Jon Colgan

I help people solve problems with vendors and contracts pre-court. Most of my time is spent telling stories.

[Jon Colgan @JonColgan]

I'm more interested in this part of the story: "Now, he runs an events company in the United Kingdom[,] guiding other people over hot coals and the occasional bed of broken glass as part of corporate team-building exercises and charity events." https://t.co/PSLZiQlsH9

[Jon Colgan @JonColgan]

"[U]nless [we] can agree on the value of the firm’s service [...] and set a fixed price, then law firms will continue to use hours as a proxy for value [...] Using billable hours as a proxy for client value is stupid." https://t.co/b3AW3TBVWF

[Jon Colgan @JonColgan]

@laserlikemike @Airbnb @StubHub Another common, more universal example of this: doctors' offices' cancelation policies. https://t.co/0DrEq9DCt1

[Jon Colgan @JonColgan]

@Josh_Haymond You could be on my Y team.

[Jon Colgan @JonColgan]

@RealClarenceF Would depend in part on where you are at.

[Jon Colgan @JonColgan]

Like the Margaret Thatcher lady quote: "Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't."

[Jon Colgan @JonColgan]

"Intellectually honest" is one of the highest possible compliments nowadays. It implies the ability to think well, the work ethic to have thought enough about something before spouting off, and the integrity to admit the counterviews' strengths and your own view's weaknesses.

[Sar Haribhakti @sarthakgh]

Hands down the most intellectually honest journalist on the Australian situation b/w publishers and tech platforms has been @CaseyNewton. Been a longtime reader and will now pay for his independent work.

[Jon Colgan @JonColgan]

Obsessed with low-value contract disputes since 2009.

[David Perell @david_perell]

There are two kinds of focus.

1) Concentrating on a problem for an afternoon.

2) Obsessing over something for years, and showing up every single day.

We talk a lot about concentration, but if you study the greats, they're always obsessing over their craft.

24/7 focus.

[Jon Colgan @JonColgan]

So, while it may be true that misalignment of incentives abounds in both US and UK, my rebuttal is that too many people I've met aren't clear-thinking enough to exploit that system, even if they wanted to. Trained debaters, however, would likely be above-average thinkers. 2/2

[Jon Colgan @JonColgan]

Hard disagree. The majority of Americans I've met don't think clearly enough to issue anything other than conclusions in a debate: they can tell you what they (think they) think, but not why--coherently, by premise; and they have no chance of persuading anyone to their view. 1/2

[Jeet Heer @HeerJeet]

I honestly think about 15% of America's problems (and 40% of England's problems) come from the role debate clubs play in the education system.

[Jon Colgan @JonColgan]

“Just imagine if only the surgeon were allowed to diagnose your sore throat.” https://t.co/A653iIJmAf

[Jon Colgan @JonColgan]

For example, this incident occurred at a non-private prison: https://t.co/c4MQjWZhhj

[Jon Colgan @JonColgan]

There are many bad things that have happened in US private prisons. So, there is no doubt a problem. But I don't know if privatization is necessarily the cause of those problems, or whether making those prisons public will solve the problems; indeed, I doubt both suppositions.

[President Biden Archived @POTUS46Archive]

No one should be profiteering off of our criminal justice system. That’s why today, I ordered the Department of Justice to end the use of private prisons by the federal government.

[Jon Colgan @JonColgan]

@scott_m_coley No greeting: probably from a dude.

[Jon Colgan @JonColgan]

This was excellent in many ways. One example: the difference between "story" and "narrative," the idea that both are a kind of objectivity, and the essentiality of also having the narrative kind rather than only the story kind.

[Jon Colgan @JonColgan]

Pro (business) tip: give people more than they deserve, but only if they deserve it.

[Jon Colgan @JonColgan]

@mlzcoley @scott_m_coley "Theobros" is a nice touch.

[Jon Colgan @JonColgan]

As feedback, complaints are often useful for the complainee. But a complaint is only useful to the complainer if it helps the complainer achieve some objective beyond the complaint itself, which is why complaining for the *purpose* of complaining is not useful for the complainer.

[Jon Colgan @JonColgan]

Political attack ads...made possible by the man in the arena.

[Jon Colgan @JonColgan]

I let my marginalia talk for me.