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Re:Reflections on palantir – Nabeel S. Qureshi by supplemental on Saturday February 01, 2025 @08:48AM (#42898249)
Interesting article. I find it interesting that they recommended a book about acting to their employees. The book is called "Impro".
Re:Reflections on palantir – Nabeel S. Qureshi by mikhailfranco on Saturday February 01, 2025 @09:16AM (#42898433)
It's not about well-rehearsed acting to bluff clients (like conventional management consultants).

Impro is about improvisation: having a deep reservoir of experiences and reference points, but no pre-planned templates; empathizing with the client's situation; thinking fast; being open-minded and creative; challenging received wisdom; pulling disparate ideas together; assembling a synthesis; embodying a story; imagining a solution; presenting difficult concepts smoothly; having conviction in your ideas; high risk tolerance; be convincing; be committed to doing what you say and implement what you imagine; create a technical solution, an operational scenario, a bottom-up deployment plan, and a path to win strategic acceptance based on results.

Re:Reflections on palantir – Nabeel S. Qureshi by borski on Saturday February 01, 2025 @09:42AM (#42898653)
In short: Founder sales.

(I strongly suggested to every employee to take some into improv classes for the same reason. I didn’t want them to be better actors. I wanted them to be better listeners, which is what improv is really about)

Re:Reflections on palantir – Nabeel S. Qureshi by twobitshifter on Saturday February 01, 2025 @09:02AM (#42898341)
Is it wrong to say that they are developing sociopaths in this fashion? Anyone ever read the book to say how it is applicable? If you were a client how would you feel about knowing that your interactions with your consultant were all an act?

“Being a successful FDE required an unusual sensitivity to social context – what you really had to do was partner with your corporate (or government) counterparts at the highest level and gain their trust, which often required playing political games.”

Re:Reflections on palantir – Nabeel S. Qureshi by mingus88 on Saturday February 01, 2025 @11:27AM (#42899561)
It’s very wrong. Improv requires empathy and awareness of the person you are in a scene with.

The dark triad personality traits are defined by an explicit lack of empathy and ability to connect with other people

Re:Reflections on palantir – Nabeel S. Qureshi by borski on Saturday February 01, 2025 @09:43AM (#42898661)
Yes, it’s wrong, because it isn’t an act. Improv isn’t about being fake or acting/lying.