Blitzscaling is an aggressive growth strategy that prioritizes speed over efficiency amidst uncertainty. It thrives on positive feedback loops.Blitzscaling involves designing a business model with exponential growth potential, building in growth factors like network effects, and innovating management approaches.It originated in tech but works across sectors.

Blitzscaling

Amazon epitomizes successful blitzscaling, growing from 150 to 7,600 employees and $5 million to $1.6 billion in revenue from 1996 to 1999.Other tech companies like Facebook, Uber, Airbnb, Dropbox and Spotify have also effectively blitzscaled. Speed was imperative to beat rivals to scale and capture the market.

Blitzscaling Companies

Blitzscaling requires designing a model primed for exponential growth. Key factors include appealing to a massive market, building in virality, having high gross margins, and leveraging network effects to generate self-reinforcing growth cycles.Avoid products without market fit or models that can't scale operationally.Continually adapt and challenge the status quo.

Developing an Innovative Business Model 

<ul><li>Only blitzscale when speed in capturing the market is critical to success.</li><li>Blitzscale when you must rapidly scale an innovation before rivals, not just beat them to market.</li><li>Avoid blitzscaling low-margin businesses.</li></ul>

When You Should Blitzscale

Moore’s Law – Computing power generally doubles every 18 months.Automation – You want to automate your businesses; this is why Google’s server farms are running 24/7.Adaptation – You must continually improve your company rather than just optimizing it.Be contrarian – You need to challenge the status quo, sometimes, to be the leader in your field.

4 Underlying Principles for Business Model Innovations

Bits not atoms – Bits are easier to move than atoms.  Platforms – Software-based platforms can be distributed globally with great ease.Free – With a free basic account and a premium paid account service you can reach a huge number of users through virality.Marketplaces – Marketplaces have always been important in the business world.  Subscriptions – Software-as-a-service is the dominant model for enterprise software.Digital Goods – In-app purchases are the intersection between bits and atoms.

6 Business Model Patterns

Blitzscaling management differs from traditional styles.<ul><li>Accept uncertainty and take steps to mitigate risk.</li><li>Hire and fire for fit.</li><li>Be ready to reorganize teams chaotically.</li><li>Launch imperfect products and fix later.</li><li>Let some problems remain while tackling bigger ones.</li><li>Overinvest in funding.</li></ul>

Innovative Management

The real value creation comes when innovative technology enables innovative products and services with innovative business models.

Incumbents struggling against blitzscaling rivals have three options: Beat them conventionally, blitzscale yourself, or avoid competing and shift to stable markets.Many choose avoidance, like IBM pivoting from hardware to software consulting.

Defending Against Blitzscalers 

Family to Tribe: Transitioning from family to tribe requires high levels of competence and/or a brilliant growth strategy.Tribe to Village: At this stage, the founder transitions from doing everything to managing people in a more differentiated, specialized way.Village to City: The founder still sets goals, strategies and high-level decisions as the company scales up.City to National: Further growth requires pulling back from blitzscaling, with the founder focusing more on growing new product lines and business units.

The Five Stages of Growth and How to Transition between Them

Blitzscaling by LinkedIn and PayPal co-founder Reid Hoffman introduces readers to the revolutionary scaling process from the title, which turns business strategies on their head by prioritizing speed over efficiency even at the cost of uncertainty. The long-term goal is to blow competitors out of the water by creating a lasting competitive advantage via scaling itself.

Foreword by Bill Gates From the authors of New York Times bestsellers, The Alliance and The Start-up of You, comes a smart and accessible must-have guide for budding entrepreneurs everywhere. Silicon Valley is renowned for its striking number of businesses which have grown from garage start-ups into global giants; Apple, Cisco, Google, HP and Intel to name a few. But what is the secret to their outstanding success? Hoffman and Yeh explain that it's simple: they've learnt how to blitzscale. Featuring case studies from numerous prominent tech businesses such as AirBnB and WeChat, this book offers a specific set of practices for catalysing and managing dizzying growth in bourgeoning start-ups. Prioritising speed over efficiency in an environment of uncertainty, Blitzscaling illustrates how businesses can accelerate to the stage in a company's life cycle where the most value is generated. Using the framework provided by Hoffman and Yeh, readers will learn how to design business models which simultaneously support growth at a furious pace and capture the market, as well as how to navigate the necessary shifts in strategy needed at each level of scale.

education

Learning & Education

entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship

startup

Startups

books

Books

Reid Garrett Hoffman is an American internet entrepreneur, venture capitalist, podcaster, and author. Hoffman was the co-founder and executive chairman of LinkedIn, a business-oriented social network used primarily for professional networking.

