There is a specific kind of silence that only exists at 3:00 AM on a muddy trail in the middle of a race. Your headlamp is failing, your quads feel like they've been tenderized by a mallet, and your brain is screaming—rationally, logically—that you should stop.
Over the years, I've realized that the "algorithms" I learned in ITB and the "frameworks" I mastered in KAIST MBA are exactly what keep me moving on the trail. And conversely, the "grit" of the trail is what allows me to lead Suitmedia through the volatility of the Indonesian tech landscape.
Success is isomorphic. The same principles that scale a company win a mountain race. These are the mental models I live by, grouped into the pillars that define my world.
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| BTS Ultra 2025 |
I. The Personal Operating System: How I Think
These are the foundational models for clarity. If my internal "Map" is wrong, no amount of speed will get me to the right destination.
1. The Logic of Truth
Before you can solve a problem, you have to see it clearly.
- First Principles Thinking: Strip a problem to the core truths. Don't reason by analogy; build your own logic from the ground up.
- Occam's Razor: When faced with two competing theories, the simplest one is usually the truth. Avoid over-engineering your life.
- Map vs. Territory: Your mental models, plans, and spreadsheets are just "maps." Never confuse the abstraction with the messy reality of the "territory."
- Circle of Competence: Be brutally honest about what you know and where your expertise ends. Play only in games where you have an edge.
2. Strategic Decision Making
Choosing the path when the fog of war (or mountain mist) is thick.
- Inversion: Instead of asking how to succeed, ask "How could I spectacularly fail?" Then, build systems to avoid those specific pitfalls.
- Probabilistic Thinking: Life is a game of odds, not certainties. Focus on making high-probability bets rather than chasing sure things.
- Regret Minimization: When at a crossroads, choose the path that your 80-year-old self would be most proud of.
- Sunk Cost Fallacy: Having the courage to walk away from a bad project or relationship, regardless of how much time or money you've already invested.
3. The Physics of Growth
How to ensure effort results in exponential progress.
- The Pareto Principle: Identify the 20% of inputs—habits, clients, or training—that produce 80% of your results. Ruthlessly cut the rest.
- Compounding: The most powerful force in the universe. Tiny, 1% gains repeated over a decade create exponential wealth, wisdom, and fitness.
- Velocity vs. Speed: Speed is how fast you move; Velocity is speed plus direction. It's better to crawl toward the right goal than sprint toward the wrong one.
- Theory of Constraints: Every system has one primary bottleneck. Improving anything else is an exercise in futility. Find the bottleneck; widen it.
4. Human & Social Dynamics
Navigating the "Human API" in leadership and life.
- Incentives: Show me the incentive, and I will show you the outcome. If you want to change behavior, change the reward structure.
- Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice what can be adequately explained by neglect or a simple mistake. It saves a lot of unnecessary anger.
- Social Proof: We are biologically wired to mimic others. Use this awareness to choose mentors wisely and avoid groupthink traps.
- Pygmalion Effect: People generally live up to or down to the expectations we set for them. Lead with high belief in your team.
5. Systemic Resilience
Building a person in me that gets stronger under pressure.
- Antifragility: Designing your life so that you don't just survive the storm—you actually get stronger because of them.
- Feedback Loops: The shorter the gap between an action and its feedback, the faster you can iterate and improve.
- Margin of Safety: Always leave a buffer—in your schedule, your bank account, and your heart rate—for the unknown unknowns.
- The Power of Narrative: The stories we tell ourselves about our failures determine whether they become traumas or fuel for growth.