
How to find the most powerful position in any market
Also, a guest appearance from Byrne Hobart of The Diff!
May 10, 2020
Happy Sunday, everyone!
This week we published 5 new articles totaling ~10,000 words, including a special guest appearance from one of the most respected business writers on the internet: Byrne Hobart!
Byrneâs newsletter, The Diff, is in the top 25 highest grossing publications on Substack. And for good reason. Heâs the rare first-rate thinker thatâs also an accessible and entertaining writer. We couldnât be more excited to share a piece from behind his paywall with you.
Enjoy!
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ESSAYS
đź Finding Power
Clay Christensen, who sadly passed away earlier this year, was one of the most original and influential thinkers in the history of business strategy. You might already know about âdisruptive innovationâ and âjobs to be done,â but, in this essay, Nathan explores his most underrated idea: âthe law of conservation of modularity.â Itâs a powerful framework to predict where in a value chain power will accrue.
âĄïž Stop Trying to Make Hard Work Easy
Nir Eyal isnât pulling any punches. âWhen most people talk about habits, what theyâre saying is, âI want something thatâs difficult to become effortless. I want the benefits but I donât want it to be hard,ââ he said to Dan in this weekâs Superorganizers interview. Instead, Nir suggests we learn to surf the discomfort. In order to do this, Nir gives us a four-step framework to overcoming distraction: 1) master internal triggers, 2) make time for traction, 3) hack back external triggers, and 4) prevent distraction with pacts.
SHORTS
đź How creators can go âon tourâ on the internet
Touring has always been a great way to grow a fanbase, but now that artists canât do physical tours, itâs natural to wonder what digital equivalents may replace them. The answer is âinternet tours,â which are becoming more important every day. This piece explores how and why they work â from Travis Scottâs Fortnite show to Mayor Peteâs podcast blitz.
âĄïž Review: Centered.app
Centered is a todo list app that pitches itself as âmindfulness meets productivity.â It helps you maintain focus by watching your computer usage and gently nudging you if you seem distracted. Dan has mixed feelings. Centered has a lot of genuinely great ideas, but since the âdistraction detectionâ algorithm is not good enough, it can feel annoying and intrusive at times.
FROM OUR NETWORK
đ„ High Modernist Investors and Postmodern Investors
by Byrne Hobart
In the world of hedge funds and public equities, every trade has a winner and a loser. This means there are two parties that have different beliefs and frameworks for understanding the world. In this thought-provoking short article, Byrne uses two rival 20th century intellectual movements â the âhigh modernistsâ and âpostmodernistsâ â to help us better understand the two main opposing investment philosophies that most investors adhere to today.
BEST OF THE BUNDLE
âĄïž Seth Godin Hates Being Organized
This interview with the iconic marketer and author Seth Godin is a perfect complement to Nir Eyalâs advice this week. Both Seth and Nir emphasize the importance of doing the actual work, and warn against the dangers of letting your productivity systems become a distraction from your actual work.
đź Strategy Drunk
Why do companies so often do dumb things? One reason is that theyâre strategy drunk. They get focused on creating a valuable business rather than on solving their customersâ problems, and so they come up with ideas that are built on questionable assumptions. The solution? Reality-test your ideas, and recognize that just because something would be great if it works doesnât mean it will work.
DISCUSSIONS
âĄïž What have you learned recently?
Dan hosted a fun discussion on Superorganizers this past week, asking readers what theyâve learned recently. One great answer from Jack Cohen was the word âhyperopic,â which is the opposite of myopic, and means âfar-sighted.â
Thatâs it for this week!Â
What did you think of the format? Do you want more of Byrneâs articles in the bundle? Like and comment below to let us know!Â
Thanks, and see you next Sunday :)
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