The Hunter-Gatherer Mental Model for Life and Business
Finding purpose and creating a life worth living, that's what we're all trying to do. There are numerous strategies and methodologies to created to do this, but here's one I bet you've never heard of before.
The Hunter-Gatherer Model.
I discovered this model back in university when I studied innovation theory. The model was created by Stanford researchers Martin Steinert and Larry Leifer, and is intended to propose a new way of thinking about innovation projects.
It turns out that the model also works perfectly as a mental model for life - arguably the most important innovation project there is.
Let's have a closer look.
Hunting and Gathering
One of the key concepts is the synergy between "hunting" and "gathering".
Hunting is a metaphor for exploring new ideas and concepts, while gathering is a metaphor for gathering and analyzing data and feedback.
The old school approach to projects was starting by deciding on the outcome. This is how you build products people don't want, because assumptions go untested until it's too late. In the context of your life, this is how you might end up sacrificing everything for something that doesn't make you happy.
The Hunter-Gatherer approach is more agile in the sense that you adjust the goals based on the information you discover along the way.
The old school approach, metaphorically:
"We know that the mammoth lives in that part of the forest, so we're going to take all our resources and go there to hunt."
The Hunter-Gatherer approach:
"We think the mammoth lives in that part of the forest, so we will head in that direction, but we will follow the mammoth tracks we find on our way."
In the model, this is visualized by the starting point (A) and the initial goal (B).
The adjusted goals are visualized as:
B' (second iteration)
B'' (third iteration)
B''' (the final outcome)
Hunting rules
The model asserts three rules for success.
- Never go hunting alone
Combining the brains and resources of different people is always the safest and most effective way to create and discover new things.
In a hunting party, you need someone to track the animal, someone who is good with a spear and someone to make sure you have all the equipment necessary.
In an innovation project, you need engineers, designers, marketers, salespeople and a project manager to keep track of them all.
In your personal life, you can recruit you friends and family to serve as your hunting party. Alternatively, you can create the greatest group chat in history or hire a coach to help you navigate.
- Never go home prematurely
After the initial excitement of starting a new project, you start facing some real challenges. Whenever there's an intention to achieve something, disruption will arise eventually.
Frustration builds and motivation fades as progress slows down. This is the defining moment of any venture, because this is where you're most likely to quit. This can be compared to the dark night of the soul.
To battle the ambiguity, launch a dark horse prototype. To do this, you let go of previous assumptions and try something completely new.
"The mammoth is nowhere to be found in this forest. Maybe we should climb that mountain to get a birds-eye view."
- Bring it home
After exploring and analyzing enough, you will eventually settle on a well-adjusted goal. This is when you locate the mammoth, identify the product the market wants or figure out your life purpose.
This is the execution phase.
You lock in on the goal, define the scope and the criteria for success. Then you make detailed plans and mobilize all resources necessary to realize the goal.
The Key Takeaway
Adjusting your vision and your goals is a mandatory part of the process in life and business. Never mistake it for failure, because the lessons you learn are fundamental for future successes.
Happy hunting.
