The Heretic is a free dispatch delivering insights into what it takes to lead into & in the unknown. For
entrepreneurs, corporate irritants and change makers. Raw, unfiltered and opinionated.
Imagine you’re planting a tree. Initially, the growth seems slow, almost imperceptible. But as time goes on, each new branch gives rise to more branches. This isn’t just growth; it’s exponential growth. This is the essence of how knowledge and productivity work - like compound interest.
Consider two people of similar ability. One works just 10% more than the other. It doesn’t seem like much at first glance, but this slight edge can result in the more diligent individual producing more than twice as much as their peer over time. Why? Because the more you know, the more you learn. The more you learn, the more you can do. And the more you can do, the more opportunities you create. It’s a self-reinforcing cycle.
But there’s a catch. To truly harness this compounding effect, you must prioritize effectively. Time is a limited resource. You can’t do everything, so you have to choose what to focus on. This choice will determine the trajectory of your growth curve. Think of it like investing money - not every investment yields high returns, so you choose carefully. Similarly, investing your time and effort into the right areas of knowledge and productivity will yield the highest returns.
By continuously learning and applying that knowledge, you accelerate your growth exponentially. Just remember, it requires a strategic approach - prioritizing effectively and embedding learning into your workflow. Now, go plant your tree and watch it grow!
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We’ve all got our quirks, right? For me, it’s my video and audio equipment (which I mostly use for Zoom and the occasional video and podcast recording). I’ve fine-tuned the camera angles, obsessed over the perfect microphone and camera, dabbled with mic amplifiers, and don’t get me started on XLR interfaces or the backdrop and lighting in my room…
Now, some might chuckle and say, “Pascal, isn’t that a tad overboard?” Maybe. But here’s the thing: it gets noticed. And not just by tech aficionados or fellow podcasters, but in nearly every call I’m on.
Ah, the intoxicating alphabet soup of business metrics: ROI, CLV, CPA, CR, NPS, EBITDA. Each an acronym, each a KPI (a YAA: Yet Another Acronym), each ultimately designed to measure the nuances of money flowing in and out of our ventures..
But here’s the kicker: we live in an era shaped by a growing sense of uncertainty. Just peek at the World Uncertainty Index, and you’ll see it climbing year after year for decades. Layer that with the dizzying speed of change as expressed by Ray Kurzweil’s Law of Accelerating Returns, and it’s clear that relying on just...
Ah, the age-old adage of “embracing failure.” As I often find myself diving deep into these profound topics, a recent conversation with a budding entrepreneur brought this notion to the forefront yet again.
We sat over a cup of coffee, and she confided her fear of failing with her startup. It’s the kind of sentiment I hear all too often, but this time, it struck a different chord. Maybe it was the intensity in her eyes or perhaps the weight of her words. Either way, it got me thinking: Why do we even perceive failure as this monstrous beast lurking...
As World War II neared its end, America’s forerunner to the CIA, the OSS (Office of Strategic Services), crafted and circulated the Simple Sabotage Field Manual. This guide equipped defectors from the German Reich with strategies and hands-on advice to disrupt the German war effort through sabotage.
Beyond the expected sabotage methods like damaging equipment, the manual includes a section detailing covert workplace acts, specifically designed to cause frustration, delays, and inefficiencies.
Now declassified, this document offers more than historical insight; it paints a striking picture of tendencies we observe in numerous corporations today. Here’s your blueprint for fostering organizational...
Recently, I spoke with Professor David Beatty on the Disrupt Disruption podcast. David is a globally recognized authority on board governance. Simply put, he trains top-tier executives to become even more effective board members. During our chat, he humorously yet pointedly remarked that many executives eventually settle into a state of “satisfactory underperformance.”
“Satisfactory underperformance” describes a plateau where people aren’t necessarily failing but aren’t excelling either. The concept echoes the “Peter Principle,” a term coined in 1969 by Laurence J. Peter. It posits that people rise through an organization’s ranks based on their past performance until...
One of my most treasured memories from my stint at Singularity University came from the day I invited former Apple evangelist, Guy Kawasaki, to the Graduate Studies Program back in 2015. As fate would have it, we managed to record his session, which you can still watch here.
That day, Guy captivated Singularity University’s students for a riveting hour and a half, unpacking the insights and frameworks from his bestselling book, The Art of the Start 2.0. He concluded his presentation with an unfiltered Q&A session. About 88 minutes in, he’s asked about the secret to his...
Marketing. The exciting world of pithy slogans, catchy jingles and flashy ads. But the hidden truth of it all is that it’s not about that – at all. It’s about values.
We live in a cacophonous age, filled with relentless chatter, in-your-face advertising, and a never-ending barrage of information. It’s like standing in the middle of Times Square during New Year’s Eve, every single day. This world is complicated and noisy, to say the least.
So, where does that leave you, especially those of you trying to get your message across?
You might be tempted to shout louder, make a bolder...
I’m sure you’ve been there: Staring at your screen, not knowing where to begin. In situations like this, I often tell myself that I should just grab a beverage and a snack to get the creative juices flowing. So, I get up, walk to the kitchen, open the fridge… and wait for inspiration to strike. Naturally, it usually doesn’t.
The other day, I read an article about the approach a renowned film director takes when he’s stuck on a scene. Instead of wrestling with how the scene should work in his head, perhaps whiteboarding it with his team, or—God forbid—brainstorming...
We all know the old adage of “time is money.” It’s been beaten into our brains, turned into motivational posters (soaring eagles and all), and slapped onto coffee mugs. But let’s dive into something slightly less cliché and a whole lot more meaningful: the distinction between spending your time and investing it.
Spending time is like grabbing a quick burger on the way to somewhere else. You’re consuming empty calories (and a lot of them). Watching that random YouTube video or mindlessly scrolling through social media. Sure, it’s enjoyable, but does it actually do anything for you?
