Leverage - Mental Model

“Give me a lever long enough, and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.” — Archimedes

The lever has incredible power to amplify force when used correctly.

This mental model is a concept drawn from mechanical physics but it can be used to abstract thinking on small actions that can lead to big results.

Leverage uses a lever to multiply force, but you need to push or pull further away from the pivot point to move heavy objects with less effort.

I'll go through different aspects of using leverage with all its potential… but also its dangers.

Potential

The Winning the Week method of planning your week utilises the concept of leverage. The most important task that you need to prioritise is the leverage priority.

Leveraged priority, when accomplished, makes everything else much easier. For example, prioritising the task of teaching your team members on how to lead meetings, so that they lead future meetings saving you time.

You can build leverage by:

• Learning a new skill: learn English for a few years and you can capitalise on it for the rest of your life

• Relying on constant improvement: imagine how slower it would be to operate if you couldn’t type fast on the keyboard

• Making connections with people: widen your network of contacts and more opportunities will arise

Think about your options and choose actions that give you leverage.

Look for long-term benefits, not just quick wins.

Dangers

There are dangers with using leverage — it can amplify your losses.

You can get smashed by the leverage when it amplifies your mistakes, for example:

• Delegating everything to everyone without control: a few people doing your work poorly may cost you dearly

• Investing in leveraged financial instruments: you can lose much more money than you invested

Leverage is a double-edged sword, which can make your mistakes even bigger.

Be careful with shortcuts that promise big rewards but need very little work — they are often traps.

Summary

When deciding on what to do next, it’s worth asking yourself one question: does it give me leverage?

How much have you benefited in life from knowing English?

Small consistent investments in your skills can lead to big opportunities later on.

Leverage is a powerful tool that will influence your life if used properly.

Thanks for reading!

— Michał

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Post Notes

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