Reading Time: 2 min One thing that I love about having a relatively small team (it’s myself and Ali, and then seven others) that are full-time employees instead of contractors is the trust that can be built. You certainly can build trust with larger teams and with part-time or contract employees, but it gets more difficult. Having people by […]
Summaries can create blind spots
Reading Time: 2 min I’m a big fan of summaries, as they can be a great way to get a lot of information in a short period of time. Blinkist creates fantastic summaries, and I certainly read them quite often. That said, summaries can leave you short. In his book “Clear Thinking“, Shane Parrish shares: Reading a summary might […]
“What is spam?”, 10 years later
Reading Time: 2 min I share a lot from Seth Godin on this blog and in emails to various people, but there is one of his posts that I share far more than others called “What is spam?“ He published it 10 years ago today, and I fear that things have gotten far worse over this last decade. The […]
The Sunday Summary: Cooperation, media creation, and hot takes regarding TikTok
Reading Time: < 1 min In 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, April 22: Sit quietly in a room aloneIt can be a very difficult thing to do, but can you sit quietly in a room alone? Tue, April 23: […]
They don’t care about your hot take regarding TikTok
Reading Time: < 1 min I was on a call recently with a potential client, and we got pretty deep into what he was looking to accomplish. I sort of summarized the call by saying something like “We’ll sell you a website and marketing, but I know that you’re just buying phone calls.“ Most businesses don’t want to improve their […]
Taglines vs Headlines
Reading Time: < 1 min This was from a short conversation I had a few weeks ago, and I thought it was worth sharing. What’s the difference between a “tagline” and a “headline”? Here’s how I see it. Taglines define your company. Nike is “Just Do It”. Apple used “Think Different” for years. Our is “Building a Brighter Web”. They’re […]
Ask for advice, not feedback
Reading Time: < 1 min Sometimes just a little shift in wording can make a huge difference. In Adam Grant’s book “Hidden Potential“, he explains the difference between seeking feedback and seeking advice: Instead of seeking feedback, you’re better off asking for advice. Feedback tends to focus on how well you did last time. Advice shifts attention to how you […]
We are generators of the media
Reading Time: 2 min A few weeks ago, PJ Vogt interviewed Ezra Klein on the Search Engine podcast. It was a fascinating interview and I encourage you to give it a listen, but one concept that Ezra shared really stuck out to me — we are generators of the media. He said this on a podcast, and I’m repeating […]
Cooperation wins, even if you lose every time
Reading Time: 2 min The most famous problem in game theory is called “The Prisoner’s Dilemma“, and you’ve likely seen it play out in game shows over the years. In game shows, it often comes down to the final two players with a secret vote to split the pot or try to take more for themselves, and the logic […]
Sit quietly in a room alone
Reading Time: 2 min Can you sit quietly in a room alone? According to many ideas in the book “Unlimited Memory“, it’s a great thing to do. They start with a quote from Blaise Pascal that brought the title of this post: “All man’s miseries derive from not being able to sit quietly in a room alone.” Related was […]