Alex Hutchinson

And his main contention was that companies tend to systematically underinvest in exploration in R&D because the returns are – it's a long time before you know whether you've made a successful gamble. So if you invest in marketing, you can see a sales bump, and right away you're like, that was a good thing to do. I'll do more of it.

And his main contention was that companies tend to systematically underinvest in exploration in R&D because the returns are – it's a long time before you know whether you've made a successful gamble. So if you invest in marketing, you can see a sales bump, and right away you're like, that was a good thing to do. I'll do more of it.

And his main contention was that companies tend to systematically underinvest in exploration in R&D because the returns are – it's a long time before you know whether you've made a successful gamble. So if you invest in marketing, you can see a sales bump, and right away you're like, that was a good thing to do. I'll do more of it.

If you invest in R&D, three years later, you're still not sure whether the product's going to pan out. You don't know whether it's going to be success or failure. So the feedback is less direct. And I think that applies in personal lives, too, that taking a chance, we don't always know as clearly. We don't see the effects right away.

If you invest in R&D, three years later, you're still not sure whether the product's going to pan out. You don't know whether it's going to be success or failure. So the feedback is less direct. And I think that applies in personal lives, too, that taking a chance, we don't always know as clearly. We don't see the effects right away.

If you invest in R&D, three years later, you're still not sure whether the product's going to pan out. You don't know whether it's going to be success or failure. So the feedback is less direct. And I think that applies in personal lives, too, that taking a chance, we don't always know as clearly. We don't see the effects right away.

Whereas sticking with what you know, you know what you're going to get, and you get this positive feedback. So that leads us maybe to... to not learn as well as we should about those times when we took a chance and it paid off. So I think it requires sort of being aware of that and stopping and thinking, okay, what are the things that were meaningful in my life?

Whereas sticking with what you know, you know what you're going to get, and you get this positive feedback. So that leads us maybe to... to not learn as well as we should about those times when we took a chance and it paid off. So I think it requires sort of being aware of that and stopping and thinking, okay, what are the things that were meaningful in my life?

Whereas sticking with what you know, you know what you're going to get, and you get this positive feedback. So that leads us maybe to... to not learn as well as we should about those times when we took a chance and it paid off. So I think it requires sort of being aware of that and stopping and thinking, okay, what are the things that were meaningful in my life?

What are the decisions I made that I'm really happy I did? If you ask me to list the five best decisions I made, do I look back and say, I'm really glad I just stuck with the tried and true and didn't try out this other thing? I think for most people, that's not the case.

What are the decisions I made that I'm really happy I did? If you ask me to list the five best decisions I made, do I look back and say, I'm really glad I just stuck with the tried and true and didn't try out this other thing? I think for most people, that's not the case.

What are the decisions I made that I'm really happy I did? If you ask me to list the five best decisions I made, do I look back and say, I'm really glad I just stuck with the tried and true and didn't try out this other thing? I think for most people, that's not the case.

You know, there's an area that I found really interesting in psychology called the effort paradox. Because when we talk about exploring, we often end up telling these tales of, you know, explorers who crossed the ocean or whatever, and three quarters of them died of starvation, and it's very hard.

You know, there's an area that I found really interesting in psychology called the effort paradox. Because when we talk about exploring, we often end up telling these tales of, you know, explorers who crossed the ocean or whatever, and three quarters of them died of starvation, and it's very hard.

You know, there's an area that I found really interesting in psychology called the effort paradox. Because when we talk about exploring, we often end up telling these tales of, you know, explorers who crossed the ocean or whatever, and three quarters of them died of starvation, and it's very hard.

And even in our own conversation right today, we've been talking about exploration, but we've been talking about taking a risk and the possibility of failure.

And even in our own conversation right today, we've been talking about exploration, but we've been talking about taking a risk and the possibility of failure.

And even in our own conversation right today, we've been talking about exploration, but we've been talking about taking a risk and the possibility of failure.

And so there's a tendency, I think, to think about exploration or about the challenges we might face as a price you have to pay for the occasional, for the payoff that, yeah, it's going to be hard if I try and do this thing, but, you know, there's a chance it's going to lead to something good. So it's worth putting up with the difficulty.

And so there's a tendency, I think, to think about exploration or about the challenges we might face as a price you have to pay for the occasional, for the payoff that, yeah, it's going to be hard if I try and do this thing, but, you know, there's a chance it's going to lead to something good. So it's worth putting up with the difficulty.