Category Archive

Writing this as a reminder for myself. Doing the ‘right thing’ is almost never celebrated with approval and cheers. It helps to remember that this is a timeless fact. Below is a 2,000 year old text that describes it well. When faced with a difficult decision, it is usually not the lack of conviction that make you clench and slow … Read More

We all know this smart person (often an engineer) that speaks extremely bluntly, sometimes saying things that might be socially considered as harsh/awkward. I started thinking about this recently. I work much better with such people. At times, I tend to say things myself that people tell me were too harsh or direct. I don’t get it. I usually think … Read More

I have this tendency to assume that everyone has the same capabilities as me. I’ve been called out on it a few times. “If I can do it, why can’t you?” I tend to think… I got criticized for assuming that everyone can. I’ve recently heard this statement in a podcast: What if everybody tomorrow became a scientist or an … Read More

I’m writing this for the young managers that haven’t received an MBA in management, but need to manage a team regardless. I work with a lot of kind and agreeable people, that are also ambitious and want to get things done. The problem with being agreeable at times is that when someone gets in the way, the agreeable person would … Read More

Figuratively, or literally? I’ve always thought that this statement is a figurative one: staying hungry means not getting satisfied and always aiming for more (ambition not greed). That is a recipe for continuous growth. However, I’ve recently stumbled upon a video for the one and only Andrew Tate saying how one should stay hungry as one’s body operates at its … Read More

The best position you can be in in a negotiation is if you don’t mind if the deal doesn’t go through. This doesn’t mean that you don’t care. You do. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be wasting your time negotiating. You want the deal to go through. But if it doesn’t, you’re not in a terrible position. Any time you care too … Read More

Did you know that you have to tear a muscle in order to grow it? Yes, your muscles only become stronger and grow when you challenge them with weights or intensity that they previously have not experienced. Your muscle fibers literally get torn. If you keep tearing them without any time to heal, you injure them. But if you let … Read More

I’m blessed to be surrounded by amazing people. I noticed a confusing trait of a group of people I work with: They work extremely well with me, but they seemingly severely underperform with others. That’s not to say that I’m a magician that brings out the best of them (the opposite is also true with other groups that I don’t … Read More

Everything is a spectrum We’re biased to think in binary terms: – good or bad– fast or slow– kind or rude– tidy or messy– pretty or ugly reality is not binary reality is a spectrum I started thinking of good or bad as 0 to 100 instead of 0 to 1 that has helped me understand things better and explain … Read More

Aggressive title, but hear me out. I’ve been told so many times to find ‘balance’. I think balance is bullshit. When people say ‘balance’, they somehow visualize the center point. The exact middle between two extremes. The 50 between 0 and 100. “That’s balance.” That’s bullshit. Balance is different for different people. Work life balance for me might be at … Read More