NOTES

INTRODUCTION

Byron knew I was working: Greg Autry and Laura Huang, “Houston, We Have a Market: Privatizing Space Launches Pays Off Big,” Forbes, October 2, 2013, https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2013/10/02/houston-we-have-a-market-privatizing-space-launches-pays-off-big; Greg Autry and Laura Huang, “An Analysis of the Competitive Advantage of the United States of America in Commercial Human Orbital Spaceflight Markets,” New Space 2, no. 2 (2014): 83–110, https://doi.org/10.1089/space.2014.0005.

Truth be told: Elon Musk, conversation with author, SpaceX headquarters, Hawthorne, California, February 2, 2015.

Over the course of my career: Alison Wood Brooks, Laura Huang, Sarah Wood Kearney, and Fiona E. Murray, “Investors Prefer Entrepreneurial Ventures Pitched by Attractive Men,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111, no. 12 (2014): 4427–31, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1321202111. See also Matthew Lee and Laura Huang, “Gender Bias, Social Impact Framing, and Evaluation of Entrepreneurial Ventures,” Organization Science 29, no. 1 (2018): 1–16, https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.2017.1172.

employees who are never able: Laura Huang, Marcia Frideger, and Jone L. Pearce, “Political Skill: Explaining the Effects of Nonnative Accent on Managerial Hiring and Entrepreneurial Investment Decisions,” Journal of Applied Psychology 98, no. 6 (2013): 1005–17, https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034125.

medical patients who die: Brad N. Greenwood, Seth Carnahan, and Laura Huang, “Patient–Physician Gender Concordance and Increased Mortality Among Female Heart Attack Patients,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115, no. 34 (2018): 8569–74, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1800097115.

I’ve studied how we make perceptions: Laura Huang and Jone L. Pearce, “Managing the Unknowable: The Effectiveness of Early-Stage Investor Gut Feel in Entrepreneurial Investment Decisions,” Administrative Science Quarterly 60, no. 4 (2015): 634–70, https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839215597270; Laura Huang and Andrew P. Knight, “Resources and Relationships in Entrepreneurship: An Exchange Theory of the Development and Effects of the Entrepreneur-Investor Relationship,” Academy of Management Review 42, no. 1 (2015): 80–102, https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2014.0397; Laura Huang, “The Role of Investor Gut Feel in Managing Complexity and Extreme Risk,” Academy of Management Journal 61, no. 5 (2018): 1821–47, https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2016.1009.

CHAPTER 1: HARD WORK, PLUS

With this type of work ethic: Tara Sullivan, “Mirai Nagasu Is a Lesson in Perseverance at Olympics,” Boston Globe, February 18, 2018, https://www3.bostonglobe.com/sports/2018/02/18/mirai-nagasu-lesson-perseverance-olympics/YmOGUDvMaHtXAT53dmvIZP/story.html?arc404=true; Kimberly Yam, “Mirai Nagasu Says Her Parents’ Hard Work in Restaurant Inspires Her Discipline on Ice,” HuffPost (blog), February 23, 2018, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mirai-nagasu-credits-her-parents-hard-work-in-restaurant-for-her-own-work-ethic_n_5a8f2a99e4b0ee6416a11a17; Karen Price, “Mirai Nagasu,” Team USA, https://www.teamusa.org:443/My-Focus-presented-by-milk-life/Athletes/Mirai-Nagasu.

stories like Gac Filipaj’s: Brenda Schmerl, “Inspirational Stories: How 5 Extraordinary People Beat All Odds to Graduate,” Reader’s Digest, https://www.rd.com/true-stories/inspiring/inspiring-college-graduates.

stories like Sanghoon’s: David Robson, “How Important Is Social Class in Britain Today?” BBC, April 7, 2016, http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20160406-how-much-does-social-class-matter-in-britain-today; David Denby, “Stiff Upper Lips,” New Yorker, January 20, 2013, https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/01/28/stiff-upper-lips.

Well, before her triumphant: Dvora Meyers, “The Redemption of Figure Skater Mirai Nagasu,” Deadspin (blog), January 4, 2018, https://deadspin.com/the-redemption-of-figure-skater-mirai-nagasu-1821763830.

decisions speak louder than denials: Jeff Yang, “Mirai Nagasu, Ashley Wagner and the Myth of the Golden Girl,” Speakeasy (blog), Wall Street Journal, January 14, 2014, https://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014/01/14/mirai-nagasu-ashley-wagner-and-the-myth-of-the-golden-girl.

We are cognitively limited: C. Neil Macrae and Susanne Quadflieg, “Perceiving People,” in Handbook of Social Psychology, vol. 1, 5th ed., ed. S. T. Fiske, D. T. Gilbert, and G. Lindzey (Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2010), 428–63.

Sometimes, our perceptions: James Dennin, “Ageism and the Reluctance of Companies to Hire Older Workers,” Mic, May 9, 2018, https://mic.com/articles/189141/older-workers-are-consistently-discriminated-against-in-job-hiring-heres-how-we-can-fix-that#.8wzxyh5wj.

Research demonstrates that many: Timothy A. Judge and Daniel M. Cable, “The Effect of Physical Height on Workplace Success and Income: Preliminary Test of a Theoretical Model,” Journal of Applied Psychology 89, no. 3 (2004): 428–41, https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.89.3.428; M. Dittmann, “Standing Tall Pays Off, Study Finds,” Monitor on Psychology, July/August 2004; Andreas Schick and Richard H. Steckel, “Height, Human Capital, and Earnings: The Contributions of Cognitive and Noncognitive Ability,” Journal of Human Capital 9, no. 1 (2015): 94–115, https://doi.org/10.1086/679675; Joe Pinsker, “The Financial Perks of Being Tall,” Atlantic, May 18, 2015, https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/05/the-financial-perks-of-being-tall/393518.

