Latest
It was February 2014. I was on an afternoon video call with Best Buy, representing Google as the marketing lead for the upcoming Nexus phone launch in retail, and the buyer asked a question so simple ...
Over the weekend, I published an article about Block’s massive layoffs. For an account my size (~5k followers), the reach was outsized. It struck a nerve. Including with Jack Dorsey. Then others piled on. The primary dismissal: “This was written by AI.” What’s hard to reconcile is that on the one hand most are saying: […]
Black Thursday at Block. A 40% reduction in workforce — over 4,000 people gone. One of the largest single-day cuts in S&P 500 history, as a percentage of headcount. Jack Dorsey says it’s because of “intelligence tools.” Wall Street loves the narrative and the stock popped 24%. I used to work at Block, leading marketing, […]
Two weeks ago, Matt Shumer wrote an essay about AI that went viral. It was grounded in how he could see AI impacting his day to day as an engineer, but also provided ways for people to think about how to prepare for the inevitable new era. Reading his essay, I began to think about […]
Originally published in Fortune here The billionaire CEO of Microstrategy, Michael Saylor, has said that, when he dies, he will take the keys to his nearly 18,000 bitcoins with him, leaving his coins locked up on-chain and out of circulation forever. Think of Saylor’s plans as a pay-it-forward gesture to Bitcoin’s future. By burning his keys, he’ll contribute […]
Last week I spent a couple days in Disneyland, immersed in the magical and impressive world of Disney stories, characters, and experiences. All of us marveled at the craft, the attention to detail, and the effort that went into making each ride and land an incredible experience. I was particularly blown away by Radiator Springs […]
Doing ‘brand work’ can feel incredibly fluffy for highly technical teams of builders. That’s why I like to reframe this work. The truth is that in addition to the products you build for customers, you also maintain a product that is the perception of your company and products to current and prospective customers. It’s the […]
Working in cybersecurity, I think a lot about the mismatch between actual security and the perception of security. For instance, on September 10th 2001 did people living in the United States feel safer than they did on September 12th? Yes, they felt far safer. But ironically you could argue that on September 12th they were […]
Loved this list of traits exhibited by the most storied businesses of our time, found on an Acquired Podcast roundup episode from over a year ago.
We’re living through a global crisis. One of those moments of mounting escalation in which everyone seems to know its importance and seems to be losing their minds. The constant, always-on media is compounded by the constant commentary and amplification of opinions and false narratives and old photos, etc. It’s mind-numbingly hard to know what’s […]
It’s tempting when first starting a project or being given responsibility or new role to evaluate where things are and where you’d like them to go. To have chats and hear other people’s opinion while forming your own. To some degree that’s right but it needs to feel like you’re burning your free time during […]
I am horrified at the stories, reports, videos and images I see coming out of Israel. The biggest massacre of Jewish people since the holocaust. Of civilians. Of entire families surgically targeted in their homes. Brutalized by terrorists who follow a morally bankrupt and abhorrent world view. In these moments I feel the comfort of […]
Your life is defined and shaped by the decisions you make — and the decisions made for you. If you haven’t given thought to how you make decisions, how you want to make decisions, then you’re not being intentional about shaping your life. A key framework I’ve used for decision making is to conciously make […]
Reflections as we kickoff 2023 In 1880, a group of enterprising pioneers seeking their fortunes in the gold and silver mining business founded the town of St. Elmo, Colorado. While many of their compatriots and predecessors hit it big in the gold rush of 1849 in California, and at the very time that John D. […]
A common piece of advice I find myself giving to people is that time is your friend. If you quickly ship a draft and it’s meh you’ll get all the credit for shipping fast and then have an opportunity to work on the draft with stakeholders until it’s great. On the other hand, you insist […]
When I started my consulting business and began to sell my services, one thing that became imminently clear when you’re on short-term projects and are paid for your time is: quickly add value. You’d be surprised how many people start contracts or gigs with the whole ‘I’m going to talk to people on the team […]
I try to end each day by reading a book. Whether to cut down on screen time (even though I read on a kindle) or to unplug and unwind from the day, it’s amazing to have predictable, consistent time to dive into books. I was able to get through 16 books in 2022, here are […]
My experience in marketing, crypto, and tech has provided me with a bunch of insights that seem obvious, but are probably not. So I’ll start sharing ideas on a weekly (ish) basis. Check back for more!