• All roads lead to Rome

    All roads lead to Rome

    With no particular destination in mind on a Sunday afternoon in Rome, I ended up with one of my favorite memories from the entire semester.

  • Squirrels can kill the vibe

    Squirrels can kill the vibe

    Distractions are a given, it’s how we respond to them – how we ignore them – that will determine our ability to succeed.

  • Comparing Apple Health sleep tracking vs. Oura ring

    Comparing Apple Health sleep tracking vs. Oura ring

    The more I learn about my sleep, the more motivated I am to sleep better. The last few years have been a journey.

  • What’s past is prologue

    What’s past is prologue

    “[W]hat’s past is prologue, what to come In yours and my discharge.” William Shakespeare, The Tempest. Act 2, Scene 1. My favorite movie President of all time is Jeff Bridges in Rod Lurie’s The Contender. (I’m in good company: a far-more-qualified authority than me feels the same way: Barack Obama. Fortunately, I was on record…

  • Binary: Good for code, bad for OKRs

    Binary: Good for code, bad for OKRs

    A founder I’ve known for several years reached out recently. Their first quarter’s OKRs were quite good, with one exception that’s common to many organizations implementing OKRs for the first time: a couple of binary results.

  • “I am not a racist”​ is not the same as “there is no racism”​

    “I am not a racist”​ is not the same as “there is no racism”​

    For the longest time, I thought about racism in an individual context: if I didn’t express racist feelings, or see them expressed, it was hard to imagine that “racism” was widespread, or if it was real, that it was my responsibility to address it. But “I am not racist” can be true and “racism is widespread and…

  • Leaders: stop making decisions

    I adore this observation over the weekend from my friend Punit Soni: A practical way to become a better leader is to review at regular intervals all the decisions that need to come to you. And cut them by 50% through either delegation or automation. I’ve never heard this notion captured in this way (though…

  • Throw away the rabbits

    Throw away the rabbits

    OKRs are all about creating a shared framework, a language, for understanding what the organization prioritizes, how it prioritizes, and why it prioritizes some things above others.

  • Let’s stop saying these two things

    In a recent team meeting, I said what felt like a pretty innocuous statement about an upcoming goal. But in the days since, I’ve heard from several folks on the team that they heard what I said very differently than I’d intended. Not because they don’t trust me (thankfully), but because they’ve been on the…

  • Gender, promotions, and the stratosphere

    Several years ago, my oldest son was in an engineering class at his high school. His teacher knew I worked in venture capital, and asked if I’d speak to the class about my work. With my son’s permission, I agreed. As much fun as I had – the kids asked great questions – it was depressing…