Reid Hoffman

Chris Yeh

People need a shared understanding of what digital transformation means. Aristotle has a framework that helps.The unknown, uncertain space between past and future, between theory and practice, that characterizes organizations in the process of becoming something new.To navigate the messy middle of transformation, leaders must understand how the different knowledge domains contribute to the transformation-and help their employees find a way to be part of the same conversation.

From Here To There

<ul><li>People agree on what problems to solve, not on how to talk about them.</li><li>To help people co-create a shared language, leaders must bridge the gap between the employees who know theoretical frameworks and those who don't.</li><li>One way to do this is to adjust their communication to the people they are talking to.</li><li>Another is to use words that everyone understands.</li></ul>

Science

To find wisdom in something that is new to everyone, like digital transformation, leaders sometimes look for inspiration among thought leaders who are discovering new ways of thinking and talking about transformation rather than teaching existing theories.Typically, people representing the domain of wisdom use and combine terms from professional areas that are foreign to the organization.

Wisdom

<ul><li>In prudence (good judgment), people depend on neither theoretical frameworks nor translation of basic principles to make sense of complexity.</li><li>They use the inspiration they get from everyday practice, consultants, and thought leaders to talk about the transformation in a language everyone understands.</li><li>Leaders should help their employees share their already existing knowledge and collaborate on turning it into new ways of working.</li></ul>

Prudence Or Good Judgement

People need a shared understanding of what digital transformation means. Aristotle has a framework that helps.

philosophy

Philosophy

motivationandinspiration

Motivation & Inspiration

A philosopher's guide to messy transformations

Casual observation tells us that most people don’t use math beyond simple arithmetic in everyday life. Few people make use of fractions, trigonometry, or multi-digit division algorithms they use in school. More advanced tools like algebra or calculus are even less likely to be brought out to solve everyday problems.

Failure to Use Math In Everyday Life

<ul>
<li>Below Basic – Add up two numbers to complete an ATM deposit.</li>
<li>Basic – Calculate the cost of a sandwich and salad using prices from a menu.</li>
<li>Intermediate – Calculate the total cost of ordering office supplies using a page from an office supplies catalogue and an order form.</li>
<li>Proficient – Calculate an employee’s share of health insurance costs for a year using a table that shows how the employee’s monthly cost varies with income and family size.</li>
</ul>

The Scale Of Quantitive Abilities

The first argument would allege a failure of education. People don’t use math because they were never taught it thoroughly enough to use it properly.A lack of automaticity may explain the difficulty people had with the quantitative questions in the survey. Their math wasn’t easily accessible, which led them to make mistakes in the reasoning tasks.

Why Do People Fail to Use Math: Most People Don’t Learn Math Well Enough to Use It

The second argument is a little different. It argues that people may develop competence in math classes, but they struggle to translate real-life problems into a format where they can use their mathematics knowledge.What people struggle with is not doing math, but recognizing where and how to apply math to real problems.

Inability to Translate Real-Life Situations into Math Problems

A third explanation is that math is overrated as a solution strategy for problems outside of exacting, quantitative disciplines. The person measuring cottage cheese managed to get the correct answer without multiplying fractions.Everyone values knowledge they have mastered and tends to dismiss knowledge they haven’t as irrelevant. There’s probably bias on both sides.

Math Isn’t That Useful for Everyday Problems

More drill and practice with math. More time spent drilling and practicing math makes it more available for effortless calculations. More practice with interpreting problem situations. Many students are only taught math as symbol manipulation. Less instruction is focused on identifying situations where it might be useful. Give real-life challenges that require math. Ultimately, skills and knowledge are sustained by usage. If you don’t have any genuine problems that require skill, you begin to forget them.

