Total efficiency constrains us. We become super invested in maintaining the status quo because that is where we excel. Innovation is a threat. Change is terrifying. Being perfect at something is dangerous if it’s the only thing you can do.
—The Farnham Street Blog, in ‘Getting Ahead By Being Inefficient’
Mandela was prepared to break ranks with his fellow African leaders and condemn oppression. He did not indulge the ruinous culture of relativism and solidarity that had led to so many abuses in Africa passing unrebuked.
—Alec Russell, in ‘After Mandela‘
I love the term ‘Culture of relativism’. It’s a much better name for what’s come to be known as ‘whataboutery’ in the social media age.
Culture of relativism is also something that’s made a strong comeback in the era of social media empowered populism across the globe.
The famously argumentative Indian is now being silenced and turned into a consenting Indian.
FT: Narendra Modi’s illiberal drift threatens Indian democracy
On Steve Bannon’s office setup at the White House:
He also began moving furniture out. The point was to leave no room for anyone to sit. Limit discussion. Limit debate. This was war.
Donald Trump Didn’t Want to Win – and Neither Did His Campaign
To achieve and sustain real change, firms need to create a culture in which all employees are encouraged, through financial and non-financial incentives, to experiment and push ideas to market.
Culture of Innovation cartoon | Marketoonist | Tom Fishburne
Reddit is famous for this kind of culture, where individual users tend to be suspicious of mainstream norms and beliefs, and curious about what little-known facts might be out there.
If you want to lose weight, don’t look to Instagram for inspiration—use Reddit instead
Berlin’s historic anti-capitalist and anti-technocratic streak makes people deeply suspicious of anything that looks too much like efficiency and competence
ModCloth was founded in Pittsburgh, but later moved its HQ to San Francisco. It’s impossible to know if things would have worked out differently had the company remained in the Steel City, but some of its quirky retail culture did seem to get commingled with the “grow grow” tech etho
Using Debt Like Growth Equity – AVC, April 24, 2017, at 10:13 AM
It means understanding the product, understanding why our customers are using us and even more important why they are not using us or are not happy.
Every engineer is a product person, January 4, 2017 at 05:12PM
Stuff like this is why I admire TransferWise, as a company, so much. Continue reading Products, customers, and decisions
Use my marker 