Finding Clarity in an Ambiguous World
-
Personal Lore
Several weeks ago, while eating lunch with some friends from work, a coworker I had never met walked into the restaurant. To tell me who he was, my friends told me a story: He’s the go-to guy when you need a design finished. Many years ago, there was a design that no one was able…
-
Relationships: The Moving Landmarks Of Life
During my stint in EDA software, I had a lot of dinners with sales guys and their friends. Inevitably dinner conversation turned to comparing Rolodexes* . What ever happened to Soh Insoh, one would say? He’s at Apple working with Frank. Frank left Azul? etc. Every industry is a small world. Of course, sales guys aren’t…
-
All Bleeding Stops Eventually
“Things which can’t go on forever, don’t” – Stein’s Law Overdrive feels awesome. We push it and reap huge benefits quickly by pushing the system beyond its normal limits. Unfortunately, the system can’t operate that way forever. If we use overdrive for too long, the system will break, often irreparably. In most systems though, the…
-
Allergic To Humans
Sometime ago, I was in a meeting where one of the engineers asked the sales manager whether there was an update from a prospective customer. This question of curiosity was met with ferocious opposition as the sales manager launched into a tirade about how we’re not just going to go after any customer but we’re going to…
-
The Asymmetry of Importance
In California, I started going to a barber near our office on a regular basis instead of finding some cheap place to get a haircut. So each time I went, it was with the same barber and not the usual stranger hacking at my head. So, at each haircut, I remembered the barber and our…
-
Screen-protectors & Regret
Some years ago, I forked out birthday money for a 32GB iPod touch. It was time to join the horde and experience iOS myself. I purchased a screen protector and case to guard my new expensive possession. No one wants to use a scratched piece of technology. After a few weeks, the screen protector has…
-
Obviously Not Obvious
On my way back from the airport, I decided I need to get some gas and pulled up to a local gas station. I went through the usual paces: credit card, zip code, No, I do not want a car wash, nozzle, gas grade, pump. And nothing happened. After putting the nozzle back, pushing the…
-
Stuck In A Hole
“This guy’s walking down the street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can’t get out.”A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, ‘Hey you. Can you help me out?’ The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along…
-
The Failure of Cliff Negotiations
At times, we are all involved in high stakes negotiations — there is a lot of money on the line and we don’t get more than a few shots. Many times the temptation is to go to war and strive to maximize our value since it might have a large impact on the bottom…
-
Addicted to Urgency
The modern world rushes by us with a trillion distractions, each wanting to grab your focus and hold you occupied. Sometimes this is referred to as the tyranny of the urgent. It makes it sound like it holds us against our will and we just can’t help ourselves. But I think we like it. It…
Got any book recommendations?