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
#1.
Run, Don't Walk: Reflections by NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang
In this newsletter, we will discuss Rajat Gupta’s leadership principles Why Reid Hoffman says, “Let fires burn.” How 3 counterintuitive bets by NVIDIA changed the course of the computing industry Here are quick ways to keep in touch with Network Capital. If you want to join the exclusive Network Capital subgroups, mentorship, events and essays, apply to join using the link below.
#2.
Van Gogh and poverty
Van Gogh’s paintings sell for hundreds of millions of dollars today. However, he had no takers during his lifetime. He and his brother used to exchange long letters. In one of them, he wrote, “I cannot help it that my pictures do not sell. Nevertheless the time will come when people will see that they are worth more than the price of the paint.”
#3.
"Be regular and orderly in your life, so that you may be violent and original in your work." | Sunday Long Reads
*** In this newsletter, you will learn How some of the most creative professionals get work done How order in their personal life propels them towards creativity in their work lives How the notion of creative genius is often misunderstood *** Passion Economy in the Norwegian Parliament
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.”