#30 - Tactics: Immersion Marathons (and some thoughts on climate tech)

Guidance on how to go deep on a topic efficiently, and an example summary from my most recent immersion on climate tech

Tl;dr — Similar to Press Pause summits (letter #4), Immersion Marathons are periods of time where you marathon learn about a new topic. During this time, you don’t just read: you write, you draw, you teach others, and you do it all after having consumed many different forms of media on a topic. If you want an example output, skip to section 5 for notes on my latest Immersion Marathon on Climate Tech

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0 | Why Immersion Marathons Are On My Mind

I don’t know nearly enough about climate technology, and that’s…pretty awful considering how important it will be to the future of our species. This became immediately clear to me while diving back into Speed & Scale, John Doerr’s new book that is all about how the climate crisis can only be delayed (read: reversing is currently impossible) if we move with immense speed and at a broader scale than we ever have before.

In the book, John delivers a plan to help save the planet, and gets specific about different technologies and policy goals we need to pursue.

And as I was reading more of the book, I at one point just dropped it on the couch and thought, “You really, really need to learn more about climate technology.” Great goal… Now, where the hell to begin?

1| First, A Definition

an Immersion Marathon (IM) is a period of time where you almost-obsessively consume and create content oriented around a given topic.

• On the consumption side of the equation are the different forms of information you can consume — books, articles, videos, podcasts, graphics, etc.

• On the creation side of the equation are the different ways you can demonstrate/practice what you’ve learned. This usually looks like: process flows, written notes, graphics you’ve drawn, telling someone else about what you’ve learned, writing your thoughts in the form of a short memo

2 | Where the Hell Do You Start?

My preferred way to start an IM is to consume a form of media that has been highly recommended by at least two people I personally know. From there, i’ll then brand out into all of the forms of information I listed above. In summary, my typical flow is:

• Read a book on a topic (or read a summary if you don’t have time)

• Watch a YouTube video on the topic (ideally it has a decent # of positive reviews — and if it isn’t interesting, then move onto another one)

• Read 2-3 articles on a topic (I try to stay towards mainstream publications that tend to ground in academic research — sorry CNN/Fox/MSNBC, probably not going to include you here…)

• Read the Abstracts of 2-4 academic papers on a topic

• Listen to a podcast on the topic, at 2x speed until you find something you really like and then slow it down to let the insight data/perspectives a bit more :)

• Ideally talk to someone who is deep in the topic. Tell them what you’ve been reading/consuming, ask open-ended questions (“What is the most exciting development in X sector that you’ve come across in the last three years?”)

3 | It’s Critical to Create from the Moment You Start (#BuildMomentumNOW)

I learned this in strategy consulting. In that world, if you started building the deck for your final readout (8-10 weeks from start of project) in week 4, you’ve lost (or you’ve set yourself up for pain). We started building the final readout literally on day 1. Here’s how this applies to an IM:

• Before you even open a book / listen to a podcast, identify where you will take notes

• As you consume content, write down what you’re hearing, what you’re wondering. It’s similar to being in a lecture at school

  • The system I used throughout school and consulting was my own not-easy-to-remember mechanism called PQCI

    • Points (to remember)

    • Questions (to get answers to)

    • Challenges (to the thing I’m hearing)

    • Ideas (for how this could be better)

• Ideally, you keep your notepad or note page open the whole time you’re going through this learning exercise. I recognize it can be a bit difficult to jump back and forth, but I find that it keeps my mind from lulling itself into just flipping pages. The back-and-forth can help keep you focused and engaged

4 | Share Your Thinking with Someone Who Cares

You know you’ve learned something when you can teach others. I try to make it a point to always share what I’ve learned — even if it’s a 30-second summary — with friends and colleagues.

A really powerful way to do this is to re-read all of your notes, and then create a short summary. I use bullet points (shocking!!) to call out the key points.

5 | Here’s the summary I wrote (for myself) for climate technology (my other notes are wayyyyyyyyyy more dense, but the point of summaries is that it is kept at a high-level)

• The planet is warming at an alarming rate, and the underlying drivers of climate change are not being mitigated quickly enough.

• The shift to EVs (electric vehicles) will help, but it will not solve the climate challenges we face. It will take action across

  • Grid decarbonization

  • Food sustainability

  • Rapid-response climate effect mitigation (putting out fires, redirecting water that could cause floods, etc.)

  • Carbon capture (a bit of a hail mary but still something we must pursue)

  • Policy frameworks — not just ensuring that climate stays a top, priority issue for voters, but also that politicians and the broader political ecosystem continues to push action that helps us achieve our goal of limited greenhouse gas emissions

• We must continue to support climate-oriented innovation, both from a technology perspective and also a policy perspective.

  • Companies like Helion Energy who are focusing on advancing fusion technology

  • Companies like Wattch who are providing data and control infrastructure for solar energy

  • Companies like ZeroAvia that are building hydrogen powertrains for planes

  • Companies like AMP Robotics who are building AI-powered robotic systems that can more effectively sort for recyclable materials

  • Companies like Rivian who are helping bring an EV-driven future (hey, it can’t just be tesla. There’s a reason why Tesla made much of their IP available to other automakers)

(btw, if you know any climate tech founders, please send them my way!! Actively trying to make at least two angel investments into earlier-stage climate tech before the end of the year).

To close, I recommend visiting SpeedandScale.com. It’s great, particularly this action guide

MD