What we learned together on Network Capital last week

Key takeaways from the week gone by

″If you can get 1 percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done.”

That’s the whole point of the Network Capital ecosystem. To help you get 1% better every day so that you can compound your way to success.

New research published in the journal Nature Communications suggests that creative breakthroughs follow a straightforward formula: creative exploration followed by exploitation.

Jackson Pollock, one of modern art's most famous painters, produced most of his iconic works from 1947 to 1950. Prior to his "hot streak," Pollock experimented with a variety of styles of subject matter, first drawing and later painting humans, animals, and nature.

Only after years of experimentation, he began flinging drips of paint at a canvas. After his splattered masterpieces started making waves in the art world, Pollock doubled down on the technique, what researchers call "exploitation," producing a series of high-impact works.

"Neither exploration nor exploitation alone in isolation is associated with a hot streak. It's the sequence of them together. Although exploration is considered a risk because it might not lead anywhere, it increases the likelihood of stumbling upon a great idea," said the lead study author from the research, Dashun Wang.

This exploration-exploitation ratio is helpful to keep in mind for young professionals thinking about what they want to do with their lives, what they want to focus on, and what their long-term contribution to their field would be.

Take Kaushik Subramanian as an example. He experimented and changed career tracks several times before breaking into a top VC fund as a partner. You will find his insights on finding career-product-market fit insightful.

What we published this week

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Masterclass on Career Transitions | Anjan Sundaram

IIT →Yale→ Goldman Sachs → McKinsey → War Journalism

P.S. If you are interested in redefining your relationship with work and pursue careers aligned with your interests, check out our founder Utkarsh Amitabh’s books.

His books found a new home at the Norwegian parliament.

Afterthought: “Achieving a goal only changes your life for the moment. We think we need to change our results, but the results are not the problem. What we really need to change are the systems that cause those results.”