Aishwarya Goel

Here are a few ideas that many of our favorite emails have used:

• Ask someone a specific question. The more specific, the better.


• Ask for criticism . Tends to be more effective than asking for advice.


• Share something interesting. An essay. Video. Company. Anything they’d like.


• Say something funny.


• Say something useful. Maybe you noticed a typo on

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people LOVE going to small one-conversation dinners — so definitely let people know this is a SMALL dinner and will be one conversation — you will get a much higher quality of participant.

I call this the third labor — Relational Labor.

Relational labor is an essential layer embedded alongside manual and cognitive labor — rooted in presence, context, commitment, and care. It’s the kind of work that doesn’t always show up in metrics, but you feel it in morale, momentum, and trust. And it runs through so many modern roles: cofounders,... See more

things to do AT the dinner

• we covered this already but good reminder: have one-conversation and a moderator


• have a specific end time for the dinner and stick to it


• get photo of everyone at the dinner and send to them afterwards


• bonus: give a little gift to everyone.

the best dinners have LOTS of laughter

if it is a lunch or a board meeting, then get... See more

Every day, instead of taking every reaction personally, remember that most people are guarded, afraid of differences, and ruled by shame. They haven’t learned how to trust yet. They don’t know how to feel compassion for people who don’t sound and act and look like them. But when you show them compassion, you teach them to stretch and expand. You... See more

The most radical thing you can do in a culture obsessed with optimisation is to fully occupy your own choices . To be here instead of somewhere else. To do this instead of something better. To be satisfied with enough instead of always reaching for more.

Obstacles to fluent writing

• Any variation on: “I can't say that!”


• “What if people think I'm stupid?”


• “What if people think this is boring?”


• “What if people think I'm ignorant?”


• “What if people think I'm trying to be superior?”


• “What if this isn't good enough?”


• “What if sharing my ideas results in my being scooped?”


• “Is this part of my job?”


• The vague

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