Curated Course

The Ultimate FREE Strategy & Mental Models Course

The thinking toolkit every founder & operator needs — business-strategy frameworks (Porter, BCG, Blue Ocean, 7 Powers, JTBD, moats) blended with mental models (first-principles, inversion, second-order, 80/20, biases, systems thinking). 50 topics, 100% free, hand-verified.

How great founders and operators actually think. This blends the classic business-strategy frameworks (Porter, BCG, Blue Ocean, 7 Powers, JTBD, moats) with the mental models that sharpen judgment (first-principles, inversion, second-order thinking, 80/20, cognitive biases, systems thinking). 100% free, every link hand-verified. Work through it as a 50-day plan, or pull a model when you need it.

What's inside: talks and animated explainers, primary essays (Farnam Street, a16z, NfX, Christensen Institute, Jim Collins), free frameworks and concept references — organized by day, time and priority. 50 topics · ~195 hand-checked free links.

Free flagship: The Mental Models Hub (~100 models) — Farnam Street

The Thinking Toolkit

TopicDayTimePriorityResources
What Is Strategy (vs Planning & Tactics)11 hr🔴 High▶️ What Is Strategy? Visual Summary — YouTube · ▶️ Porter HBR Summary — YouTube · 📕 What Is Strategy? Full Essay (PDF) — Porter · 📄 Effectiveness Is Not Strategy — Chasnoff
Mental Models: The Latticework (Munger)21 hr🔴 High📄 ~100 Mental Models — Farnam Street · 📄 Munger's Latticework — ModelThinkers · 📄 129-Model List — Sources of Insight · 🎧 Munger's Latticework — Moonshots Podcast
First-Principles Thinking31 hr🔴 High▶️ Elon Musk on First Principles — YouTube · ▶️ How Elon Solves Problems — Lex Fridman · 📄 First Principles Thinking — Farnam Street · 📄 First Principles — James Clear
Inversion (Thinking Backwards)41 hr🟠 Medium▶️ How to Invert Any Problem — YouTube · ▶️ Invert, Always Invert — YouTube · 📄 Inversion: Avoiding Stupidity — Farnam Street · 📄 The Inversion Skill — James Clear
Second-Order Thinking51 hr🔴 High▶️ Second-Order Thinking in 2 Min — YouTube · ▶️ Second & Third-Order Thinking — YouTube · 📄 Second-Order Thinking — Farnam Street · 📄 Great Mental Models Summary — Sloww
The Map Is Not the Territory61 hr🟠 Medium▶️ The Map Is Not the Territory — YouTube · 📄 Map & Territory — Farnam Street · 📕 Map & Territory (PDF) — Farnam Street · 📄 Map–Territory Relation — Wikipedia
Circle of Competence71 hr🟠 Medium▶️ Munger on Circle of Competence — YouTube · 📄 Circle of Competence — Farnam Street · 📄 Definition & Examples — Wealest · 📄 Circle of Competence — Wikipedia
Porter's Five Forces82 hr🔴 High▶️ Five Competitive Forces — YouTube · 📄 The Five Forces — Harvard ISC · 📄 Five Forces Analysis — Wikipedia
SWOT Analysis91 hr🟠 Medium▶️ Understanding SWOT — YouTube · ▶️ The Right Way to Do SWOT — YouTube · 📄 SWOT Analysis — CFI · 📄 SWOT Analysis — MindTools
Porter's Generic Strategies (Cost vs Differentiation)101 hr🔴 High▶️ Generic Strategies — YouTube · ▶️ With Examples — YouTube · 📄 Generic Strategies — Wikipedia · 📄 Explained with Examples — Business-to-You
The Value Chain111 hr🟠 Medium▶️ Value Chain Analysis — YouTube · ▶️ Porter's Value Chain — YouTube · 📄 Value Chain — Wikipedia · 📄 Value Chain Analysis — Toolshero
BCG Growth-Share Matrix121 hr🟠 Medium▶️ Explained by a BCG Consultant — YouTube · ▶️ BCG Matrix — YouTube · 📄 The Growth-Share Matrix — BCG · 📄 BCG Matrix Overview — CFI
Ansoff Matrix (Growth Options)131 hr🟠 Medium▶️ Ansoff Matrix Examples — YouTube · ▶️ Overview & Examples — YouTube · 📄 Ansoff Matrix — CFI · 📄 Grow Your Business — Business-to-You
