Category: Everything else

11 years

Yesterday marked 11 years of near daily writing on this blog. I say “near daily” because I missed a few days in the first two years. But, 4018 days since we started and 4858 posts later, I’m glad to report that it’s been consistent since then.

Someone asked me about my writing process over email the other day. I’ve gotten that question a few times and I do my best to explain that the process involved is minimal.

I pay WordPress and Feedblitz so I can just show up and write. I used to manage all of this with free alternatives until a couple years back. I started the blog as a student and had more time than money – it took me a while to make the switch. But, I’m grateful for the ability to automate it now.

I also don’t check any stats or try to improve SEO or my social media footprint. I occasionally share posts and notes on Twitter and LinkedIn – I’ve learnt to only do so on days when it feels right. Eight years or so ago, I got comfortable with the fact that the eclectic nature of the blog means it will remain niche. Despite focusing on “writing for myself,” I’ve been fortunate to have folks like you as friends along the journey. I treat that as a privilege and, as I have said before, ALearningaDay email is my favorite email.

All of the above means I get to focus on taking time every day to ask myself what I’ve been learning or thinking about and then attempting to synthesize and share. The only bit of process involved here is a OneNote sheet where I dump any and all ideas that I think might be interesting to flesh out. I estimate 10% of those ideas make it to these posts.

That aside, I aim to set aside 15-20 minutes each day to write. I don’t generally have more time than that. That is especially the case now with two kids. I generally write in the morning. But, I’ve been going through a phase of late when I write a post before I sleep. So, it depends.

The most important part of the process is simply sitting down with an open WordPress tab for 15 minutes and shipping something at the end of it.

On some days, I feel good about what I’ve written. On others, not so much. But, I ship nevertheless. The discipline of doing so for the past 11 years has made me a significantly better human being and has more of an impact on me than I can comprehend or articulate.

I am grateful I’ve been able to stick with it – with lots of support from my wife. And, I am very grateful for the many friends, readers, and colleagues who’ve inspired lessons over the years. Finally, I am grateful for the many of you who’ve been along for the ride over the past few years – thanks in large part to Seth :-).

Thank you for all the encouragement… and looking forward to the next 11.

The reasonable test

A simple question to measure how reasonable we really are – when was the last time we changed a decision when the facts/assumptions changed?

And, a bonus – when was the last time we wished we’d changed a decision when the facts/assumptions changed?

The answers to both those questions tend help us calibrate how reasonable we actually are.

Blaise Pascal on the shorter letter

There’s a powerful Blaise Pascal quote on brevity that translates to – “I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”

I thought about this recently as I compared two presentations. One of them was a rush job and contained far too many slides. The other was carefully put together and packed more insight and impact despite having a third of the slides.

In both cases, the effort (or lack of it) showed.

Simplicity is often a leading indicator of competence.

Benefits of good decisions compound over time

When Liverpool Football Club appointed Jurgen Klopp as their manager in 2015, I remember telling a good friend I was sad he wasn’t a Manchester United manager. Klopp had spent 7 years with Borussia Dortmund and transformed them into a German powerhouse club. He was exactly the kind of long term thinker we needed.

He was appointed in the early part of the season and while Liverpool had shown some signs of improvement by the end, there was plenty left to be desired. They finished 8th in the league.

The next season was his first full season and there were visible signs of improvement. Liverpool were now 4th in the league and qualified for the European Champions League.

In his third season, Liverpool were beginning to do well and look consistently dangerous. They finished 4th again and had an impressive run to the finals of the Champions League. Thanks to a bit of misfortune, they missed out.

Klopp invested in areas they were weak over the summer and Liverpool came out all guns blazing this season. It looks like they’ll narrowly miss winning the league – thanks to an exceptional season by their direct competitor to the title. But, against all odds, they overturned a 3-0 deficit against Barcelona yesterday to win 4-0 and make their way to the finals of the Champions League again. This time, only a fool would bet against them.

All this context underscores the central point – the benefits of good decisions compound over time. Liverpool have been making positive strides every season and have been looking consistently better than their previous versions. That sort of improvement isn’t made overnight. But, viewed over a period of time, it is easy to realize the power of building strong foundations and making small improvements that compound over time.

