Leverage refers to the influence you have over how resources like time, money, and labor (particularly of others) are spent. The more of these resources you’re able to influence, the larger your leverage. Increasing your leverage in a promising cause area can be a great way to increase your impact. … Read more
When faced with uncertainty in decision-making, considering the expected value of our actions can be incredibly useful. Expected value represents the average outcome of all possible scenarios, weighted by their likelihood. In other words, it gives us an idea of what we can “expect on average” when taking a risk … Read more
Marginal impact refers to the additional difference your specific investment of time, money, or effort makes. Rather than focusing on the total impact of an organization or movement, it’s about recognizing how much your contribution adds to what’s already being done. This way, you can better decide where to direct … Read more
Some causes, organizations, and interventions receive far less funding, talent, political support, and public attention than others. These are considered “neglected.” Paying attention to neglectedness helps us spot unique opportunities for impact and ensures that our investments are more cost-effective. Causes that receive a lot of resources tend to face … Read more
Your comparative advantage refers to the extra advantage you have in a particular role in relation to the skills, strengths, and fitness of others who could do the job. Playing to your comparative advantage can help you to maximize your counterfactual impact, even if (perhaps surprisingly) it isn’t the role … Read more
Cause neutrality is the effort to remain impartial and open-minded when deciding which causes to prioritize. While true neutrality is difficult, supporters of cause neutrality aim to avoid getting attached to “pet causes” or limiting themselves to a narrow field. Instead, they focus on exploring a broad range of causes … Read more
Counterfactual impact is the difference you make by doing something versus what would have happened if you hadn’t done it. For example, if you help someone in need but simply replace someone else who would have done the same, your counterfactual impact is minimal because the person would have received … Read more
Career capital refers to the abilities and resources you accumulate—whether skills, credentials, connections, or savings—that allow you to do more with your career in the future. It’s an important consideration in long-term career planning, especially in the early stages of your career. Increasing future impact It’s fairly obvious that going … Read more
Mental health disorders are one of the most significant impairments to quality of life worldwide. It’s estimated that over one in ten people around the world live with a mental health disorder, with over 264 million suffering from depression. And, unfortunately, these might be significant underestimates. On top of this, common psychological patterns and biases may make it … Read more
Could you make the world better by founding a new profitable business? We think you can – and in at least two ways. First, you could provide products and services that directly improve the world. Second, you could generate a lot of money to donate toward effective causes and pressing … Read more
