July 2010
2 posts
Paul Graham talks about addiction and how... →
“People commonly use the word “procrastination” to describe what they do on the Internet. It seems to me too mild to describe what’s happening as merely not-doing-work. We don’t call it procrastination when someone gets drunk instead of working.”
Paul Graham
“Physical pain is important because it’s so much more visceral than emotional...”
– Julien Smith - The Importance of the Physical
June 2010
3 posts
““The Marine Corps’ style of warfare requires intelligent leaders...”
– Warfighting - Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 1
“We thus conclude that the conduct of war is fundamentally a dynamic process of...”
– Warfighting, aka Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 1
May 2010
2 posts
Excerpts from WAR
I’m reading the book WAR: As Soliders Really Live It by Sebastian Junger, who also wrote The Perfect Storm. It’s an intense look at the lives of the soliders fighting in the most brutal and dangerous areas of Afghanistan, as told by a journalist who spent months in the bunks with these guys. I’ll do a full write up some day, but just wanted to quote sections because much of...
April 2010
1 post
The art of the long commute
I live in San Francisco and work in Palo Alto. Having no car to call my own, I bike to the Caltrain station every morning and ride down from the city. Door to door, the commute is about 60 - 70 minutes each way. I’m writing this post because I got duped.
You see, I follow Megan Berry on Twitter and clicked on a link she posted about tips for commuters. Turns out, her tip was “Move closer to where...
March 2010
1 post
11 tags
Two Mindsets to Adopt at Work and in Life
I’ve been mulling two semi-related work habits/beliefs that I think really contribute to individual & team success. I see them in a lot of people I admire and to be honest, they are habits that I’m glad I’ve naturally adopted.
1) There is Always More You Can Do
A few months ago, my coworker/direct report said to me “Well, I finished my all my stuff for today so I’m taking off early.” She...
February 2010
5 posts
Being Right vs Being Effective
We have all encountered this situation: you disagree with someone over some nontrivial issue -a friend, a classmate, a coworker - and you KNOW you are right and they are just so wrong. So you make sure they know it over and over again … but they still won’t budge.
The question you have to ask yourself here is: “Am I more concerned with being RIGHT or being EFFECTIVE?” If...
Save the Constellation Program
Dear Mr. President,
I’ve learned that the in your proposed budget, you are planning to shut down NASA’s manned space flight program and use the funds to invest in commercial ventures designed to replace the Constellation Program. I’m a big fan of market based solutions - after all, I live in Silicon Valley - but I don’t think this is the right move. We’ve lost a...
Open Letter to Daily Staffers
Hey Daily staffers,
I’m frequently in contact with business managers at other colleges and a few months ago the Stanford Daily was invited to attend CONBY - Conference for Newspaper Business at Yale. Hosted by Yale Daily News’s Business Division, it featured opening and closing keynote speeches by senior executives at The Wall Street Journal and Time Inc, and workshops and round...
January 2010
8 posts
Notes from Too Big To Fail
It’s been a year and half since the turmoil of the US & Global financial markets really came to a head. I remember being throughly confused about everything that was going on. Words like sub-prime mortagage, credit crisis, bailouts, Fannie & Freddie, were thrown around. It’s a big deal and something that everyone in our generation should seek to understand.
I didn’t...
A Conversation About Leadership and Servanthood
I recently met James, a senior studying Human Biology at Stanford, and we ended up spending lots of time talking about about the definition of leadership. After the weekend, he emailed me and I thought it would make another great email/blog post.
I was just thinking about your comment that leadership is bringing people to a brighter place… I actually agreed with your logic. I wonder if...
Some Learning's on Journalism
Personal branding, audience engagement and other lessons I’ve learned about future of journalism.
I find that while I rarely get the urge to blog, I love responding to emailed questions with extensive answers. Hope you find this useful.
My friend’s email:
Hey!
Noticed through some social media-stalking that we share an ambition in saving newspapers. Difference is, I’ve been...
3 tags
The Obligations of a Manager
I just watched Up in the Air - it’s a movie starring George Clooney as a “career transition counselor” hired by downsizing companies to tell their employees that they are fired. He does it in a firm, thoughtful, and sensitive way, and he is very good at his job.
The movie is really good and touches on a number of interesting themes: intimate relationships, jobs & personal...
Random Thoughts From People Our Age
This person is a genius.
yasminspired:
-I wish Google Maps had an “Avoid Ghetto” routing option.
-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can’t wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that’s not only better, but also more directly involves me.
-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re...
Daniel Pink Webinar (3/3): 3 Steps to Improve...
3 Things Pink is Doing to Improve His Performance
Stop Doing. You want to do so many things and you have to stop doing things as well. Tom Peters calls this “to-Don’t list” and Rumsfeld calls it “teeth to tail ratio”
Do It Yourself Performance Reviews. Every month set goals (learning, biz, personal) goals, and end of the month, call yourself into your own office...
