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A Smarter Day from northcoast.ai

Think Better

Ask what usually happens

Your project feels special. Projects like it have a track record. Ask about the track record.

For undertakings like this one — [describe it] — what typically happens? What do people in this situation usually underestimate, and what's the most common way it goes better than expected?

Why it works

The outside view — what happens to most people in your situation — is a famously good corrective to the inside view's optimism.

Watch out

Treat any specific statistic as a claim to verify, not a fact. The pattern is the value; invented percentages are the hazard.

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