Trying to find the line between why and why not

Things I like to read

Added on by Frank Lee.

These are some people who I enjoy reading for professional growth. In no particular order:

Product Management: 

John Cutler

Shreyas Doshi

  • Summary: PM leader at stripe, ex google/yahoo who puts all of his content in tweetstorm lists. A little hard to get all the information organized, but provides some of the clearest organizing concepts about the PM role. 

Ryan Singer

  • Summary: Writes very abstractly in esoteric terms, which makes it sometimes hard to understand. His content, like the software he makes, is quite opinionated. Helps to keep that perspective when reading his stuff.

  • Book - https://basecamp.com/shapeup 

  • Website - https://www.feltpresence.com

Marty Cagan

  • Summary: Some call him a product management guru. His writings are geared toward cultivating a very specific kind of product manager ideal. The concepts are useful regardless of how applicable they are to a given role or set of responsibilities. 

  • Website: https://svpg.com/articles/ 

Tech, Strategy, Finance

Ben Thompson

  • Summary - Writes about technology, strategy, and media. A lot of his content is about large tech companies and aggregation theory. I’ve followed him for years and is the only paid subscription I have right now. He was one of the first of unique-breed of paid tech newsletters.

  • Website - https://stratechery.com 

  • Twitter - https://twitter.com/benthompson 

Brian Hobart

  • Summary: Finance and Technology. I try to read his free weekly content but haven’t tried his paid content yet. If I weren’t already paying for stratechery, this is the newsletter I’d most likely pay for because it’s the most uniquely deep and broad. 

  • Substack: https://diff.substack.com 

Finance:

Matt Levine

Software and People

Ruth Malan

Nick Tune

Business

Michael Porter

General Thinking

Shane Parish

  • Summary: Has re-discovered mental models from Charlie Munger and made a brand out of it.

  • Blog: https://fs.blog/blog/ 

Josh Kaufman

Wrong About Paradise

Added on by Frank Lee.

It might sound odd, but I was resistant to visiting Hawaii for a very long time. Even though my wife told me about the amazing weather, food, and unique natural beauty, it always seemed like a place to go after all the adventures in life were already had. But after our Taiwan/HK trip was cancelled due to the virus outbreak in Wuhan, we impulsively booked a week on the island of Maui.

Now back in NYC for a solid month, I look back and think how timely that decision was, and how terribly I misjudged Hawaii, and myself. 

Until Maui, I had never really enjoyed raw foods. Sushi in particular was lost on me. But after trying some grocery store poke (wasabi ahi and pulled pork), it seemed the most natural thing to eat, and to crave. 

In a pretty weird turn of events, as we drove back from a surreal sunset at Haleakala, I picked a small strip mall sushi restaurant for dinner….and ordered omakase. That was the first time I’ve chosen sushi, over any other kind of cuisine, in my life. Each piece was surprisingly (to me) delicious. Snappy, delicate, sweet, and satisfying. The value of good sushi might be obvious to some, but this was life changing for me. 

Another area that changed during that week was my relationship with the ocean. I’ve never liked it. Not the brininess, the beach towns, or how little control there is while you’re in the water. But during this vacation, whether it was the calmness or clearness of the water, it felt much more approachable and alluring. I even put on a snorkel, swam around, and saw some fishes! I was gradually overcoming my fear of the water. And it felt tangible, like the fear melting away every time. Disclaimer: I still can’t effectively tread water.

On top of all these “accomplishments,” it was also the least packed itinerary we’ve ever planned. Other than hiking the Sliding Sands Trail at Haleakala National Park, all of our days were spent on the beach, or walking up and down the coast. After unplugging from Twitter, work, and any responsibilities at home, all I had to focus on was reading a book, taking a swim, trying out a hotel Peloton bike, and figuring out what flavor of shaved ice to order. Desires for material things disappeared. Stress melted away. I wanted for nothing, and was grateful for that level of bliss. 

Looking back, especially now during the COVID-19 quarantine, I think about my emotions while on Maui. Totally aware of how lucky I am to experience the luxuries of travel, and to disconnect from responsibility, that joy rings even truer given how much change the world has gone through these past few months. That paradise of early March seems so far removed from the present day. I’m just sipping on those moments of joy in the past to stay calm during these more volatile times. Always staying grateful.

Being Grateful

Added on by Frank Lee.

