Planning & Strategy.
- My favorite businesses are the ones which deeply know why they exist, and which use that knowledge to drive every decision made in the company's name; bonus points are allocated when external and internal messaging is aligned and when customers benefit when the company is successful. In this light, I loved I Sell Onions on the Internet; I was also a big fan of Patagonia's decision to stop selling branded gear. For those of us who are more focused on finding product-market-fit for a new or niche product, I strongly recommend checking out Kevin's method of using Vickrey auctions as a price discovery mechanism.
- I also strongly recommend Robert Caro's Working, his piece for the New Yorker on how he researches LBJ, and as always his excellent back catalog of books.
Making & Manufacturing.
- As a fan of long term thinking, I strongly recommend Nicolas Kemper's piece on how cathedrals function as megaprojects. They may seem antiquated, but cathedrals have historically been at the bleeding edge of structural engineering; examining their unique characteristics as projects sheds light on project management as a whole.
- I took on my own first software project this year: A searchable, browsable database of all of Apple's supply chain transparency reports. In light of this, I recommend reading Low Tech Magazine's How to Build a Low-tech Website, which is highly thought provoking and also just a super cool project.
- I also recommend this quick video on Wera's hex-plus L-keys, which does seem to be a superior Allen wrench design.
Maintenance, Repair & Operations.
- 2019 was, perhaps more than anything else, the year that we learned just how futile (and ultimately flawed) post-consumer recycling really is. China's National Sword policy had gone into effect early in 2018, but it wasn't until early 2019 that the effects became fully understood and stories started really entering the popular consciousness; as a primer, I recommend 99% Invisible's piece on the subject. As the year went on, the picture got even more bleak; Vice's We're Buying Into A Giant Lie About Plastic presented discouraging perspectives from curbside recycling veterans, and Planet Money's two part piece (A Mob Boss, A Garbage Boat and Why We Recycle and So, Should We Recycle?) put forth the idea that curbside recycling programs are a net negative to the earth. For a more nuanced and longer form perspective, I recommend Adam Minter's Secondhand; his mini-piece on Marketplace about car seats is also a good entry point. All of this has led me to think more explicitly about the repairability and reusability of my own personal devices, and I should give finger-wags to Apple (for their AirPods and anti-repair stances) and Sonos (for their "recycle mode") for their poor design and deceptive language.
- I also recommend zipperrescue.com and Matthew Yglesias' proposal for an almost unthinkably large effort to clean up all of the lead in the US.
Distribution & Logistics.
- Elon Musk took a big step down in my rankings this year, primarily due to his regressive and dishonest stance on private vs. public transit; see It's A Car In A Very Small Tunnel and his ridiculous Twitter poll claiming that tunnels will "solve traffic." But don't stop there: There's also the fact that the SolarCity acquisition was (of course) deeply flawed, and the "pedo guy" comment, and SpaceX's absurd claim that nobody anticipated Starlink's impact on astronomy, and the reality that Tesla's direct environmental impact is marginal compared to the fleets of electric buses being rolled out in China. My own interest in Musk peaked circa 2015, and while I still often root for his causes I find myself deeply disappointed in how he and his companies conduct themselves.
- I also recommend this simple simulator to explain bus bunching; this interactive visual of Stuff in Space; this piece on the excellent ROI (in terms of public health) of bike infrastructure. Please also keep in mind the fact that FedEx basically burns jet fuel "just in case."
Inspection, Testing & Analysis.
- It boggles my mind that Bird only recoups something like $70 over the lifetime of each scooter, while their hardware cost is somewhere between $360 and $551. It's insane - and irresponsible - that each Bitcoin transaction consumes enough electricity to power the average US home for 27 days. And the fact that Dyson's (and many others') air hand dryers operate at 110 dB and are especially loud when used by kid-sized people has had a real impact on how I teach my children to use the bathroom.
- Longitude, Latitude is the superior way to express geographical locations.
Tangents.
- A public list of women who work in architecture, engineering, and construction; a very frank and insightful interview with someone who inherited a lot of money; a reminder (to women) that guys with your same qualifications (or lack thereof) are overconfident, and you can be too; evidence that zebra stripes may be an adaptation to confuse biting insects.
No image this week - it just doesn't feel right to rerun something - but if you're looking for some real heady videos then I *highly* recommend these simulations of baked goods cooking.
Thanks as always to our recurring donors for supporting The Prepared. Thanks also to the following readers for sending links: Russ, Deb, Mike, Yotam, Gabe, Xavier, Aaron, Sean, Reilly, Mark, Skyler, John.
Love, Spencer.
p.s. - We should be better friends. Send me a note - coffee's on me :)
p.p.s. - Whenever possible, we work to encourage inclusivity. Here's how.