Blue Ocean Strategy142 hr🔴 High▶️ Animated Summary — YouTube · ▶️ Make Competition Irrelevant — YouTube · 📄 Value Innovation — Blue Ocean Strategy · 📄 Blue Ocean Strategy — CFI
PESTEL Analysis151 hr🟢 Low▶️ PESTLE in 4 Minutes — YouTube · ▶️ Simplest Explanation — YouTube · 📄 PESTEL Analysis — CFI · 📄 PESTLE Analysis — CIPD
Economic Moats (Competitive Advantage)162 hr🔴 High▶️ Economic Moat — Buffett Principles — YouTube · 📄 Economic Moat — Wikipedia · 📄 Economic Moat Rating — Morningstar · 📕 Five Sources of Moat (PDF) — VanEck
Network Effects172 hr🔴 High▶️ Getting Network Effects — a16z · 📄 The Network Effects Manual — NfX · 📄 The Empty Promise of Data Moats — a16z · 📄 Network Effects Archive — NfX
Switching Costs & Customer Lock-in181 hr🟠 Medium▶️ How Businesses Keep Customers — YouTube · 📄 Switching Costs Build Moats — VanEck · 📄 6 Lock-in Strategies — Strategyzer · 📄 Switching Costs — Motley Fool
Economies of Scale191 hr🟠 Medium▶️ Economies of Scale in One Minute — YouTube · 📄 Economies of Scale — Wikipedia · 📄 Definition & Sources — CFI · 📄 Leverage for Growth — HubSpot
The Flywheel Effect201 hr🔴 High▶️ Amazon Flywheel Explained — YouTube · 📄 The Flywheel Effect — Jim Collins · 📕 The Flywheel Effect (PDF) — AWS & Collins · 📄 Amazon Flywheel — Feedvisor
7 Powers (Hamilton Helmer)212 hr🔴 High▶️ 7 Powers with Helmer & Lawson — NfX · 📄 7 Powers Summary — Tyas Tunggal · 🎧 7 Powers with Helmer — Acquired · 📄 7 Powers Notes — The Rabbit Hole
Jobs to Be Done (JTBD)222 hr🔴 High▶️ When Only a Milkshake Will Do — YouTube · 📄 JTBD Theory — Christensen Institute · 📕 Intercom on JTBD (Free Book) — Intercom · 📄 The Milkshake Story — Rewired Group
Disruptive Innovation (Christensen)231 hr🔴 High▶️ Disruptive Innovation Explained — YouTube · 📄 Disruptive Innovation Theory — Christensen Institute · 📄 Definition & Examples — HBS Online
Crossing the Chasm (Technology Adoption)241 hr🔴 High▶️ Find Your Beachhead — YouTube · 📄 Crossing the Chasm — Wikipedia · 📄 Tech Adoption Life Cycle — Business-to-You · 📄 Chasm Summary — Shortform
The Innovator's Dilemma251 hr🟠 Medium▶️ Animated Summary — YouTube · 📄 Innovator's Dilemma — Wikipedia · 📄 Book Summary — Reading Graphics · 📕 Book Page — Harvard Business School
Product-Market Fit Frameworks261 hr🔴 High▶️ How to Find PMF — YC · 📄 Superhuman's PMF Engine — First Round · 🎓 The Real PMF — Y Combinator · 📄 Sean Ellis 40% Test — Kromatic
Market Sizing (TAM, SAM, SOM)271 hr🟠 Medium▶️ Size Your Market Simply — YouTube · 📄 TAM SAM SOM Guide — Antler · 📄 How to Calculate — HubSpot · 📄 Market Sizing — Amazon Ads
Positioning (April Dunford)281 hr🔴 High▶️ Positioning That Clicks — Dunford · 📄 The Positioning Exercise — April Dunford · 🎧 Positioning Deep Dive — The Knowledge Project · ▶️ Mistakes That Kill Deals — Dunford
Probabilistic Thinking291 hr🔴 High▶️ The Bayesian Trap — Veritasium · 📄 Probabilistic Thinking — Farnam Street · 📄 9 Mental Models for Clear Thinking — Farnam Street
Expected Value & Thinking in Bets301 hr🔴 High▶️ Thinking in Bets — Talks at Google · 📄 Decision-Making by Bets — Annie Duke · 📄 Expected Value Explained — MyAccountingCourse · ▶️ Annie Duke Talk — YouTube
Bayesian Updating311 hr🟠 Medium▶️ Geometry of Changing Beliefs — 3Blue1Brown · 📄 Predicting with Bayes — Farnam Street · 📄 Bayesian Inference — Wikipedia · ▶️ Quick Proof of Bayes — 3Blue1Brown
The OODA Loop321 hr🟠 Medium▶️ OODA Loop Explained — YouTube · 📄 The OODA Loop — Farnam Street · 📄 The OODA Loop — The Decision Lab · 📄 OODA Loop — Wikipedia
Eisenhower Matrix (Prioritization)331 hr🟠 Medium▶️ The Matrix Explained — YouTube · 📄 Eisenhower Matrix — Asana · 📄 Avoid the Urgency Trap — Todoist · 📕 Matrix One-Pager (PDF) — Columbia
