01
The Question
How do you know when to walk away?
About This Conversation
Dr. Annie Duke is a former professional poker player, an author, speaker, and consultant in the decision-making space.
She is the author of the national bestseller, Thinking in Bets, and, the topic of today’s interview, 2022’s Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away. “Quitting’s for the weak” reverberates through today’s culture. Of course, quitting just because something is hard is definitely not a good idea.
However, we don’t tend to evaluate whether what we spend our time on is worth “buckling down” for. We highlight the journey, not the destination when it’s really the destination that we should be focused on.
In our last episode (116), with Dr. Adam Alter, we mentioned Dr. Angela Duckworth’s Grit and Dr. Annie Duke’s Quit. Having already dived into Dr. Duckworth’s work with her in episode 21, I wanted to hear what might initially seem like a conflicting view.
Conversation Map
A guided path through the episode, adapted from the original topic list while preserving the questions that make the show feel like itself.
02
Strategies for assessing when to quit
03
"Explore and exploit" mindset: how does that connect to quit and grit?
04
How to apply exploring/exploiting seasons in life
Recurring Question
"What books have had an impact on you?"
For Young Listeners
"What advice do you have for teenagers?"
Guest Bio
Annie loves to dive deep into decision-making under uncertainty. Her latest obsession is on the topic of quitting. In particular, she is on a mission to rehabilitate the term and get people to be proud of walking away from things.
Annie is an author, speaker, and consultant in the decision-making space, as well as Special Partner focused on Decision Science at First Round Capital Partners, a seed stage venture fund. Annie’s latest book, Quit: The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away, was released in 2022 from Portfolio, a Penguin Random House imprint. Her previous book, Thinking in Bets, is a national bestseller. As a former professional poker player, she has won more than $4 million in tournament poker.
During her career, Annie won a World Series of Poker bracelet and is the only woman to have won the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions and the NBC National Poker Heads-Up Championship. She retired from the game in 2012. Prior to becoming a professional poker player, Annie was awarded a National Science Foundation Fellowship to study Cognitive Psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2023 Annie completed her PhD in Cognitive Psychology at UPenn.
Annie is the co-founder of The Alliance for Decision Education, a non-profit whose mission is to improve lives by empowering students through decision skills education. She is a member of the National Board of After-School All-Stars and the Board of Directors of the Franklin Institute.
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