Jason Shen
@jasonshen
Exec coach helping founders and creative leaders rebound and reinvent so they do more of what matters most.
Jason Shen
In fact, people with extreme traits can often structure their lives in such a way that they can trade on the ways they’re exceptional, leaving no persistent reason to address some particular deficit they have. And, generally, people are savvy enough to hide their dysfunction. People will disappoint you, eventually.
Sasha Chapin • Some Advice Gathered From People Smarter Than Me
people hide weaknesses
In the summer of 2004, Dell, a full two years retired from the league, was fully available to teach his eldest son the ways of the jump shot. Ground zero was the half-court adjacent to their Charlotte home, and the two spent hours each day forging a new kind of jumper—a more traditional style that depended on the top-of-the-jump wrist flick most
... See moreErik Malinowski • Betaball
Sometimes a single summer you can learn a skill that sets you up for a lifetime
When you’re totally ok but they keep pouring
/// 100 QUESTIONS /// to gain clarity via Alex Morris:
Why are we doing this?
Ask that of yourself and the team with regularity.
What’s the simplest explanation?
What reaction should all the creative achieve?
What’s your most controversial opinion?
What little frictions exist that might bleed out the work if allowed to compound?
Are you solving a
How to sharpen your ideas
You can’t escape work
You can escape the employment system. But if you think you’ve left work behind there will be a reckoning
The desire to contribute is human.
Paul Millerdx.comPaul Millerd on the need for human contribution
Here is probably the most useful GPT-4 prompt I've written.
Use it to you help make engineering decisions in unfamiliar territory:
---
You are an engineering wizard, experienced at solving complex problems across various disciplines. Your knowledge is both wide and deep. You... See more
AI Prompts and ChatGPT
GPT-4 prompt for making engineering decisions in unfamiliar territory
In using standards, it is important to ask for precedents. “Have you ever done this before?” and “Have you ever made an exception?” should be part of your everyday vocabulary.
Stuart Diamond • Getting More
Negotiation and Getting Your Way
Think like a judge when negotiating—look for precedents and exceptions
I took off all of 2023. Focused on health, family, travel… yada yada yada it was great. But during that time my brain atrophied, my work ethic diminished, and it got harder to focus. Despite a deep desire to build again, I've found that getting back to a grindset has been hard...
It’s slowly getting better now, and I... See more
Brandon Chux.comFormer Shopify VP on getting back to peak performance
Does a coach need to have done my job before in order to be effective?
This is a contentious question. Research demonstrates that executives (and organisations who hire coaches) do want business experience – 85% of executives selected “Business Experience” as important to their selection process. However, the criteria relating to coaching expertise rated higher:
“Ability to build rapport, trust and comfort with coach” (100%)
“Experience and skills as a coach” (96%)
“Experience dealing with specific leadership challenges” (85%)
The research concluded that coaching expertise trumps executive experience. Executive experience can help improve rapport-building and empathy but is not a replacement for coaching expertise.