Analysing your IQ
Please Wait
Shared resources get overused and depleted when individuals act in self-interest.
Mental models are thinking tools. Tragedy of the Commons is one of the most powerful—used by successful founders, investors, and strategists to cut through complexity.
Design systems with clear ownership, limits, or incentive alignment to prevent overexploitation.
The power of Tragedy of the Commons comes from its ability to compress complexity. A good mental model acts like a lens—it brings the important features into focus.
Shared company resources (meeting rooms, budgets) get abused without governance.
This model is most useful when you're stuck. If your current approach isn't working, Tragedy of the Commons often reveals the hidden constraint.
Over-applying: Not every problem benefits from this model. Match the tool to the situation.
Under-applying: People learn the model but don't practice it. Application takes repetition.
Misunderstanding the principle: Surface-level understanding leads to poor execution. Study the examples.
Ignoring context: The same model works differently in different domains. Adapt accordingly.
Identify a current decision you're facing. Write down the assumptions you're making. Challenge each one.
Look at a past failure. Apply Tragedy of the Commons retroactively—would it have changed the outcome?
Teach the model to someone else. If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.
Set a reminder to apply this model once per week for the next month. Track the results.
The best thinkers have internalized multiple mental models and apply them fluidly based on context.
Mental models require specific cognitive traits to execute. Do you have the Purpose for this?
Shared resources get overused and depleted when individuals act in self-interest.
Design systems with clear ownership, limits, or incentive alignment to prevent overexploitation.
Shared company resources (meeting rooms, budgets) get abused without governance.
Use Tragedy of the Commons when facing complex decisions in the strategy domain, when conventional approaches aren't working, or when you need a structured framework for analysis.
Tragedy of the Commons is used by strategic thinkers, business leaders, and anyone who needs to make high-stakes decisions under uncertainty. It's particularly popular in investing, startups, and engineering.
Yes. Mental models are learnable skills, not innate talents. The key is deliberate practice—actively applying the model to real decisions, not just reading about it.