MECE & Issue Trees (Problem-Solving)342 hr🔴 High📄 The MECE Framework — MBA Crystal Ball · 📄 Issue Trees Guide — Hacking the Case Interview · 📄 Think Like a Consultant — Animalz · 📄 MECE Examples — Career in Consulting
The Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule)351 hr🔴 High▶️ Pareto Principle Explained — Sprouts · 📄 Pareto Principle — Wikipedia · 📄 Understanding the 80/20 Rule — BetterExplained · 📄 80/20 for Teams — Asana
Cognitive Biases Overview361 hr🔴 High▶️ Cognitive Biases 101 — Big Think · ▶️ 3 Kinds of Bias — TED · 📄 List of Biases — The Decision Lab · 📄 List of Cognitive Biases — Wikipedia
Thinking, Fast and Slow (System 1 & 2)371 hr🔴 High▶️ Kahneman — Talks at Google · ▶️ Animated Summary — YouTube · 📄 System 1 & System 2 — The Decision Lab · 📄 The Two Systems — Farnam Street
The Sunk Cost Fallacy381 hr🟠 Medium▶️ Sunk-Cost Fallacy Explained — YouTube · 📄 The Sunk Cost Fallacy — The Decision Lab · 📄 Sunk Cost — Wikipedia · 📄 Sunk Cost Fallacy — Asana
Confirmation Bias391 hr🟠 Medium▶️ Confirmation Bias in 5 Minutes — YouTube · ▶️ Confirmation Bias & Naive Realism — TEDx · 📄 Confirmation Bias — The Decision Lab
Loss Aversion & Prospect Theory401 hr🟠 Medium▶️ Intro to Prospect Theory — YouTube · 📄 Loss Aversion — The Decision Lab · 📄 Prospect Theory — Wikipedia · 📄 Prospect Theory & Loss Aversion — NN/g
Incentives & Game Theory Basics411 hr🔴 High▶️ Outsmart the Prisoner's Dilemma — TED-Ed · 📄 The Prisoner's Dilemma — Britannica · 📄 Game Theory — Wikipedia · 📄 Game Theory — Napkin Finance
OKRs & Goal-Setting421 hr🔴 High▶️ Why the Secret to Success Is Goals — John Doerr TED · 📄 What Is an OKR? — What Matters · 📄 OKR Definition & Examples — Betterworks · 📄 Measure What Matters Notes — David Tuite
Systems Thinking432 hr🔴 High📕 Thinking in Systems — Wikipedia · 📄 Systems Thinking Resources — Donella Meadows · 📄 Book Summary — Sloww · 📄 Key Lessons — i2Insights
Feedback Loops & Compounding441 hr🔴 High▶️ Reinforcing vs Balancing Loops — YouTube · 📄 Reinforcing & Balancing Loops — The Systems Thinker · 📄 Reinforcing Feedback Loop — Untools · 📄 Feedback Loops — Farnam Street
The Lindy Effect451 hr🟢 Low▶️ How Things Age in Reverse — YouTube · 📄 An Expert Called Lindy — Taleb · 📄 Lindy Effect — Wikipedia · 📄 Lindy Effect — ModelThinkers
Opportunity Cost & Trade-offs461 hr🔴 High▶️ Opportunity Cost Explained — YouTube · 🎓 Opportunity Cost & Tradeoffs — MRU · 📄 Opportunity Cost — Britannica · 📄 Trade-off vs Opportunity Cost — Key Differences
Wardley Mapping472 hr🟠 Medium📕 Wardley Maps (Free Book) — Learn Wardley Mapping · 📄 On Being Lost (Ch.1) — Simon Wardley · 📄 Wardley Map — Wikipedia
Growth Loops & Pirate Metrics (AARRR)481 hr🔴 High▶️ Pirate Metrics (AARRR) Explained — YouTube · 📄 Growth Loops Are the New Funnels — Reforge · 📄 AARRR Pirate Metrics — Amplitude · 📄 The Only Five Numbers That Matter — Inc
Margin of Safety & Antifragility491 hr🟠 Medium▶️ Fragile, Robust, Antifragile — Taleb · 📄 Margin of Safety — Farnam Street · 📕 Antifragile — Wikipedia · 📄 Antifragile Summary — The Quiet Footnote
Build Your Decision Journal (Capstone)502 hr🔴 High▶️ Ultimate Guide to a Decision Journal — YouTube · 📄 Decision Journal + Template — Farnam Street · 📕 Decision Journal Template (PDF) — Farnam Street · 📄 Keeping a Decision Journal — Alliance for Decision Education

Legend: 🔴 High · 🟠 Medium · 🟢 Low · ▶️ Video · 📄 Article / Reference · 📕 Book / PDF · 🎧 Podcast · 🎓 Course

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