Brandy Cerne

what’s dystopian always involves surveillance and monetization, what’s utopian is unmonetized and unsurveilled.

I’ve hosted events where only two people showed up. You have to keep at it. Big things start small, but when you have all these pressures and limited resources in a growing company, it’s tempting to quickly ditch anything that’s not working. You can’t hopscotch over the hard bits, as much as you might want to

if I like someone, I just expect them to like me back.

10x work happens at the frontier of knowledge, away from the routine. It’s where no one knows anything. In my industry, in tech, the technology frontier often has hype, excitement, and opportunity, but not enough people to do the work. The status hierarchy hasn’t been set, nothing’s been written down, and it’s unclear to anyone what will work. As a... See more

A charismatic brand includes a dedication to aesthetics. Why? Because it’s the language of feeling, and in a society that’s information-rich and time-poor, people value feeling more than information.

Prepare for these recurring moments in advance, and your staff doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel every night—they just have to listen and make it happen. You might be wondering: Once you’ve systemized it, is it still hospitable? Does that airplane snack box carry the same warmth and generosity the thirtieth time you hand one to a guest as it did... See more