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Quick Reference

Key frameworks, mental models, and questions from the curriculum - all in one place.

Key Frameworks

GROW Model

Coaching

Goal, Reality, Options, Will - structured coaching conversation

  1. What do you want? (Goal)
  2. Where are you now? (Reality)
  3. What could you do? (Options)
  4. What will you do? (Will)

The 7 Coaching Questions

The Coaching Habit

Ask more, tell less

  1. What's on your mind? (Kickstart)
  2. And what else? (AWE)
  3. What's the real challenge? (Focus)
  4. What do you want? (Foundation)
  5. How can I help? (Lazy)
  6. If you say yes, what are you saying no to? (Strategic)
  7. What was most useful? (Learning)

STEPPS

Contagious

What makes things go viral

  1. Social Currency - makes people look good
  2. Triggers - environmental reminders
  3. Emotion - high-arousal feelings
  4. Public - visible to others
  5. Practical Value - useful information
  6. Stories - narrative vessels

Hook Model

Hooked

How habit-forming products work

  1. Trigger (external or internal)
  2. Action (simple behavior)
  3. Variable Reward (unpredictable payoff)
  4. Investment (user puts something in)

Strategy Kernel

Good Strategy Bad Strategy

What real strategy requires

  1. Diagnosis - what's the challenge?
  2. Guiding Policy - the approach
  3. Coherent Actions - coordinated steps

Choice Cascade

Playing to Win

Five strategic choices

  1. Winning Aspiration - what does winning look like?
  2. Where to Play - which markets, customers?
  3. How to Win - what's our advantage?
  4. Capabilities - what must we be great at?
  5. Management Systems - how do we support it?

Four Actions Framework

Blue Ocean Strategy

Creating new market space

  1. Eliminate - remove industry factors
  2. Reduce - below industry standard
  3. Raise - above industry standard
  4. Create - factors never offered

Emotional Agility

Susan David

Navigate emotions skillfully

  1. Showing Up - face emotions with curiosity
  2. Stepping Out - create distance from thoughts
  3. Walking Your Why - connect to values
  4. Moving On - small aligned actions

GTD Five Steps

Getting Things Done

Personal productivity system

  1. Capture - collect everything
  2. Clarify - is it actionable? what's next?
  3. Organize - put in the right place
  4. Reflect - weekly review
  5. Engage - do with confidence

Kotter's 8 Steps

Leading Change

Organizational change process

  1. Create urgency
  2. Form coalition
  3. Create vision
  4. Communicate vision
  5. Remove obstacles
  6. Create short-term wins
  7. Build on change
  8. Anchor in culture

Switch Framework

Switch

Change when change is hard

  1. Direct the Rider (rational mind) - provide clarity
  2. Motivate the Elephant (emotions) - find the feeling
  3. Shape the Path (environment) - make it easy

RULER

Permission to Feel

Emotional intelligence framework

  1. Recognize - identify emotions
  2. Understand - causes and consequences
  3. Label - with granularity
  4. Express - appropriately
  5. Regulate - manage effectively

Mental Models

First Principles

Break problems down to fundamental truths

Second-Order Thinking

Consider the consequences of consequences

Inversion

Solve problems backwards - what would cause failure?

Circle of Competence

Know what you know and what you don't

Hanlon's Razor

Don't attribute to malice what's explained by incompetence

Map vs. Territory

The model is not the reality

Margin of Safety

Build buffer for error

Occam's Razor

Simpler explanations are usually better

Confirmation Bias

We seek info that confirms existing beliefs

Survivorship Bias

We only see the winners, not the failures

Dunning-Kruger Effect

Beginners overestimate; experts underestimate

Sunk Cost Fallacy

Past investment shouldn't drive future decisions

Powerful Questions

Context Ask Yourself...
Before any meeting What's the one thing we need to decide or achieve?
When facing a problem What would have to be true for this not to be a problem?
When someone brings an issue What have you already tried?
When making a decision What am I optimizing for?
When stuck What would I advise a friend to do?
When evaluating an idea What's the smallest version we could test?
When planning What's the next physical action?
When receiving feedback What's useful about this, even if I disagree?
When stressed What's within my control right now?
When learning How does this connect to what I already know?

Key Numbers to Remember

7
Questions in The Coaching Habit
8
Steps in Kotter's Change Model
6
Elements in STEPPS
5
Steps in GTD
3
Parts of Strategy Kernel
4
Steps in Hook Model
4
Blue Ocean Actions (ERRC)
5
RULER components
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