On this episode, I'm happy to have Philip Tetlock, author, and professor at the University of Pennsylvania.

He's the co-leader of The Good Judgement Project, which is a multi-year forecasting study. He also wrote the New York Times best-selling book,Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction and Expert Political Judgment: How Good Is It? How Can We Know?

In this interview, we dive into the meat and potatoes of what we can do to get better at the art and science of prediction, including:

• What traits and characteristics make one person a more accurate forecaster than another
• The 15 minute exercise that radically improves the average forecaster’s accuracy
• How Philip’s mantra, “Start with the outside and work inside” can prevent you from making incorrect assumptions when making an important decision
• How we can foster open-mindedness in ourselves and other people in our organizations
• What the “Fermi method” is and how it can help flush out your ignorance when wrestling with a problem/li>
• How much of prediction is a learnable skill, and how much is just dumb luck
• How organizations can use Philip’s research to create a culture of creative problem solving (even if it means mistakes are more visible to others)

And much more.

On this episode, I have Chris Dixon.

Chris is a partner at perhaps the most famous venture capital firm in the world, Andreessen Horowitz or commonly known as a16z.

We talk about the history of venture capital, why companies fail, the future of artificial intelligence and the Idea Maze. I hope you like this interview as much as I did.

On this episode I have Jason Zweig. Jason writes The Intelligent Investor column for the Wall Street Journal. He has also written books like Your Money and Your Brain, The Little Book of Safe Money, and taken part in revised editions of the cult classic The Intelligent Investor. He’s got a new book coming out called The Devil’s Financial Dictionary, which we’ll talk about. Jason is an extraordinary person who offers historical perspectives on today’s seemingly important financial news.

We talk about a host of things, including what his day looks like; why he adds a philosophical and historical view to his columns; the relentless flow of news; his new book The Devil’s Financial Dictionary, what the average investor should do and so much more. 

In this episode of The Knowledge Project, I have on the show one of my favorite people: Sanjay Bakshi.

Sanjay is one of India’s most recognized finance professors. He teaches a course entitled Behavioural Finance and Business Valuation at the Management Development Institute. And while he probably doesn’t want me to mention this, not only is he an amazing teacher; he is also a skilled practitioner. He is one of the most successful investors you will ever meet.

In this interview, we talk about a host of things, including:

• Why Sanjay has built an impressive anti-library, yet prefers to read on a Kindle
• How to develop a multi-disciplinary approach to learning so you’re building breadth as well as depth in your knowledge
• The clever mental trick Sanjay uses to keep an open mind about problems he’s working on
• How he teaches his students to seek multiple perspectives when learning something new, and how it impacts their retention and understanding
• How mental models transformed Sanjay’s investing strategies and spilled into other areas of his life as well
• How Sanjay filters the deluge of information that’s coming at him every day to focus on the details that are most important.
• What the most sustainable business models look like and the characteristics they share
• Whether it’s advantageous to be more intuitive or data-driven in business, and how to develop those traits
• Which book Sanjay reads three times a year and finds new pearls of wisdom every time he cracks it open

***

For comprehensive show notes on this episode, including a full edited transcript, go to https://www.fs.blog/podcast/

My free weekly Brain Food digest helps you upgrade your thinking. Don't miss out, sign up at https://www.fs.blog/newsletter/

Follow Shane on Twitter (https://twitter.com/farnamstreet)

This episode features Michael Lombardi, former General Manager of the Cleveland Browns and current member of the coaching staff on the New England Patriots. He's widely regarded as one of the best evaluators of talent in the NFL and as we'll see, a lot more goes into that than measuring talent.

In this packed interview with Michael, you’ll learn:

• The four elements of leadership (that are just as applicable in the home and office as they are on the football field)
• The key differences between good coaches and bad coaches and how to see where you are on the spectrum
• How Michael evaluates a player’s ability to fit into the culture and system of a team (lots of carryover for recruiting into a company or other organization)
• The importance of divergent thinking in an organization to avoid “groupthink” and stagnant progress
• How to manage big egos and get players to cooperate to reach a team objective rather than compete for the spotlight
• Why focusing on processes and not outcomes is an overlooked strategy to reach lofty goals
• What coaching in the NFL has taught Michael about parenting

Whether you’re a fan of American football or not, there are lots of insights to be learned from this episode.

***

For comprehensive show notes on this episode, including a full edited transcript, go to https://www.fs.blog/podcast/

My free weekly Brain Food digest helps you upgrade your thinking. Don't miss out, sign up at https://www.fs.blog/newsletter/

Follow Shane on Twitter (https://twitter.com/farnamstreet)

The first episode of The Knowledge Project features Michael Mauboussin, the head of Global Financial Strategies at Credit Suisse. He's also written numerous books, including More Than You Know: Finding Financial Wisdom in Unconventional Places,Think Twice: Harnessing the Power of Counterintuition, and most recentlyThe Success Equation: Untangling Skill and Luck in Business, Sports, and Investing.

More importantly, Mauboussin spends more time thinking about thinking than most people.

In this inaugural episode, we explore:

• How Michael structures his day (and which elements are absolutely essential to fit in no matter what’s on his plate)
• How “chunking” his time when performing tasks seems to result in a more productive day
• What role intuition plays in making big decisions and when it should be minimized
• How deliberate practice can help hone our intuition so we can lean on it when it matters
• How to audit your decision making process so you continually get better
• Effective ways to challenge the status quo in your organization, even if you’re at the bottom of the totem pole
• Tools and methods Michael uses with his children to encourage them to think for themselves
• How technology affects our decision making processes both positively and negatively
• The books that most influenced Michael’s life and why they mean so much to him

And much more.

I hope you enjoy this new format of learning the best of what others have already figured out.

***

For comprehensive show notes on this episode, including a full edited transcript, go to https://www.fs.blog/podcast/

My free weekly Brain Food digest helps you upgrade your thinking. Don't miss out, sign up at https://www.fs.blog/newsletter/

Follow Shane on Twitter (https://twitter.com/farnamstreet)