Plus Equal Minus
A comprehensive approach to developing yourself.
It’s a system developed by Frank Shamrock, one of the most prominent MMA fighters of all time. I like it because it encompasses a comprehensive approach when it comes to learning and developing yourself.
Basically, in work and life, you’d need:
Plus: those who have more experience than you
Equal: those who have the same experience as you
Minus: those who have less experience than you
For each of the buckets above, the actions will be straightforward:
Plus: you’d want to learn from this group as much as possible. It could be successes, failures, connections and opportunities. Think of your senior people in universities, more experienced colleagues, and other people that you look up to. These groups one day could be your trusted advisors when it comes to making important decisions.
Equal: this group could be your groups of friends or peers with whom you enjoy your time working together. There is also learning, but also more bonding time, having fun while working hard. These groups are also another source of closer support that you need while you’re moving up your career or exchanging insights.
Minus: this is best for teaching. Whatever you learn, you can pass the torch on to this group whom you believe that they’d take your learning further. It could be your junior people, mentees and other younger people that need your help. Teaching also solidifies your memory, sharpening your practices.
I’ve seen people who strategically focus on certain areas for their plus, equal, minus. Let’s say you’re in product management, you’d connect and exchange insights more with people in the same field. There are also people who’re open to a wider network, as they deem it’s more interesting to learn from different fields and connect the dots together. Either way I believe is fine, as long as you keep your system in place and keep connected consistently with the 3 groups above. You’d grow as the quality of your connections grow over time.
🔥Links for this week
How OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was fired by rival board members. This is the most comprehensive post I found related to the firing with much insights. Now Sam has a chance to come back, and many are expecting him to do so.
High output management book summary. One of the best summaries for one of the most influential books in business.
The importance of delayed instant gratification. Instant gratification comes at the expense of willpower and discipline.