My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
Meter Maids
People who actively search the internet looking for minor violations or reasons to be offended, like meter maids looking for parking violations to ticket
Decision Rule
When someone criticizes you for something trivial or tangential to your main point, ask: 'Are they engaging with my actual message, or are they being a meter maid?'
How It Works
Some people derive satisfaction or social status from finding and pointing out violations of social norms, even when those violations are minor and irrelevant to the substance
Failure Modes
Dismissing all criticism as 'meter maid behavior' instead of engaging with legitimate concerns
Becoming defensive instead of evaluating whether criticism has merit
Using this model to avoid accountability for actual mistakes
Example Decision
“Someone lists their favorite books and gets criticized for lack of gender diversity. Instead of apologizing or changing the list, recognize this as meter maid behavior focused on compliance rather than book quality”