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[ Book collection · 10 books ]

Systems & Clear Thinking

Who it's for

Anyone who makes decisions with incomplete information: owners, managers, builders.

Why these books

How things actually behave: feedback loops, bottlenecks, biases and mental models. I think in systems, and this is where it comes from.

  1. Thinking in Systems cover

    ★ Life changing

    Thinking in Systems

    by Donella Meadows

    Donella Meadows's primer on how systems actually behave. Stocks, flows, feedback loops, and the leverage points where a small change moves the whole.

    • “Remember, always, that everything you know, and everything everyone knows, is only a model.”
    • “You think that because you understand one, you must therefore understand two, because one and one make two. But you forget that you must also understand and.”
    • “Purposes are deduced from behavior, not from rhetoric or stated goals.”
  2. The Goal cover

    ★ Life changing

    The Goal

    by Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Jeff Cox

    Eliyahu Goldratt's business novel about a plant that is busy and still losing money. The theory of constraints, told through bottlenecks, throughput, and a goal you can name.

    • “An hour lost at a bottleneck is an hour lost for the entire system.”
    • “An hour saved at a non-bottleneck is a mirage.”
    • “A plant in which everyone is working all the time is very inefficient.”
  3. The Great Mental Models. Book 1 cover

    The Great Mental Models. Book 1

    by Shane Parrish

    Shane Parrish reveals foundational mental models from disciplines like physics, chemistry, and biology, providing frameworks for better thinking and decision-making. Essential reading for anyone looking to upgrade their problem-solving skills.

    • “You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
    • “Go to the basics first principles—what are you actually trying to do here?”
    • “You get further in life by avoiding stupidity than by seeking brilliance.”
  4. The Great Mental Models Volume 2 cover

    ★ Life changing

    The Great Mental Models Volume 2

    by Shane Parrish

    The second volume in Shane Parrish's 'Great Mental Models' series, focusing on understanding and applying physics, chemistry, and biology models to better reasoning and decision making.

    • “To develop the best judgment, you must constantly upgrade your mental models.”
    • “Applying the right model at the right time is the mark of a wise thinker.”
    • “The greatest minds are defined by their ability to see things through multiple models and disciplines.”
  5. Thinking, Fast and Slow cover

    ★ Life changing

    Thinking, Fast and Slow

    by Daniel Kahneman

    Daniel Kahneman's account of the two systems behind judgment: fast intuition and slow reasoning. A clear look at bias, attention, and why we can be sure and still wrong.

    • “Nothing in life is as important as you think it is, while you are thinking about it.”
    • “We can be blind to the obvious, and we are also blind to our blindness.”
    • “A reliable way to make people believe in falsehoods is frequent repetition, because familiarity is not easily distinguished from truth.”
  6. Clear Thinking cover

    Clear Thinking

    by Shane Parrish

    I love this book! A practical guide to making better decisions by understanding and overcoming the hidden forces that cloud your judgment. What I loved most is the great explanation of our 'defaults': ego, emotions, habits, and more. His point of view and way of showing it and talking about it are great.

    • “You don’t rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
    • “Clear thinking is not about being smarter, but about removing the obstacles that cloud your judgment.”
    • “The quality of your decisions determines the quality of your life.”
  7. Same as Ever cover

    Same as Ever

    by Morgan Housel

    Morgan Housel explores the timeless lessons of human behavior and history, showing how many things remain unchanged despite constant change around us. A collection of stories and insights that help us understand risk, uncertainty, and why predictability comes from the things that never change.

    • “The biggest risks are always what you think you know, but don’t.”
    • “Things change, but people’s behaviors often remain the same.”
    • “History is mostly the study of surprising things that once seemed obvious.”
  8. Range cover

    ★ Life changing

    Range

    by David Epstein

    David Epstein explores how generalists, not specialists, are primed to excel in a complex world. A compelling argument for cultivating broad experience and adaptability.

    • “The most successful people cultivate range.”
    • “Specialization can be limiting in a complicated world.”
    • “Premature optimization is the root of all evil.”
  9. Useful Not True cover

    ★ Life changing

    Useful Not True

    by Derek Sivers

    A collection of thought-provoking ideas that challenge you to focus on what is useful, not just what is true. Sivers encourages readers to adopt beliefs and perspectives that serve them, even if they're not universally 'true.'

    • “If it’s useful, keep it. If not, let it go.”
    • “Beliefs are tools, not truths.”
    • “You don’t need to be right, you need to be effective.”
  10. Hell Yeah or No cover

    ★ Life changing

    Hell Yeah or No

    by Derek Sivers

    What's worth doing.

    • “If it's not a hell yeah, it's a no.”
    • “Every 'yes' to something is a 'no' to something else.”
    • “The best decisions come when you're honest with yourself.”