The Case Against Morning Yoga, Daily Routines, and Endless Meetings

Execute based on your own plan and not in reaction to others. Agency and ownership rule the day, and this is why “Send email to X” is stronger than “Send reply to Y” — the best work does not happen in reaction to what others do. Just build your own plan based on your goals and the information you have at hand, and don’t be afraid to update it as yo... See more

The 10x plan for 10x work for 10x people

Let’s go back to the power law, where I initially complained was full of long-tail 1x work.

What would we like the curve to look like instead?

1. For the long tail — remove/delegate/automate the <1x work. If it doesn’t matter much if it’s done well or not, then just get it done. There’s so much written abo

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By its nature, the opportunities for 10x work are not really something you can optimize. Sometimes it’s a random work idea, or a random meeting, or a off-hand tweet (like my “growth hacker is the new vp marketing” tweet from 10 years ago) that creates a lucky break. Combine this with skills built up with years at the technology frontier, and skill ... See more

Execute based on your own plan and not in reaction to others. Agency and ownership rule the day, and this is why “Send email to X” is stronger than “Send reply to Y” — the best work does not happen in reaction to what others do. Just build your own plan based on your goals and the information you have at hand, and don’t be afraid to update it as yo... See more

Serendipity loves randomness and hates routine. This is why I’m so positive on sending outbound emails to interesting people, hosting dinners and events that bring together smart folks, and publishing any and all thoughts online. There’s often followup, and opportunities present themselves randomly. I’m also pro reading random books on a topic, or ... See more

Pivotal moments often happen when you inject more risk, new information, or create upside in an otherwise stable situation. This is why people talk about a sequence of key events precipitated by changing new jobs, meeting a new mentor, launching products, moving across the country, etc. These are moments of great change, and thus, tremendous amount... See more

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