Archives for February 2024

I spent this week in-person with colleagues who are usually spread all over Europe and the US.

Our time together was equally valuable for our work as it was for building stronger working relationships.

We ended the week with a much clearer vision for what we’re hoping to accomplish this year.

I’m sure my experience mimics what many of you have felt too: there’s nothing quite like in-person collaboration to focus a team.

Sometimes we may get impatient, lazy, or simply believe we’ve run out of time.

But the cost of mistakes that slip through the cracks are often far higher than the cost of checking our work a second time.

Performing a double check almost always has a positive ROI.

On days where I don’t have a clear idea for a post, I sit quietly, look at the world around me, and soon enough an idea appears.

If I feel frustrated, I remember the words of Patricia Ryan Madsen when explaining an improvised theatre exercise where participants open an imaginary box and describe what they see, “There’s always something in the box”.

The point is not to be happy or sad with what is in the box. The magic isn’t in producing that one amazing piece of writing, it’s in the consistency.

Since I decided to stop cycling in London, I’ve started running instead. It’s a great alternative to the stifling London Underground.

An unexpected benefit is learning how running can be a great discovery tool. I’m travelling this week for work, and heading out for runs to explore a new city has been really fun.

No headphones, no music, just soaking in the sights, sounds, and smells. One slow jog at a time.

“If you are healthy, you have no actual problem, all your other worries are in your mind, just relax and be grateful that you have plenty of opportunities to improve your life.”

This tweet from The Orange Book resonated with me, and was a great reminder of the importance of investing in health.

We’re big Formula 1 fans in this house. Well, I am. And Maru is a supportive spouse who stays up to date on everything happening in the sport so we can chat about it.

For the past 5 years, Netflix has released a documentary called ‘Drive to Survive’ that follows the previous year’s Formula 1 season. It gives an amazing, behind-the-scenes insight into the personalities and competitive dynamics of the sport. The first two seasons are what got me into the sport.

I never thought I’d be a fan of Formula 1, but this series has spawned a generation of fans. And those fans—like myself—have proven to be very sticky! That’s probably the most impressive part, and is a great example of what documentary storytelling can do!

The Hawthorne Effect happens when “subjects of an experimental study attempt to change or improve their behaviour simply because it is being evaluated or studied”.

At first glance the Hawthorne Effect seems detrimental to quality research. And, in most cases, it probably is. For example, that’s why it’s hard to do studies on what people eat, because when people are conscious they’re being watched, they modulate what they eat.

Despite its flaws, the Hawthorne Effect can also be a powerful tool. If you’ve ever tracked your calories, you’ll know the act of inputting your food into an app will make you second guess that late afternoon snack. Watching your own calories often leads to less snacking and choosing healthier options.

The Hawthorne Effect is neither good nor bad. It just is. How we choose to use it, or how we interpret the results of a study impacted by it, is our responsibility.

My friend Russell started a new project, and it’s well worth sharing.

It’s called Haudoo (pronounced: how do), and it’s a collection of short, no-nonsense books on how to do something.

Russell is great at presentations, so it makes sense the first book is “How to do presentations”.

Russell is recruiting other people to contribute content for other Haudoo books, such as how to write a blog post, or how to write an email.

The books are well designed, and I could see them working really well as part of an onboarding pack for new hires in a company.

When riding around London, you’ll inevitably have a few close calls—with pedestrians, other cyclists, or vehicles. It’s a city with unforgiving roads and impatient travellers.

Over the past year, I’ve had the feeling that it was not a matter of if, but rather a matter of when, an accident would happen.

I didn’t like that feeling. So I’ve decided to sell my bike. I no longer feel the risk / reward trade-off is worth it. I accept some inconvenience going forward, but the peace of mind is worth more.

The craftsperson makes by hand. The process is slow and thoughtful. It’s filled with care, vulnerability, and imperfection. And The outcome is one of a kind.

The machine makes things at scale. Perfectly cut, ironed, shaped, and refined. Everything identical.

Neither are bad. It’s just important to know what we’re building, how we’re building it, and why we’re building it that way.

I participated in a pub quiz today; my first one in a long time. It was a relaxed Sunday evening at a local pub, the quiz master was excellent, and the vibe was cheerful.

I forgot just how obscure some of the trivia questions can be though. It often felt like a flip of a coin as to whether or not we’d get a question we’d know the answer too.

Another team got almost every question right, and that’s when I realised: I’m comfortable with my current level of obscure facts. I’ll still go because it’s super fun, but I don’t need to win the pub quiz.

Maru told me about a culinary adventure, and we’re considering trying it.

London is a city bursting with cultural richness. And on the topic of food, you can find restaurants and dishes from every culture in the world here. So why not make a list of every country, and try food from each one?

It seems like a pretty daunting project to take on, one that would take years to complete, but it sounds super fun.

Any thoughts or ideas on how to do it well?

I’m a big fan of country music.

I remember walking around Nashville when I was eighteen and listening to the music outside the honky-tonk bars in the cold because I was still below the legal drinking age, so I couldn’t enter.

A few years later, I made up for it in a Memphis bar listening to immensely talented country performers as my friends and I travelled down the Mississippi river.

Years later I listened to Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast ‘The King of Tears’ where he says the magic of country is in its specificity. Country artists describe specific places, moments, conversations, and emotions. When compared with most other genres that speak in obscure metaphors, there is something vulnerable and relatable about country music. Gladwell’s point of view stuck with me.

So I’ve started to make my way through the Rolling Stone’s Top 100 Country Albums of All Time. I’ve got through the first ten, and I intend to continue through the rest. When a song catches my ear, I save it to this playlist, which will include songs from albums in the Top 100, but I’ll also add other country songs that catch my ear.

I’m drawn to the happier and upbeat albums, so ‘Fly’ by The Chicks (#5), ‘Come on Over’ by Shania Twain (#8), and ‘Fearless’ by Taylor Swift (#10), were my favourites.

If you’ve got country artist recommendations, send them my way. Despite loving the genre, I don’t really have a great map of the best artists and albums, which is why I started with the Rolling Stone list.

I was reminded today of Goodhart’s law: when a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good measure.

Myopic focus on moving a single number rarely ends well. It encourages behaviours and optimisation decisions that wouldn’t have passed the sniff test otherwise.

Every so often I see a video that talks about “longevity correlations”. For example, good oral hygiene and high levels of grip strength are correlated with longer life spans.

The wrong conclusion to come to would be to (1) brush your teeth more, and (2) buy grip strength trainers for those long meetings.

It’s more likely that good oral health and grip strength are leading indicators for a concert of health and wellness behaviours that compound over time.

If you eat mostly vegetables and avoid high sugar foods, your oral health is likely to be excellent. If you’re regularly strength training, a by-product of that training is likely to be improved grip strength. And when you put together these behaviours of a health diet and exercise, you start to see populations that are living healthier for longer.

Don’t get lost in leading indicators. They’re more useful as signals that the rest of the system is working well.