If I had magic, I would definitely speed up time while doing tasks I didn’t like, and slow down or even freeze time when I was behind on work, or if I wanted to take a vacation in the middle of a tense situation. But since magic doesn’t exist in […]
Category: systems
Pass It Forward
Especially in hierarchies, it’s easy to pass things forward. Whether it’s being treated humanely or being treated poorly, we usually model what we’ve seen and then others model that behavior as well. But if you were treated poorly, you can always choose to stop the cycle of abuse and follow […]
Small Sprints and Experiments
I’ve first-hand realized that I excel in small bursts of activity. I’m more at ease with the flurry and pressure of a sprint than I am with the long haul. Yunzhe Zhao reinvented her life through month-long sprints, but the thing is that you don’t even need to commit to […]
Clairvoyance
We’d like to think that we were clairvoyant, and able to see the future before it happens. After all, who doesn’t love certainty? But at the end of the day, all we can do is maximize the amount of information and make better predictions. Certainty is an illusion, and the […]
Lessons Learned From A Year Of Daily Writing
Today marks the 365th post of blogging/writing daily. Hold up. Sorry, I shouldn’t conflate the two – let me clarify. I started writing daily in April of 2020 and wrote every day for six months. I’ve since laxed a bit on the daily writing, as I’ll occasionally write a few […]
Problems with Authority
I have a huge problem with authority for authority’s sake. Without a reason to follow authority, it makes no sense to listen – “Because we said so” is the worst justification for anything ever. But if we’re willing to rebel against a system, we need to understand a few things […]
Planning for the X
There seems to be a debate whether or not you should plan for the best, or plan for the worst. Planning for the best seems like you’re being shortsighted and overly optimistic. Planning for the worst seems like you’re setting up low expectations. Really then, we should be planning for […]
Destinations That Never Arrive
It’s very common to think of attributes as destinations. Places to end up at. We’re “generous” or “selfless” or “trusted” or “a leader.” We think of these descriptions as things that we either are or are not, and that once we become recognized this way, we’re set. But the thing […]
Individual Response
How many people deserve an individual response when you make a mistake with a Zoom link? Does it matter if they’re executives or if they’re students? How many people deserve an individual response to a job application? Does it matter if it’s for a director-level position, or for a retail […]
Armor Shielding
When you’re preparing for a voyage to someplace where you cannot change the circumstances, like the intense pressures of being on the ocean floor, or the need for air and the lack of gravity in space, you need to adapt. Whether that’s building space suits, or submarines capable of withstanding tremendous […]