When I turned 18, I still had the naive ambition to understand everything, so I ended up studying physics as this is most logic place to start this journey.

It took me a few years to figure out what physics is all about, this is my best definition.

Physics studies nature by creating a mathematical model that can make predictions, always doing experiments to test those predictions and use those results to improve the model.

You would think that it doesn’t relate to my work, as a Talent Developer, but in reality I still use it every day. Here are some examples of how it shaped my mindset.

1. Problems might be complex but solutions are always simple.

Physics studies everything from the subatomic to the entire solar system. Although a lot of these problems are incredibly complex, the solutions are always simple. Too often I see people rejoicing when they are able to understand a very complex solution. While it’s great that you just found confirmation that you aren’t stupid, this doesn’t make it a good solution.

With just those four lines you can predict everything you can imagine happening to magnets and electricity.

Instead spending time on coming up with a complex solution, you need to spend more time on analysing and defining the problem, because this will allow you to go from a complex solution to a simple solution. Clearly define your problem, make distinction between the essence and everything that might look important, but is irrelevant after further investigation.

Knowing that there is a simple solution is always my motivation if I ever get stuck.

2. There are only so many solutions.

Not only are the solutions always simple, there is even more good news. There is only a limited set of solutions.

A lot of problems, which look very different at first, have the same solution.

There is a great example with first order phase transitions in thermodynamics and ferromagnetism. Two very different physical problems but the solution is exactly the same.

I looked up some nice graphs to document and explain first order phase transitions in detail, but I decided against it because you probably couldn’t care less. Instead I added a picture of this cute nerdy kitten, you are welcome.

Translated to real life talk, even though you are only running a scrappy start-up, if you know how Google solved a problem you might be able to apply this solution to your current problem.

This should encourage you to study everything and don’t limit yourself to your own industry, take a look at smaller and bigger organisations. They might be selling a totally different product or have a few thousands more employees but this really doesn’t matter. Figure out which solutions worked for others and find out how to translate these to what you are doing.

This also means that everybody potentially has useful advice, even your mom or your taxi driver. It doesn’t matter if they barely understand what your job description actually is.

I often notice how people can get very defensive, when getting advice from someone who isn’t an expert in their field. Truth is, because they don’t have the burden of knowing all the details, they might actually be better at finding a simple solution. So don’t hide behind the fancy title on your business card and be a douche, instead listen to what they have to say.

Your problems might be different but that doesn’t mean you can’t use their solutions.

3. Try to predict all the things.

This goes back to the very fundament of physics and scientific method in general. Turns out you can use this method on everything in life (except for the other sex, those are fundamentally unpredictable).

Try to predict everything using all the intel you gathered in the past, and use those predictions to anticipate all possible outcomes.

Before I enter a meeting or even a conversation, I have already made a prediction of all the possible outcomes. That’s also why I always do a quick Google search. Figure out what drives them, what they want from it and where you can find mutual ground.

I even predicted how well this blogpost would do, ( 170 reads, 59% read rate in the first da) which is below my average. Mainly because it’s a long post and physics isn’t a sexy topic like for example dating. EDIT I ended up with 159 reads and a 54 % read rate on the first day.

When launching a new product or campaign always make a detailed prediction on how well it will do. Posting something on social media I have a number in my head of how much interactions it will get, writing a blog post ditto.

Pro tip : If there are a lot of possible outcomes. Focus on those which require the least energy, because those are more likely. ie. When helping you out requires asking their boss it is less likely.

It’s great when you are prepared for what happens because you nailed your prediction, kudos to you.

However, when your predictions are way off, in a positive or negative way, it gets really interesting. Because this means there is something to be learned that you didn’t realise before.

Figure out why you were so wrong and use this to your advantage the next time.

4. Statistics is for ballers.

I used to hate statistics and call it ‘mathematics for losers’, because if you do your homework and if you are in control of the situation, you wouldn’t need lame ass approximations. Turns out I was wrong.

There are a lot of problems with just too many factors or factors that aren’t in your control. In physics when dealing with gas with billions particles, just use statistics in thermodynamics which allows you to predict their behavior.

This picture of Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock is a reference to the TV show Ballers, which actually is surprisingly good. At the same time to how statistics rules ball sports in the US, like you see in Moneyball with Brad Pitt.

So how does this translate to the real world?

When you are coming up with a strategy (which basically is making a prediction) there are a lot of unknowns. You could spend all your resources trying to figure out the unknowns, which is most likely a waste of your time because this is impossible. So instead make smart estimates and move on to actually doing stuff.

Same if you expect something really good or really bad to happen. Don’t forget to take into account the odds for it to happen. You see a lot of people freeze up because they are afraid of a doom scenario, but if there is only a 1/10000 chance of happening you shouldn’t be a baby about it. Same with people spending a lot of resources on a very specific big break, if the odds are only 1/10000 for it to happen, it’s probably a bad investment.

Paying too much attention to details while planning will just unnecessarily slow you down. If you are waiting for something to happen, make a quick estimate of the odds to see how long you will have to wait.

5. You can avoid disasters with basic math.

I’m a strong believer that you can answer almost all questions and avoid a lot of problems with just basic math. You only need the arithmetic you learned in primary school; addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

I am the worst at calculating anything without my phone. That’s why I always keep it simple. You don’t have to use the actual numbers, start using bigger, huge or insignificant. If you really have stick to 1,3, 5 or 10.

Here are some examples of calculations I recently did.

When only 1/20 mails get a positive answer. Don’t cry about it just send 20 mails a day.

When you are working on a marketing plan and considering to compete on price. If the budget of your competitor is huge compared to yours and price depends on volume, don’t because you will lose.

When you know that you need € 1000 a month not to die. Don’t sell work for € 100 if it took you a week to create it, because you will die.

Before you do something new, always do a quick calculation to see how realistic it actually is.

My takeaways :

Problems might be complex but solutions are always simple.

Knowing that there is a simple solution is always my motivation if I ever get stuck. There are only so many solutions.

Your problems might be different but that doesn’t mean you can’t use their solutions. Try to predict all the things.

Figure out why your predictions are so wrong and use this to your advantage to be better prepared the next time. Statistics is for ballers.

Paying too much attention to details while planning will just unnecessarily slow you down. If you are waiting for something to happen, do quick estimate of the odds to see how long you will have to wait. You can avoid disasters with basic math.

Before you do something new, always make a quick calculation to see how realistic it actually is.

A lot of people see having a different background as a disadvantage. While I believe the fact I am always the only one in the room who studied physics is my biggest asset. Embrace all the experiences from the past and see how they can help you be more awesome today.

Thanks so much for reading! If you enjoyed it, would mean the world to me if you shared it with someone. :)