How the book, ‘Skin in the Game’ changed how I understood risk and success

“You need to eat what you feed others.” — Nassim Nicholas Taleb

I often wondered why I found it hard to take certain kinds of people seriously.

But I couldn’t grasp it until I read Nassim Taleb’s Skin in the Game.

Many talk about risk but never take any themselves. They sell frameworks for success but never built anything of their own.

We see university professors talk about business or economics who never built a business themselves.

The book reinforces the idea that real credibility comes from those who have put themselves on the line.

Here are ten of the biggest ideas from the book that will challenge how you see risk, fairness, decision-making, and success:

1. Without skin in the game, there’s no real accountability.

Taleb argues that people who make decisions should bear the consequences.

When they don’t, they make reckless choices without caring about the damage they cause. This applies to politicians, economists, corporate executives, and even self-proclaimed thought leaders.