Thursday, October 24, 2019

Mental Models: Circle of Competence

Study the diagram. We're never as smart as we think we are. Our circle of competence (CoC) is what we understand. Pop psychology sometimes calls working within it "staying in our lane." 
What does it say to you?  Enormous gaps lie between our knowledge, our understanding, and domain reality. 

Step away from basketball for a minute to Moby Dick. "Call me Ishmael." Maybe we remember the author, the main characters, the central plot, and the metaphor of self-destruction. I wouldn't want to have to lead a discussion about the book and end up looking like Billy Madison. 

 How do we expand our circle of competence? 
  • Improve our online learning techniques (e.g. Coursera class on learning, e.g. Pomodoro)
  • Use the Feynman technique (name, define, research, simplify)
  • Teach the subject 
  • Read and self-test 
  • Find mentors 
  • Watch video
  • Attend live, virtual, or online coaching clinics. 
  • Practice, practice, practice. 
  • Carve out protected thinking time. 

 Circle of competence is dynamic. Many fields explode knowledge...think about cancer treatment. Surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy (antimetabolites), antiangiogenesis drugs (inhibit blood supply), hormonal manipulation, growth factor inhibitors, the endocannabinoid system (medical marijuana), and more. Even as an individual learns more, the field grows exponentially. 

 Practically, ideas flow from experience, memory, and imagination. Ask what went wrong and how can we coach better, decide better? 

 John Calipari discusses use of Personal Board of Directors to expand input with life decision. And Annie Dukes uses Decision Groups to study decision-making in her field of poker, sharing this in Thinking in Bets. 

Developing our Circle of Competence is a lifelong challenge. We improve or fall back; we never stay the same. 

 Lagniappe: Superior execution can overcome tight defense. Chris Oliver shares a SLOB stagger into screen-the-screener action. 
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