In fact, while only: Malcolm Gladwell, “The Warren Harding Error: Why We Fall for Tall, Dark, and Handsome Men,” in Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking (New York: Little, Brown, 2005), 72–98; Vivek Kaul, “The Necktie Syndrome: Why CEOs Tend to Be Significantly Taller Than the Average Male,” Economic Times, September 30, 2011, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/the-necktie-syndrome-why-ceos-tend-to-be-significantly-taller-than-the-average-male/articleshow/10178115.cms.

someone’s attractiveness: Alison Wood Brooks, Laura Huang, Sarah Wood Kearney, and Fiona E. Murray, “Investors Prefer Entrepreneurial Ventures Pitched by Attractive Men,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111, no. 12 (2014): 4427–31, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1321202111.

Disadvantage is situational: Susanne Quadflieg, Natasha Flannigan, Gordon D. Waiter, Bruno Rossion, Gagan S. Wig, David J. Turk, and C. Neil Macrae, “Stereotype-Based Modulation of Person Perception,” NeuroImage 57, no. 2 (2011): 549–57, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.05.004.

I’ve seen males: Megan Fu, “Male Teachers Claim Wage Discrimination,” Daily Beast, May 6, 2016, https://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/05/06/male-teachers-claim-wage-discrimination; Bryan G. Nelson, “Dr. Helen Talks About Stereotypes That Male Teachers Face,” MenTeach, April 2, 2009, http://www.menteach.org/news/dr_helen_talks_about_stereotypes_that_male_teachers_face.

blackness is linked to masculinity—but also criminality: Harry J. Holzer, Steven Raphael, and Michael A. Stoll, “Perceived Criminality, Criminal Background Checks, and the Racial Hiring Practices of Employers,” Journal of Law and Economics 49, no. 2 (2006): 451–80, https://doi.org/10.1086/501089; Lydia O’Connor, “CNN Analyst Suggests Black People Are ‘Prone to Criminality,’” HuffPost (blog), July 11, 2016, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/harry-houck-cnn-blacks-criminality_n_5783f6fae4b01edea78f1434.

older age is connected to trustworthiness: Helen Dennis and Kathryn Thomas, “Ageism in the Workplace,” Generations 31, no. 1 (2007), https://www.questia.com/library/journal/1P3-1318281421/ageism-in-the-workplace.

women are perceived to be: Susan T. Fiske, Amy J. C. Cuddy, and Peter Glick, “Universal Dimensions of Social Cognition: Warmth and Competence,” Trends in Cognitive Sciences 11, no. 2 (2007): 77–83, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2006.11.005; Alice H. Eagly and Steven J. Karau, “Role Congruity Theory of Prejudice Toward Female Leaders,” Psychological Review 109, no. 3 (2002): 573–98.

Psychologists Nalini Ambady and Robert Rosenthal: Nalini Ambady and Robert Rosenthal, “Thin Slices of Expressive Behavior as Predictors of Interpersonal Consequences: A Meta-Analysis,” Psychological Bulletin 111, no. 2 (1992): 256–74, https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.111.2.256; Nalini Ambady and Robert Rosenthal, “Half a Minute: Predicting Teacher Evaluations from Thin Slices of Nonverbal Behavior and Physical Attractiveness,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 64, no. 3 (1993): 431–41, https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.64.3.431; Nalini Ambady, Frank J. Bernieri, and Jennifer A. Richeson, “Toward a Histology of Social Behavior: Judgmental Accuracy from Thin Slices of the Behavioral Stream,” in Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 32, ed. Mark P. Zanna (San Diego: Academic Press, 2000), 201–71, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(00)80006-4.

There’s a premium: Les Picker, “The Growing Importance of Social Skills in the Labor Market,” National Bureau of Economic Research Digest, November 2015, https://www.nber.org/digest/nov15/w21473.html.

A branch of psychology: John T. Jost, Mahzarin R. Banaji, and Brian A. Nosek, “A Decade of System Justification Theory: Accumulated Evidence of Conscious and Unconscious Bolstering of the Status Quo,” Political Psychology 25, no. 6 (2004): 881–919, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9221.2004.00402.x.

Erin Godfrey, a professor: Melinda D. Anderson, “Why the Myth of Meritocracy Hurts Kids of Color,” Atlantic, July 27, 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/07/internalizing-the-myth-of-meritocracy/535035/.

Research shows that most successful: Megan Reitz and John Higgins, “The Problem with Saying ‘My Door Is Always Open,’” Harvard Business Review, March 9, 2017, https://hbr.org/2017/03/the-problem-with-saying-my-door-is-always-open; John T. Jost and Orsolya Hunyady, “Antecedents and Consequences of System-Justifying Ideologies,” Current Directions in Psychological Science 14, no. 5 (2005): 260–5, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0963-7214.2005.00377.x.

For example, scholars: David A. Harrison, Kenneth H. Price, and Myrtle P. Bell, “Beyond Relational Demography: Time and the Effects of Surface- and Deep-Level Diversity on Work Group Cohesion,” Academy of Management Journal 41, no. 1 (1998): 96–107, https://doi.org/10.5465/256901; David A. Harrison, Kenneth H. Price, Joanne H. Gavin, and Anna T. Florey, “Time, Teams, and Task Performance: Changing Effects of Surface- and Deep-Level Diversity on Group Functioning,” Academy of Management Journal 45, no. 5 (2002): 1029–45, https://doi.org/10.5465/3069328.

