Revisiting my media consumption habits

Top Podcasts:
Serial (Season 2 isn't the best, but still an incredible master class in investigative journalism)
Tim Ferris show(great interviews in general)
Planet Money(short and crips - always)

Some that listen to here and there:
Reply All
Startup
Radiolab
99% invisible
Energy Gang
Criminal
Ted Radio Hour

Stuff that I've completely cut out:
Live markets news/WSJ/Bloomberg Live

Stuff partially cut out:

Economist(I read it cover to cover for years, but still a little negative; still read the technology/science/International segments)
FT Alphaville(too addictive to stop reading)

Value investing:
valueinvestingworld.com
Slack access to Manual of ideas
valuewalk.com
hurricanecapital
punchcardblog

The best networking strategy

"The best networking strategy you can possibly have is to actively look for opportunities to help others. If you’re always putting yourself and your needs first, you’ll find you don’t get very far."

via: linkedin

resumes and fact fudging

Time to spruce up that resume…here’s some tips on fudging the truth:

• Moved a clothing rack – “Redesigned inventory placement.”
• Talked a customer into buying two ice cream cones instead of one – “Increased revenues 100%.”
• Worked as a cashier – “Supervised financial transactions with the public.”
• Answered phone – “Console communications specialist.”
• Pointed a customer towards the bathroom – “Solved customer problems/Improved health and safety
• protocol.”
• Showed a new person how to work the coffee machine – “Employee training in office technology.”
• Got creepy person to leave the building – “Enforced security protocol and secured business perimeter.”
• Sent external emails – “Updated communications and served as public relations liaison.”
• Got obnoxious office mate to stop telling dirty jokes – “Served as employee grievance mediator.”
• Unjammed paper from copy machine – “Troubleshooting print technology.”
• Opened baffling attachment: “Served as communications sysadmin.”
• Planned small surprise karaoke party for boss – “Media and entertainment planner.”

Source: BI

Paradox of 80 20 rule

The Pareto principle or the law of the vitals says that 80% of the results come 20% of the efforts. So if you run a business, 80% of the revenue comes from 20% of the efforts. Now using this rule of thumb might lead you to the conclusion that you should go ahead and eliminate 80% of the products that don't provide as much revenue as others.

But the paradox lies in the fact that now you have another 80/20 breakdown, and if you continue in this fashion, soon you'll have nothing left to call revenue.

The 80/20 rule is nothing more than a negotiation gambit; don't get blindsided by its simplicity.Stick to actual data and rule this rule of thumb out. 

Are you writing it down?

More recently, I've been catering to and working with multiple bosses(will refrain mentioning good bass / bad boss). Although I've learned a lot from them and their different objective viewpoints, its definitely been a challenge managing all of them together. I'm an efficient person(or at least I believe I am), and I've never had to make them fight with each other over who's work I'm prioritizing at any given moment. I usually manage to switch between things and multitask under the gun(Although I do not recommend multi-tasking). But between all the back and forth, I get lots of pointers thrown at me via a variety of medium including being yelled at across from the adjacent cubicle; and sometimes, when we are arguing things across in a room, or debating details with each other, there are action items embedded in those discussions that are hard to pickup.

Writing things down is important, but catching things in between conversations is even harder. So whats the solution here? Do you assume the other members of the team will make it clear later what needs to be done? Or do you write everything down you hear, and hope that its somewhere in your notes?

Effective listening is challenging, so is effective communication, and you have to understand both sides to make it actually work. I'll leave it to you to choose to write it down or not, but remember, either way, you're the one who's got to get it done.

So, are you writing it down?

10 Contrarian views on common tips

Take risks.
Contrarian view: missing the bus is probably better than getting hit by it.

Think before you act.
Contrarian view: Act fast before you loose the opportunity.

Begin with the end in mind.
Contrarian view: No one really knows where they are going to be later on, so live life as it comes.

Lead by example.
Contrarian view:  History isn't always a predictor of past, don't rely on it.

Work hard.
Contrarian view:  Solving the same problem 10 times over won't teach you anything. Don't ever call that hard work.

