Individuals

Palladian Park - Constraints

Sam Walton’s 10 Rules for Running a Successful Company

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Sam Walton began in retail as a management trainee at J.C. Penny in 1940. While there, one of his managers told him he wasn’t cut out for retail. Fast forwarding a few years, Walton was operating the most successful Ben Franklin store in the entire franchise system. He then went on to found his own retail company: Wal-Mart. Today, the rebranded Walmart has outlived Walton, employs over two million employees globally, and is worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Clearly, Walton had a business framework that worked.

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Yarak: The Performance State

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In falconry, yarak is the state that falcons must be in for their best hunting. When falcons are not in yarak, they are poor hunters.

Yarak can be represented on a spectrum. Starvation is on one end of the spectrum, where the animal is deficient in energy. Contentment is on the other end, where the animal has no motivation to find food. Yarak is the confluence of particular conditions that motivate optimal performance.

Yarak is great for falconers. But it’s also immensely useful for individuals and leaders because the principles behind yarak apply to people as well.

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Palladian Park - Constraints

Our Agency Over Fear

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Mastering the tools for combating fear puts you in a strong position as an individual and as a member of a team. These tools are also necessary to be an effective leader for yourself and others. Like most things, this skill set isn’t magically acquired. It requires thoughtful practice and discipline.

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Palladian Park - Constraints

How to Effectively Use Role Models

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Using role models effectively can fast-track our personal growth. We are social creatures who learn from our tribe members; when we see others who are successful, we strive to emulate them in the hopes that we too can experience success. Conversely, we shy away from what the troubled members do for fear of falling into their same misfortunes. But like anything, we can take this practice too far.

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Palladian Park - Constraints

Misperceptions of Mutual Exclusivity

We can often see much of the world as mutually exclusive: either something is one way or it isn’t. But we do this despite knowing full well that the world is not black and white. There are infinite shades of gray called nuance. While it may be easier to see the world in binary terms, it can be detrimental. Thinking spectrally and probabilistically can help combat the effects of binary thinking, but just how wide reaching can illusions of mutually exclusivity be?

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