alex

Earlier in my career when someone was being longwinded and convoluted I'd think "I just don't understand it yet" and now I think "that person just doesn't understand it yet."

Many product managers don't bind their ambitions with humility. They don't work on small things at all. So, small things get worse and they don't learn how to fix problems. They, therefore, fail at fixing big problems and big things also get worse. This is why it is such a bad idea to tell PMs to avoid fixing broken windows. If you are a jun... See more

I met many aspiring artists in my early 20s. Observing their trajectories since then, I've learned that long-shot careers in the arts (famous singer, actor, songwriter, filmmaker, etc.) are long shots not because success relies on wild luck or rare genius or insane connections. Success stories pretty reliably happen for people who combine three not... See more

In college I would ignore the instructions for assignments and instead create something vaguely on topic but much more interesting than whatever the professor asked for. I got an A every single time. This is broadly applicable to the rest of life