Gut Check

It’s that time again: New Year’s resolutions! Per my meta-resolution, this year’s book reading target is 44, but I wanted to add a twist to it.

Leaders who are right a lot “seek diverse perspectives and work to disconfirm their beliefs.” In 2022, 16 of the 45 books I read in were by authors who were either not male or not white. That’s 36%, a sizable fraction; in line with what I did in 2021 (33%) and 2020 (38%), and much better than my rates in 2019 (18%) and 2018 (15%).

But none of those metrics are anywhere close to reality: about 91% of the world’s population is either not male or not white. That’s a lot of valuable perspectives I’m missing out on.

Given my backlog and some strategic book choices I have lined up, getting all the way to 40 out of 44 isn’t realistic, but I can still do better than my recent history. So in 2023, my plan is to double last year’s fraction to 32 out of 44 (73%). Ambitious but doable. And I can’t wait.

Already finished my first one, in fact: Radical Candor. And I’m a chapter into The Analects, by Confucius. It’s embarrassing that I’ve never read anything by this giant of ancient wisdom. Already found a couple sayings that stand out:

The Master acquires his information by being affable, kind, and respectful, and by showing restraint in his action and a willingness to yield. The way the Master asks for information is different from that of other people.

Do not worry that other people do not know you. But be concerned that you do not know them.

Good stuff!