Notes From a Long Career
Confusing Activity With Accomplishment (Still Killing You in 2026)
I wrote about this back in 2009. The idea was simple then, and it hasn’t changed: most people confuse activity with accomplishment. If anything, it’s worse now. We have more tools, more systems, and more ways to organize, track, and optimize how we work. You can build an entire environment around your productivity – apps, […]
The First Plan Is Always Wrong
I’ve always loved this quote first uttered by a Prussian Field Marshal 155 years ago and often repeated: “No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy.” Everyone nods when they hear it. Then they go right back to treating the plan like it’s gospel. Especially the less experienced crowd. You see it all the […]
Burn Your Ships? I Still Don’t Think So.
Jobs are still awesome. I wrote that back in 2014, and if anything, I believe it more now than I did then. Not because I love jobs – I don’t by the way – but because I’ve now lived through what happens when things stop working. Not in theory, not in a podcast, not in […]