Harvard sociologist Letian Zhang: Letian Zhang, “A Fair Game? Racial Bias and Repeated Interaction Between NBA Coaches and Players,” Administrative Science Quarterly 62, no. 4 (2017): 603–25, https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839217705375.

researchers such as Freada Kapor Klein and Allison Scott: Allison Scott, Freada Kapor Klein, Frieda McAlear, Alexis Martin, and Sonia Koshy, The Leaky Tech Pipeline: A Comprehensive Framework for Understanding and Addressing the Lack of Diversity Across the Tech Ecosystem (Oakland, CA: Kapor Center for Social Impact, 2018), https://www.kaporcenter.org/the-leaky-tech-pipeline-a-comprehensive-framework-for-understanding-and-addressing-the-lack-of-diversity-across-the-tech-ecosystem/.

“Prejudice doesn’t disappear”: Katy Waldman, “A Sociologist Examines the ‘White Fragility’ That Prevents White Americans from Confronting Racism,” New Yorker, July 23, 2018, https://www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/a-sociologist-examines-the-white-fragility-that-prevents-white-americans-from-confronting-racism.

Psychologists Shai Davidai and Thomas Gilovich: Shai Davidai and Thomas Gilovich, “The Headwinds/Tailwinds Asymmetry: An Availability Bias in Assessments of Barriers and Blessings,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 111, no. 6 (2016): 835–51, https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000066.

Nagasu wrote to herself: Mirai Nagasu (@mirai_nagasu), “Four years ago when I wasn’t named to the team, I wrote this poem,” Twitter, February 25, 2018, https://twitter.com/mirai_nagasu/status/967815168334774272.

“Everybody makes mistakes”: Scott M. Reid, “After Heartbreak, U.S. Figure Skater Mirai Nagasu Again Takes Aim at Olympic Bid,” Orange County Register, January 2, 2018, https://www.ocregister.com/2018/01/02/after-heartbreak-u-s-figure-skater-mirai-nagasu-again-takes-aim-at-olympic-bid.

CHAPTER 2: YOUR BASIC GOODS

Why didn’t Poincaré: Sreeraj Thekkeyil, “Which Scientists Deserved to Win a Nobel Prize but Never Won?” Quora, May 18, 2018, https://www.quora.com/Which-scientists-deserved-to-win-a-Nobel-Prize-but-never-won.

Captivated, I spent: “Made in Texas: The Buc-ee’s Success Story,” Texas Monthly, February 26, 2013, https://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/made-in-texas-the-buc-ees-success-story/.

“What’s not great about Buc-ee’s”: Gemma Nisbet, “Beavers Are Better at the World’s Biggest Service Station,” West Travel Club, July 23, 2017, https://westtravelclub.com.au/stories/biggest-is-better-at-texas-adult-amusement-park.

Warren Buffett, American businessman: Farnam Street, “The ‘Circle of Competence’ Theory Will Help You Make Vastly Smarter Decisions,” Business Insider, December 5, 2013, https://www.businessinsider.com/the-circle-of-competence-theory-2013-12; Fred Nickols and Harvey Bergholz, “The Consultant’s Competency Circle: A Tool for Gauging Your Success Potential as an Independent Consultant,” Performance Improvement 52, no. 2 (2013): 37–41, https://doi.org/10.1002/pfi.21328.

Buffett once described: Farnam Street, “Understanding Your Circle of Competence: How Warren Buffett Avoids Problems,” Farnam Street (blog), December 1, 2013, https://fs.blog/2013/12/circle-of-competence/.

Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s right-hand man: Tren Griffin, “Charlie Munger on ‘Circle of Competence’ (the Second Essential Filter),” 25iq (blog), December 22, 2012, https://25iq.com/2012/12/22/charlie-munger-on-circle-of-competence-the-second-essential-filter.

Billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson: Natalie Clarkson, “Why Did Richard Branson Start an Airline?” Virgin, October 1, 2014, https://www.virgin.com/travel/why-did-richard-branson-start-airline.

One version of the story: Ibid.

a company whose signature: Glen Sanford, “iPhone,” Apple-History, https://apple-history.com/iphone; “iPhone History: A Timeline from 2007–2019,” History Cooperative, September 14, 2014, https://historycooperative.org/the-history-of-the-iphone.

CHAPTER 3: RECOGNITION OF THE INCONGRUOUS

Turns out, the husband: Mr. Li, interviews with author, Din Tai Fung, Taiwan, August 18, 2017, and July 22, 2018.

We tend to look: Benigno E. Aguirre, Dennis Wenger, and Gabriela Vigo, “A Test of the Emergent Norm Theory of Collective Behavior,” Sociological Forum 13, no. 2 (1998): 301–20, https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1022145900928.

This type of herd mentality: Ha V. Dang and Mi Lin, “Herd Mentality in the Stock Market: On the Role of Idiosyncratic Participants with Heterogeneous Information,” International Review of Financial Analysis 48 (2016): 247–60, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2016.10.005; Scott Cooley, “Technology and the Herd Mentality,” Mortgage Banking 64, no. 9 (2004): 122–4.

In my research: Huang, “The Role of Investor Gut Feel in Managing Complexity and Extreme Risk”; Laura Huang, Andy Wu, Min Ju Lee, Jiayi Bao, Marianne Hudson, and Elaine Bolle, The American Angel: The First In-depth Report on the Demographics and Investing Activity of Individual American Angel Investors (Wharton Entrepreneurship and Angel Capital Association, November 2017), https://www.angelcapitalassociation.org/data/Documents/TAAReport11-30-17.pdf?rev=DB68; Laura Huang, “A Theory of Investor Gut Feel: A Test of the Impact of Gut Feel on Entrepreneurial Investment Decisions” (PhD diss., University of California, Irvine, 2012).

By 1986, we saw: Mary Bellis, “History of the IBM PC,” ThoughtCo, May 12, 2019, https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-the-ibm-pc-1991408.

