Second Order Thinking
Second Order Thinking is a decision-making framework that requires you to consider not just the immediate consequences of an action (first order), but the subsequent consequences of those consequences (second order), and potentially further iterations. Developed and popularized by investor and author Howard Marks, it is the discipline of asking "and then what?" until the full consequence chain becomes visible — and is most valuable when immediate effects seem clearly positive but downstream effects are ambiguous or harmful.