better doing

The opposite of a good idea is a good idea.

I recently finished reading Rory Sutherland’s book Alchemy. This concept of his made its mark on me, and I’ve been able to use it a handful of times already. Dave Baily expanded it into this short blog post that highlights […]

better doing

Beware the casual polymath

This is a very insightful post from the anonymously published blog Applied Divinity Studies. “[W]hat’s really happening is that we’ve chosen to privilege certain combinations of skills as impressive, while taking others for granted. A physicist who studies math, can […]

better doing

“Airbnb broke my heart.”

Northwestern’s Melissa Kaufman shares her personal story of almost joining Airbnb in the very early days and the lesson she took from the experience. Punchline: “Forget about the title, compensation, and role. When you stumble upon something that you believe […]

better doing

Eigenquestions: the art of framing problems

“For a simplistic definition, the eigenquestion is the question where, if answered, it likely answers the subsequent questions as well. Great framing starts by searching for the most discriminating question of a set — the eigenquestion.” | learn more

better doing

Learnings from 30 years investing

He had me at “buy high, sell higher.” The author recently died, and the original website is gone, but this piece lives on via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine. “Ask me a question back then and I would have answered […]

better doing

Telling the 800-lb gorilla to shove it up his ass

On competing with big companies. “Every founder frets about competition from a big company, me included. We scoff at their inability to innovate and for prioritizing shareholders over customers, but still we quiver in fear.” | learn more

better doing

Why am I so lucky?

“[W]henever I get a deal sent my way that is from out of town and seems amazing but seems almost too good to be true, my first thought is always, ‘Why am I so lucky?’” Just this week, this question […]