Priced at around three hundred dollars: “Asus Company History,” Gadget Reviews (blog), http://mylaptopyourlaptop.blogspot.com/2012/04/asus-company-history.html; Dan Ackerman, “The Asus Eee PC Family Tree,” CNET, February 17, 2010, https://www.cnet.com/news/the-asus-eee-pc-family-tree; JerryJ, “Asus Reveals Pricing for the Eee PC Mini Laptop,” Brighthand (blog), October 18, 2007, http://www.brighthand.com/news/asus-reveals-pricing-for-the-eee-pc-mini-laptop/.

Asus continues to manufacture: Evan Comen, “Check Out How Much a Computer Cost the Year You Were Born,” USA Today, June 22, 2018, https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2018/06/22/cost-of-a-computer-the-year-you-were-born/36156373/; Andrew, “Most Popular Laptops for May 2007,” Notebook Review (blog), June 4, 2007, http://www.notebookreview.com/news/most-popular-laptops-for-may-2007/; Jon Turi, “Gadget Rewind 2007: ASUS Eee PC 4G,” Engadget (blog), June 1, 2014, https://www.engadget.com/2014/06/01/gadget-rewind-2007-asus-eee-pc-4g.

The brilliant management: Ryan Raffaelli, “Technology Reemergence: Creating New Value for Old Technologies in Swiss Mechanical Watchmaking, 1970–2008,” Administrative Science Quarterly (2018), 0001839218778505, https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839218778505.

Global Swiss watch: Joe Thompson, “For Swiss Watches, America Is Back,” Bloomberg, July 25, 2018, https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-07-25/the-swiss-luxury-watch-slump-in-the-united-states-is-over.

“Not all juice is equal”: Derek Thompson, “How Juicero’s Story Set the Company Up for Humiliation,” Atlantic, April 21, 2017, https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/04/juicero-lessons/523896/.

CHAPTER 4: THE VALUE OF CONSTRAINTS

I suspect that the constraint: David R. Francis, “Employers’ Replies to Racial Names,” National Bureau of Economic Research Digest, September 2003, https://www.nber.org/digest/sep03/w9873.html; Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz, “Hiring Bias Study: Resumes with Black, White, Hispanic Names Treated the Same,” Chicago Tribune, May 4, 2016, https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-bias-hiring-0504-biz-20160503-story.html; Dina Gerdeman, “Minorities Who ‘Whiten’ Job Resumes Get More Interviews,” HBS Working Knowledge, May 17, 2017, http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/minorities-who-whiten-job-resumes-get-more-interviews; Sonia K. Kang, Katherine A. DeCelles, András Tilcsik, and Sora Jun, “Whitened Résumés: Race and Self-Presentation in the Labor Market,” Administrative Science Quarterly 61, no. 3 (2016): 469–502, https://doi.org/10.1177/0001839216639577.

We have a tendency: Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky, “Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk,” in Handbook of the Fundamentals of Financial Decision Making: Part 1, ed. Leonard C. MacLean and William T. Ziemba, World Scientific Handbook in Financial Economics Series (Singapore: World Scientific, 2013), 99–127, https://doi.org/10.1142/9789814417358_0006.

Arlan Hamilton, a venture capitalist: Arlan Hamilton, personal communication with author, Backstage Capital Crew Meeting, Los Angeles, April 17, 2018.

This is backed by: Tara Sophia Mohr, “Why Women Don’t Apply for Jobs Unless They’re 100% Qualified,” Harvard Business Review, August 25, 2014, https://hbr.org/2014/08/why-women-dont-apply-for-jobs-unless-theyre-100-qualified.

A team of clever researchers: Markus Baer, Kurt T. Dirks, and Jackson A. Nickerson, “Microfoundations of Strategic Problem Formulation,” Strategic Management Journal 34, no. 2 (2013): 197–214, https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.2004.

By reframing the problem: “Audi with Most Fuel-Efficient Powertrain at Le Mans,” Motorsport.com, June 9, 2014, https://www.motorsport.com/lemans/news/audi-with-most-fuel-efficient-powertrain-at-le-mans/452641/.

The executives behind: Joerg Schreiner, “Corporate Incubators: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” Co-Shift (blog), September 7, 2017, https://www.co-shift.com/why-corporate-incubators-fail-at-innovation-transfer/.

Good ideas and good intentions: Amr Kebbi and Dave Valliere, “The Double J-Curve: A Model for Incubated Start-ups” (11th European Conference on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Jyvaskyla, Finland, 2016), 371–80, https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309033445_The_Double_J-Curve_A_Model_for_Incubated_Start-ups; Cliff Oxford, “Trouble in Paradise: Why Business Incubators Don’t Work,” Forbes, June 30, 2014, https://www.forbes.com/sites/cliffoxford/2014/06/30/trouble-in-paradise-why-business-incubators-dont-work/#60b0dc164d87; Bridge for Billions, “3 Problems with Traditional Incubators and Accelerators,” Medium, July 31, 2016, https://medium.com/bridgeforbillions/3-problems-with-traditional-incubators-and-accelerators-a29354e30564.

They don’t face: Joao Sousa, Raquel Meneses, Humberto Ribeiro, and Sandra Raquel Alves, “The Symbiotic Relationship Between Startups and Incubators,” in Economic and Social Development: Book of Proceedings, ed. Rozana Veselica, Gordana Dukic, and Khalid Hammes, International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development (Zagreb, Croatia: Varazdin Development and Entrepreneurship Agency, 2018), 823–34, http://www.esd-conference.com/upload/book_of_proceedings/Book_of_Proceedings_esdZagreb2018_Online.pdf.

