One, some & many
How to craft systems for humans.
Do you really know the difference between a million and a billion? According to science, no – not really.
We are biologically wired to only really understand one, some and many. Numbers are things we need to pay attention to and think about to understand. So, a billion is just many many many.
I find this intriguing; and very much in line with what I’ve experienced while building systems.
KPIs, metrics, etc. matter only in context. What actually hits home for people is how much work do they have? Just one or many? Just a little left or a lot?
How much of an increment do I get? Is it just a little more than the next person, or a lot more? This is the first impression, regardless of the actual numeric value of increment. It could just be a 2% increase, but if it’s 1.5% more than the other person, it’s a huge increment!
This true even of time - we only really understand now, next and later.
These things are important to know, because we ultimately build systems for people. Only if their natural tendencies are in tune with the system, will it boom. This is how effective & effortless systems are made — by taking into account the human factor and flowing with it, rather against it.
Hit reply if you’ve noticed any other aspects like this!