Dan Cullum

If it’s worth turning up for it, it’s worth doing the prep for it.

I’m going to like a grouch, but I see too many meetings where the pre-work hasn’t been done. People dial in to the call, but figure things out as they go.

Spending 5-10 minutes beforehand mapping out goals for the session, decisions that need to be made, and questions that need to be answered, increases the effectiveness of a meeting by orders of magnitude.

Imagine never experiencing another aimless meeting.

It’s another example of how doing the basics well, and consistently, can have outsized returns in the long run.

The to-do list will never end.

There’ll always be something else that needs striking, or adding, or amending, or re-prioritising.

And yet when we embrace that, we free ourselves to focus only on the most important stuff.

The other things either won’t get done, or it simply weren’t important enough in the first place.

It’s really nice to have options.

Options are comforting. They give us the chance to change plans if things don’t work out. They allow us to believe we can reverse mistakes by taking an alternate path.

But sometimes, the magic only appears when you shun optionality and commit.

Investing in a relationship. Picking a career. Starting a business.

And if all that feels a bit too abstract, here’s a travel example I like to think about: would you prefer to spend one day in one hundred different cities, or spend one hundred days getting to know one city well?

BeReal is a new social media app. It’s unique selling point is it uses constraints to make the experience more authentic and less curated than other apps.

Here’s how it works. At a random point during the day, BeReal send users a notification to take a photo of what they’re doing in that moment. Users snap a picture using both front and back cameras. The app does not allow users to filter or edit images, photos are deleted within 24 hours, and users are only allowed to see photos posted by friends once they’ve posted their own.

The point is in the name: BeReal.

There’s growing hype but also speculation around the product. There are concerns about its longevity and potential, and also a reluctance from people to download yet another social media app. But BeReal is making waves that are becoming harder to ignore. For example, Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion when it had 30m daily active users. BeReal currently has 50m daily active users. They’ve some serious traction!

As someone who didn’t think much of TikTok in it’s early days, I’m not about to make the same mistake.

I’ll be keeping a close eye on how its product and growth develops.

Here’s one way to increase your probability of success: surround yourself with people who can ask great questions.

They’ll see problems you can’t.

They’ll help you avoid mistakes.

They’ll teach you patience while you wait for an answer.

A few of you sent me messages in reply to my post ‘Helmet habits’ in which I made some rather sweeping statements about how I find it crazy that many people in the UK don’t wear helmets while cycling.

Russell shared a great article with me that helped me remember everything is drenched in nuance.

“Most of the risk of severe injury while cycling is not intrinsic to the activity. Cycling is a benign activity that often takes place in dangerous environments.”

Sure “helmets reduce the risk of head injury by 60%” but on the flip side “it seems the perception of reduced risk when a helmet is worn can both prompt riders to be more reckless with their own safety and nudge drivers into being less careful towards cyclists”.

And although “a helmet might make you safer if you get knocked off… it might also, even marginally, increase the chance that this happens in the first place.”

Finally, with respect to my home country, New Zealand, one research paper estimated “the number of overall bike trips fell 51% between 1989–90 and 2003–6” when compulsory helmets were introduced in 1994. This begs the question about consequences on the health system of fewer people participating in exercise.

It’s easy to over simplify; to make things simplistic.

Everything is drenched in nuance.

I used to queue up at 06:30am outside New York City theatres to get Rush Tickets for Maru and I.

Rush tickets are sold on the day of the performance, and are used to fill the remaining 20-30 seats that haven’t been bought. They’re an excellent market clearing mechanism!

I don’t know why it took me this long, but I recently discovered the Today Tix app for London’s West End shows.

It’s the same rush tickets, just sold via an app. It feels obvious now, but it completely changes how I see the London theatre experience.

Maru wanted to see Aaron Sorkin’s adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird for a while, and today I managed to find tickets for £12! It was my first time back in a theatre since the pandemic began, and I loved seeing people on stage.

London friends—and for those who visit the city—this is a great way to get tickets at affordable prices!

A colleague shared a helpful idea about trade-offs when building software projects.

Out of three options, you can only pick two:

• date driven release
• feature driven release
• a high quality release

He states, “Apple classically is date driven and high quality. Key features take years to unfold. Many try & fail to hit all 3.”

The last part is the most interesting. I’ve seen teams refuse to choose their priorities and end up with a lukewarm product. This cascades into larger and longer term problems for a product, where the team eventually have to go back to fix past error, mistakes, or shortcuts.

It’s hard. But pick two.

Rest is needed before the breaking point.

Once past the breaking point, costly repairs are often required.

I’ve learned over the past few years to better identify when I need to rest, but there’s always the temptation to push a little more.

In these moments, I need to remind myself it’s okay to self select into rest, and that the benefit will be net positive in the long run.

The finish line and the gold medal only tell 0.01% of the story.

“Instant results” follow years of hard work.

I love the badges Transport for London gives to passengers.

One of them says, “Please offer me a seat,” and another for expecting mothers says, “Baby on board”.

The first is an excellent way for someone to communicate their need for a seat without having to reveal private or personal information. The second is a great way for soon-to-be mothers to guarantee they’ll have a seat on public transport if they want it.

I love seeing how people immediately recognise and vacate seats when someone with a badge hops aboard. It’s an example of a small design decision that is 1) universally recognised among London commuters, and 2) is an effective way to create a more inclusive public transport experience.

Does it have to be either or? Does it depend on the context? Could a balance of both spur on better performance?

I think a lot of folks spurn the idea of being motivated by fear. But in some instances, I think it can be a positive motivator.

Take public speaking, for example, the nerves in our stomach before the presentation can be harnessed to lift our energy to new levels.

I remember feeling all sorts of fear when the players on the opposing rugby or football teams looked bigger, faster, and stronger than me. But I could use that fear to shy away from the challenge, or to turn up in a new way.

Success is a better motivator, but a sprinkling of fear can lift our game.

I came across a stunning comparison the other day between commutes in London and San Francisco. The map below shows the distance one can travel in 90 minutes by public transport in both cities. The coverage in London is vast compared to San Francisco.

San Francisco needs to gets a bit of free pass because they have to navigate a large bay in a way that London doesn’t. However, the lack of public transport infrastructure and long commute times are a consistent theme I hear from friends and colleagues in San Francisco.

Great public transport infrastructure is one of those “plant a tree 30 years ago so you can sit in its shade today” type things.

More than the commutes of Londoners versus Northern Californians, this map communicates to me decisions made decades ago that still impact millions of people every day.

Always trying the recipe at least once before serving it to guests drastically improves the probably of putting on a good meal.

On the other hand, perhaps discovering new flavours with friends is what makes a good meal.

If you’re one way inclined, next time you’re hosting, why not try the other?

I once worked with someone who put “really really” before everything.

“This project is really really important.”

“We really really need to fix this problem.”

“We really really need to improve our processes.”

The thing about “really really” is if it’s used too much it really really loses its meaning.

Choose words carefully.