CHAPTER 5: HONING YOUR GUT FEEL AND WHAT YOU BRING TO THE TABLE

Kristie Paskvan: Melissa Jeltsen, “Illinois Will Teach Hairdressers to Recognize Victims of Domestic Violence,” HuffPost (blog), December 1, 2016, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/illinois-will-teach-hairdressers-to-recognize-signs-of-domestic-violence_n_583f2717e4b09e21702c3122.

rather than subconscious: Gladwell, Blink, 10.

But when we need to make decisions: Gerd Gigerenzer, Gut Feelings: The Intelligence of the Unconscious (New York: Penguin Books, 2008).

To illustrate: I found: Huang and Pearce, “Managing the Unknowable.”

but you’re going: Peter Cappelli, “Your Approach to Hiring Is All Wrong,” Harvard Business Review, May–June 2019, https://hbr.org/2019/05/recruiting; Boris Groysberg, Nitin Nohria, and Claudio Fernández-Aráoz, “The Definitive Guide to Recruiting in Good Times and Bad,” Harvard Business Review, May 2009, https://hbr.org/2009/05/the-definitive-guide-to-recruiting-in-good-times-and-bad.

Management scholars Robert Costigan and Kyle Brink: Robert D. Costigan and Kyle E. Brink, “On the Prevalence of Linear versus Nonlinear Thinking in Undergraduate Business Education: A Lot of Rhetoric, Not Enough Evidence,” Journal of Management & Organization 21, no. 4 (2015): 535–47, https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2014.86; Bart de Langhe, Stefano Puntoni, and Richard Larrick, “Linear Thinking in a Nonlinear World,” Harvard Business Review, May–June 2017, https://hbr.org/2017/05/linear-thinking-in-a-nonlinear-world; Mark Bonchek, “How to Create an Exponential Mindset,” Harvard Business Review, July 27, 2016, https://hbr.org/2016/07/how-to-create-an-exponential-mindset.

In 1946, a woman: “The History of Diapers—Disposable & Cloth The History of Diapers,” Diaper Jungle, October 1, 2016, https://www.diaperjungle.com/pages/history-of-diapers; Sarah Laskow, “The Woman Who Invented Disposable Diapers,” Atlantic, October 14, 2014, https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/10/the-woman-who-invented-disposable-diapers/381310.

It’s taking what you have: Goethe University Frankfurt, “Smart People Have Better Connected Brains,” ScienceDaily, November 22, 2017, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171122103552.htm.

Companies that can do it: Ted Baker and Reed E. Nelson, “Creating Something from Nothing: Resource Construction Through Entrepreneurial Bricolage,” Administrative Science Quarterly 50, no. 3 (2005): 329–66, https://doi.org/10.2189/asqu.2005.50.3.329.

“luxury, not a necessity”: Sarah Gordon, “Ryanair Confirms It WILL Bring in Charges for Use of On-board Toilets,” Daily Mail, April 6, 2010, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1263905/Ryanair-toilet-charges-phased-in.html; “Stephen McNamara, spokesperson for the airline, told TravelMail: ‘By charging for the toilets we are hoping to change passenger behaviour so that they use the bathroom before or after the flight.’”

I also heard: Tim Clark, “Ryanair Announce Plans to Launch ‘Vertical Seats’ from Just £4,” Daily Mail, July 2, 2010, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-1291131/Ryanair-launch-vertical-seating-Standing-room-tickets-4.html.

Ryanair encourages those articles: George Hobica, president of airfarewatchdog.com, said Ryanair is doing this mostly for publicity: “Their CEO loves to get his picture on TV” (Scott Mayerowitz, “Paying to Pee: Have the Airlines Gone Too Far?” ABC News, April 13, 2010, https://abcnews.go.com/Travel/Green/paying-pee-airlines-critics-call-ryanairs-fee-inhumane/story?id=10355139).

In fact, people find it so psychologically stressful: Leon Festinger, A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 1957); Elliot Aronson, “The Theory of Cognitive Dissonance: A Current Perspective,” in Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 4, ed. Leonard Berkowitz (New York: Academic Press, 1969), 1–34, https://doi.org/10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60075-1.

CHAPTER 6: THE POWER OF THE UNEXPECTED

I recently asked Hasan Minhaj: Hasan Minhaj, conversation with author and Preet Bharara, Cafe Change Summit, New York, April 26, 2018.

Psychologists Brad Bitterly: T. Bradford Bitterly, Alison Wood Brooks, and Maurice E. Schweitzer, “Risky Business: When Humor Increases and Decreases Status,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 112, no. 3 (2017): 431–55, https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000079.

Benign violation theory: A. Peter McGraw and Caleb Warren, “Benign Violation Theory,” in Encyclopedia of Humor Studies, ed. Salvatore Attardo (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2014), 75–7; Caleb Warren and A. Peter McGraw, “Opinion: What Makes Things Humorous,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 112, no. 23 (2015): 7105–6, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1503836112.

Delight unsettles and challenges: Joëlle Vanhamme, “The Surprise-Delight Relationship Revisited in the Management of Experience,” Recherche et Applications en Marketing (English Edition) 23, no. 3 (2008): 113–38, https://doi.org/10.1177/205157070802300307; Soma Dey, Sanjukta Ghosh, Biplab Datta, and Parama Barai, “A Study on the Antecedents and Consequences of Customer Delight,” Total Quality Management & Business Excellence 28, nos. 1–2 (2017): 47–61, https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2015.1049146; Vincent P. Magnini, John C. Crotts, and Anita Zehrer, “Understanding Customer Delight: An Application of Travel Blog Analysis,” Journal of Travel Research 50, no. 5 (2011): 535–45, https://doi.org/10.1177/0047287510379162.

