Effectuative thinking, unlike causal thinking, is bottom-up. It doesn’t start with a final goal in mind. Instead, as Sarasvathy explains, “it begins with a given set of means and allows goals to emerge contingently over time.”

via Do Goals Prevent Success? – Study Hacks – Cal Newport.

This post touches upon a topic that I have written  about before here and here. Newport discusses the work of Saras Sarasvathy into entrepreneurship. The quick summary:

Sarasvathy identifies four main principles to approaching your work in this manner:

1. Start with what you already know how to do well.
2. Filter your efforts to avoid big downsides not to select for big upsides.
3. Work with other people who bring new abilities to the table.
4. Take advantage of the unexpected.