5 Surprising Truths About How the World Really Works

Why do our best-laid plans sometimes fail? Why do systems—from our careers to our companies—often behave in unpredictable ways? We work hard and make logical decisions, yet the results can feel random or counter-intuitive. The problem often isn’t our effort, but our perspective. We see the world as we want it to be, not as it is.

The key to navigating this complexity lies in using mental models: reliable principles that help us see the world with greater clarity. They are tools for understanding the hidden dynamics that govern systems. This article explores five powerful and often surprising mental models from the book “The Great Mental Models: Volume 3” that reveal profound truths about success, failure, and growth.

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1. The Superpower of Staying Small

In boardrooms and business books, the gospel is growth. Success is a hockey-stick chart aimed at the stratosphere. But what if this relentless pursuit of “bigger” is a trap? The mental model of Scale reveals a startling truth found in Japan’s oldest companies: the ultimate competitive advantage isn’t exponential growth, but deliberate constraint.

Consider the long-lived companies in Japan, known as shinise. Over 50,000 are more than a century old, with nearly 4,000 dating back over 200 years. Their endurance doesn’t come from aggressive expansion. Instead, they are often small, family-run businesses with fewer than a hundred employees. By staying small, they can protect a strong internal philosophy that goes beyond their products, allowing them to focus on durable, loyal customer relationships.

This purpose-driven resilience enables them to adapt. The construction company Kongo Gumi, for instance, operated continuously for 40 generations from 578 AD to 2006. When demand for its specialty—Buddhist temples—was low during World War II, its core philosophy allowed it to pivot to making coffins. This model challenges the “growth at all costs” mindset, highlighting the strategic advantage of being no larger than necessary.

2. Your Greatest Weakness Negates All Your Strengths

In mathematics, any number multiplied by zero equals zero. This simple principle is a powerful metaphor for any system. The Multiplying by Zero model shows that no matter how strong the other components are, a single “zero”—a critical flaw or a neglected area—can bring the entire system to a halt.

“Multiplication by zero destroys information. This means there cannot be a reverse process. Some activities are so destructive they cannot be undone.” — Paul Lockhart

During the Cold War, East Germany waged a secret war for technology, pouring billions into a desperate campaign of industrial espionage. Stasi agents smuggled embargoed hardware and stole Western blueprints, believing they could reverse-engineer their way to relevance. It was a monumental effort built on a lie.

Their “zero” was a culture that punished creativity, innovation, and collaboration. Because the scientists and engineers never developed the knowledge themselves, they couldn’t troubleshoot, adapt, or build upon the stolen technology. All the billions invested and all the secrets obtained were rendered useless by this single, fatal flaw. This model teaches us to identify and address the “zero” in our own projects, teams, or personal habits before we try to optimize everything else.

3. Pirates Had a Fairer System Than a King’s Court

Forget the chaotic mob of popular fiction. A successful pirate ship was a floating democracy, often fairer than any king’s court on land. Through their “articles,” the crew forged a social contract—a form of Algorithm or constitution—that allowed them to operate like a controlled business. Captains were not masters but elected officials who could be deposed by a simple majority vote. Plunder wasn’t seized by the powerful; it was shared in remarkably equal measure. They even established systems for bonuses for bravery and a prototype of disability benefits for those injured in battle—a concept centuries ahead of its time on shore.

One of history’s most successful pirates, Ching Shih, managed a massive fleet of up to 2,000 ships and 80,000 pirates by enforcing a strict and consistent set of rules. This history reveals that effective systems of rules and incentives can emerge in the most unexpected places—and can often prove more functional and equitable than the “official” systems of their time.

4. Trying to Keep Everyone Ends in Disaster

In business, we’re taught that minimizing customer and employee turnover is a universal good. But the mental model of Churn offers a shocking counter-argument: the attempt to eliminate churn completely can pervert a system’s goals and turn it into something destructive.

The story of Synanon is a chilling example. It began with positive intentions as a drug rehabilitation program in 1958. However, its founder, Charles Dederich, eventually decided members could never truly recover and therefore could never leave. The organization’s goal shifted from rehabilitation to retention at all costs. To prevent churn, Synanon employed extreme control tactics, including brainwashing and threats of violence. Married couples who joined together had to divorce. Dederich eventually declared the organization a “religion” to create a stronger justification for keeping members forever.

Where Synanon’s zero-churn policy created a cult, a brilliant group of French mathematicians known as Bourbaki engineered the exact opposite. They understood that intellectual stagnation was their greatest threat, so they mandated churn, forcing every member to retire at 50 to ensure the system was constantly revitalized with new ideas. These examples reveal the healthy, necessary role of turnover in any system and the dangers of clinging too tightly to the status quo.

5. To Reach a Higher Peak, You Must First Walk Through a Valley

We often improve until we hit a comfortable plateau—a peak where things are going well. This is a “local maximum.” But to reach a much higher peak—a “global maximum”—we often have to descend into a valley of uncertainty, struggle, or even failure. This is the Global and Local Maxima mental model.

The story of the band Queen illustrates this perfectly. Before they became global superstars, the members were in their own semi-successful bands. Brian May and Roger Taylor were in Smile, John Deacon was in the Opposition, and Freddie Mercury was in Ibex. These bands were their local maxima—they had gigs, fans, and record contracts.

To achieve their ultimate, world-changing success with Queen, they had to leave those comfortable situations. They had to endure the uncertainty of forming a new group, combine their individual learnings, and start climbing a new, much steeper hill. This journey through the “valley” was a necessary prerequisite for reaching a higher peak.

“We may need to temporarily worsen our solution if we want to continue searching for improvements.” — Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths

This applies to any area of life, whether it’s changing careers, mastering a new skill, or pursuing personal growth. A temporary step back is often not a sign of failure, but a required part of the journey to the next level of achievement.

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Seeing the Full Picture

The world rarely works in the simple, linear ways we expect. Growth isn’t always good, fairness can arise from chaos, and progress sometimes requires a step backward. Understanding these hidden dynamics is the key to navigating life and work more effectively.

Mental models are the tools that allow us to see these patterns. They provide a map to a complex territory, helping us make better decisions and avoid costly mistakes by seeing the world as it truly is.

Which of your own long-held assumptions about success is actually a local peak, preventing you from seeing the mountain beyond?