Seeing the progress he’s made in the past 4 years is a good reminder to make long term decisions. As long as you have the conviction, stay the course and do it with a great attitude (as he does).

It may not seem to pay off for a while.

Until it does.

The prioritization jedi continuum

Padawan learner: Know the top priorities when asked.

Jedi: Habitually list the top priorities and check in on progress.

Jedi Master: Consistently say no to things in the “really want to do” list to make more time for things that matter.

Grandmaster: All actions and priorities are the same – live that priority list.

Human-size life

I was reminded of a post I’d shared 3 years ago from Dave Winer’s blog (one of the first regular blogs on the internet) called “Your human-size life.”

Dave wrote the post to explain why the narrative we have on wealth in society – “Until you’re rich, you’re miserable. Once you’re rich, it’s all great!” – is deeply flawed. And, there is a quote from that post that has stuck with me over the years.

One of the biggest mistakes rich people make is to try to live larger than a single human being can. A mathematical impossibility. You can buy a big house, but you can only sleep in one bedroom at a time. You can own twenty fantastic cars, airplanes and yachts, but you can only be in one at a time. You can own an NBA team and a MLB team, and you get to sit in the nicest seat in the house at games, but you still can only sit in one seat. In other words, your humanity doesn’t increase just because your wealth did.

At the end of the day, we can only sleep in one bedroom, drive in one car, work on one desk, and be in one place. If we’re lucky, we get to do all of this while spending time with people we care about  and spending at least some portion of our day struggling to solve problems that matter.

Or, as Dave puts it –

“I think we all need a struggle, I think that’s where our creativity comes from. We need something that feels unattainable, but actually is not. But the struggle to rise above our humanity, that’s not going to happen for any of us. And the desire to have it robs your very human life of any value. 

Joe had it right. Live a gentle human-size life. Go for a walk in your middle-class neighborhood and run into a friend of a friend and share what you see, and influence their life for the better. That’s the kind of thing a human can do. And it is, imho, where happiness comes from. “

On Bestseller ideas

“Let’s get one thing clear right now, shall we? There is no Idea Dump, no Story Central, no Island of the Buried Bestsellers; good story ideas seem to come quite literally from nowhere, sailing at you right out of the empty sky: two previously unrelated ideas come together and make something new under the sun. Your job isn’t to find these ideas but to recognize them when they show up.” | Stephen King, On Writing

“Your job isn’t to find these ideas but to recognize them when they show up.” Applicable in writing and in life.

(Making slow progress through this Stephen King masterpiece. What a great read.)

No one has the right answers on the difficult questions

Life presents us with difficult questions every day.

What’s the right way to balance/integrate work and life?
What do you choose to value?
How should you balance between the short term and the long term?
Should you persist?
What should you prioritize given the information you have?

There are many who claim to have the answer. For example, some will tell you that the secret to managing a workplace is by working in a calm workplace. Others will tell you it is all about your work ethic when you are building your career. And, yet some others will tell you it is all about achieving financial independence to do what you want.

All of these may be the right answers.

But, there is no guarantee they will work for you.

By all means, read the best books/posts on the questions you’re asking and listen to folks who challenge your thinking.

But, once you do the work, find some silence and ask yourself what the answer should be. Only you understand your circumstances and constraints. Only you can find a path that works for you… a path that will inevitably lead to more difficult questions that no one else will have the answers for.

Minimizing contribution

“If your habit is to clear your throat, apologize a few times, minimize the quality of the work you’re about to share and in general, apologize for the assertions you’re about to make…

you probably realize that this is not an effective way to give a talk, lead a class or have a strategic discussion.” – Seth’s post on “The minimizing coin“

As I was reminded after a meeting recently that I minimized my/our contribution (and have been known to do this in the past), this post couldn’t have come at a better time.

In all the instances where I’ve learned that I do this, the awareness was brought about by feedback from someone else. So, the first step to solving this is becoming aware of when I do it.

All of this ties back to my new year theme to communicate constructively and with clarity. As the year progresses, I’m coming to realize that all progress on communication comes with more awareness.

And, awareness comes with intention.