Forcing functions
It's easy to procrastinate when tasks are open-ended. Deadlines are good at making something a top priority for a short period of time. In addition to »
The power of synergy
Today we discussed NBC Universal's symphony strategy of cross promoting upcoming products/releases across their different properties. While, in theory, this seems like a strategy that »
Trilemmas
A trilemma is a difficult choice between three options, where it is impossible to pick all three options. If you've taken macroeconomics, you're familiar with the »
Saying "no" to find creative space
It's important to recognize the importance of working in flow state. Four half-hour chunks of time isn't equivalent to having one continuous two hour block of »
Making alums feel welcome
Most alumni events that I've been to start with unstructured cocktail hours. I've found that this leads to current students mainly talking amongst themselves. I wonder »
Three shooting stars
On family trips to Sea Ranch, my dad told my brother and me that rules were different from San Francisco. We weren't allowed to go to »
Key to engaging coffee chats
I've enjoyed catching up with friends about their summer adventures and meeting new students on campus. Often we'll "meet for coffee" (even though I »
Why are financials released quarterly?
Why are financials for public companies released quarterly? My guess is this started for practical reasons when updating balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements »
Scheduling time to catch up
Scheduling time with one person is straight-forward, but usually I'm trying to do this with multiple people in parallel. Often I say, "I'm free from »
Done is better than perfect
It's hard to share projects before they're finished because they feel raw and you may not be proud of them yet. For programming projects, I often »