The two weeks covered by this post were eventful. As a result, Better Ways took a backseat last weekend. More details on why to come in the topical post I will publish this weekend.
TL;DR my top content of the past two weeks is:
ReThinking with Adam Grant Ep. 17 (2023): Getting to the heart of team culture with Pete Carroll
The Tim Ferriss Show Ep.669: Kevin Kelly — Excellent Advice for Living
The 2-Hour Job Search by Steve Dalton
This Week in Startups Ep. 1735: Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky on early rejection, customer focus & AI’s future in hospitality
ReThinking with Adam Grant Ep. 17 (2023): Getting to the heart of team culture with Pete Carroll
Adam Grant and Pete Carroll discuss his approach to leadership and building great teams. His emphasis on accountability, communication, and staying focused on the present can help individuals and teams overcome setbacks and achieve success.
One of my key takeaways is the need to move on from setbacks and focus on the present moment (which couldn’t have arrived at a better moment for me.) Pete emphasizes the importance of “Tell the Truth Monday”, a format used to share the essence of what has taken place with everyone, and to interpret the truth well by stepping back, getting clear, and listening to people around him. He believes it’s not about getting to the truth but moving on from distractions of any kind, which can hinder performance and should be eliminated.
It's just as difficult to respond to a great win as it is to a great loss. Whatever enters into your mind when you're trying to perform at your best, it's a distraction. It doesn't matter what kind of distraction it is. Any of those factors can keep you from finding the clarity it takes to perform at your best. (P. Carroll)
The Tim Ferrisa Show Ep. 669: Kevin Kelly — Excellent Advice for Living
In this episode, Tim talks to Kevin Kelly, a tech visionary and co-founder of Wired magazine, who shares his insights on various topics ranging from technology and AI to personal satisfaction and problem-solving.
Kevin talks about finding one's unique value in the world — “Don’t aim to be the best. Be the only.” He argues that it takes a lot of self-knowledge and awareness to understand what one does better than anyone else in the world, and it often takes one's lifetime to figure it out. Achieving something remarkable is a high bar, full of detours and dead ends, but if one can achieve it, there is no competition, and you no longer need a resume.
Your goal in life is to be able to say on the day before you die that you have fully become yourself. (K. Kelly)
Kevin also talks about personal satisfaction and creating for oneself versus sharing with others, which showed up in last week’s post.
The 2-Hour Job Search by Steve Dalton
The 2-Hour Job Search (2HJS) is a guide for anyone seeking a job in today’s world where online tools are touted as the way to get a job, but where you network and referrals matter more. 2HJS emphasizes the importance of informational interviews and provides a systematic approach to job searching organized into three main sections: Prioritize, Contact, and Convince.
I will be revisiting The 2-Hour Job Search and in more depth very soon.
This Week In Startups Ep. 1735: Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky on early rejection, customer focus & AI’s future in hospitality
I learned a lot about Airbnb’s startup and product journey from this interview with CEO Brian Chesky. One of my key takeaways is the importance of having customer permission to do something new. “And we only have permission to do something new if they [our customers] love what we currently do.”
Brian also discussed the need for constraints in business and product development and how limitations can actually be a driving force for creativity, as they force you to think outside the box and come up with innovative solutions. I encountered this same concept of positive constraints late last year when I read Shape Up by Ryan Singer, and I advocated for using them more at work.
Brian also talked about prioritizing user complaints and the importance of listening to customer feedback. This isn’t a novel idea, but it was interesting to hear him talk about how Airbnb distills a very large amount of customer feedback from a broad array of sources and uses it to inform product decisions.
Overall, another great example of the importance of customer-centric product development.
Others:
The Beautiful Mess TBM 220: Effort vs. Value Curves by John Cutler
I really like John’s take on the importance of considering the effort vs. value curve of the focus areas we are prioritizing before we start the work. The six curves he outlines and explains can help clarify statements like "quick wins," prepare teams for different experiences during the work, and identify inflection points. The curves also show how much is at risk with certain efforts and when to expect results, which are essential to setting expectations.
Huberman Lab How Psilocybin Can Rewire Our Brain, Its Therapeutic Benefits & Its Risks
Continuing my journey to educate myself about psychedelics. Andrew is always impressively thorough and great at making complex scientific information approachable without feeling like he’s dumbing it down.
7 Ways to Take Care of Your Mental Health at Work — Tips From the Radical Candor Team
A 2022 study published by the journal CyberPsychology, Social Networking, and Behavior noted that the increased time we’re spending on Zoom and other videoconferencing apps can lead to feeling anxious, socially isolated, or emotionally exhausted.
This is a good reminder of how different work is now for many of us. I’ve certainly felt at least two of those three, and I’ve seen the effects on how I show up at work and home, albeit too late in some cases.
Entangled Things Ep. 59: Preparing for Post Quantum Cryptography with Garland Garris
(Full disclosure. I know Garland personally and we worked together for several years. He’s extremely smart, an exemplary human, and a distinguished public servant.)
In this episode of Entangled Things, Patrick and Ciprian speak with Garland Garris, lead for quantum security and post quantum cryptography at Accenture Federal Services. They discuss timeline predictions to break RSA, methods of protecting current information in a post quantum world, and the potential threats of Y2Q. They also talk about the increasing funding for quantum computing, with China investing $10 billion out of $24 billion in 2021.
I have to admit I haven’t been thinking about quantum computing or the implications for security, and I should be. We all should be.
Even if we don’t have quantum computers. Perhaps more so in that case!
Better Ways
In my opinion, “Tell the Truth Monday” is a better way and one we can all apply for better team performance.