Author: Michael

A love letter to my website

Asides

“Not long ago, the web was still the future. It was a big deal for companies to have their own site, much less individuals. Technology evolved. We picked up a few HTML and CSS tricks, discovered the wonders of Flash. We started spinning up our own sites, complete with guest books and visitors counters. [...]Having my own website says I care about what I do beyond clocking in and out and cashing a paycheck. [..] […]

The days stack up

Asides

Austin Kleon is reflecting on 15 years of blogging and why he is still excited about it. It's concise and insightful. His three main points: It's a short read worth its time. It also contains great quote from Marc Weidenbaum on using writing to figure things out: Don’t leave writing to writers. Don’t delegate your area of interest and knowledge to people with stronger rhetorical resources. You’ll find your voice as you make your way. […]

Why We Long For the Most Difficult Days of Parenthood

Asides

Great perspective in The Atlantic about parenting young children by Stephanie H. Murray. The sociologist Daniel Gilbert once likened a day spent caring for a 3-year-old to a baseball game that remains scoreless until the bottom of the ninth. Fans remember the thrilling moments of the game-winning home run and not much else. [...] Hindsight allows us to put suffering into context and recognize the purpose it served in our lives. Hohlbaum likened it to […]

Categories for journaling

Asides

Over the past few years, long-hand journaling helped me reflect and think through many personal and professional topics. Ofir Sharony offers a nice framework to establish a journaling routine. "Start by shutting down all interruptions: disable Slack mentions and email notifications, place your phone out of sight, and enter your flow by wearing your noise-canceling headset. Once you feel focused, go over today’s calendar, skim through your to-do list, and reflect [on one or more […]

OKRs and tools

OKRs / Software

I used to pride myself in the belief that a shared document is all it takes to manage OKRs. As teams grow, so does complexity and entropy. At some point, it makes sense to invest in a proper OKR management tool.

Companies are not families

Leadership / Opinion

Good New York Times interview with the new Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy. Near the end he dropped a nice nugget: And I say you’ll never hear me say we’re a family. We’re a sports team, and we’re trying to win the Super Bowl. And so we’re going to put the best players on the field we can. And if you go down the field, and we throw you the ball, and you drop it a […]