Scott O'Neill

Negotiation is a skill that it pays to know- literally! This post is based on the 8 best quotes from Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss. You’ll be able to apply them immediately to improve your negotiation skills.  1. “Splitting the difference is wearing one black and one brown shoe, so don’t compromise.” This … Read more

Do you want to communicate more effectively using the written word? This post is for you. I’ll begin with a general summary of On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser. Next up, I’ll summarize the most important themes with some supporting examples. To finish off, I’ll share my overall view … Read more

Today we’re going to have a deeper look at the concept of ‘psychic entropy’ as introduced in Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. This post will explore the definition and effects of psychic entropy and then go over an effective strategy to help break its negative feedback loop. What is Psychic Entropy? … Read more

I’m sure you’ve experienced a moment when you’re totally ‘in the zone.’ Your attention is fully focused on what you’re doing – no thoughts about what you’re going to have for dinner. It might have happened during a sporting activity, at work, or while reading a book. You were 100% in the moment. This is … Read more

Picture the scene: you’re a prominent politician, preparing yourself to step up and address a large crowd. You need to remain calm throughout. All eyes are on you; you can’t unfairly judge or critique anyone. How do you best prepare for this? If you’re Marcus Aurelius then you do it by writing. In today’s post, … Read more

Imagine you’re thrown into a negotiating situation. You’re asking for $1000, but you’re only being offered $500. What do you do? Most people are going to end up meeting in the middle at $750. According to Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss, this is what you absolutely must not do!  Why should we listen … Read more

We’ve all been there; you sit down intending to get some quality work done… Bing! The notification on your phone goes off, so you stop and quickly check it before going back to work. This start/stop method of working is the antithesis of the ideas discussed in Deep Work by Cal Newport. What is Deep … Read more