very small effort can lead to a massive impact because of all the connections you can’t see.” Read more...

The best books on The Psychology of Human Behaviour

Michael Hallsworth

“The central argument in Obliquity is a brilliant insight that many of the greatest achievements of the business world come about not exactly by accident, but the outcomes evolved from people who weren’t thinking about outcomes. They’re actually trying to do something else, and the fantastic outcome evolved by obliquity. In other words, things are best achieved quite often by not focusing on them. It’s wonderfully counterintuitive, particularly in an era of ultra-professionalism, of constant planning and strategising. Kay says that if you try to expose yourself to different things, and are open to different experiences, then many of your best ideas will evolve by obliquity. This is absolutely the case. The classic example being in business – don’t try for profits, try to have a good business. If you have a good business, the profits will happen. But it’s much broader than that. The best way to seek happiness is not to try to be happy, but to absorb yourself in an activity which is fulfilling. Happiness will then follow.” Read more...

Ed Smith on My Life and Luck

Ed Smith, Sportspersons & Sportswriter