Production of a movie: Nicole Sperling, “How Crazy Rich Asians Gave Director Jon M. Chu a Voice,” Vanity Fair, August 10, 2018, https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/08/crazy-rich-asians-director-jon-m-chu.

headed by Singapore chef: Alyse Whitney, “Dumplings, Kaya Toast, and Chili Crab: Inside the Food of Crazy Rich Asians,” Bon Appétit, August 30, 2018, https://www.bonappetit.com/story/crazy-rich-asians-food-singapore; Kenneth Goh, “Behind the Food in ‘Crazy Rich Asians,’” Michelin Guide, August 22, 2018, https://guide.michelin.com/us/en/illinois/chicago/article/features/crazy-rich-asians-movie-food-styling.

“that crazy blend of identities and cultures”: Shannon Connellan, “Read the Beautiful Letter That Allowed ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ to Use Coldplay’s ‘Yellow,’” Mashable, August 19, 2018, https://mashable.com/article/crazy-rich-asians-coldplay.

Chu wanted to use the song: Kat Chow, “If We Called Ourselves Yellow,” NPR, September 27, 2018, https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2018/09/27/647989652/if-we-called-ourselves-yellow.

Instead he wrote: World Entertainment News Network, “Coldplay Almost Didn’t Let ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ Use ‘Yellow’ Due to Racism Fears,” Canoe.com, August 16, 2018, https://canoe.com/entertainment/music/coldplay-almost-didnt-let-crazy-rich-asians-use-yellow-due-to-racism-fears.

They later watched: Julia Emmanuele, “All the Songs in ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ That You’ll Want to Listen to Over & Over Again,” Bustle, August 25, 2018, https://www.bustle.com/p/all-the-songs-in-crazy-rich-asians-that-youll-want-to-listen-to-over-over-again-10239631.

The value this provided: Laurent Bach, Patrick Cohendet, Julien Pénin, and Laurent Simon, “Creative Industries and the IPR Dilemma Between Appropriation and Creation: Some Insights from the Videogame and Music Industries,” Management International 14, no. 3 (2010): 59–72, https://doi.org/10.7202/044293ar.

CHAPTER 7: REFLECTIVE IMPROVISATION

The company manufactured: Susan Levine, “He Sees Fortune in Chicken Contact Lens,” Chicago Tribune, November 23, 1989, https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1989-11-23-8903120133-story.html; Bruce G. Posner, “Seeing Red,” Inc., May 1, 1989, https://www.inc.com/magazine/19890501/5636.html.

As Napoléon Bonaparte: “Napoleon Bonaparte: Over-Preparation Is the Foe of Inspiration,” AZ Quotes, https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1056571.

Martin Seligman’s: Martin E. Seligman, “On the Generality of the Laws of Learning,” Psychological Review 77, no. 5 (1970): 406–18, https://doi.org/10.1037/h0029790.

It can lull people: J. H. Mandel, E. C. Rich, M. G. Luxenberg, M. T. Spilane, D. C. Kern, and T. A. Parrino, “Preparation for Practice in Internal Medicine: A Study of Ten Years of Residency Graduates,” Archives of Internal Medicine 148, no. 4 (1988): 853–56; Kazuya Nakayachi, Branden B. Johnson, and Kazuki Koketsu, “Effects of Acknowledging Uncertainty About Earthquake Risk Estimates on San Francisco Bay Area Residents’ Beliefs, Attitudes, and Intentions,” Risk Analysis 38, no. 4 (2018): 666–79, https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.12883.

CHAPTER 8: SHAPING AND DELIGHTING IN SITU

It’s what landed Sara Blakely: Guy Raz, “How a Pitch in a Neiman Marcus Ladies Room Changed Sara Blakely’s Life,” NPR, September 12, 2016, https://www.npr.org/templates/transcript/transcript.php?storyId=493312213.

In research I’ve conducted: Francesca Gino, Ovul Sezer, and Laura Huang, “To Be or Not to Be Your Authentic Self? Catering to Others’ Preferences Hinders Performance” (working paper, Harvard Business School, 2016).

Aileen Lee, venture capital investor: Aileen Lee, phone conversation with author, July 17, 2017.

Incidentally, she is: Aileen Lee, “Welcome to the Unicorn Club: Learning from Billion-Dollar Startups,” TechCrunch (blog), 2013, http://social.techcrunch.com/2013/11/02/welcome-to-the-unicorn-club/.

CHAPTER 9: ALL THE WAYS YOUR DIAMOND SPARKLES

As far back as 1890: William James, “The Perception of Reality,” in The Principles of Psychology, vol. 2 (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1890), 283–324.

As researchers gained more clarity: Gordon W. Allport, “The Ego in Contemporary Psychology,” Psychological Review 50, no. 5 (1943): 451–78, https://doi.org/10.1037/h0055375; Shelley Duval and Robert A. Wicklund, A Theory of Objective Self Awareness (San Diego: Academic Press, 1972); Paul J. Silvia and T. Shelley Duval, “Objective Self-Awareness Theory: Recent Progress and Enduring Problems,” Personality and Social Psychology Review 5, no. 3 (2001): 230–41, https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0503_4; Robert A. Wicklund, “Objective Self-Awareness,” in Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, vol. 8, ed. Leonard Berkowitz (San Diego: Academic Press, 1975), 233–75, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S006526010860252X.

Science has its own version: Isabel Briggs Myers, Mary H. McCaulley, Naomi L. Quenk, and Allen L. Hammer, MBTI Manual: A Guide to the Development and Use of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, 3rd ed. (Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, 2003).

In fact, tests like the MBTI: Robert R. McCrae and Paul T. Costa, “Reinterpreting the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator from the Perspective of the Five-Factor Model of Personality,” Journal of Personality 57, no. 1 (1989): 17–40.

