I stan few companies as much as I stan Disney. I'm not ashamed of this even a little. When I saw that the greatest Disney CEO since old Walt himself had a new autobiography out, I couldn't wait to read it. The Fanboy Awakens. Bob Iger is best known as Disney's 6th CEO, reigning from … Continue reading Demma’s Notes: Bob Iger’s The Ride of a Lifetime
Happy New Year everyone. This year we're thankful to have wrapped up a relatively peaceful year, which was a goal of ours after many years of nearly constant major life changes like I wrote about here. I'm pretty sure we either moved, had a baby, changed jobs, or Kelly was pregnant every year for the … Continue reading 2019 Recap and my 200th Post
People have a need to be engaged in purposeful work. We want to feel like we're part of something bigger than ourselves, and that our work makes a difference in the world. Maybe that's why Servant Leadership seems to be growing in popularity. I think people want to learn about the deeper concepts of Servant … Continue reading Servant Leadership: Key Concepts
Here's a short thought experiment about the difference between better and good. Imagine you're driving a big truck along a highway. You see a sign that says low overpass ahead. 13' clearance. You realize you're driving a 19' tall truck. Good thing you saw that sign! You go back to the dispatch warehouse and get … Continue reading Quick Read: Better?
The challenge with growth companies is to figure out how to scale the culture as the size and complexity of the business grows. How do you grow the business without breaking the culture that made the business great to begin with?
What could a cartoonist possibly have to teach you about living your life? That's the question I had before starting Dilbert creator Scott Adams' book How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big. By the end of the book, I was an Adams disciple. It turns out there's so much more to Mr. Adams than Dilbert.
Limbo, by Alfred Limbrano, is an eye-opening book about what it's like to be raised in a working class family, be the first in your family to go to college, and then migrate to a middle class world.
"There's a starman waiting in the sky, he'd like to come and meet us, but he thinks he'd blow our minds." - Bowie Elon Musk has been grabbing more headlines than usual lately: for announcing a passenger trip to the moon, for the Model 3 becoming the best selling car in the US, for poking … Continue reading Demma’s Notes: Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
"You're already a cyborg." Elon MuskIn 2012 I noticed how addicted I was becoming to screens, mostly my phone. I wrote this article about it. To clarify, I was then, and remain now, a technology optimist. I am not the guy who wants to go off the grid and live in a tiny house in … Continue reading 4 Ways to Win Back Time From Your Phone
A switch flipped inside of me after college. I became obsessed with being successful and getting rich. I devoured self-help books like popcorn shrimp. How to Win Friends, 7 Habits, Think and Grow Rich, Richest Man in Babylon, Rich Dad Poor Dad, etc. etc. They worked me up into a frenzy. I wrote down goals. … Continue reading How to Get Rich Quick in Real Estate (kidding, it’s just another love story)
What follows is a somewhat disjointed collection of updates from the past month. I probably should have made this three separate posts, but I'm short on time and I wanted to memorialize some thoughts while they're fresh. Sad News About Our Move About a week after we arrived in Virginia we learned that the tractor … Continue reading Sad News, New Territory, 2 Great Books: 3 short posts in 1
1984 is a book about power, life, government, freedom (or lack thereof) of speech, human nature, love, strength, and weakness. It's gripping, suspenseful, horrific, and at times, maddening. This post contains a summary of the book, some of my favorite (or most terrifying) quotes, and some applications for business people.
The primary job of a manager is to provide leadership for their team. To be a leader. But what is leadership? This post is about my definition of leadership.
Has it ever occurred to you that not only are you not doing a good job at work, but maybe you are actually making things worse? I think it’s a really good question to ask yourself, especially if you’re a manager. The answer might not be so obvious.
I have made some mistakes during my on-boarding, mostly centered around my ambition to start contributing quickly and my obsession with getting things done.
