CDOQ

A good product manager says 'no' a lot and can explain why, just like a good parent. Do disciplined parents make good product managers, or is it the other way around?

A business with momentum solves many internal problems and obscures others.

A startup begins without a competitive advantage. It is the management’s responsibility to build one using market feedback.

The mind can find connections where none exist. 

When things aren’t working and you want to make a change, focus only on what will impact the outcome. Trying to improve everything at once can slow you down and distract from what needs to be done.

A hero needs a villain, but a villain can exist without a hero. 

My dear friend, Ralph Abraham , passed away on September 19th, 2024. He was 88. It is one of the greatest honors of my life that Ralph considered me his friend. In my entire life, I have never met anyone whose intellectual depth, openness, and kindness matched Ralph's. My family and my parents feel the same.  I met Ralph in November 2009 at Esalen where I attended a workshop he taught on Human Potential . Since then, I met him regularly every three to four months for lunch. I cherished my time with him. I often joked that I didn’t understand half the things Ralph said, and the half I did understand made me rethink everything I knew. There is some truth in that joke.  Ralph discussing Consciousness  Ralph profoundly influenced me. Here are some of the ways: 1. Consciousness: This was probably the most discussed topic between the two of us. He shared with me that there are three levels of consciousness :  (i) Individual (humans and other sentient beings)  (i...

Are the parents teaching the children, or are the children teaching the parents? My son teaches me many things effortlessly, while I strive to teach him a few things—with a lot of effort. It may take decades to see if I succeed. :) I asked my parents if they had a strategic plan to teach me values. Their response was that they demonstrated values through their actions, believing that children learn by observation. They didn’t worry too much about it. :) Perhaps I worry too much about making my son a good human being. While it’s not entirely in the parents’ hands, I still want to try. Observing my son, I’ve been focusing on teaching him the following: Joys of childhood 1. Actions have consequences.  Children often have no concept of this idea. They live in the moment, which may be why they’re so happy. For example, throwing a toy on the floor might break it, or not stopping at a red light could lead to an accident. These lessons might eventually be learned through experience, but I’...

New thinking requires new context.

It’s hard to have an independent mind when surrounded by many minds. 

It is harder to sell a cheaper version of an expensive product than the other way around.