We use tests like the MBTI: John M. Digman, “Personality Structure: Emergence of the Five-Factor Model,” Annual Review of Psychology 41, no. 1 (1990): 417–40, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ps.41.020190.002221; Boele De Raad, The Big Five Personality Factors: The Psycholexical Approach to Personality (Ashland, OH: Hogrefe & Huber, 2000); Jerry S. Wiggins, ed., The Five-Factor Model of Personality: Theoretical Perspectives (New York: Guilford Press, 1996); John A. Johnson, “Clarification of Factor Five with the Help of the AB5C Model,” European Journal of Personality 8, no. 4 (1994): 311–34, https://doi.org/10.1002/per.2410080408; Colin G. DeYoung, Lena C. Quilty, and Jordan B. Peterson, “Between Facets and Domains: 10 Aspects of the Big Five,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 93, no. 5 (2007): 880–96, https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.93.5.880; Colin G. DeYoung, Bridget E. Carey, Robert F. Krueger, and Scott R. Ross, “Ten Aspects of the Big Five in the Personality Inventory for DSM-5,” Personality Disorders 7, no. 2 (2016): 113–23, https://doi.org/10.1037/per0000170; Michael C. Ashton, Kibeom Lee, Lewis R. Goldberg, and Reinout E. de Vries, “Higher Order Factors of Personality: Do They Exist?” Personality and Social Psychology Review 13, no. 2 (2009): 79–91, https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868309338467.

“be a first-rate version”: Judy Garland, “Judy Garland Quotes,” BrainyQuote, https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/judy_garland_104276.

Instead, we have the power: D. Scott DeRue, Susan J. Ashford, and Natalie C. Cotton, “Assuming the Mantle: Unpacking the Process by Which Individuals Internalize a Leader Identity,” in Exploring Positive Identities and Organizations: Building a Theoretical and Research Foundation, ed. Laura Morgan Roberts and Jane E. Dutton, Organization and Management Series (New York: Psychology Press, 2009).

She cofounded a tech nonprofit: Ashley Edwards, conversations with author, April 26, 2018, and May 16, 2018.

Ashley realized that by embracing: Allen R. McConnell, “The Multiple Self-Aspects Framework: Self-Concept Representation and Its Implications,” Personality and Social Psychology Review 15, no. 1 (2011): 3–27, https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868310371101.

Self-awareness, in fact: David M. Buss and Michael F. Scheier, “Self-Consciousness, Self-Awareness, and Self-Attribution,” Journal of Research in Personality 10, no. 4 (1976): 463–68, https://doi.org/10.1016/0092-6566(76)90060-X; Fred Rothbaum, John R. Weisz, and Samuel S. Snyder, “Changing the World and Changing the Self: A Two-Process Model of Perceived Control,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 42, no. 1 (1982): 5–37.

As William James wrote: William James, The Principles of Psychology, vol. 1 (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1890), 294.

We come to know ourselves: Herbert Blumer, Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1986); Joel M. Charon, Symbolic Interactionism: An Introduction, an Interpretation, an Integration (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1979), https://trove.nla.gov.au/version/45014982.

A few months after: Ashton Kutcher, conversation with author, Wharton Social Impact Initiative’s Lauren and Bobby Turner Social Impact Executive Speaker Series, Philadelphia, October 10, 2013.

CHAPTER 10: TURNING BIASES AND STEREOTYPES IN YOUR FAVOR

Classic research on social perception: Mark Snyder, Elizabeth Decker Tanke, and Ellen Berscheid, “Social Perception and Interpersonal Behavior: On the Self-fulfilling Nature of Social Stereotypes,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 35, no. 9 (1977): 656–66, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.35.9.656; Penelope J. Oakes, S. Alexander Haslam, and John C. Turner, Stereotyping and Social Reality (Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 1994).

Psychologists Mahzarin Banaji and Brian Nosek: Irene V. Blair and Mahzarin R. Banaji, “Automatic and Controlled Processes in Stereotype Priming,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 70, no. 6 (1996): 1142–63, https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.70.6.1142; Anthony G. Greenwald, Mahzarin R. Banaji, and Brian A. Nosek, “Statistically Small Effects of the Implicit Association Test Can Have Societally Large Effects,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 108, no. 4 (2015): 553–61, https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000016.

“I ask them if they have”: Cyrus Habib, interview with moderators, Cafe Change Summit, New York, April 26, 2018.

“I take the opportunity to walk with them”: Ibid.

And that has allowed Cyrus: Mike Baker, “Life Story Drives Blind Lawmaker,” Seattle Times, March 10, 2013, https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/life-story-drives-blind-lawmaker/.

Paul Graham: Alyson Shontell, “Startup Titan Paul Graham Explains Why He Said Founders with Thick Accents Get Worse Results,” Business Insider, August 27, 2013, https://www.businessinsider.com/paul-graham-on-startup-founders-with-thick-foreign-accents-2013-8.

And it just so happened: Huang, Frideger, and Pearce, “Political Skill.”

When bias is confronted: Elizabeth S. Focella, Meghan G. Bean, and Jeff Stone, “Confrontation and Beyond: Examining a Stigmatized Target’s Use of a Prejudice Reduction Strategy,” Social & Personality Psychology Compass 9, no. 2 (2015): 100–14, https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12153; Patricia G. Devine, “Stereotypes and Prejudice: Their Automatic and Controlled Components,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 56, no. 1 (1989): 5–18, https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.56.1.5; James L. Hilton and William von Hippel, “Stereotypes,” Annual Review of Psychology 47, no. 1 (1996): 237–71, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.47.1.237; Crystal Fleming, Michèle Lamont, and Jessica Welburn, “African Americans Respond to Stigmatization: The Meanings and Salience of Confronting, Deflecting Conflict, Educating the Ignorant and ‘Managing the Self,’” Ethnic and Racial Studies 35, no. 3 (2012): 400–17.

