When working in complex organizations like the UN or federal government, don't try to master their internal language. Instead, find and partner with internal experts who can translate your goals into the organization's native operating system to achieve impact.

Policymakers struggle to apply academic findings because research doesn't specify how to translate evidence into procurement documents. An intermediary is needed to bridge this gap, acting as an in-house consultant to map research to actionable implementation plans for those writing contracts.

The true purpose of a budget is not to limit spending or perfectly predict outcomes. Its value lies in creating a baseline for comparison. Analyzing why actual results differ from the budget provides critical insights for strategic adjustments, turning it into a tool for understanding, not judgment.

Don't dismiss high-leverage but hard-to-measure interventions like government capacity building. Use "cost-effectiveness thinking": create back-of-the-envelope calculations and estimate success probabilities. This imposes quantitative discipline on qualitative decisions, avoiding the streetlight effect of only focusing on what's easily measured.

Treat government programs as experiments. Define success metrics upfront and set a firm deadline. If the program fails to achieve its stated goals by that date, it should be automatically disbanded rather than being given more funding. This enforces accountability.

Government-administered aid programs are often highly inefficient, with significant overhead costs meaning only "cents on the dollar" reach the intended recipients. A more effective solution is to provide direct cash transfers or vouchers, empowering individuals to spend the money within the existing private market.

Reaching a 100x increase in charitable impact isn't from a single change but from combining principles that each act as a multiplier. For instance, shifting focus to a more neglected problem (10x) and choosing a leveraged policy solution (10x) can result in a 100x total improvement.

The loss of US aid didn't just defund specific projects; it dismantled an entire operational 'architecture.' The collapse of shared resources, like UN-funded logistics and transportation, created cascading failures across the sector, showing how the entire humanitarian value chain can depend on a single keystone funder.

A critical flaw in philanthropy is the donor's need for control, which manifests as funding specific, personal projects instead of providing unrestricted capital to build lasting institutions. Lasting impact comes from empowering capable organizations, not from micromanaging project-based grants.