Structure follows strategy.
Contrarian view:  Strategy should revolve around structure.

Develop a world-class culture.
Contrarian view:  Culture can't be changed, embrace it.

You can't cut costs on your way to greatness.
Contrarian view:  Ever heard of Walmart?

Your greatest resource is people.
Contrarian view: Doesn't matter who runs the show, what really matters is the product.

Aim to be the #1.
Contrarian view: Sometimes its good to be an amazing #2. In fact, great leaders define themselves as the #2 and get elected as #1.

Don’t overcomplicate things ?

If you’re an out-of the box thinker(perhaps in-the box is better, whatever you prefer), you might be tempted try out new things that are genuine, not everyone is familiar with and forces people out of their complacency and think further and beyond their typical realm of understanding.

It might be something really useful, but the first reaction of the human blocking mechanism is to shun it by labeling it as 'too complicated'. Even if you build a formula which might be as simple as a x b x c, the ingenuity rejector might refuse to accept it immediately.

To counter such potential push back, spill the beans first and let everyone in the room know that “this is new, so please don’t discount it as being too complicated and hear me out first”. Then take the steps to be crystal clear of what the outcome would be and break it down in steps with an actual example. Ideas are worth sharing, and having them labeled as ‘too complicated’ is too much of a loss. 

If you’re on the other side of this equation and oversimplify everything, this is your chance to accept that intuition is dominated by facts 9/10 times. I don’t have a source for that one but lets just say that your intuition should easily grasp that.

Why can't people just follow the damn instructions?

Why can't people just follow the damn instructions..why can't they just do what they are told to do in the first place...why can't they just go with the piece of paper that tells them exactly what to do...
All else being equal, the above statements relate to one common statement - "status quo". 

Don't just follow the instructions and don't do something you were told to do just because that's the way its supposed to be done, but instead, ask questions about the instructions. At the same time, don't stretch this and go further beyond and do something that you perceive is right rather than asking the person giving the instructions.
 
Question the status quo and ask the right questions and soon you will see that the creator him/her-self doesn't know either. Change is invevitable and its your responsibility to question everything and find improvements. 
Screw the instructions.

Screw Work life balance

Work-life balance: One of the most overrated corporate sayings in the world.
Truth be told, its an incorrect concept, because its based on the fact that work is bad and life is good. But if you like what you do everyday and make the most of it, work doesn't have to be bad, it can be good or really good. So why obsess about something that doesn't make sense in the first place? 

Next time you see that co-worker staying forever at the office and toiling away hours working on things outside his daily responsibility, don't label him/her as the person who doesn't have a good work-life balance, but instead understand why he/she choose to be there for extended hours. Perhaps they were working on the next innovative idea that could turn the company around, or maybe they just didn't get anything done all day, but nonetheless, don't think they don't have a life because for its worth, they think work is the 'good' part of the work-life equation.

I'm busy

Here's two words that we all here everyday at work all the time - "I'm busy".

But that's why you're at work in the first place. Being busy is your responsibility. If at this moment you're reading this and thinking to yourself what you actually achieved throughout the day at work, then you should probably be scared of the next restructuring announcement, because chances are that you won't last very long.

Next time, if you're 'busy', and have you're plate too full, then instead of saying these loathed words, let the questioning person know what you're working on or if you're one of those privacy concerned people, let them know that you're occupied with something that will keep your plate full for x days / hours / weeks. By quantifying what you are doing and how long it will take, you're taking the ambiguity out of the situation.

So please, stay away from these two dreaded words. 

Think inside the box?

One of the most common fallacies is the 'think outside the box' school of thought. Well guess what, outside the box teaches you how to think but without constraints.
But unlike a dream world, we all have constraints.

• Why don't you sell more and make more money at the same time? 
• Let's capture all the market share
• lets defeat our competitors
• Here's a solution that will definitely work, but it will need x Mln $'s that we don't really have

Sometime thinking inside the box can be good. Letting ideas ferment within the box is important. And when that moment comes, when that special external shock kicks in and you jump naked out of the tub saying "Eureka" (like Archimedes did), you'll truly value and thank the box for being there.