Daniel Pink Webinar (2/3): 5 Trends to Watch
5 Trends Pink is Watching
TECH Apps for All: In 1999, there was a article by Pink in Fast Company on a guy’s very personal website and was quoted in saying in 1999 that personal websites are going to be like phone numbers, EVERYONE will have one. Pink is working with Mobile Roadie to get own app.
HEALTH Socrates meets Statistics: Socrates said “Know Thyself” and statistics tell...
Daniel Pink Webinar (1/3): Stuff He's Reading
I bought Daniel Pink’s new book, Drive, and was able to get into his early readers only webinar on stuff he’s reading, trends he’s watching and things he’s doing to improve his own performance. Part
10 Things Pink is Reading
Economists say: “Don’t listen to what people say, watch what people do.” These 10 Pink always end up reading.
springwise.com...
December 2009
7 posts
“I am not trying to take away any thing from these success stories. You should...”
– Great quote on how to avoid feelings of inferiority via http://sushrutbidwai.com/?p=232
“The 3rd-hardest thing you’ll do is to take the leap. (The 2nd-hardest is...”
– @dharmesh
Making a Scene of Traditional Education (draft)
The kind of Christmas present my Dad likes.
“Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide. “ – Barack Obama, Sept 8, 2009
“The American system of education is broken. America has been wrestling with the problem of declining...
“A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.”
– George S. Patton - US general (1885 - 1945)
1 tag
I’ve been keeping some form of a daily journal now for two years, which is a really long time for me to be continuously doing anything so unrelated to daily living. I’m really glad I have. There are a lot of memories and insights here that I otherwise would not have found or recalled.
It is especially relevant now as we all reflect on the past year and things we want to focus on,...
October 2009
1 post
September 2009
2 posts
Career Tools →
I love Mike and Mark - they are former Army guys turned corporate execs turned business consultants. Straightforward, easy, awesome advice on management and now careers!
July 2009
5 posts
My College Summit Experience
At 9:30pm on a Friday night, I plopped into a couch, pulled out a pile of wide-ruled notepaper from my manila accordion folder and began reading the draft of a college personal statement written one of my Peer Leaders. I had five - they were rising seniors who attended high school in Oakland and East Palo Alto, where crime rates are too high, income levels are too low, and enrolling in college is...
The Business of Street Art
I spent my Fourth of July with a friend at Fisherman’s Wharf, and on the way home, we passed a few different street spraypaint artists doing their thing. If you have seen one, you know what I’m talking about:
A guy wearing a gas mask is kneeling on the ground with a box of spray cans next to him and a crowd in front of him. To the rhythm of blasting hip hop and techno music he turns a...
April 2009
4 posts
Paraliminals →
“I still row competitively. It takes a tremendous amount of endurance, and you...”
– The Boss - Teamwork, Then and Now - NYTimes.com
“Meaning is not something you stumble across, like the answer to a riddle or the...”
– — From a speech John W. Gardner delivered to the Hawaii Executive Conference in Kona, Hawaii, in April 1993 and published in Stanford, an independent publication of the Stanford Alumni Association, March 1994.
March 2009
45 posts
My bucket list: Skydive, Roadtrip, Public...
Skydive
There is nothing like flying through the air in total freefall. One of my best friends is an incredible gymnast and he said it was a huge rush.
US Roadtrip
I want to see more of America and I never got to do it before college or even right after.
Speak in front of 10,000 people.
I like public speaking and I want to get so good that I’m asked to speak in front of...
My Dream Bio in Sports Illustrated
(My dream bio in SI) Jason Shen led the Stanford Men’s Gymnastics team to victory at the 2009 NCAA Championships as co-captain and garnered All-American honors for his performance on the parallel bars. This is Stanford’s 4th ever NCAA team title, the last one earned 14 years prior.
“The expert on experts is Philip Tetlock, a professor at the University of...”
– Nicholas Kristof - Learning How to Think - NYTimes.com
“I recently had a conversation with a graduate of Harvard’s Graduate School...”
– Striking a Balance Between Ivy League or Bust | Psychology Today Blogs
“If you remember tomorrow anything I’ve said today, it will be because I’ve made...”
– Henry Greely, Stanford Law Professor. (via STANFORD Magazine)
“When things are not going well, until you get the truth out on the table, no...”
– Bob Seelert, chairman of Saatchi & Saatchi Toolkit - How to Lead in Tough Times - NYTimes.com
What does it mean to "Serve America"?
I was talking to a friend about wanting to Teach for America, and spend 2 years teaching students in low-income schools. He asked me why I wanted to do this, and I replied that I wanted to “serve America”.
He turned around and said - “What do you mean when you say serve America? You could serve America by working at McDonalds!” To respond to that, I tried to explain to him...
“What killed print news was Craigslist.”
– David Robinson - Haas Prof of Business. A Conversation about the SF Chronicle