Cheat Sheets | Write Your Own

I find it fun writing cheat-sheets. They have stood me in good stead throughout my school days from high school to uni. When I became a teacher and later a tuition teacher, my cheat sheets were popular with the students. My cheat sheets got me good jobs at interviews too.

I have shown my crib-writing skills in many posts in this blog. e.g. study skills summaries.

If you believe cheat sheets are good for only school boys and job-seekers, think again. Here, I give just a few hints:

1. "Nothing is more practical than a good theory"
2. Economists, policy makers, scientists, researchers, Systems
   Architects, anyone who has to do with abstraction, need them. Actually the term "mental model" is another word for "cheat sheet".
3. IBM, Cisco, Honeywell, P&G CEOs, Japanese Prime Ministers, Marine Corps officers, Mc Kinsey partners, managers, anyone who needs to lead a decentralized organization, need them. Quite often, the cheat sheets are even further distilled into "mantras," and slogans.
4. Most importantly, the cheat sheets show you the gaps in your thinking.
5. They also help you find connections, linking this to that.

If you don't write your own cheat sheets, you just rob yourself of a good opportunity to train your mind. Write your very own sheets. Don't rely on others' sheets.