A Taste To Start
Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today.
Letter From The Tastemaker
All great plans started as choices, then decisions.
Opening a hotel.
Moving to a new city or country.
Pitching an investor for the first time.
Buying or starting that business you’ve always wanted…
Each began as a step into uncertainty…
A place of anxiety, fear, and unknown roads.
Yet somehow, by choosing and deciding, the path began to form beneath your feet. What was once invisible now slowly takes shape.
Recognition, awards, milestones are the echoes of choices made in the dark, steps taken when nothing was yet clear.
The world is not yet fully revealed, but it is becoming something you can navigate. Something real. Something yours.
The courage that inched you closer made you wiser no matter the consequence at the end.
Decision-making is the invisible architecture of every outcome.
→ When Jobs and his team bet everything on a touchscreen device now known as the iPhone, they refined personal technology forever. Don’t we all have an iPhone?
→ When Blockbuster resisted online transformation (until it was too late) and refused to buy Netflix in 2000, they ultimately missed the future of physical and virtual media consumption, also forever. Ask a Gen-Z if they’ve ever walked into a Blockbuster, and their confusion will say it all…
Everyday decisions not connected to innovation and commerce shape our lives all the time.
→ Ghandi chose nonviolent resistance in the 1930s which was transformative for India and global civil rights movements
→ Apollo 11 landed on the moon in 1969 despite enormous risk and unknowns
→ JK Rowling persisted and completed the Harry Potter series regardless of personal hardship and many early rejections
The question is, which version of forever is at stake? The one that disappears or endures?
While decision-making is a flawed human experience, legacy mental models offer a science to forever that outlives.
Timeless disciplines that the world’s influential minds use to anticipate outcomes and navigate uncertainty to act with precision are available to us all.
The three mental models that outlive trends include: First Principles, Inversion, and the OODA Loop. Together, they turn flawed human judgment into decisions that endure.
→ 1. First Principles Thinking
Break problems down to fundamental truths instead of relying on assumptions or precedent.
Why it matters?
It forces decisions to be grounded in reality and encourages change in uncertainty.
What’s an example?
Elon Musk repeatedly cites first principles thinking to challenge assumptions in aerospace and automotive industries.
How-To/In-Practice
Identify the problem – Clearly define what you’re trying to solve.
Break it down – Ask: “What do I know to be true about this?” Strip away assumptions, traditions, or comparisons.
Question everything – Challenge commonly accepted solutions: “Why must it be done this way?”
Rebuild from the ground up – Design solutions based on the fundamental truths you’ve identified, not precedent.
Example in action:
Starting a business? List your absolute core needs (product, customers, delivery) and design from scratch rather than copying competitors.
→ 2. Inversion (Thinking Backwards)
Instead of asking “How can I succeed?” ask “What will make me fail?” Then systematically avoid those failures.
Why it matters?
Inversion uncovers hidden risks, stress-tests decisions against failure, and sharpens foresight in uncertain situations.
What’s an example?
Warren Buffett uses inversion when assessing investments: “What could cause this to fail?”
How-To/In-Practice
Flip the question – Instead of “How do I succeed?” ask “How could I fail?”
List potential failures – Be ruthless: consider every way the plan could collapse, big or small.
Mitigate risk – Develop strategies to avoid or minimize each failure point.
Execute with awareness – Proceed knowing you’ve stress-tested your plan from every angle.
Example in action:
Launching a product? Ask, “What will make customers unsubscribe or complain?” and fix those issues first.
→ 3. OODA Loop (Observe → Orient → Decide → Act)
A cyclical, decision-making framework designed for speed and adaptation in dynamic conditions.
Why it matters?
Helps decisions compound over time by ensuring each action is informed by updated observation.
What’s an example?
Military strategy: John Boyd designed it to outpace opponents in rapidly changing scenarios. Also, business startups use this tactic to iterate quickly by observing market shifts, orienting their strategy, deciding, and acting, then repeating the cycle.
How-To/In-Practice
Observe: Gather real-time information about the environment, market, or situation.
Orient: Analyze the data, consider your goals, context, and constraints.
Decide: Choose the best course of action based on your orientation.
Act: Implement the decision quickly.
Iterate: Immediately return to “Observe” to see the effects and adapt.
Example in action:
Running a project? Launch a pilot, track results, adjust strategy, repeat—compounding small improvements into big wins.
The result of taking action in these ways is certainly linked to smarter decisions, but it’s the forever that’s long-lasting.
It’s products, services, and experiences are designed to outlive trends, fads, and short-term thinking, leaving an impact that lasts.
(Next Week: The Five-Course Tasting Deep Dive)
Lifestyle + Experiential Assets
Speaking of forever…
…not all shoes are made equal. When you’re used to wearing out your sneakers until it’s time for a new pair, the VYN Long-Luxe Sneaker is made to evolve with you. While it resembles an ordinary sneaker, it’s functionality is built to last. Beautifully handcrafted in Italy and designed with a modular heel replacement system, allowing you to swap colors and extend their lifeline.
More on this long-lasting investment:
⚫ Precision-cut premium leather; soft, strong and sourced from the finest leather tanneries
⚫ Artisans stitch with precision, making every seam show the pursuit of quality and every detail by design
⚫ An intensive cork selection process is adhered for comfort that breathes, flexes and adapts
⚫ Each cut is then shaped into the silhouette of luxury where artisans transform raw material into a timeless sneaker
Here’s to building, living and even wearing things that last…
(or hit REPLY, and let us source something special for you)
A tasting in decision-making: savor each perspective…
Remember: elevate your decisions, one bite at a time.
