More on Mental Models

"How you do anything is how you do everything." 

Years ago after a horrible loss where we never responded physically or mentally, I told the girls, "You have to stand up for yourselves on the court. How you play reflects how you live your life."

Six months later one approached me, "that how you live your life talk really got to me." She's at a highly competitive college now. 

Mental models help you think in class, at home, and on the court. I recently shared:

• Sample size
• Circle of competence
• Inversion

Charlie Munger wrote, "You must know the big ideas in the big disciplines and use them routinely- all of them, not just a few. Most people are trained in one model-economics. for example-and try to solve all problems in one way. You know the old saying: To the man with a hammer, the world looks like a nail. This is a dumb way of handling problems. You need a different checklist and different mental models."

Today, let's investigate three more:

• Simplicity
• Swiss-Army knife
• The Fat Pitch Approach

Simplicity. Coach Don Meyer said coaching evolved in three stages - blind enthusiasm, sophisticated complexity, and mature simplicity. For years, Coach Scott Celli discouraged back row hitting because Melrose didn't have the players to do it consistently. That changed with Elena Soukos and Gia Vlajkovic. 

When simple works, do simple. If you set the outside hitter and she's delivering 'bombs' and scoring points, keep pressing your advantage. "Fall in love with easy." 

If you have a great jump serve, use it. But Melrose had numerous servers like Alyssa Diraffaele and Cassidy Barbaro who served sliders and rockets without a jump serve. Lea Fowke has a dynamic 'conventional' serve. 

Swiss Army knife. Early on in her volleyball career, Rachel Johnson was a single-edge razor, an exceptional blocker. As she gained experience she added the ability to set and became a strong hitter for the 2012 State Championship team. That team had two All-State players, Brooke Bell and Sarah McGowan, but Rachel and Jen Cain, another "Swiss Army knife" were not far off.

The Swiss Army knife player is versatile with a multitude of skills. I've shown you video of Victoria "V-Rex" Crovo who was a great player, great leader, and great teammate as a freshman. 

Work to become proficient in more areas, a generalist. 

The Fat Pitch approach. If we "swing for the fences" on every pitch, we'll strike out a lot. Look for your pitch. Ted Williams was the last player to hit .400, about eighty years ago. How?

The Splendid Splinter had an uncanny knowledge of the strike zone, when to take and when to swing. The graph above was his view of the zone. 

"Fat pitches" come along in many disciplines - investing, job offers, relationships. Seize great opportunities and let others pass. 

I know little about opera, but once I was offered a pair of tickets to see "Miss Saigon." Ellen asks me to call her "Pedro" because I never take her out (you have to be a Red Sox fan to know that) but we went and the tickets were in the front row just behind the orchestra. A fat pitch.

 

Add more mental models to your toolkit. 

Lagniappe. Build your physicality. You don't need a gym or expensive equipment.