Making Math More Useful

Why do we fail to use so many of the subjects we learn in school? Are they useless, or do we simply fail to learn them well enough?

productivity

Productivity

problemsolving

Problem Solving

Why Don't We Use the Math We Learn in School? - Scott H Young

Western medicine, for all its knowledge, has no clue about the connection of body, mind and soul. It is mainly concerned with the physical body and tries to dissect the various body parts, treating them as separate objects that can be repaired or replaced.Eastern medicine does not treat the body as an automobile, and works holistically, as they have intricate knowledge on how our body parts, blood, mind and soul are interconnected.

East And West

Essential oils, a pure and ancient form of medicine that eastern cultures have used for thousands of years, provides us with various physical and psychological benefits. Just like green tea became mainstream a few centuries ago, essential oils are finally finding their place in the sun.

The Time Has Come For Essential Oils

People who are into holistic health and wellness practices are using essential oils for feeling good, meditation practices, aromatic baths and many other activities.Websites selling these oils mostly cite ancient Ayurvedic medicines from India that have been used for thousands of years, to convince buyers about their credentials.

Oils For Everything

<ul><li>2021 is an age of anxiety all across the world, due to the pandemic and the resulting damage. </li><li>Immunity boosting and wellness products, like essential oils, are selling like hotcakes, making many brands into multimillionaires.</li></ul>Due to the rising popularity of essential oils, many companies like Walmart are selling bundles and kits of mixed oils labelled as therapeutic grade essential oils, which may not be as effective as the real, pure ones.

The Age Of Anxiety

Aromatic oils have become big business. But are they medicine or marketing?

personaldevelopment

Personal Development

marketingandsales

Marketing & Sales

health

Health

How Essential Oils Became the Cure for Our Age of Anxiety

Vital parts of the brain tend to atrophy as we age. But brain scans of some 70-year-olds looks similar to those of 20 to 30-year-olds.
Cognitive decline is not inevitable as you age. Research points to healthy lifestyle habits that may keep the mind sharp while ageing.

Cognitive decline is not inevitable

Research shows social isolation increases dementia risk by 50% in older adults.
You don't need to seek as many friends as possible, but building social circles that satisfy your individual needs can be enough, like spending more time with neighbours or volunteering. One common ageing problem that causes social withdrawal is hearing loss. Addressing hearing loss is vital for brain health.

Start socialising

Manageable stress motivates you and supports brain health. But relaxation is just as important. Meditation and music are great de-stressors. A good night's rest assists in mental sharpness. Adults who sleep poorly over a long period are more likely to suffer cognitive decline. 
Simple routines can improve sleep, such as limiting food and drink three hours before bedtime, maintaining the same sleep schedule, and eliminating electronic devices in the bedroom.

Practice relaxation

One of the best ways to keep your body young is to stay physically active. The same is true for the brain. <ul><li>Exercise increases a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDN), which is vital for growing and keeping neurons.</li><li>Exercise can help prevent brain inflammation. </li></ul> Strive for 150 minutes of aerobic workouts and two days of strength training per week. Add a cognitive challenge like sports or dancing that combines cardio, music, socialising and remembering steps.

Exercise smart

After exercising, choose a brain-healthy recovery meal. <ul><li>One diet known to reduce the risk for Alzheimer's disease is a Mediterranean diet - eating fish and plant-based foods such as fruit, vegetables, nuts and olive oil.</li><li>Another eating plan is the MIND diet, a variation on the Mediterranean approach that prioritises foods that support brain health, such as berries and green, leafy vegetables.</li></ul>

Eat for your brain

Having a goal-driven purpose is associated with a 30% reduction in dementia, according to a 2017 study.  The mind can be engaged in socialising or other forms of engagement such as writing a novel, caring for someone, pursuing a satisfying job into your 80s, exercising or practising an enriching hobby.

