Chaos Monkeys

quote Theodor Herzl, “If you will it, it is no dream; and if you do not will it, a dream it will remain.” Willing dreams into existence was what being an entrepreneur and a product manager was about; for once, finally, they’d be my dreams, rather than purely corporate or mercenary ones.

The key to understanding the somewhat tense Ads-Growth dialectic is this: What makes a user use the product does not necessarily make money, and the reverse is also true. In fact, they’re anticorrelated in general, and you can drive engagement or make money, but not both at once.

Whenever you face some stressful, time-consuming, and risky challenge, firewall the rest of the company away from the mess. They’ll likely add no value, and the attendant uncertainty will corrode their productivity when you likely need it most. No matter what happens in the outside world—lawsuit, money issues, the fucking zombie apocalypse—do not let it infect the company’s headspace and become the top item in the internal narrative.

The harsh reality is this: to have influence in the world, you need to be willing and able to reward your friends and punish your enemies.

To quote Balzac, “The secret of great fortunes without apparent cause is a forgotten crime, as the crime was properly done.”

There’s a Jewish folktale about a biblical king who dispatches one of his wise men to craft him a mantra that would both humble the proud and console the unfortunate. After searching in the market, where our wise man consults a local jeweler, he returns to the king with an engraved ring. The king holds the ring close and reads: THIS TOO SHALL PASS. So remember that, when lamenting your troubles, contemplating the perceived triumphs of peers and competitors, or rejoicing in that rare entrepreneurial triumph. It will all soon pass, and much faster than you think.

When confronted with any startup idea, ask yourself one simple question: How many miracles have to happen for this to succeed?
If the answer is zero, you’re not looking at a startup, you’re just dealing with a regular business like a laundry or a trucking business. All you need is capital and minimal execution, and assuming a two-way market, you’ll make some profit.

When confronted with any startup idea, ask yourself one simple question: How many miracles have to happen for this to succeed?

If the time frame is very short, like browsing for and buying a shirt at nordstroms.com, it’s called “direct response,” or “DR” advertising. If the time frame is very long, such as making you believe life is unlivable outside the pricey mantle of a Burberry coat, it’s called “brand advertising

Scott quickly, as these things go, found a comparable role at another bank, but the irony of the security-seeking loyal employee getting the ax never left me.