Posts in Leveling up
Proximity

Have you ever eaten something because it was in front of you? Those cookies that you don't even like. The mediocre pizza place that's downstairs from your apartment. The yoga studio that's on your home from work. Understanding how proximity affects you means being more aware of your decision-making habits. You might be on autopilot saying yes or no to things. Without even realizing that you're on autopilot--that's the worst part.

I've found that it's surprising how much proximity affects what we choose. 

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Leveling upWes KaoRigorous thinking, Levelling up
No one knows the right answer

Last week, I spoke at the 2015 Lean Startup Conference in San Francisco. My topic: if you are iterating and trying new things, your new normal is to feel a bit anxious all the time. Here's a blog post that's based on my talk. Originally posted on the Lean Startup Blog. Here are event photos on Flickr.

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The truth is that I was attracted to the lean movement because it felt safe. Lean is a relentless march toward the right answer, an evolving process where we go from safe to safest, from new to tested to successful. Sign me up.

It turns out, though, that I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Lean is in our blood

Running lean is a core part of our approach at the altMBA. We don’t even call it lean — we just call it normal.

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Leveling upWes KaoLevelling up
Say compliments out loud

Those of you who know me, know that I have many theories and philosophies on life. One of the philosophies is this: life is short, so you should trim the lukewarm parts and only leave room for the best.

Only eat food that you love, only do activities that you actually want to do, only buy things that delight you, and only hang out with people who you think are awesome.

Because of this filter, the people I spend any amount of time with, or attention on, are people who I think really highly of.

I realized, though, that many times I'm gushing about friends, acquaintances, distant heroes, or colleagues....in my head. I don't actually say some of it out loud. In my mind, I think I'm complimenting them all the time, but in reality they have no idea.

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Leveling upWes KaoAuthenticity, Levelling up
Is it difficult, or just dramatic?

"I quit."

Those words are dramatic.

I used to think that quitting your job was the craziest, bravest thing you could do. Then I did it twice, without anything lined up after, and realized that it's not that crazy or hard.

More importantly, over the years, I realized that walking away isn’t always the bravest option.

Our culture certainly glorifies the idea of a dramatic exit. We can confuse the act of getting up and walking out as being the hardest part.

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Leveling upWes KaoCareer advice, Levelling up
Why incremental polishing is a waste of time

You’ve made up your mind 90%. But sometimes, right at the end, the remaining 10% veers uncontrollably into a black hole of overthinking. "I just want to tweak it to make it a little better. It's almost ready. I just need a bit more information. Once I have that, I’ll know for sure.”

I've come to the conclusion that spending a lot of time adding incremental polish is not helpful.

Why do we feel the urge to do it in the first place?

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Leveling upWes KaoCareer advice, Levelling up, Time management