Tom Schmidt

Start with a problem I was having, use personal stakes to frame insight, surface a bigger cultural pattern, land on a sticky phrase. If my piece is missing one of these components, my editor will call it out.

"Ask for things. Ask for things that feel unreasonable, to make sure your intuitions about what's reasonable are accurate (of course, try not to be a jerk in the process). If you're only asking for things you get, you're not aiming high enough."

“I think a lot of entrepreneurs seem to be obsessed with time. I’m really not. I’m more obsessed about energy management.” – Daniel Ek

When I’m stuck on a problem and need their help, I take the time to write a good description of my dilemma, before reaching out to them. I summarize the context, the problem, my options, and my thoughts on each. I make it as succinct as possible so as not to waste their time.

Before sending it, I try to predict what they’ll say. Then I go back and... See more

The pursuit of predictions over explanations turns problems of science into problems of engineering

It’s Friday. And this is your One Minute Blog (OMB) for the weekend.

431 words of brain fuel, delivered faster than Amazon Prime.

Read time: 1 min 52 seconds.

I don’t know about wine, or cars...

...but I am a collector, and (dare I say), a connoisseur of questions.

For years, I’ve collected a list of “better questions”.

Why?

Questions are like... See more

That’s what Benjamin described when he wrote, “The phenomenon of collecting loses its meaning as it loses its personal owner.” Just as collections require permanence, they also need individuals, whose voices and tastes they express. The mass of Spotify isn’t actually a collection; it’s an avalanche.