Seeing the world in shades of grey
Uncovering the layered thinking that drives success
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Hey beautiful human 👋,
I know you probably got a little excited, thinking you’d get some practical 50 shades of grey type of tips…
But it’s a Monday…
A school day…
So let’s talk productivity 😅
Here’s the thing… what I’ve noticed is that some of us see everything in black and white, while others see infinite shades of grey – and the difference is huge.
I noticed this when mentoring some designers who were frustrated by their boss's feedback – they couldn't understand why their "perfect" solution wasn't getting approved.
Here’s the truth. They were missing all the layers between problem and solution that their boss was seeing.
So let's break down why seeing shades of grey will change how you understand the world (professionally and personally).
Let’s use 3 simple examples:
Why does your client’s conversion rate suck?
Why does a stock price move?
Why do house prices go up?
Why does the conversion rate suck?
First layer: "The CTA button isn't visible enough." The junior designer's answer.
Second layer: "Users don't understand the value proposition before they're asked to convert."
Third layer: "The traffic sources sending visitors to the page are misaligned with the offer, creating an expectation gap that no button color can fix."
This was something I learnt very early on in my career. It’s still a VERY overlooked area when it comes to conversion rate optimisation. Many designers try optimising a landing page, without having any ‘contextual understanding’ of the experiment or situation.
Why does a stock price move?
First layer: "Company reported bad earnings, stock goes down." Black and white thinking stops here.
Second layer: "But wait, earnings were actually better than analyst expectations, which is why the stock is up despite 'bad' numbers."
Third layer: "However, guidance for next quarter was weaker than hoped, plus three major investors are selling positions to cover losses elsewhere – creating temporary downward pressure despite the positive earnings beat."
Nothing in the market is ever just one thing causing one outcome – it's always layers upon layers.
Why do house prices go up?
First layer: "Supply and demand – more buyers than sellers means prices rise." Basic, but incomplete.
Second layer: "Interest rates dropped, allowing buyers to afford more expensive homes with the same monthly payment."
Third layer: "New remote work policies increased demand for homes in this specific area, while local zoning laws prevented new construction, tightening supply exactly when demand surged."
My real estate agent friends who understand these multiple factors consistently outperform those who only see supply and demand.
Start thinking differently
The secret to this kind of thinking starts with First Principles – breaking down a situation to its fundamental truths.
Instead of immediately jumping to solutions or conclusions, ask yourself: "What are the actual facts here, stripped of assumptions?"
Then slowly build up your understanding layer by layer, asking "And then what?" at each step.
When analyzing why a project failed, don't stop at "the deadline was too tight."
Ask: "Why was the deadline set that way? What priorities led to that decision? How did team dynamics contribute? What market influences were at play?"
A well known framework is the "5 Whys" technique.
The most successful people I've worked with – whether at tech giants or startups – all share this ability to see complex chains of causation.
And I've noticed they're also the ones who tend to be most empathetic, because they understand that human behavior is rarely simple either.
Bite-sized learnings
🧠 Decision paralysis: The goal isn’t to overwhelm yourself with decision making. Not every decision or situation needs to be approached with a First Principles mindset.
↳💡 Learning: I found it most impactful to apply the First Principles thinking to significant moments. For example, the start of a project. More specifically questioning the strategy. Finding gaps in it. Challenging the status quo. Once the path is formed, don’t overthink the rest.
🔄 Correlation confusion: Correlation ≠ Causation. Sometimes we might think an event is the sole, direct cause of something. But there are many scenarios where there is only a correlation. Which simply means, there is a 'relationship’ between two events; not a direct cause.
↳💡 Learning: When analyzing results, always ask "what else changed at the same time?" Correlation isn't causation. Consider multiple factors before claiming victory or admitting defeat.
Useful lil' links
How to launch a portfolio in 5 days — Breakdown of my own site
Google Flash 2.0 — Google’s new image generation model
Flux AI — Another insane image generation model
Tempo AI — Build react products 10X faster (Thanks Chris!)
GPT 4.o — New image generation model is cray!
Lovable — Idea to app in seconds
How can I help you?
Here are a few ways I can help you crush your career goals (just like me):
💼 Build confidence in end-to-end UX/UI design (10 hours) - You’ve mastered the tool and UX research and now you want to learn how to lead, design and manage a project end-to-end. Dive deep into every little step alongside me with a real-world project. (400+ designers)
🖥️ Master Figma (10 hours) - Become an expert in Figma so you can get more done; faster and better. This isn’t just a technical course about features, it’s an end-to-end course on how Figma fits into a real-world project. (7,900+ designers)
🔍 Dive-deep into UX Research & Strategy (10 hours) - Learn how to run UX and business research to make more strategic and data-informed decisions for larger scaled projects and improved stakeholder management. (800+ designers)
⚡️Design 10X faster with 8,000+ pre-designed components - We just launched v.2.7.1. If you’re starting every project from scratch, you’re probably wasting a lot of time. Leverage Shipfaster UI to speed up your process dramatically. (3,400+ designers)
🚀 Looking to launch a product? - At More Cursors, my team and I help founders strategise, design and launch world-class products. Feel free to book a call directly with me if this is something you need.
That's it for this month's newsletter!
So next time you encounter a problem or situation, resist the urge to accept the first explanation.
Force yourself to find at least three layers of "why" or "how" before making a decision.
I guarantee you'll start seeing opportunities and solutions that others miss completely.
Remember, it's never black and white. The magic happens in the grey baby!
PS. If you made it this far, here’s a little secret. I’m 30-40% of the way through in updating one of my most popular courses. I’m hoping to launch this end of April! Keep your eyes peeled.
Your boy,
— Mizko