Jim Collins - A Rare Interview with a Reclusive Polymath
Some powerful concepts unlocked.
Show - The Tim Ferris Show
Host/Guest - Tim Ferris/Jim Collins (Author of Good to Great)
Link to the episode - Link
Reading Time - 4 mins
Summry
On languages - Languages shape the way you perceive the world. The broader your language horizon, the easier you can learn newer concepts. It has the power to constrain or expand our limits.
Conceptual vessels - A structure that helps you explain a concept. E.g.) Equations, Hierarchies, Categories, Stages, Anything that makes it easy for you to transfer the knowledge of a new concept or idea to others
Leadership & Humility - Good companies and great companies both have phenomenal leaders. However, great companies have a higher percentage of humble leaders who work for causes bigger than themselves.
Pointing to the window or mirror - As a leader, you could either point towards the window where you blame others for things that go wrong or towards the mirror where you take ownership of the situation
Time Management - Jim noticed that most successful professors in university spent 50% of their time on creative pursuits, 30% on teaching, and 20% on other maintenance/tactical tasks. Jim used the same ratio to manage his time and carried three stopwatches to measure time spent in these areas.
His goal was to spend 1000 hours every year on creative activities. These are the activities that create the maximum impact.
Jim's Journaling - At the end of each day, Jim wrote down 3 things (in 3 Excel cells): a) First cell - Description of the day b) Second cell - Creative hours spent that day and c) Rating the day from -2 (very bad day) to +2 (Best day)
At the end of the year, Jim analyzed this data, reviewed his best days, and correlated those with creative time spent and description of the day. He found that the best days were when he spent a lot of creative time in solitude or with loved ones.
He realized that life has 3 really important things - Increasing simplicity, time spent in the flow state, and time spent with loved ones.
How do you define a creative activity? - Any activity that has a reasonably direct link to creating something new and potentially replicable or durable. E.g.) A conversation that leads to a new idea is creative; the process of brainstorming can be creative, and Spending time in solitude on a problem can be creative.
The hedgehog concept (for companies) - Your company's unique advantage - It comes at the intersection of 3 circles - a) What are you (as a company) passionate about? b) What can you be the best in the world at? and c) Does this have an economic engine and can be monetized? This is the company's hedgehog, and it should prioritize building this
Personal hedgehog - Similar to companies, we all have our hedgehog, and it comes at the intersection of 3 circles - a) What are you passionate about? What are you (genetically) encoded for? i.e., What are you naturally gifted with? and c) Does this have an economic engine, and are others willing to pay for this?
On sleep and sleep optimization - We spend 1/3rd of our lives sleeping but don't spend enough time studying our sleep habits. Jim wanted to change that. He got sleep studies done on himself and carefully observed his sleeping patterns. He developed some interesting sleeping routines: a) Rather than being particular about sleeping 7 hours daily, he focused on cumulative sleep hours over 10 days. Basically, 70 hours over 10 days, and b) He experimented with his sleeping routines, and one of the best routines that worked for him was sleeping from 11 pm to 3 or 4 am followed by working on his creative tasks from 4 to 7 am, followed by sleep from 7 am to 10 am.
On mentorship - When someone gives you mentorship time, respect that by preparing really well for the session. Jim got one opportunity to be mentored by Peter Drucker and spent 3 days preparing for it.
The Flywheel effect - It is pretty similar to a virtuous cycle wherein one step leads to a positive change, leading to the following positive change and increasing the momentum, which in turn leads to a significant change or impact. For, e.g.) Jim's flywheel looks something like this - It starts with curiosity-led big questions. He researches to get answers to those questions. Those answers help him learn something new. When he learns those things, he shares them with others in the form of writing, which impacts the world, giving him funding and monetary gains, which in turn propels him to look for the next big questions.
Actionable Takeaways
Track your creative hours - Our most significant impact is delivered when we are creative and in the flow state. It is worthwhile to monitor those hours and improve their overall percentage.
When you have an idea, leverage conceptual vessels to write it down and share it with others. Higher chances of them spreading
In your 20s, determine your hedgehog and double down on building on that
Seek mentors, and when you find them, respect their time by doing as much preparation as you can and follow up with notes and updates to them
Life has 3 important things - Improving simplicity, time spent in the flow state, and time spent with loved ones. Optimize these for a fulfilling life.
Journaling helps you give a strong perspective of where you were and where you've come in the journey. Jim's journaling method also helps you determine what makes a good day good and a bad day bad.
Learning new languages expands your horizons and helps you understand newer concepts.
Rather than focusing on getting luckier, focus on maximizing your existing luck. Identify your advantages and capitalize on them.
Recommended Resources
Books
Draft number 4 - John McPhee
Good to Great - Jim Collins
Built to last - Jim Collins
Effective executive - Peter Drucker