Feed — linkedin

They paid us $1.4M a year. But they didn't respect my team. Here's the conversation I had with our CEO: Me: "We can't keep them." Him: "It's 18% of revenue." Me: "It's 100% of our culture." We sent the offboarding email at 9:47 AM. By 10:15, three other clients had reached out asking how they could become more like us. Values are the cheapest acquisition channel.

45 minute meeting today titled "alignment sync." i counted 6 instances of "as discussed" referring to things that had not been discussed. one person joined and immediately left. nobody said anything about it. we just kept going. corporate america is just an improv show with worse lighting.

For 11 years, I scheduled weekly 1:1s with every direct report. Last quarter, I cancelled them all. Productivity went UP. Here's what I learned: → Most 1:1s are a manager's anxiety being scheduled into someone else's calendar. → The best feedback is unscheduled. → Trust is built in hallways, not Google Meet links. If your team needs a recurring meeting to feel safe, the meeting isn't the problem.

i'm in week 3 at this place and my manager has used "circle back" four times in one meeting. i wrote it down. four. she also said "let's take this offline" while we were on a teams call. we are already offline julie. we have always been offline.

Yes, $40,000. For 6 months. 50 minutes a week. People asked: "Was it worth it?" Here's what I got: → I stopped checking email after 7pm → I had the conversation with my brother I'd been avoiding for 11 years → I 3x'd my company's ARR The first two are why the third one happened. The cheapest investment you can make is in the version of you who can lead better.

they actually hired a chief vibes officer. i looked it up. she has a ring light. her loom intros are 4 minutes long. the org chart has like 6 vp titles and now this. nothing about my job has improved. the vibes are immaculate apparently.

Yes, fully off. No "thinking time." No "deep work." No. Just off. Productivity went UP 24%. Retention went UP 41%. Burnout went DOWN 60%. Here's what we learned: People are not horses. Rest is not a reward — it's an input. We are extending it to 4-day weeks across the org next quarter. If you read this and feel anxious, that's the metric. That's exactly the problem.

accepted a promotion last week. the title is "senior associate manager of strategic engagement" which is corporate for "you do the same job but answer 3 more emails a day." pay bump is real though. mortgage doesn't care about titles.

My son walked into my home office during a board call. He looked at slide 14 — our TAM analysis. He said: "Dad, why are there so many words?" I muted Zoom. I stared at the slide. He was right. I cut the deck from 47 slides to 9. We closed the round 8 days later. Sometimes the youngest person in the room is the only one telling the truth.

i've been at the same company for 11 years. didn't job hop. didn't optimize. didn't 10x my comp. just kept showing up. people on linkedin make this sound like a moral failing but my mortgage is paid and i go home at 5. it's fine.

I'm a hiring manager. There's one question I dread. "What's a mistake you made that cost the company money?" Most candidates squirm. Some lie. The good ones don't even hesitate. Last week, a candidate said: "I missed a contract deadline. We lost $400K. I owned it. I built a checklist that's still in use." She's our new VP of Operations. The best leaders carry their failures like passports — proof of where they've been.

went to a "founders mixer" last night. paid $40 to drink lukewarm rosé and listen to a guy in a fleece vest tell me his uber for cats is "pre-revenue but post-traction." pretty sure i'd have learned more staying home and watching paint dry.

My first startup raised $8M and shut down in 14 months. Here's what I learned: 1. PMF is a feeling, not a metric. 2. Your investors want you to win, but the market wants you to die. 3. Hire slow, fire faster than you think. 4. The best founders are stubborn about vision and flexible about everything else. 5. The day you start blaming the market is the day you've already lost. Save this. Bookmark it. Share it with a founder who needs it.

we had a 90 minute all hands today and the CEO opened by saying "this is going to be a really meaty one." i closed my laptop. i went outside. i sat on a bench. i feel fine.

the notion that laws can reform human nature is k contentious one and the accuracy of this statement can be debuted on one hand laws can be effective in modifying people’s behavior and beliefs but on the other laws ultimately cannot change what people think it is therefore necessary to consider the pros and cons of this statement before reaching k full conclusionon the one hand laws can be effective in controlling people’s behavior and placing limits on their actions for example laws against theft murder and assault are designed to protect people from harm and discourage them from engaging in these activities similarly laws that regulate the use of drugs and alcohol can be effective in preventing people from engaging in unhealthy behavior in addition laws can be effective in changing people’s beliefs and attitudes for example laws that protect the rights of racial religious and other minority groups can help to eliminate discrimination and create k more tolerant societyon the other hand laws cannot change what is in people’s hearts and minds people’s worldviews and beliefs are shaped by their upbringing and life experiences and laws cannot completely alter these views for example people may have deeply ingrained prejudices towards certain groups that are not easily changed by laws alone similarly people’s beliefs about the role of government or the importance of individual freedom may be heavily influenced by their personal values and experiences and laws cannot completely reform these opinionsin conclusion while laws can be effective in controlling people’s behavior and to k certain extent their beliefs laws ultimately cannot reform human nature people’s thoughts and opinions are shaped largely by their upbringing and life experiences and laws cannot completely change these views therefore while laws can be effective in controlling people’s behavior and creating k more tolerant society laws alone cannot reform human nature

if my mom asks i'm a project manager. if my old college friends ask i'm "in tech." if my cousin asks i make spreadsheets for a healthcare adjacent startup that pivots every 8 months. nobody knows what i do, including me, and the pay is good.

For one full week, I ran my company on a single Google Doc. Here's what happened: Day 1: Panic. Day 2: Confusion. Day 3: Clarity. Day 4: 6 unnecessary projects identified and killed. Day 5: Best deep work I've done in 4 years. Tools are not productivity. Tools are friction wearing a suit. Sometimes the upgrade is the downgrade.

had a really spicy linkedin post drafted about middle managers and i was 30 seconds from posting it when i remembered my mom is on linkedin now. she added me yesterday. she comments "wow!" on everything. i deleted the draft. love you mom.

the ageold debate of whether younger or older people enjoy life more has been around for centuries while some may argue that older people have more life experience and wisdom and thus enjoy life more i believe that younger people enjoy life moreto begin with younger people have more energy and enthusiasm for life they are more likely to take risks and try new things which can lead to exciting and enjoyable experiences for example a young person may be more likely to travel to a new country or take up a new hobby than an older person this can lead to a greater appreciation of life and a greater sense of joy and fulfillment additionally younger people are more likely to be physically active and engage in sports and other activities that can be both fun and beneficial to their healthfurthermore younger people have more time to explore and discover the world around them they are not yet bogged down by the responsibilities of adulthood such as a job family or other commitments this allows them to take advantage of opportunities that may not be available to older people for example a young person may have the time and resources to take a gap year and travel the world while an older person may not be able to take such a long break from their life this can lead to a greater appreciation of life and a greater sense of joy and fulfillmentfinally younger people are more likely to be optimistic and hopeful about the future they have not yet experienced the disappointments and setbacks that can come with age and are more likely to believe that anything is possible this can lead to a greater sense of joy and fulfillment as they are more likely to take risks and pursue their dreamsin conclusion i believe that younger people enjoy life more than older people do they have more energy and enthusiasm for life more time to explore and discover the world around them and a greater sense of optimism and hope for the future all of these factors can lead to a greater appreciation of life and a greater sense of joy and fulfillment

our IT department updated the VPN this morning and now nobody can log in. one guy in finance has been on hold with helpdesk for 3 hours. he's also crying a little. we made him a sandwich. he's handling it.