Ben Olsen

pro-transformation of tech, self, & society. Product leadership @Microsoft, Coaching at Huminary (

[Ben Olsen @bendotolsen]

@tcarpenter216 Buy every Stephen Few book and crush em all

[Ben Olsen @bendotolsen]

My brain (on the aphantasia spectrum)

[Nick @nickcammarata]

"single line pencil drawing, the phenomenology of smelling a candle"

[Joan Halifax @jhalifax]

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, I bow to your dignity and patience.

[Ben Olsen @bendotolsen]

Yup

[Guillermo del Toro @RealGDT]

He absolutely never, ever does anything but his best- I've said it before: there has not been, nor will there ever be an actor like Nicolas Cage. A master.

[Ben Olsen @bendotolsen]

It’s easy to become 💯goal-obsessed❤️‍🔥as a product manager.

Remember your steps today contain your goal. And the goal itself is also just another step. 🙏 hold both and you’ll be free

#PdMZen #productmanagement

[Ben Olsen @bendotolsen]

@pourbrew @GuptaRK22 There is another way than to innovate rather than use anxiety (desperation) as emotional fuel.
I like the term “tech intensity” from Satya: we can bring intensity while remaining grounded in the mission and our sense of place and purpose

[Arnold Schwarzenegger @Schwarzenegger]

I love the Russian people. That is why I have to tell you the truth. Please watch and share.

[Ben Olsen @bendotolsen]

@shanselman PdM or TPM? 🙃 (inside joke)

[Ben Olsen @bendotolsen]

#StPatricksDay @Microsoft life!🎉

[Joan Halifax @jhalifax]

Perfectly selfless, the beauty of it, the butterfly doesnt take it as a personal achievement, he just disappears through the trees. You too, kind and humble and not-even-here, it wasnt in a greedy mood that you saw the light that belongs to everybody.
jack kerouac

[Ben Olsen @bendotolsen]

@nickcammarata This piece from @_TimOBrien is excellent, may be helpful:

[Tim O'Brien @_TimOBrien]

Posted a short think piece about how policy responses to new tech fail to recognize that the tech itself is a response to pre-existing policy. Prob a longer piece in the future, but 2 examples:
https://t.co/LT7myufYDW

[Tim O'Brien @_TimOBrien]

Posted a short think piece about how policy responses to new tech fail to recognize that the tech itself is a response to pre-existing policy. Prob a longer piece in the future, but 2 examples:
https://t.co/LT7myufYDW

[Marc Lesser @marclesser]

Letting go of the known, familiar and comfortable is difficult. What we don’t know feels dangerous. This, I think, is why we hold on so tightly to what we have and know, even if it is not serving us. #growth #leader #mindfulness #leadership #change

[Ben Olsen @bendotolsen]

Data language is too fuzzy most of the time, doesn’t matter if it’s in a textbook, a policy, or a strategy.
“Data management,” “data governance,” “data privacy” get conflated … responsible data & AI use has its roots in clear thinking & crisp writing
#data #AI #RAI

[Ben Olsen @bendotolsen]

“Trying to squash all of cognition into a single round hole was never going to work. With a small but growing openness to a hybrid approach, I think maybe we finally have a chance.”
// @GaryMarcus
Excellent synthesis + important take
https://t.co/dxRZFGvStv
#responsibleai #ai

[Ben Olsen @bendotolsen]

Heard the phrase “put your heart into your art” vs “keep your eyes on the prize.”
Both are needed.
Hold both until neither are.
#ProductZen

[Ben Olsen @bendotolsen]

“An individual human existence should be like a river — small at first… rushing passionately past rocks and over waterfalls. Gradually… waters flow more quietly, and in the end… they become merged in the sea, and painlessly lose their individual being.”
// Bertrand Russell

[Ben Olsen @bendotolsen]

What’s the best Data Governance definition you’ve seen out there?
#data #datagovernance #dataprotection #responsibledata

[Ben Olsen @bendotolsen]

“We must risk delight… there will be music despite everything.”

// Jack Gilbert
A Brief for the Defense

[Ben Olsen @bendotolsen]

“What is the essence of your practice?” a follower of Basho asked.
“Whatever is needed.”
#PMZen
#Mindfulness