Psychologists Alexander Czopp: Alexander M. Czopp, Margo J. Monteith, and Aimee Y. Mark, “Standing Up for a Change: Reducing Bias Through Interpersonal Confrontation,” Journal of Personality & Social Psychology 90, no. 5 (2006): 784–803, https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.90.5.784.

Recognize and adapt: John Szramiak, “Here’s a 10 Point Plan to Invest like Charlie Munger,” Business Insider, October 26, 2016, https://www.businessinsider.com/10-point-plan-to-invest-like-charlie-munger-2016-10.

When Dawn Fitzpatrick: Alexandra Stevenson and Kate Kelly, “Men Bet She Would Fail; Now She Runs a $26 Billion Fund,” New York Times, April 8, 2017, https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/08/business/dealbook/george-soros-dawn-fitzpatrick-american-stock-exchange.html; Dawn Fitzpatrick, interview by S. Ruhle and M. Miller, Bloomberg Television, June 26, 2014; Julie Segal, “Dawn Fitzpatrick Leaves UBS for Soros CIO Job,” Institutional Investor, February 1, 2017, https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/b1505q22yk2j2m/dawn-fitzpatrick-leaves-ubs-for-soros-cio-job.

there are single moments in time: Ibid.

In my research and in the research: David Willer, Michael J. Lovaglia, and Barry Markovsky, “Power and Influence: A Theoretical Bridge,” Social Forces 76, no. 2 (1997): 571–603, https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/76.2.571; Linda L. Carli, “Gender, Interpersonal Power, and Social Influence,” Journal of Social Issues 55, no. 1 (1999): 81–99, https://doi.org/10.1111/0022-4537.00106; Huang and Knight, “Resources and Relationships in Entrepreneurship.”

It’s not a bad thing: Steven L. Blader and Ya-Ru Chen, “Differentiating the Effects of Status and Power: A Justice Perspective,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 102, no. 5 (2012): 994–1014, https://doi.org/10.1037/a0026651.

Cooperative interdependence and competitive interdependence: Harold H. Kelley and John W. Thibaut, Interpersonal Relations: A Theory of Interdependence (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1978).

CHAPTER 11: FRAMING PERCEPTIONS AND ATTRIBUTIONS YOUR WAY

I’ve found that entrepreneurs: Huang, “A Theory of Investor Gut Feel.”

For example, Melissa Cardon: Melissa S. Cardon, Joakim Wincent, Jagdip Singh, and Mateja Drnovsek, “The Nature and Experience of Entrepreneurial Passion,” Academy of Management Review 34, no. 3 (2009): 511–32, https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.2009.40633190.

The influence of such passion: Xiao-Ping Chen, Xin Yao, and Suresh Kotha, “Entrepreneur Passion and Preparedness in Business Plan Presentations: A Persuasion Analysis of Venture Capitalists’ Funding Decisions,” Academy of Management Journal 52, no. 1 (2009): 199–214, https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2009.36462018; Robert A. Baron, “The Role of Affect in the Entrepreneurial Process,” Academy of Management Review 33, no. 2 (2008): 328–40; Antonio Damasio, “Feelings of Emotion and the Self,” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1001, no. 1 (2003): 253–61, https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1279.014; Norbert Schwarz and Gerald L. Clore, “Mood as Information: 20 Years Later,” Psychological Inquiry 14, nos. 3–4 (2003): 296–303, https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2003.9682896.

This type of “spotlight effect”: Thomas Gilovich, Victoria Husted Medvec, and Kenneth Savitsky, “The Spotlight Effect in Social Judgment: An Egocentric Bias in Estimates of the Salience of One’s Own Actions and Appearance,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 78, no. 2 (2000): 211–22; Thomas Gilovich and Kenneth Savitsky, “The Spotlight Effect and the Illusion of Transparency: Egocentric Assessments of How We Are Seen by Others,” Current Directions in Psychological Science 8, no. 6 (1999): 165–68, https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8721.00039; Thomas Gilovich, Justin Kruger, and Victoria Husted Medvec, “The Spotlight Effect Revisited: Overestimating the Manifest Variability of Our Actions and Appearance,” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 38, no. 1 (2002): 93–99, https://doi.org/10.1006/jesp.2001.1490.

women in mathematics: Hannah-Hanh Nguyen and Ann Marie Ryan, “Does Stereotype Threat Affect Test Performance of Minorities and Women? A Meta-Analysis of Experimental Evidence,” Journal of Applied Psychology 93, no. 6 (2008): 1314–34, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0012702.

CHAPTER 12: YOU NEED AT LEAST TWO POINTS TO CREATE A TRAJECTORY

The trajectory of an academic: Barry Yeoman, “Academic Apprentices: Still an Ideal?” Barry Yeoman: Journalist (blog), May 1, 1999, https://barryyeoman.com/1999/05/academic-apprentices-still-an-ideal/; Karen Forbes, “The PhD Experience as an Apprenticeship into Academia,” FERSA University of Cambridge Blog, March 9, 2018, https://fersacambridge.com/2018/03/09/the-phd-experience-as-an-apprenticeship-into-academia.

Many different trajectories: Daniel Bertaux and Martin Kohli, “The Life Story Approach: A Continental View,” Annual Review of Sociology 10, no. 1 (1984): 215–37, https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.so.10.080184.001243; Stephanie Taylor and Karen Littleton, “Biographies in Talk: A Narrative-Discursive Research Approach,” Qualitative Sociology Review 2, no. 1 (2006): 22–38.

The world can be cruel: Dave Dahl, conversation with author, ENIAC VC M1 Summit, San Francisco, November 15, 2016.

Remember that 75 percent: Lolly Daskal, “How to Be More Resilient When Things Get Tough,” Inc., April 9, 2015, https://www.inc.com/lolly-daskal/how-to-be-more-resilient-when-things-get-tough.html.