andrea

Schools are good at teaching and measuring intelligence, so that’s what people tend to value and aspire to. But in almost any field, smarts is what gets rewarded long term.

You cannot measure empathy like you can SAT scores, so it’s not surprising that one is given more weight on resumes. But who is more likely to succeed in life – a person whose ma... See more

In Alan Bennett’s The History Boys, the profoundly human (i.e., imperfect) teacher, Hector, reminds his students that “The best moments in reading are when you come across something—a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things—that you’d thought special, particular to you. And here it is, set down by someone else, a person you’ve never met, may... See more

Compulsion. I think about that word a lot. I believe that all of us, carelessly walking about planet earth, are intrinsically compelled to do something . It’s in our nature, in the shape of our soul. To excel, to truly be the best, I think it’s crucial to spend time thinking about what that is. Because if you do something other than that, you’re no... See more

So much of the web now is sanitized, copy-cat, and a bit scared. I think we are nostalgic for the early internet in part because anyone could curate it, and it was full of wonderful human flaws as a result.

Amazon.com has a product development process they call Working Backwards. Rather than starting from an idea or a technology, you start by writing the press release for the product.

The target audience is the customer.

The press release is circulated internally.

If the press release isn't compelling, you don't have a strong product hypothesis. Iterate!... See more