A fixed set of good questions has been used for a century to get people to say something true. FLAPSS opens that format up. You are dealt a few questions at a time, you answer the ones you want to, and your answers stay at one permanent address — revisable forever, with every earlier version still readable beside the new one.
32 questions in the bank · 384 answers on the record
An answer is not a post. It has one address, it stays there, and it is still the first thing anyone finds in ten years.
Revise whenever you like and say why. Both versions stay visible, so a changed answer reads as thinking rather than as a reversal.
Other people's answers stay hidden until you have answered or passed. Reading first changes what you would have written.
What is the book you have given most as a gift, and why?
What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last six months?
How has a failure, or apparent failure, set you up for later success? Do you have a favourite failure?
If you could have a gigantic billboard anywhere, what would it say and why?
What is one of the best or most worthwhile investments you have ever made — of money, time, or energy?
What is an unusual habit or an absurd thing that you love?
So, look, I read lots of books, lots of them, you know, especially when I went from programmer to a business, realizing I have to just learn business really quick. I got really dismayed with the quality of business books pretty quickly, because frankly, I think the business books are largely written by the people who have time, who are not the people who actually build companies, frankly.
Recorded David Senra, David Senra's podcast, 2026 source
So I really tried everything, including, you know, just how to build the team in such a way that I delegate everything, and I have my different business lines, and arrange things. This is sort of after the IPO, and I realized I have to be a very “serious” public company CEO. And so it almost killed the company, honestly.
Recorded David Senra, David Senra's podcast, 2026 source
One cannot overemphasize the importance of observation and a full assessment — the failure to do so leads to some of the greatest mistakes, not only in war but also in business and government. A full assessment is critical. To properly manage any business situation, you need to perform a full and complete assessment of it. In business, you have to understand your competitors, their distribution, their economics, their innovations, and their strengths and weaknesses. You also need to understand customers and their changing preferences, along with your own costs, your people and their skills.
Recorded JPMorgan Chase annual report, 2024 source
Curiosity is a form of humility — acknowledging that you don't know everything. Responding to curiosity allows other people to speak freely. Facts and details matter and inform a deeper and deeper analysis that allows you to continually revise and update your plans. This, of course, also means that you are constantly admitting prior mistakes. You need to shed sacred cows, seek out blind spots and challenge the status quo.
Recorded JPMorgan Chase annual report, 2024 source
I just finished reading BJ Fogg's new book, Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything. Fogg explains that the best way to build a new habit is to start small and succeed, rather than starting too big and giving up. For example, rather than trying to exercise for 30 minutes a day, he recommends aspiring to do just one push-up, and doing it consistently. This approach may be helpful to those of you who want to spend more time studying. If you hold yourself accountable for watching, say, 10 seconds of an educational video every day — and you do so consistently — the habit of studying daily will grow naturally.
Recorded Ng's own newsletter, The Batch, 2020 source
Over the years, I have found a few resources for developing personal productivity that I love. My top picks include Getting Things Done by David Allen, the classic The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey, and Learning How to Learn Barbara Oakley (I recommend the Coursera course). I'm tempted to add Tiny Habits to this list.
Recorded Ng's own newsletter, The Batch, 2020 source