Pursue a purpose

An aging brain isn't a weak one. These habits—including exercising, relaxing and socializing—help protect brain health as you age.

food

Food

mentalhealth

Mental Health

5 Ways to Keep Your Brain Sharp As You Age

In discussing the fear of sharing past traumas or mental health difficulties with others, Prince Harry pointed out that the phrase "you need help" is damaging. It implies that you don't know how to deal with issues and should seek help as you are incapable of personal care.
If you tell somebody to their face that they need help, it may drive them to deny that they need help.

Don't tell people directly they need help

People living with mental health conditions need professional and social support. Loved ones play a vital role in our mental health. Studies found poor social support leads to worse symptoms and recovery.
There are many cases in which a person might say "you need help" that is valid. Although it may be well-intentioned, there are better ways to make that statement sound more caring and supportive.

Mental health: Social support is vital

<ul>
<li>Ask an open-ended question that acknowledges mental health issues. "This pandemic has been hard on me mentally, what has it been like for you?"</li>
<li>Say, "I noticed , and I wanted to check in." Don't make them look bad, but compassionately raise your concerns.</li>
<li>Ask them how they want you to check in. It is important to check in on their terms. Do they prefer a text? What kind of questions help them open up? Would they prefer some distraction?</li>
<li>Offer to search for a professional with them.</li>
</ul>

How to say "you need help"

Here's how the remark can backfire, and what to say when addressing mental health instead.

Understand yourself and those around you.

psychology

Psychology

communication

Communication

Prince Harry Nails Why You Shouldn't Say 'You Need Help' To Someone Struggling

<ul>
<li>One example of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is the phobia related to germs and leads to a person disinfecting and cleaning everything obsessively.</li>
<li>It is already problematic for many and is now amplified due to the ongoing pandemic.</li>
<li>A person who is fanatic about sanitizing is having OCD if it is accompanied by constant anxiety and distress.</li>
<li>One in every 100 adults suffer from this disorder in the U.S., and it may be genetic.</li>
</ul>

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder In A Global Crisis

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) often develops in creative and intelligent people and is not limited to being obsessive about sanitizing everything.
People develop compulsive behaviours about leaving their house unlocked, or leaving the car light on. People can have obsessive sexual thoughts or be extremely God-fearing. The common thread is that they are stuck in a ‘thought loop', a constant state of anxiety.

OCD: Not Just Cleanliness

Some people with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) develop repetitive activities like tapping, fiddling or blinking, usually a form of body movement or action that provides them with some relief.
People with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) themselves are aware that their constant anxiety and compulsions are irrational, and the relief they provide is temporary, but the urge is so intense that they are helpless.

Repetitive Routine Activities

Our brain structure, just like our genes, can make us vulnerable to OCD. Some types of minds are always pursuing certainty and perfection, not knowing that it is impossible to attain 100 percent of anything at all times.
As the compulsion is never given any permanent relief, there is a need to constantly repeat the action.

Uncertainty And Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

OCD is often misdiagnosed by medical professionals as depression, anxiety or even bipolar disorder. When it is recognized for what it is, the most effective treatment is EPR, or exposure and response therapy, which is similar to CBT (cognitive behaviour therapy).
ERP therapy exposes the patient to situations and thoughts that cause anxiety while controlling the urge to perform the compulsive action. It is effective in about 66% of people and is often clubbed with certain medication.

Treatment Of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

Obsessive-compulsive disorder isn’t what most people imagine it to be. We asked experts to explain what’s really going on inside the brain—and how to find long-lasting relief.

Expert Tips for Understanding OCD, and How to Treat It

Our minds are not static, but dynamic. The Brain has the capability to modify itself, change its structure, and to alter its biochemistry, at any age.We can renew, rewire, heal and adapt our brains.

Our Brains are Upgradable

You can improve your grey matter by learning a new, complex skill like juggling. The simple act of juggling has recently been linked with better brain function. A new study reveals that learning to juggle may cause certain areas of your brain to grow.

Juggling

Even if it is just for 10 minutes before going to bed, you should be learning new stuff every day, a new skill, a new word, a new kind of idea or philosophy. Expose your brain to new frontiers.

