Atul Gawande is one of my favorite inspirations.
He wrote the excellent book "The Checklist Manifesto" (a must read for entrepreneurs).
In this video, he makes the case for becoming the best version of yourself by getting a coach.
"We cannot live better than in seeking to become better" (Socrates)
The following is so good I just had to copy it. It's from Jason Fried at 37signals. Enjoy!
At most companies, people put together a deck, reserve a room (physical or virtual), and call a meeting to pitch a new idea. If they're lucky, no one interrupts them while they're presenting. When it's over, people react. This is precisely the problem.
The person making the pitch has presumably put a lot of time, thought, and energy into gathering their thoughts and presenting them clearly to an audience. But the rest of the people in the room are asked to react. Not absorb, not think it over, not consider — just react. Knee-jerk it. That's no way to treat fragile, new ideas.
At 37signals we flip the script.
When we present work, it's almost always written up first. In long form. A few hundred words, maybe a thousand. A complete idea in the form of a carefully composed document. Complete with rough sketches where visual communication shines a brighter light. And then it's posted to Basecamp, which lets everyone involved know there's a complete idea waiting to be considered.
Considered!
We don't want reactions. We don't want first impressions. We don't want knee-jerks. We want considered feedback. Read it over. Read it twice, three times even. Ponder. Sleep on it. Take your time to gather and present your thoughts — just like the person who pitched the original idea took their time to gather and present theirs.
That's how you go deep on an idea.
Sometimes when people pitch ideas at 37signals there will be radio silence for a few days before a flood of feedback comes in. That's fine, and expected. Imagine a silent room after a physical meeting-style pitch. Silence would be awkward. And that's precisely why we prefer to present out-of-person. To allow silence and quiet contemplation to be an acceptable outcome. We want silence and consideration to feel natural, not anxiety provoking.
When we pitch this way, we're effectively "forcing the floor." No one can interrupt the presenter because there's no one there to interrupt. The idea is shared whole. They have the floor and it can't be taken away. And then, when you're ready to present your feedback, the floor is fully yours.
Give it a try sometime. Don't meet, write. Don't react, consider.
This whole idea that every single person on this planet should quit their job & invest their savings in their dreams of becoming a millionaire is preposterous and needs to stop.
Entrepreneurship is hardcore, it's blood and sweat and piss and repeat. Most people are not capable of even comprehending the level of stress and responsibility that comes with it.
And having a decent job that pays your bills and gives you stability really shouldn't be such a cliche. You have a job, it's okay. Just because you're a nail tech doesn't mean you can say BOSS BABE CEO in your ig bio.
And that's okay. Ffs
This is what chatGPT says about the meaning of life:
See also: Intention
You may have heard that old aphorism "The road to hell is paved with good intentions!" but on the other hand, what success had not been energized without some good intention? So, while Intention alone is not enough, for surely taking Action must follow it, Intention is the foundation.
Benjamin Franklin's daily journal always started with the question "What Good will I do today?" The answer, of course, was his Intention for the day.
Check this video for more on setting a daily Intention:
I would typically ask many of the following questions, and others:
- What has led you to seek out executive coaching at this time?
- What do you view as your most important professional and personal objectives?
- What do you feel are your strongest and weakest leadership qualities?
- How would you define success in regards to your current role?
- What do you believe is the biggest obstacle preventing you from achieving your goals?
- What areas do you feel you need to develop in order to reach the next level of success?
- What strategies have proven successful for you in the past, and which ones have not?
- How do you prefer to receive feedback and information?
- What type of environment enables you to be most productive?
- What do you think could be improved/changed in your current work environment?
- What expectations and attitudes do you have for yourself and your team?
As a startup CEO, you must be prepared for these questions when fundraising:
1. What is the size and scale of the market opportunity?
A venture capitalist will want to understand how great the potential of the venture is, including how big the sector is and the projected growth opportunities available.
2. How will you achieve rapid market share growth?
As venture capitalists need to see a return on investment, they'll want to know how the venture will gain traction quickly, potentially through market penetration, competitive pricing or customer loyalty initiatives.
3. What is the competitive landscape like?
To understand how the venture can succeed, VCs need to understand the competitive environment, what the customers' alternatives are, and what the current market leaders are doing.
4. How will the product/service stand out from the competition?
Investing in a start-up venture requires conviction that the venture has unique features or advantages compared to existing competitors. VCs will want to know what sets the venture apart and why customers will choose it over other options.
5. Who are the key partners and how will they support the venture?
VCs will want to understand who the key partners are, such as suppliers, subcontractors, and industry players, so they can assess how these relationships may support the success of the venture.
6. How do you plan to attract and retain customers?
Successful start-ups typically have customer acquisition strategies built into their business plans. VCs will want to understand how the venture will bring in customers and keep them coming back.
7. How will you monetize the venture and what are the associated risks?
VCs will want to understand how the venture will generate revenue and how the associated risks may impact the venture’s ability to meet financial goals.
8. What are the expected profits and costs associated with scaling the business?
VCs must have a good understanding of the start-up's profit and cost structure in order to make an informed investment decision.
9. Will the venture require additional capital rounds, and why?
VCs will want to understand if the venture will require additional capital rounds, and why, in order to ensure the venture can achieve its objectives.
10. What measures of success will you use to track progress?
Most venture capitalists look for entrepreneurs that have a good set of indicators to measure success, such as market share, revenue, customer conversion rates, and other metrics. VCs will want to understand how the venture will track progress against these metrics.
Other Questions:
1. What is your experience in the industry?
2. How have you achieved success in previous roles?
3. What is the long-term vision for the company?
4. What is your strategy for scaling the business?
5. What is the competitive advantage of the product/service?
6. What is the expected timeline and budget for executing the plan?
7. How will the venture capitalize on market trends?
8. What is the revenue model?
9. How will the employee base develop over time?
10. What are the key risks associated with the venture?
1. What programming languages are you most familiar with and have the most experience in?
2. Do you have any experience working with databases or other backend technologies?
3. Are you comfortable with developing software applications for different platforms - web, mobile, etc.?
4. Are you familiar with common design patterns and coding conventions? Discuss.
5. How do you handle debugging when discovering and solving problems?
6. How would you go about testing a feature or a bug fix?
7. Are you comfortable working with code versioning tools such as Git?
8. How do you stay up to date with the latest technologies and trends in software development?
9. What strategies do you use to ensure that code quality is maintained across the entire project?
10. Are you comfortable working both autonomously and collaboratively with a team?
11. What sets you apart from other programmers you have worked with?
Here is a list of things to consider when creating a hiring checklist:
-Define the job role and responsibilities.
-Compile a list of essential technical and soft skills required.
-Set reasonable expectations for the position.
-Develop a timeline for the recruitment process.
-Choose an appropriate platform for sourcing candidates.
-Conduct initial interviews and assess resumes.
-Check references and perform background checks.
-Assess candidates’ expertise in coding languages, databases, and other relevant technologies.
-Evaluate their knowledge of design patterns, coding conventions, and code versioning tools such as Git.
-Ask questions about their strategy for maintaining high-quality code throughout the entire project.
-Look for real-world examples of the candidate's software development experience and abilities.
-Create an effective onboarding program that facilitates rapid learning and adoption.
