Dan Cullum

Teams are quick to bemoan the headwind.

They’re usually also quick to take credit for the tailwind.

It’s better to do neither, and to simply build more margin of safety into the plan from the beginning.

The team had put in a ton of work—thinking and refining their document. They’d debated the nuance, the tone, and the clarity of every word.

The presentation day arrives and the executive walks into the room. Their first words: “Can I see some diagrams or pictures, please? That’d help me understand what we’re proposing.”

A mountain of effort to craft out the detail won’t beat a simple image that succinctly shows the end result.

There’s usually an elephant in the room in every meeting. It’s typically that one problem, opinion, or opportunity that stands out from the rest.

Talking about that elephant is hard, it’s much easier to focus on simpler topics. But putting it as the first item on the agenda, and not moving on to something else until a meaningful decision has been made is a recipe for progress.

In the last month, on two separate occasions, I’ve had train cancellations leave me stranded far from home and unexpectedly needing to find accommodation for the evening.

The first time, I got frustrated, I complained to the staff, and was irritable for hours. Reflecting on the situation once I got home, I didn’t like how my default reaction was to be negative.

The second time round was yesterday returning from Brighton. There were no northbound trains nor buses to London, and all passengers were told to wait until the early hours of the morning for another train.

This was my chance. I’d had a great day, and I wasn’t about to let a train delay frustrate me again. I resolved to keep a positive and calm demeanour. I settled into a chair with a book, managed to sleep for a few hours, and eventually got on a train and arrived back home at about 07:00am.

I’m grateful for the second time round, and the opportunity to do better.

I listen to a Formula 1 podcast called Missed Apex. It’s a bunch of guys chatting about the latest race from their garden sheds. They’re knowledgeable about racing and don’t take themselves too seriously; it’s my favourite podcast.

They hold a karting competition twice a year and I got to participate in my first one today! It took place down at Brighton Karting, so I took my folding bike on a train down from London and cycled the final 20 mins to the track.

They had 42 people participating, where each person got to race in 3 heats. The results of the heats determine if you get into the A, B, or C final.

I managed to move forward and gain places in every race, and ended up coming 3rd in the B final.

It was an awesome day filled with a lots of nerdy motosport chat, and a healthy dose of adrenaline, speed, and competition. A great Saturday. Here’s a short 15 second clip with some shots of the track and the A Final podium.

The grass will be greener where we choose to water it.

In July and August of 2022, the UK suffered through multiple heat waves. The temperature reached 40 degrees on some days, which is completely out of character for this characteristically cold and cloudy country.

Some nights were sleepless. The air was stifling, and the heat felt like a weight on your chest.

Maru and I debated buying a portable air conditioning unit, but we were already into our second or third heat wave and it felt like a waste to buy one if we only got a few weeks usage out of it. So we baked for a few more weeks.

However, this year, in anticipation of heatwaves to come, we decided to buy a unit. And making a move to buy before the heatwaves arrived gave us the peace of mind that we’re set for much better sleep throughout the summer months.

Not always, but there’s often a benefit to moving before you need to—being on the front foot and in offence mode can be a big advantage.

I’ve felt sorry for one of our neighbourhood Italian restaurants for years. Every time I’ve looked through their windows, there is no one seated at their tables.

I follow my mum’s principle of only eat at busy places, so I never gave this restaurant a chance. However, friends recommended we try it out, and I begrudgingly accepted.

When I arrived, as expected, there was no one seated at the tables. However, at the back of the room was a staircase that led down to a quaint garden packed with patrons. Not only that, the food was delicious and service was faultless.

From first impressions, I didn’t give the restaurant a chance. But after a bit more digging, and crucially seeing the garden, I changed my mind.

Always check the garden.

This was a simple, clear, and useful podcast episode from Shortwave on the 6 biggest sunscreen mistakes.

Here are the ones I found most useful:

1. Dermatologists replace their sunscreen every spring. The active ingredients in an already open bottle can degrade, and bacteria can get in too.
2. SPF isn’t as important as I thought. SPF 15 blocks out 93% of UV rays, and SPF 30 blocks out 97%. Going for SPF 50 or 80 has rapidly diminishing marginal benefits.
3. Rather than worry about SPF, focus on putting on enough sunscreen. You need a shot glass worth for your body (25mls), and about a teaspoon worth for your face.
4. Dermatologists often see the worst burns from overcast days. Don’t forget to protect on cloudy days too.
5. Regularly reapply sunscreen. If sweating or swimming, reapply every 80-90 minutes.

Maru and I went to see Gabriel perform at the Pizza Express Live venue yesterday evening.

He’s a pop / jazz songwriter, and I found him via my ‘Discover Weekly’ on Spotify. I ended up really liking a few of his songs and was thrilled he had an upcoming London show.

The venue was small and intimate with great acoustics, so you could hear the details of what each member of talented band was playing.

Two of my favourite songs of his ‘I’m lost for words’ and ‘I wish I was a rich guy’ were written in a day as part of a write-30-songs-in-30-days challenge.

Check his stuff out on Spotify for a hit of pop, jazzy goodness!

I had a good idea for a post earlier today. But I was running between meetings, so I forgot to write it down.

At the end of the workday, I opened up Ulysses to write my post, but I had lost the idea. I fought for a moment to recall and retrieve the idea, but it was gone.

In these moments, instead of getting frustrated, I remind myself: if it’s truly a great idea, it’ll come back. If it isn’t, it’ll stay lost—and that’s OK.

When building digital products and experiences, there are no shortage of new ideas. Ideas to make things better. Ideas to make things easier. Ideas to overcome old problems.

Over time I’ve come to learn that the pitch for the new idea should feel natural and easy. The description of both the problem and the solution should be quick, simple, and clear.

This doesn’t mean the idea is obvious. Uber in its early days was a non-obvious, counter-intuitive solution—but the problem and solution were certainly easy to understand.

The easier it is for the end user to understand how the solution solves their problem, the more chance we have at building something successful.

I know a few people who are allergic to management speak.

No matter how complicated the problem, they use simple words to add clarity and move a team towards a goal.

They don’t try to “leverage”, “align”, or “circle back”. They don’t even “take things offline”. They operate with no filler.

They remind me of the idea that “clear thinking is a prerequisite for clear communication”.

They have a good type of allergy.

One of the benefits of daily writing is consistently, and persistently, confronting the fear of writer’s block.

Note, I include “the fear of” and not just “writer’s block”.

A long time ago I decided that just like the monster under the bed doesn’t exist, neither does writer’s block.

As Patricia Ryan Madsen says in ‘Improv Wisdom’, “There’s always something in the box.”

When I feel the fear, I pause. I sit. I wait. I try not to force things. I try assume a posture, attitude, and mind of openness. I decide to be curious. I refuse to be defeated by the fear.

And some days, when I’m really struggling, I remember the William Stafford quote, “Lower your standards and keep writing.”

There is no destination. The joy is in turning up every day.

It’s a gift.

For the child. For the friend. For that team member. For the hard problem that needs solving. For the organisation’s focus for the next quarter.

When everything competes for our attention, it sets people apart when they’re generous and deliberate with their undivided attention.