I am going to take a slightly divergent route in today’s newsletter.
Over the past year or so, I’ve changed my content consumption from books only to books + podcasts (almost a 50:50 split). I listen to 1 podcast episode daily or every second day and have listened to hundreds (if not thousands) of podcast episodes to date.
However, this one episode that I listened to yesterday, changed the way I think about work, human behavior, and business completely. It was so powerful that it kept me up till 2 am. I wanted to pause and go to sleep but I couldn’t.
This episode is - Core Human Motivations by Kunal Shah on the Knowledge Project Podcast.
It has more insights per second than any other I have ever listened to. Let me try and summarize some of the key insights that I learned
People who don’t know their hourly time value will never buy convenience products. Make sure you know these dynamics before you try and sell convenience products in Asian markets
In order to achieve a high level of success, you must be willing to risk 30-40% (if not more) of your reputation, money, career growth, etc. When you play by others’ yardstick of success, that risk is difficult to take
Most soulful activities that we do (things that give us true pleasure) are inefficient by nature. You cannot replicate an exotic destination, your soul food, or any other place or thing that gives you the ultimate comfort. As a result, these are nonscalable by nature.
Delta 4 Model - The most compelling products are the ones that change your behavior. Is your product a behavior-changing product? Ask yourself this question - On a scale of 1 to 10, what’s the convenience your product brings in? Now, what’s the scale of the next best alternative? If the difference is more than 4, your chances of changing behavior increase dramatically.
There are many more gems like these hidden in this 2.5-hour-long episode.
I highly highly recommend watching this one.