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Rituals of modern product teams

January 26, 2024
by Michael
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Leadership

In case your podcast queue is running low, I highly recommend queuing up this presentation from Figma’s Config 2023 conference: Rituals of modern product teams - Yuhki Yamashita, Shishir Mehrotra (Config 2023) - YouTube The basic premise is that effective teams have established a number of rituals over time, and Yamashita and Mehrotra give a quick rundown of some of those rituals (screenshot below). I am fascinated by the organizing framework they use to categorize […]

The Impulse Cooktop

January 19, 2024
by Michael
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Asides

It is a rare feat for a stove top to be exciting, but this just sounds remarkable: And then you learn that the stove has a battery in it, which means that unlike most other induction stoves, it can plug into a standard 120-volt outlet. You don’t have to get a pricy circuit upgrade, or an even pricier electrical panel upgrade, to install it. Plus, the battery delivers enough power to boil a liter of […]

Adam Grant in conversation with Jennifer Garner

January 11, 2024
by Michael
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Asides

What a joy- and insightful way to spend an hour: Garner was not meant to be the original interviewer and only filled in on the day. But this turned out to be a refreshing blessing in disguise. The conversation focused less on the book and more on personal experiences and challenges in the context of the book. To be honest I was not a big fan of Adam Grant, but have just added his books […]

The metric is not the goal

January 10, 2024
by Michael
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Asides / OKRs

Great articulation by Mike Davidson in his reflection of being one year at Microsoft: Our north star is at least pretty pure — Daily Active Users — and that metric is usually a good indicator that you’ve made something people like, but doctrinaire allegiance to almost any singular metric can quickly make people forget why we are in this profession to begin with: to improve lives. Or to put it squarely in Microsoft parlance again: […]

Excellence is a habit, but so is failure – Andreas Kling – I like computers!

July 7, 2023
by Michael
Asides

I'm a big fan of routines and habits. While they are not a guarantee for outcomes, they do increase the odds and move you closer to where you want to be. This is an interesting reflection by Alexander Kling on habits being a two-way street: We often hear that making small incremental improvements every day can lead to great things. This popular piece of advice rings true, and it’s a powerful reminder to keep pushing […]

Blogroll

June 29, 2023
by Michael
Asides

In a world, where generative AI is eating itself and clogging the pipes that once made the world wide web a magical place, Chris Glass' recent update of his blogroll is a fresh glass of water, served with a swirly straw and a tiny umbrella. It is a reminder that while we all might visit the same 3-5 destinations on the web every day, there are so many tiny websites out there, maintained by people […]

The three kinds of leverage that anchor effective strategies

June 20, 2023
by Michael
Asides / Strategy

Jason Cohen writing on A Smart Bear about one of the fundamental concepts of strategy, durable, differentiated strengths. “Leverage” means generating a large effect from a relatively small effort, created by riding tailwinds of natural abilities or hard-won assets, rather than fighting a battle for which you are ill-equipped. [...] Leveraging strengths is the only way to do great work. (Not “fixing weaknesses.”) Better yet, leveraging differentiated strengths means you beat the competition. Best is […]

Everything Must Be Paid for Twice

June 9, 2023
by Michael
Asides

One financial lesson they should teach in school is that most of the things we buy have to be paid for twice. There’s the first price, usually paid in dollars, just to gain possession of the desired thing, whatever it is: a book, a budgeting app, a unicycle, a bundle of kale. But then, in order to make use of the thing, you must also pay a second price. This is the effort and initiative […]

… and then?

June 4, 2023
by Michael
Asides

Interesting contemplation about how recent advancements in AI will make us all more productive: You rush through the writing, the researching, the watching, the listening, you’re done with it, you get it behind you — and what is in front of you? … But in the more immediate future: you’re zipping through all these experiences in order to do what, exactly? Listen to another song at double-speed? Produce a bullet-point outline of another post that AI can […]

The Internet Isn’t Meant To Be So Small

May 3, 2023
by Michael
Asides

Nice essay by Kelsey McKinney to remind us that the internet has – despite growth and broad adoption – become too small and limiting in recent years. It's a call to action for us to break out of our echo chambers and embrace the vastness and potential for growth that the internet can offer. It is worth remembering that the internet wasn't supposed to be like this. It wasn't supposed to be six boring men […]