Inversion
Approach problems backwards by asking what would guarantee failure.
Key Principle
Ask "What would guarantee failure?" instead of "How do I succeed?"
Understanding Inversion
Inversion is the practice of thinking about problems backwards. Instead of asking "How do I achieve success?", you ask "What would guarantee failure?" and then avoid those things.
Charlie Munger borrowed this concept from the mathematician Carl Jacobi, who said "Invert, always invert" when approaching difficult problems. The idea is that many problems become easier when you flip them around.
This works because humans are often better at identifying what's wrong than what's right. We can spot obvious failures more easily than we can design perfect successes. By identifying and avoiding the paths to failure, you often end up on a path to success by default.
Real-World Examples
- Want a happy marriage? List what would destroy it (neglect, dishonesty, contempt) and avoid those.
- Want a successful startup? List what kills startups (running out of money, co-founder conflict, building something nobody wants) and prevent those.
- Want good health? List what destroys health (sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, chronic stress) and eliminate those.
- Want to be a good investor? List how investors go broke (leverage, concentration, emotional trading) and don't do those things.
How to Apply This
Before any major decision, write down 5-10 things that would make it fail catastrophically
When planning a project, start by listing reasons projects like this typically fail
In hiring, define what makes a bad hire before defining what makes a good one
When setting goals, first identify the behaviors that would prevent achieving them
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Using inversion exclusively without positive planning
- Getting paralyzed by all the potential failure modes
- Forgetting to actually take action after identifying what to avoid
- Being too pessimistic and missing opportunities
Notable Quotes
"All I want to know is where I'm going to die, so I'll never go there."
— Charlie Munger
"It is remarkable how much long-term advantage people like us have gotten by trying to be consistently not stupid, instead of trying to be very intelligent."
— Charlie Munger
"Invert, always invert."
— Carl Jacobi