"Dunbar's number is a suggested cognitive limit to the number of people with whom one can maintain stable social relationships. These are relationships in which an individual knows who each person is, and how each person relates to every other person." [2] Success in business is the result of building relationships with customers, vendors, superiors, reports, and colleagues. There is a limit, so choose wisely.
"Hick's Law describes the time it takes for a person to make a decision as a result of the possible choices he or she has."[3] Every option you add for your customers or employees degrades the existing options. Less is more. If you have more than three priorities, you have none. Look at the typical Apple product or Google product.
Theory of Andragogy (or Theory of Adult Learning). Lifelong learning is the number one key to success, in my opinion. Never stop learning. We learn differently as adults than when we were kids. Malcolm "Knowles theory states that adult learning is based on experience, is problem-centered rather than content-oriented, and adults are most interested in learning subjects having immediate relevance to their work and/or personal lives" among three other assumptions. [4]
Motivation Theories. In his book, Drive, Daniel Pink popularized intrinsic theory of motiviation. Personally, I subscribe more to Reiss' Intrinsic Motivaiton & 16 Basic Desires Theory. To be your best self, you must know yourself. Personality profiles like Predictive Index, DiSC, and Meyers-Briggs accurately assess your personality, because, let's face it, you're simply answering questions about yourself. These tools help you better understand yourself and others; and how to communicate more effectively.
Theory of Natural Law. The theory that humans are bound to a universal and immutable law that is known through reason. Business is built on trust. Contracts aren't worth the paper they're written on without trust that each party will honor the document. Day-to-day we have meetings, emails, and conversations in which we trust our colleagues, vendors, and customers will do the right thing. Honesty, prudence, and justice are just a few examples.
Nash's Equilibrium Game Theory. Stephen Covey popularized this theory as Habit #5 Think Win-Win. John Nash is the real-life mathematician the movie A Beautiful Mind. As a part of decision theory, if you know the outcome that both parties seek to attain, you can arrive at a decision that benefits both parties. In Nash's matrices, two participants can choose an action that equally benefits both, equally harms both, or benefits one while harming the other. It is the difference between an abundance verses scarcity mindset [5] [6].
Honorable Mentions:
Gestalt laws of grouping "are a set of principles in psychology, first proposed by Gestalt psychologists to account for the observation that humans naturally perceive objects as organized patterns and objects. These principles are organized into six categories: Proximity, Similarity, Closure, Good Continuation, Common Fate, and Good Form."[7]
Fitts's Law is the amount of time it takes to select a target depends on the size of the target. It seems like common sense. The bigger the button, the easier and quicker it is to select. Click here for more.
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunbar's_number
3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hick's_law
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andragogy
5. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nash_equilibrium
6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Seven_Habits_of_Highly_Effective_People
7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principles_of_grouping
