Informing Business: Research and Education on a Rugged Landscape

[1.1] We depend on fitness estimates because "real" fitness is almost always impossible to know [1.2] We perceive the world based upon the peak we are pursuing; we choose that peak based on our dominant estimate-of-fitness [1.3] Coming up with a theory that works somewhere is easy; figuring out where it applies is hard [2.1] Change a person's dominant estimate-of-fitness and changes to behavior will surely follow [2.2] As long as our dominant estimate-of-fitness does not change, we cling tenaciously to the peaks we have chosen [2.3] Once expertise has been acquired during periods of stability, we will resist any efforts to make us relinquish it unless forced to do so by our environment [3.1] If we do not practice something, we forget it [3.2] There are many advanced concepts we simply cannot learn until we have become practiced at the basics [3.3] Do not expect to be able to transfer skills from one problem to another until those skills are practiced [4.1] We love rankings and other estimates-of-fitness-especially if we believe our actions can affect them [4.2] Most of our complex ideas are initially acquired from people we know or people we observe [4.3] If you want someone to listen and learn, tell a story [5.1] Rules are stable only between discontinuities-and discontinuities may permanently change these rules [5.2] The size and timing of discontinuities cannot be predicted. Eventually, a jolt will come along that is large enough so that we will really regret not having prepared for it [5.3] If you want to survive... you must acquire a diverse set of skills and cultivate adaptability