The Levels of Proof


Amar Pandit
A respected entrepreneur with 25+ years of Experience, Amar Pandit is the Founder of several companies that are making a Happy difference in the lives of people. He is currently the Founder of Happyness Factory, a world-class online investment & goal-based financial planning platform through which he aims to help every Indian family save and invest wisely. He is very passionate about spreading financial literacy and is the author of 4 bestselling books (+ 2 more to release in 2020), 8 Sketch Books, Board Game and 700 + columns.

December 2, 2022 | 2 Minute Read
A few weeks back, I wrote a Nano headlined “The Two Types of Business Model Risks.”
In it, I wrote “The first type of Business Model Risk is Information Risk.
Defined simply, Information Risk is a feature of a business model that requires you to make decisions without sufficient information. We will never have complete and perfect information. We need to learn to make decisions in the absence of such (complete and perfect) information. This is a skill that we all need to build.”
While I have briefly highlighted how we need to overcome this risk, the key point is that many of us require different levels of proof to act early and often.
Some (like me and my team) require low levels of proof. We act early and many times miss shots. But we make progress, and we learn.
There are others who require very high levels of proof. This is a behaviour seen in big corporations. It’s surprising to see this behaviour in entrepreneurs in our industry/profession. And I am not writing about some start-up entrepreneur. I am talking about distributors and advisors from all over the country. Many don’t act even when action is warranted. They stay still until they are pushed in motion.
Our problem is so well highlighted by this Charles Bukowski quote – “The problem with the world is that the intelligent people are full of doubt, while stupid people are full of confidence.”
While avoiding stupid people is important, the key is to overcome our biggest mountain – the doubt we have on ourselves.
The answers to the following questions might give you an insight or two:
1.What level of proof (low or high) do I need to act early and often?
2. Do any of my recent actions demonstrate this?
A David Sedaris quote rings a bell here – “Speed eliminates all doubt. Am I smart enough? Will people like me? Do I really look alright in this plastic jumpsuit?”
Will you then use Speed to eliminate all doubt?
I am curious to know what you think.
Similar Post
Nano Learning
The Writer In You
Whether you realize it or not, you are already a writer.
Even if you don’t write a book or columns/blog posts, you are still a writer.
Because you write messages. You answer ....
Read More
5 May, 2023 | 2 Minute Read
Nano Learning
Mediocrity versus Mastery
Mediocre People look for Tips, Shortcuts and now Hacks.
Masters know they have to achieve Mastery.
Look at this Sketch carefully and reflect.
You would have figured that the s ....
Read More
4 December, 2020 | 2 Minute Read
Nano Learning
The Explorer
An Australian Advisor said a fascinating thing.
She said “Most advisors might be good technical people, but they are not truly entrepreneurial. They are not Explorers. Their bus ....
Read More
11 June, 2021 | 2 Minute Read
Nano Learning
Did you know this 12X Difference?
According to McKinsey’s latest US Asset Management Report, the gap in valuations between the best and the rest is 12X.
Aren’t you shocked or surprised?
Similar or higher diffe ....
Read More
2 July, 2021 | 3 Minute Read
Nano Learning
Practice What You Preach
We are often likely to tell our clients, “The best time to invest was 20 years ago. The next best time is today.”
Another popular set of words – Think long-term.
Don’t you ....
Read More
23 August, 2024 | 2 Minute Read
Nano Learning
Which Business are you in?
We are in the "Investor Management" Business not in the Investment Management Business.
We are in the "Personal" Business not in the Finance Business.
We are in the "Trust" Busines ....
Read More
6 March, 2020 | 1 Minute Read
- 0
- 0
0 Comments