As people working in tech in 2020, we gripe a lot. This is a reminder that sometimes, things aren’t always all bad.

Managers

Despite all the criticisms, it’s always good to be thankful to people who have supported you. It might not be support in the way that you think is directly beneficial to your goals, but it can be support nonetheless.

It can be support through relentlessly pushing you to your breaking point and only then backing off. It can be support through commitment to flexibility to find your own way. It can be support by shielding corporate ugliness. Support demands not just intellectual horsepower, but emotional labor, and often political capital. There’s an invisible hand of supportive management that isn’t always recognized. Managers and leaders don’t always have the answers. Sometimes we expect more answers than they have. But the support they give is not nothing. And we should be appreciative, while reserving the right to be underwhelmed by other aspects of their roles. 

Companies

It’s become fashionable to hate on big business. So much so that there are now books out defending them: https://www.amazon.com/Big-Business-Letter-American-Anti-Hero/dp/1250110548 I know I’m thankful for employment stability, for psychological safety, for free food, for job security, for being able to bring more or less my whole self to work. Many of us take these things for granted. It’s not always that way. I’m thankful for real milk, let alone oat milk, soy milk, and organic half and half in our pantry. We have hired people to wash dishes and load the dishwasher, throughout the entire day. Rose cider, white claw, spiked tea. The proximity to eat anything I want for lunch. I can go get an Unaju rice set that’s probably in the top 10% of Unaju rice sets in the country. Every day. I don’t really know any other word to describe it other than ‘luxurious employment.” And I’m thankful for it.

Perspective

Back in 1776, people were fighting for liberty and the right to live, gladly laying down their lives for a better, more noble future. Now we’re fighting for the right to climb our own career ladders while drinking Harmless Coconut Water, walking on treadmill desks. It’s very privileged. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t a competitive marketplace for talent. This is where we are now. Both things can be true; we can be totally pampered snowflakes and be justified in demanding better, demanding more. We are blessed to live in this time of economic prosperity that benefits our skills.

Common’s Microsoft AI commercial comes to mind whenever I think about standing on the shoulders of generations before.

“Today, right now, you have more power at your fingertips, than entire generations that came before you.”

That’s true for technology, but it’s also true of workers, especially tech workers. We should be thankful nonetheless.

Autonomy

Unlike countries that require you to perform a specific role in society. Unlike elected or government jobs in the USA. This is at-will employment.

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You can take your talents to South Beach, or anywhere else you want. There is a choice, a beautiful autonomy afforded to workers across this country…who were lucky enough to be born at the right time, study the right things, and go into the right professional industries. We should be thankful that there are options, and that we are free to pursue those options without retribution. A 7-foot Arnold Schwarzenegger Terminator look alike isn’t going to come like you’re a Soviet scientist who doesn’t want to build a gateway into “The upside down” universe.

Some people need more focus. Others need to broaden their perspective.

Some people need to try harder. Others need to stress less.

Some people need to care more. Others need to let it go.

The secret is you are both people. The key is to know which one you are in this moment.

@JamesClear of Atomic Habits

I think we have the capacity to both be thankful, yet still push our leaders for the things we value.

Ford vs Ferrari

Added on by Frank Lee.

I watched Ford vs Ferrari today. In addition to being a fantastic movie, I thought there were some interesting parallels to the modern day corporate existence, software development in particular. None of these are particularly mind-blowing realizations, but the movie just puts it front and center in such an action-packed and compelling plot.

Caution: Some spoilers ahead.

  • Exceptional people can do exceptional things. - Obviously, Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles were exception people, who did exceptional things.

  • Excellence never comes from committees. - One of the main characters of the story is the bureaucracy of Ford and how that translates to inefficiency and less than optimal results.

  • There’s a risk and a price for pursuing excellence. - Shelby risked his company, and Ken risked his life, in order for a chance to merely compete in Le Mans

  • Just because someone has successfully toed the line between risk and reward doesn’t mean the outcome is always repeatable. - Ken was redlining multiple times throughout LeMans and he could have easily blown out his brakes/engine by pushing the car too hard.

  • There is a catharsis that comes from autonomy that can outweigh external outcomes. - Ken could have easily gone ballistic after being cheated out of the triple crown. But in the end, after his perfect lap, he made the choice to give Ford the picture perfect finish they wanted. The ability to choose blunted the trauma of watching someone else get the glory.

