On building of All Trades

There’s wisdom to not talking about our goals. See Derek Sivers TED Talk. It could make you feel closer to your achievement than you are. But a spoken goal, the big one you feel in your bones, the one you’re afraid to say out loud because to not achieve it would be crushing. That takes courage. We reward courage by rooting for you. Some people call... See more

Kyle Thiermann • How can people root for you?

I’m not one to build in public, but there’s utility in making sure it’s known how people can root for you.

Different backgrounds, different views, different experiences. The best teams are diverse. These are the ingredients that spark innovation.

Daniel Rizea • Top 5 Learnings After Mentoring 100 Startups

Diversity of backgrounds can also mean diversity of generalist vs. specialist skillsets. Generalists become multi-functional, bringing domain expertise from corners that you might least expect it.

A solid foundation requires a robust team structure. Hiring individuals who not only have the requisite skills but also align with the company’s culture is crucial. However, building a foundation goes beyond just assembling a team; it involves nurturing and equipping them with the tools and knowledge to excel. Continuous training and professional

To be happy I think you have to be doing something you not only enjoy, but admire. You have to be able to say, at the end, wow, that's pretty cool.

paulgraham.com • How to Do What You Love

The first step is to understand the fundamental difference between humans and AIs. We are analog, chemical beings, with emotions and feelings. Compared with machines, we think slowly—and we act too fast, failing to consider the long-term consequences of our behavior (which AI can help predict). So we should not compete with AI; we should use it. At... See more

Esther Dyson • Don’t Fuss About Training AIs. Train Our Kids

We’re building a human-first company in the age of AI. To be a generalist is to fundamentally be human, to be graded on soft skills, willingness to show up, and be curious and to build trust.

I'm really inspired by also how they were really quiet for a really long time at the beginning. They were not trying to become the next new success story on the pages of every paper. They were much more just like, "We're just going to prove through the quality of our output over time that we are doing something interesting, and weird, and... See more

Camille Ricketts: Former Head of Marketing at Notion

Pick a customer instead of an idea: “One of the best pieces of advice I ever got was that when you're starting a company, you often think you're picking an idea, but you're really picking a customer. It's actually pretty easy to change your idea, but it’s way harder to change the customer you're serving,” says Agrawal.

Superhuman

in my role as a more traditional COO (which I also thoroughly enjoyed) I was touching on a large number of parts within Buffer. It also created a certain level of pressure, one that Joel described very well in this post. I felt the urge to try and “keep everything together” and within an arm’s reach so everything would go according to plan.

With... See more

How We're Working Without Managers at Buffer

The COO role shifts when you’re building a networked instead of a structured organization

There’s lots of well-intentioned advice out there about the risks if a business takes off and there isn’t a solid foundation to stand on. But at the same time, it's no surprise that startup leaders see words like "optimizing headcount through capacity planning models" and file it away as unnecessary bureaucracy that’s more befitting of the “BigCo”... See more