Reading Time: < 1 minHonesty and helpfulness are two virtues that are key to any great relationship, so it’s easy to spot long-term trouble if either of those are weak early on. I personally look for this when evaluating new tools or technology for our company; if it’s difficult to talk to educated sales folks when I’m actively wanting […]
Connectors require facts
Reading Time: 2 minThe state of learning (particularly memorization) is at a weird place in time. Since the launch of Google 25 years ago, and steadily increasing as things like Wikipedia, smartphones, and AI came along, the need to memorize information has become less important. However, it’s becoming increasing important to develop the ability to connect information to […]
The Sunday Summary: Early thrashing, quality from quantity, and offering pain
Reading Time: 2 minIn an effort to help me keep up with everything I post each week, here is my latest “Sunday Summary” of my posts from the week. Mon, January 13: Thrash early, not late“The point of getting everyone involved early is simple: thrash late and you won’t ship. Thrash late and you introduce bugs. Professional creators […]
We control the means of production
Reading Time: 1 minFor nearly all of human history, a select few controlled the means of production. A handful of people owned the factories, the facilities, and the raw materials, and there wasn’t much that the other people could do about it. Thankfully, we’re a place now where that’s no longer true. The device that you’re reading this […]
I wish it was more, but at least it’s not less
Reading Time: < 1 minIn an effort to see the bright side of things, when I wish that something was a little bit better I instead try to feel happy that at least it’s not a little bit worse. For example, Supernatural (the VR exercise game) just introduced a new multiplayer mode that allows you to work out with […]
Sit in the third chair
Reading Time: < 1 minBeing able to see things from another person’s point of view can be powerful. Gaining attunement (to know what they’re thinking) and empathy (to know what they’re feeling) can be a great place to start, and understanding the strengths of the “other side” will give you a massive upper hand. In Seth Godin’s book “Linchpin” […]
Offer pain when it’s necessary
Reading Time: < 1 minIt’s often true that pain can make you a better person. Even with your body, broken bones end up stronger than they were before the break (at least for a while). However, sometimes intentional pain can be a good thing. In his book “Secret Tradecraft of Elite Advisors“, David C. Baker explains how professionals can […]
Quality comes from quantity
Reading Time: 2 minThere’s often a tension we face when considering “quality” versus “quantity”, but I don’t think that they’re opposing forces. Years ago I shared about making more pots, where art students that created more pottery did better work than those that focused on making one perfect pot. A recent episode of the “How to Take Over […]
Thrash early, not late
Reading Time: < 1 minIn most projects, you need to get a handful of people involved to get their input. The more you can front-load that input, the more smoothly things will go. As shared by Seth Godin in his book “Linchpin“: “The point of getting everyone involved early is simple: thrash late and you won’t ship. Thrash late […]
The Sunday Summary: Anecdotes, artists, interruptions, and shorter books
Reading Time: < 1 minIn an effort to help me keep up with everything I post each week, here is my latest “Sunday Summary” of my posts from the week. Mon, January 6: Anecdotes vs Statistics“In issues of public health, how loudly do we hear anecdotal stories compared to how clearly are we presented with verifiable and relevant statistics?” […]