Brandy Cerne

we have to compete with the biggest and the best in each category of content we produce. But no, we don't need to BE them to compete with them. In fact, I'd posit there is no objective or academic way to declare something like a newsletter or a podcast or an expert or a brand as "the best." Everyone is making subjective, emotional decisions, then r... See more

This is what a healthy culture feels like. Expectations were high but I knew that I had the support and environment to deliver on those expectations. I wanted to be around other people because I needed them to do great work. This is similar to what Brie Wolfson had to say about why she put up with intense demands at Stripe: “it felt good to care ab... See more

And while dropping off a full bottle of expensive booze at every table seemed like an unreasonably extravagant gesture, it was actually cost-effective. After an elaborate multicourse dinner (and usually plenty of wine), few people were interested in drinking more than a sip of that cognac. Yet the feeling of abundance was there.

Build honesty into your culture, not transparency.

Our desires, motivations and behaviors are constantly being shaped by incentives and systems we aren’t even aware of. So much genius and money has gone into a metaphor that assumes all humans desire is status and likes and influence and convenience and efficiency.

Yes, humans want all those things. But we also want to be inspired. To be delighted. T... See more

A community is a group of people that come together to nurture their own and one another’s growth.

The second built in PLA channel Cash App is using is billboarding—when a user’s use of your product is visible to others around them. For example:

1. When your product is physically recognizable, like touting the new iPhone or MacBook in a coffee shop, or wearing Adidas sneakers. This is passive experiential virality where you just see it as you go ab

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Most of us get better at living as we go. There comes a moment, which may come early or later in life, when you realize what your life is actually about. You look across your life and review the moments when you felt more fully alive, at most your best self. They were usually moments when you were working with others in service of some ideal. That

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