Shas

Sharing borrowed knowledge and the occasional inspired thought

[Shas @shaswathkumar]

@AlexAndBooks_ LIST

[Shas @shaswathkumar]

Does waterfall/GANTT style project management exist anymore? Seems like all major-budget knowledge work is devoted to building/upgrading systems or ‘product-izing’ a workflow now.

It makes sense to hash out ideas from the ground-up only if a North Star is specified from the top

[Shas @shaswathkumar]

Replace “And then…/So then…” storytelling with “And then…But…Therefore…”.

Introducing the conflict element of the arc provides your story with depth needed to keep an ever decreasing attention span of your audience

[Shas @shaswathkumar]

Any line of work which involves “reporting”, will require you to create compelling narratives and be an effective storyteller.

Researching how to write the best reports won’t be as helpful as researching how to write better stories.

Read fiction.

[Shas @shaswathkumar]

When you seek feedback, guide a format that mirrors the steps of the emotional journey your prospects will go through.

Ex. Initial interest/skepticism, then labeled selling point or labeled pain point, and finally, the resolution/final feeling

[Shas @shaswathkumar]

College CS depts. must prioritize LOB based curriculum now.

The execution of solving problems has forever changed. The nature of those problems fundamentally haven’t.

Consider @joshkaufman’s 5 tenets of what makes a business a business. I’d argue that they still hold true.

[Shas @shaswathkumar]

When you’re not moving forward, by the time you acknowledge the present, you’re actually living in the past.

The world passes you by quickly.

Don’t hit snooze, get outta bed.

[Shas @shaswathkumar]

“Disorderly, mixed-up borders are sources of diversity and creativity.”
- Donella H. Meadows

Trying to force the issue or take matters into your own hands voids the “mixed up” element

Real boundaries can’t be drawn with the fine point pen

[Shas @shaswathkumar]

Strong ideas held loosely > Loose ideas held strongly.

I highly recommend reading about or listening to @waitbutwhy ‘s concept of a “thinking ladder” to flesh this out.

[Shas @shaswathkumar]

if you can help it, never miss twice in a row

[The Wall Street Journal @WSJ]

He was the world’s leading expert on decisions and had one last decision to make: ending his life https://t.co/1tpi4rUXPx

[Shas @shaswathkumar]

Give folks a heads up if you’re gearing up to get on a soap box. Nobody likes getting smothered, let alone by surprise, and people will always have their own thoughts to tend to.

[Shas @shaswathkumar]

Getting a foot in the door is not where you breathe a sigh of relief. The real work has just begun.

Now, it’s about the questions you ask while you’re in the room. They invite others to see how your brain is wired

Practice and watch your impact grow and your convos level up

[Library Path @LibraryPath]

15 Deep Lines about Life:

1.

[Shas @shaswathkumar]

I love a multivariate breakdown of a system or behavior. The system archetypes or subtypes basically create themselves as you adjust each variable independently.

It’s simple but charmingly effective, particularly if you use a Low-Medium-High approach for the variables

[Shas @shaswathkumar]

High and Happy are two different emotions/states of being. Example: it would be intoxicating for someone to remain lusting over their partner indefinitely. The transition to love is similar to sobering up.
A) Be mindful of that level of intoxication and B) Embrace the come-down

[Shas @shaswathkumar]

We adopt so much knowledge as dogma through books written by amazing writers. It’s partly us taking a path of least resistance.
Actualize the advice-knowledge by translating frameworks into series of practical questions.

[Shas @shaswathkumar]

After all, your offer (be it your talent, your product, your idea, or yourself) was never going to resonate with everybody anyway

[Shas @shaswathkumar]

Don’t answer “why you?” with qualifications. Rather, your answer is an opportunity to reiterate the common ground you aim to share with the person you’d want your offer to resonate with.
Help draw a clear line and someone will know where they want to stand.