  • Pride is a often a more powerful motivator than greed. - It seemed that “Henry Ford Jr, The Deuce,” was merely a greedy corporate CEO with a fragile ego, but he certainly showed a softer side after going for a ride with Shelby. He was glad to be able to extend his dad’s legacy into an entirely different way.

  • “Executive Intuition” works…sometimes. - It’s usually derisive to say that an organization makes decisions through the HIPPO’s (highest paid person in the office) gut feeling. In this case, Henry Ford’s intuition to pursue an entirely new vertical, with an entirely different marketing strategy, outside of the company’s core competency, was extremely successful. And he did so despite relying on a first time operator that bucked the traditional corporate approach. “Intuition,” or luck?

  • Words are more powerful and harmful than any tool can be. - I didn’t realize this theme until the last scene of the movie as Shelby talked to Ken’s son Peter. He was talking about a wrench, but also reflecting on how his words led him and Ken’s family to where they were in that moment. The movie isn’t about the cars, just like software is rarely just about technology. This movie is about the trust that Shelby was able to develop with both Ken, and Ford. His words were responsible for all the good things, and the bad things that happened. His words gave Ken a second chance to be a part of the race team, a second shot at racing at Le Mans, but his words also led to risks and a continued venture that ultimately led to Ken’s death. Software is a means to an end, just like the cars were just the vehicles for the plot. Pun intended.


Hello Internets

Added on by Frank Lee.

What is this?

Why does this exist?

I have had some experience in life, some strong emotions from time to time, and have developed some points of view in the process. This is my attempt to refine my own perspectives, while sharing it with anyone who might be interested.

This started out as a satire on the work produced by armies of consultants in our offices. My plan was to use the fictitious “Conjoined Triangles of Success” diagram created by Jack Barker in HBO’s Silicon Valley as a foundation.

Conjoined.jpg

“Compromise is the shared hypotenuse of the conjoined triangles of success”

But as I was going through the process, I realized, there really are legitimate qualms with our teams work together today, and what we are working toward as a company. I went down a Twitter rabbit hole (among other things) and have been realizing how many different contexts there are, some that I agree with, and others less so.

I’ll try to present different perspectives that might be new or unfamiliar, in an attempt to open new doors to productive conversation, maybe even come up with my own philosophy of sorts.

I’m kinda aiming for the former, not the latter 😃

I hope there’s some potential for positive impact or change. At the very least, this exercise is self serving. It helps me sharpen my own thoughts, improve my writing and storytelling skills, while providing a catharsis from self-expression.

Some more context:

I reserve the right to hold two contradicting ideals at once. I may present and hold emotions and generalizations at opposing ends of an argument. Sometimes, value systems change when looking through different perspectives. https://everythingstudies.com/2017/12/19/the-signal-and-the-corrective/ <—This is a great article and a great blog.

I know it’s easier to criticize than comprehend, and easier to comprehend than to create. I’m not putting a whole lot of anything new into the world. And not taking a hard line stance means I can’t be wrong. I recognize that it’s kind of a cop out. It’s kind of like Shiv’s character in HBO’s Succession.

“Shiv has always been able to see how expectations and pressure on her siblings have bent them out of shape. It’s easy to see that happening to other people but when under the microscope you can find yourself acting in irrational ways. There’s lots of times in life when you’re watching it’s easy to say ‘you’re foolish,’ but when you’re suddenly under the spotlight you might find yourself making unwise decisions.”
— Succession, Behind the Episode s02e05

I'm dipping my toes into many disciplines and domains where I’m no expert. I’m putting my views out there as an opportunity for me to be educated, corrected, and for productive discussion. At the end of the day, this is just like, my opinion, man.

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Inspiration Credit:

There was an engineer named Kyle who left our company a while back. He wrote really long memos about complex subjects that he felt strongly about. I didn’t always agree with the method, or the direction, but at the very least, they were clearly expressed and thought out points of view. Understanding the perspective, and the language used to represent those thoughts, enabled more productive conversations between us.

Having a point of view can be divisive, but it also creates trust. - Hamilton The Musical

Writing as Thinking - https://medium.learningbyshipping.com/writing-is-thinking-an-annotated-twitter-thread-2a75fe07fade

In some way, this blog is starting off in the same vein as Jerry McGuire’s "The Things We Think and Do Not Say” manifesto. That document got him fired at the start of that movie. I'm hoping life doesn’t imitate art.