Brandon Sanderson’s Advice for Doing Hard Things
ADJ: Some great advice: A related idea I talk about a lot on my podcast is the importance of creating accurate roadmaps toward these types of goals. Talk to people who have succeed before and have them walk you step-by-step through their story, allowing you to learn what really matters and what doesn’t. One of the biggest mistakes you can make when setting out to do something impressive is creating a story around what activities you want to be important, instead of what actually makes a difference.
Black American trailblazer Colin Powell's 13 rules for life and work
Colin Powell accomplished his goals by adopting a handful of key life principles along the way. Thirteen of them, in fact.
^ADJ: I loved: Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with - good reminder!
Coping with a Crisis
A crisis is the perfect test for a leader. Strong leaders will face a crisis head on. Weak leaders will ignore the crisis until it is too late, or start pointing fingers at others. A good leader knows how to handle a crisis. In this article, I’ll share a three step recipe for handling a crisis.
What Is the Purpose of Your Purpose?
“Despite its sudden elevation in corporate life,” the authors write, “purpose remains a confusing topic.” They argue that a primary cause of this confusion is that the word is used in three senses: Cause-based purposes (such as Patagonia’s “in business to save our home planet”) tend to receive the most attention. Competence-based purposes (such as Mercedes’s “First Move the World”) express a clear value proposition to customers and the employees responsible for delivering that value. Culture-based purposes (such as Zappos’s “To Live and Deliver WOW”) are effective at creating internal alignment and collaboration with key partners. The authors offer advice about identifying what sort of purpose will best suit your company without misrepresenting it.
Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood on everything from deflation to Elon Musk
In less than a decade, Wood has emerged as the public face of a tech-driven bull market on steroids. She championed actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
^ADJ: Wood has a bigger than life almost cult following, with her ARK investment funds, not doing so great this year, but an amazing run over the last 8 years, backing big time, stocks such as Tesla and being nicely rewarded - market has turned, interesting article on the person behind the fund.
TV, merchant media and the unbundling of advertising
Amazon’s ad business is bigger than YouTube and more profitable than AWS. Shein is the biggest fast-fashion retailer in the US, with no stores. US pay TV subscribers have fallen by a third. Where do ad budgets go, where does rent go, and how many brands will there be?
ADJ: That took a minute to sink in Amazon’s ad business is bigger than AWS, AWS is bigger than Azure - that is one big, highly profitable revenue line!
Stripe: Thinking Like a Civilization | The Generalist
The payments company's cultural power may be its most remarkable trait. More than anything else it is this horizonal focus that defines Stripe, guiding its remarkable recruitment, celebrated culture, and sophisticated product strategy.
ADJ: This article will be interesting to Company and Builders of Culture
Director GCHQ's speech on global security amid war in Ukraine
Director GCHQ Sir Jeremy Fleming's full speech from the Australian National University (Thursday 31st March 2022).
^ADJ: Why this matters: NZ as a small open economy has the real prospect of being caught up in both economic and political warfare, as we balance our value and trading relationships.
Communication Breakdown: How Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine Bogged Down
"We have no communication. We have no walkie-talkies. Nothing," a bedraggled Russian soldier tells his interrogators in a video published by Ukrainian defenders this month and posted to YouTube.
^ADJ: My take from this article, no surprises rolling out new tech is hard, and co-ordinating between units - harder. Now lets think about this in a business context, how well do we do rollout new tech to our teams, and make the best use of it?