Going to Stanford is like going to Disney for nerds like me. You’re ready to dive into the most complex theories and frameworks. And then, out of nowhere, you’re hit with something so simple, yet so impactful, it changes the way you think forever.
When I was at Stanford University Graduate School of Business I learned many incredible things, but there’s one professor who completely changed the way I see things: Hayagreeva Rao .
What sets Huggy apart (and Stanford’s faculty as a whole) isn’t just their academic brilliance—it’s their ability to make complex ideas seem like common sense. Of all the things Huggy taught us, there’s one concept that stuck with me—and I mean really stuck.
That concept? Huggy calls it the Ridiculist.
In Huggy’s words, it’s a list of all the “crazy stupid things that a company or a person does.” Think about how much time we spend on these things—processes, habits, or routines that make no sense but somehow stick around.
It’s about creating a “Ridiculist” of inefficiencies in your organization—or your personal life—that are begging to be tackled. These are the things that waste time, energy, and attention, yet remain unquestioned.
In a world obsessed with doing more, Hayagreeva Rao dared us to do less. He showed us that sometimes, elimination beats addition.
Huggy Rao- Professor Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resources at Stanford GSB
Here’s how it works: Set aside 10 minutes in your weekly team meeting (or on your own) to brainstorm the Ridiculist. Ask yourself: What are we doing that is ridiculous? No matter how small or trivial it seems, write it down.
The following week, revisit the list. What have you stopped doing? What’s still there? Keep refining. Add new things as you notice them, and more importantly, keep eliminating what doesn’t serve you. Over time, you’ll notice just how much energy and time you’re saving by subtracting instead of adding.
To give you an idea of what goes in the Ridiculist, here are some real-life examples from big multinational companies:
- A C-level team spending six hours daily in back-to-back meetings, leaving no time to actually work. People were frustrated, but the company stayed on autopilot.
- Another team held weekly customer experience meetings—without a single customer present.
- Then there’s the weekly report no one reads, expensive software no one uses, and expense reports so complicated that employees give up on filing them.
This concept works just as well in personal life too.
In my case, I’ve always been used to waking up early. Then I started going to bed really late—at least midnight—and still tried (and failed) to wake up at 5 a.m. every day. The result? Frustration and exhaustion. RIDICULOUS.
I not only loved this concept but started to apply it, and I’m telling you—it works.
Now, your turn. What are the “crazy stupid things” you or your company do? Spend just 10 minutes today thinking about what’s on your Ridiculist.
Let’s stop overloading ourselves with unnecessary tasks and start focusing on what really matters.
With mucho cariño and corporate vibes, Daniela
(If you enjoyed this, feel free to share it—I’d love to hear your Ridiculist!)
