On building of All Trades
Stories that resonate are the ones that sit with the stories we already believe and value.
Seth Godin • Decoding ‘story’
Learning is complicated.
While we’re doing it, it’s easy to imagine that those around us are completely sure of themselves, moving forward in a well-lit space.
In fact, if you visit a growing company, a useful school or anywhere that growth is happening, you’ll quickly see that everyone is stumbling forward in the shadows.
That’s part of the deal.
While we’re doing it, it’s easy to imagine that those around us are completely sure of themselves, moving forward in a well-lit space.
In fact, if you visit a growing company, a useful school or anywhere that growth is happening, you’ll quickly see that everyone is stumbling forward in the shadows.
That’s part of the deal.
Stumbling in the dark
So much of building something new is showing others that their problem deserves to be solved, that they should be seen for who they are and what they want to be. Generalists deserve better.
The problem you solve for customers is increasingly one they can’t even articulate for themselves . The ones that are easy to understand have already been built and funded over the last 20 years. Building something of true excellence will require a hungrier engagement with the world
Evan Armstrong • Want to Build? Technical Excellence Won’t Be Enough.
Burnout cultures exhaust us through the week and force us to recharge during our time off. Healthy cultures provide daily space to refuel. - Adam Grant
I am ambitious. But in almost every other respect,
I am the opposite of the archetypal Silicon Valley entrepreneur.
I am allergic to bullshit, risk averse, introspective, have no interest in “going big or going home”
I am the opposite of the archetypal Silicon Valley entrepreneur.
I am allergic to bullshit, risk averse, introspective, have no interest in “going big or going home”
Superhuman
As an extension of this “don’t hire until it hurts” philosophy, Foster notes that Zapier was very hesitant in the early days to bring on anyone with management experience (even though the founding trio themselves didn’t have any). “Our first people managers were just me, my co-founders, and early employees that we promoted into those roles. We were... See more
The Not So Cookie-Cutter Approach to Company Building — 8 Lessons from Zapier
Early stages require both execution and strategy, the doers and the managers. Find both.
Everyone wants to be picked, but no one wants to organize the collective ‘we’.
It’s the ‘we’ that creates a school of thought, a movement, a network, a culture.
Curate, connect, organize and lead.
It’s the ‘we’ that creates a school of thought, a movement, a network, a culture.
Curate, connect, organize and lead.
Generalists are hiding in plain sight. Their identity is tied to connecting the dots for others instead of themselves. oAT exists so that they’re seen for the impact they make, even when others might not yet see or understand.