Learn Something New

Have plenty of sleep to protect your brain from shrinking, avoiding any protein buildup (which eats brain cells) and the rapid reduction in brain functioning.

Adequate Sleep

Exercise rewires the brain. Keep your body active by taking any kind of daily exercise.Even if you take a 20-minute walk or cycling, it can do wonders for your brain.

Exercising

Meditation can permanently rewire your brain to raise the levels of happiness.The effects and benefits of meditation include stress reduction, improved concentration, a boost in memory and reduced emotional reactions.

Meditation

Train your brain, change your brain Nothing about our brains is set in stone. Our brains are surprisingly dynamic. It can adapt, heal, renew or rewire itself. What you do or don't do daily is literally changing your brain for better or worse.

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

5 Habits That Will Help Your Brain Stay in Peak Condition

With record-high instances of depression, anxiety, and substance abuse in the United States, and likely elsewhere, we still think antidepressants can be used to relieve some of the damage. But this may not be true. The use of antidepressants has inadvertently left many less able to feel empathy toward others, laugh, cry, dream, and enjoy life when we need it most.
A theory of brain function involving serotonin may point a way forward for effective treatment.

The noise in our brains

Impressive results have been found by using psychedelics, such as the psilocybin found in "magic mushrooms." A 2017 study showed a decrease in depressive symptoms of treatment-resistant individuals one week after their dose.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging used during the process shows that the mechanism of action is directly related to the increase in spontaneous brain fluctuations.

Reducing treatment-resistant depression

When our mind wanders, sleeps, or is under anaesthesia, our neurons are still firing all over the brain.
But through trauma, our spontaneous fluctuations can fall into negative resting-state patterns, almost like water that runs into a ditch. Antidepressants either cut off this water flow or reduce the functional connectivity, leaving around 70 percent of people who take antidepressants feeling an "emotional numbness".

Spontaneous brain fluctuations

Research shows that REM dreaming plays a vital role in regulating negative emotions and depression. Dreaming increases spontaneous fluctuations.
However, antidepressants, anti-anxiety agents, and many sleeping pills interfere with REM sleep and dreaming.

REM sleep increase spontaneous fluctuations

Neuroscientists have found that cognitive fluctuations are not only tolerated by neurons but that neurons amplify them and use the noisiness to create novel solutions to complex problems.
Researchers use studies of this noise in the brain to approach mental health treatment in new ways. Instead of reducing the noise with antidepressants, they are trying to increase them. This led to marked improvements and significant relief from depression and anxiety.

Spontaneous fluctuations used as treatment

With so many people dealing with mental health issues, we need safe and reliable mental health solutions.
Getting plenty of REM sleep and having dreams unhindered by alcohol, ibuprofen can help. Even looking at natural fractals, like trees and plants, can contribute to flux therapy.

Flux therapy

Not since World War II has there been as great a threat to mental health as the current COVID-19 pandemic, according to Aiden James.&#8230;

Why Making Our Brains Noisier Feels Good - Issue 96: Rewired - Nautilus

<ul>
<li>Some food historians think that the meal has its roots in England&#39;s hunt breakfasts - a multi-course meal with goodies such as chicken livers, eggs, meats, bacon, fresh fruit, and sweets.</li>
<li>Others think that Sunday brunch comes from the practice of Catholics fasting before mass and then sitting down for a big midday meal.</li>
<li>Then some trace the origins of classic brunch dishes to New York&#39;s dining spots.</li>
</ul>

Brunch - a culinary tradition

The word &quot;brunch&quot; first appeared in print in an 1895 Hunter&#39;s Weekly article. The author suggested an alternative to the post-church Sunday meals favouring a lighter meal served late in the morning.
Brunch is a tradition that became popular in the United States in the 1930s. After WWII, large numbers of American married women entered the workforce. But they needed some relief on Sunday, thus the rise in popularity of Sunday brunch.

Blitzscaling

A philosopher's guide to messy transformations

Why Don't We Use the Math We Learn in School? - Scott H Young

How Essential Oils Became the Cure for Our Age of Anxiety

5 Ways to Keep Your Brain Sharp As You Age

Aurora E.