Andrew McVagh, Author at My Mental Models

Charlie Munger’s System Of Mental Models: How To Think Your Way To Success

By Andrew McVagh, last updated August 7, 2018 4 Comments

Mental Models? Latticework? Huh? Do what now?

The phrase ‘Latticework of Mental Models’ comes from Berkshire-Hathaway’s Charles Munger, who is a person that has spent most of his life working out ways to, for lack of a better term, think better.

Munger has come to the conclusion that in order to make better decisions in business and in life, you must find and understand the core principles from all disciplines.

In short, learn all the big ideas and how they interrelate and better, more rational thinking will naturally follow.

This is what he calls Elementary Worldly Wisdom, and using his system of Mental Models can help you succeed in almost any endeavor.

The Ben Franklin Effect: How He Would Have Used LinkedIn

By Andrew McVagh, last updated November 19, 2017 Leave a Comment

It took me a while to get on LinkedIn.

I knew I should do it, both for my own career as well as to help some of my colleagues that I am mentoring, but I kept putting it off because I didn’t want to sit down and learn yet another online system.

Despite my misgivings I finally sat down and created my account. I entered the usual work and school history and then I looked around for a few people I knew and sent them connect requests to get things rolling.

And that’s when things started to get weird. [Read more…]

The Best Books On Mental Models

By Andrew McVagh, last updated August 7, 2018 Leave a Comment

After numerous requests I have finally put together a list of the books that been the most helpful in my quest to learn more about Cognitive Biases and Mental Models.

My bookshelves (and Kindle) are filled with many more but I've only listed the ones that I found truly useful. These are the books I keep going back to over and over again.

Why Focusing On The Latticework Is As Important As The Models

By Andrew McVagh, last updated November 19, 2017 5 Comments

So you’re working on building out your Mental Models. You’re reading books, taking notes, and otherwise trying to follow in the footsteps of Charlie Munger so you can have your own handy list of models to help you make better decisions and out-think the majority of people around you.

Yet whenever it comes time to make an important decision in a pinch, you struggle to find the right models or you forget your well-curated list entirely. In the heat of the moment you fall right back on the same irrational mental heuristics as everyone else.

I’m noticing this more and more in my own decision-making and I think I’ve figured out why it happens. [Read more…]

The Perks Of Being Peculiar: A Checklist For Success From Charlie Munger

By Andrew McVagh, last updated November 19, 2017 Leave a Comment

In 2011 Charlie Munger ended the tradition of yearly Wesco shareholder conferences by calling the attendees … peculiar:

“You people aren’t normal. It’s only peculiar people like you that I want to impress.”

So what makes someone peculiar in Charlie’s mind?

It’s someone who doesn’t think like the masses, someone who recognizes the limits of the human mind and adopts tools to think as rationally as possible.

And Charlie has hinted at the tools he has used to achieve his success. [Read more…]

Further Reading: