Cong Phan | dedot.ai

I've wasted 1,000 hours in meetings that should never have happened.
Building the fix →

[Cong Phan | dedot.ai @thundergod3003]

Booked the flight.
Booked the hotel.
Landed.
Got the message: "Bhai sorry something came up, can we do a quick call instead?"
I'm already in your city.
I came for you.
"Sure, no worries!"
There were worries.
There were so many worries.

[Cong Phan | dedot.ai @thundergod3003]

You ever fly somewhere for a meeting —
And the night before, they reschedule?
"Something came up! Can we just hop on a call instead?"
You're already at the airport.
You're already there.
You say "of course."
You shouldn't have said of course.
Who's lived this? 👇

[Cong Phan | dedot.ai @thundergod3003]

Flew to a city for a meeting.
They rescheduled the night before.
"Something came up. Can we do a quick call instead?"
I was already there.

[Cong Phan | dedot.ai @thundergod3003]

"Bhai I only have 10 minutes ha, hope you don't mind."
Mind?
I cleared my whole morning.
Pushed two other meetings.
Skipped breakfast.
I say: "No no, totally fine!"
It is not totally fine.
It is the opposite of totally fine.

[Cong Phan | dedot.ai @thundergod3003]

"I only have 10 minutes today, hope that's okay!"
You rearranged your whole morning.
Cleared your calendar.
Prepped your questions.
You say: "Of course, no problem!"
It is a problem.
It's always a problem.
Who else? 👇

[Cong Phan | dedot.ai @thundergod3003]

He opened with: "I only have 10 minutes."
I had rearranged my whole morning for this.
I said "of course, no problem."
It was a problem.

[Cong Phan | dedot.ai @thundergod3003]

"Bhai I know exactly the right person for you, I'll connect."
6 weeks of silence.
Intro finally arrives.
Wrong person. Name spelled wrong. Email half copy-pasted from somewhere else.
You reply: "Thanks so much, really appreciate it!"
You do not appreciate it.

[Cong Phan | dedot.ai @thundergod3003]

"I know someone perfect for you!"
6 weeks later, the intro lands.
Wrong person.
Your name spelled wrong.
You reply anyway because you're polite.
The intro goes nowhere.
The mutual connection still thinks they did you a favor.
Anyone? 👇

[Cong Phan | dedot.ai @thundergod3003]

"I know someone perfect for you."
The intro came 6 weeks later.
To the wrong person.
With my name spelled wrong.

[Cong Phan | dedot.ai @thundergod3003]

"Bhai sirf 30 minutes, promise."
90 minutes later, still talking.
Not because we have things to say.
Because saying "okay let's wrap up" feels rude.
So we keep going.
Talking about the weather.
Talking about traffic.
Anything to avoid the awkward goodbye.

[Cong Phan | dedot.ai @thundergod3003]

30-minute meeting.
Becomes 90.
Not because it's going well.
Because neither of you knows how to end it.
You keep finding new topics.
Not because they're interesting.
Because leaving feels rude.
Tell me I'm not the only one 👇

[Cong Phan | dedot.ai @thundergod3003]

The meeting was supposed to be 30 minutes.
It became 90 because neither of us knew how to end it.
We kept finding new topics.
Not because they were good.
Because leaving felt rude.

[Cong Phan | dedot.ai @thundergod3003]

Met him at a conference.
Energy was electric. "Bhai we must collab, must must must."
Followed up next day. Nothing.
Three weeks later: "Sorry yaar, been meaning to reply."
We never spoke again.
Conference networking is the biggest lie we tell each other.

[Cong Phan | dedot.ai @thundergod3003]

Conference connections:
"We HAVE to talk more!"
You follow up the next day.
Three weeks of silence.
Then: "Hey! Been meaning to get back to you."
You never talk again.
Conference high is a drug. The comedown is brutal.
Who's been here? 👇

[Cong Phan | dedot.ai @thundergod3003]

Met someone at a conference.
Great energy. Real chemistry. "We have to talk more."
Followed up the next day.
Three weeks later he replied: "Hey! Been meaning to get back to you."
We never talked again.

[Cong Phan | dedot.ai @thundergod3003]

Tell me you're a founder without telling me you're a founder:
You finish a meeting.
First thing you do is check the calendar.
Not to see what's next.
To see how much of the day is already gone.
Every. Single. Time.

[Cong Phan | dedot.ai @thundergod3003]

Be honest:
You ever leave a meeting and immediately check your calendar to see how many hours you have left?
Not to plan.
To survive.
That's not productivity. That's grief.
Anyone else? 👇

[Cong Phan | dedot.ai @thundergod3003]

You ever leave a meeting and immediately open your calendar to see how many hours you have left in the day?
That's not a productivity habit.
That's grief.

[Cong Phan | dedot.ai @thundergod3003]

"Bhai let's connect, share your time."
I share.
He says "actually let's do my time."
His time: 6am or 11pm.
I pick 6am like a fool.
He shows up at 6:15.

[Cong Phan | dedot.ai @thundergod3003]

"Let's find a time to connect."
Sure.
They send their availability.
It's 6am or 11pm. Nothing in between.
You pick 6am because you want it to work.
It never works.
Anyone else had this? 👇