Stoic Letter 2: On adjusting your plans
What were your plans for this year? I wanted to move to Valencia, Spain. I’ve been there several times and always felt at home. I had gotten pretty far with my plans. I made sure I had no long-term commitments and was looking at properties. But like the rest of the world, I had to adjust my plans. We were all forced to participate in a classic Stoic exercise.
Is resilience overrated?
I want people to be proud of themselves for being resilient. I just don’t want it to be the only option.
Memory bias: how selective recall can impact your memories
How many times have you forgotten where you left your keys? What about your friend who always seems to make up events that never happened? Do you ever struggle to remember someone’s name? Don’t worry—you’re not the only one. Our memory is far from perfect, and the memory bias effect doesn’t help.
Product leadership is hard
So many people I meet naively believe that the key to empowering product teams is simply to get the management to back off, stop micromanaging, and give their product teams some space to do their jobs. But as I’ve tried to explain many times, empowered product teams depend not on less leadership, but on better leadership. But what does that really mean?
How to smash the psychological barriers to innovation
Innovation should be a team sport, but in many organizations it’s still an elitist game— reserved for R&D, the executive suite, or those with highly specialized skills. After all, how many people can put a third camera on an iPhone, extend the battery life of a Tesla, or discover a vaccine for COVID-19?
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