There is a significant difference between being “anti-something“ and just “non-something”. To eradicate something from our society, we must all be anti-it. This applies to murder. It applies to rape. And it applies to racism.
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After observing recent protests, I spent some time researching how they work. I was curious whether protests are effective and what makes one successful. Here’s what I learned.
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In learning any new subject for long term utility, fluency is the goal. Anything less risks uselessness over time.
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Last month was a hard month. This one might be worse. People I love and respect are being laid off with little notice. Good people. Great people. People who, if I had an open position at one of my ventures, I’d hire on the spot.
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We all have scars. They are evidence of life, mortality, and learning. Visible outside is experience and vulnerability. Hidden inside is wisdom.
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As a leader, it’s important to be self-aware. But every time I think I’ve figured myself out, someone exposes a blind spot.
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I’m beginning to form an opinion of what characteristics make up the ideal leader. The image is still blurry, but it is looking a lot like what Jim Collins refers to as a “Level 5 Leader”. Here’s a matrix to visualize how I’m thinking about this.
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I want to take some time this week to call out two friends. Tyler King and Zack Zitsos have demonstrated exceptional leadership during this difficult time.
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Failure is a part of our lives. We think and talk about it often. Some say failure is good. Some say failure is bad. In reality, it just is. But, failure is where meaning hides.
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I’m a big believer in continuous learning. It preserves optionality and maintains relevance in an ever-changing world. It’s also believed to improve mental health and increase happiness. Continuous learning is the process of acquiring new skills and knowledge on a regular basis.
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When a significant life change happens, routines stop. When routines stop, habits don’t trigger. Without longstanding routines and habits, life gets hard. Our automated decision-making ceases and we’re forced to think about everything.
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If we can slow the transmission of Coronavirus, we can spread its impact over a longer period of time. If we can spread the impact over time, we can lessen the load on our health systems. And if we can lessen the load on our health systems, we might be able to save lives. I will practice social distancing until further notice.
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I’m often asked for book recommendations from aspiring entrepreneurs. Rather than write a custom note each time, I’m listing them here. There are many other books I recommend, but these are the top five for aspiring entrepreneurs. If you think there’s another one that I should add to this list, please let me know.
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When attendees don't agree on the purpose of a meeting, bad meetings happen. Perfect conditions brew for impatience and unhealthy conflict. Attendees try to complete competing objectives and nothing gets done. If you’re having unproductive meetings, attendees may be working toward conflicting objectives. Try stepping back and getting everyone to agree on a clarified purpose for the meeting.
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People say patience is a virtue, but I find it more useful to define it as a skill. Patience is the ability to wait for something without becoming frustrated. Sometimes exercising patience is difficult. When we’re forced to wait, we become impatient. When we’re impatient, we expose our frustrations via body language, words, and actions. Our emotions take control. Why do we become impatient and what purpose does it serve?
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There are times when teamwork is easy. Teamwork is easy when all team members are aligned and share a common view of the outcome they’re trying to achieve. But much of the time, teamwork is hard.
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Regret is an awful feeling. The more we feel it, the less happy we are in the present. We feel regret when we make a decision that disappoints us. We can regret a decision to act (“action”). And we can regret a decision not to act (“inaction”). Over the last year or two, I’ve been experimenting with ways to minimize regret. It’s hard but worth it.
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When we look into the past, we recognize how much personal change we’ve experienced. But when we look into the future, we underestimate how much we’ll change. Psychologists refer to this illusion as the end of history illusion. Despite changing a lot in the past, we don't believe we'll change much in the future.
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