On building of All Trades
Everyone wants to have a unique idea but the alternative is to just to be ten times better. The market is full of crap. An underrated way to succeed at anything is simply to be better. Anyone can build a "quick and dirty" tool to chat with your PDF. Few people can build incredibly polished products. And those that do need time, effort, and... See more
Things I'm thinking about
When a company actually wants the opinions of those who work there, there are far more effective ways to have a productive conversation around the insights and desires that we each bring to the organization. Asynchronous and structured, these interactions are vital sources of connection and wisdom.
The obligations of the Town Hall
If you remain flexible – even in the places where you really do think you got it right – and give yourself the chance to be proven incorrect, you’re setting yourself and your company up for success.
The Not So Cookie-Cutter Approach to Company Building — 8 Lessons from Zapier
The future of work is flexible - teams need partners that are flexible and and allow for flexibility in their work structures.
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
Another emotion I picked up in myself and in others is what feels like we’re floating in space a bit. Since the change is so fundamental and a lot of things aren’t figured out, it’s quite hard to navigate yourself within Buffer currently, since nothing feels “fixed” and ever changing these last few months.
I do get the sense that this is somewhat... See more
I do get the sense that this is somewhat... See more
How We're Working Without Managers at Buffer
The build is taxing. Empathy with yourself and others who are building alongside you is crucial.
“Lots of folks have said to us, ‘You’re growing, you could grow faster if you hired more people.’ I think a lot of companies and investors overpitch growth at all costs, but sometimes that causes a ‘more people more problems’ issue .”
It should come as no surprise by now that Foster politely said, “Thanks, but no thanks,” to these well-meaning... See more
It should come as no surprise by now that Foster politely said, “Thanks, but no thanks,” to these well-meaning... See more
The Not So Cookie-Cutter Approach to Company Building — 8 Lessons from Zapier
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
How Talent Teams Can Better Weather Boom-and-Bust Cycles
the power of imagination and optimism is an amazing and essential part of innovation. But over the years, we’ve become so enamored with the unicorn valuation as the goal, that we started valuing the wrong things and overlooking the fundamental physics of business.
Where does VC go from here?
Here’s the bright side of groupthink: It enables the dissenters to quietly break apart in their own direction with little competition and free of nosy onlookers.