Peter Thiel—founder of of PayPal and Clarium Capital; angel investor in Facebook, LinkedIn, Yelp—spoke recently at Stanford. One particularly salient idea I picked up from the talk was the difference between “Statistics” and “Calculus” when it comes to thinking about the future, particularly around career plans. Statistics makes decisions by looking at averages calculated from ...
I’ve been Facebooking quotes from the GSB I wanted to remember, but realized I don’t have a convenient way to search for them. So I’ll post them on this blog instead, and maybe that’s better for everyone: From MGE case with Graham Weaver, quote from W.H. Murray (explorer): Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, ...
Yesterday my Facebook account became a solid stream of of thoughts on Steve Jobs’ passing. Some thoughts I’d like to keep. Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.’ - Dr Seuss (via Jim W.) “Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the ...
Great article on stand-up meetings to get dev teams well organized and moving smoothly. Many thanks to Marshall for the tip. Original post by Jason Yip at: http://martinfowler.com/articles/itsNotJustStandingUp.html It’s Not Just Standing Up: Patterns for Daily Standup Meetings photo: Karthik Chandrasekarial Daily stand-up meetings have become a common ritual of many teams, especially in ...
Was extremely impressed by remarks from Clinton on everything from flushing out the remnants of the debt crisis to lowering corporate tax rates and creating new jobs through prosperity centers. Dude is wicked, wicked smart. ...
Had wonderful dinner with MBA1s last week at Kylan and Jennifer’s house. The question of “what should first year MBAs know?” came to mind, and I figured I should sit down and make a list. Here’s 5 things I wish I’d done my first day at the GSB: 1. Accept Non-Consensus There are amazingly smart ...
Facebook made some changes to their user interface (again). Some of my friends are upset by it (again). I don’t think it really matters. The changes are mild and at the end of the day, your on Facebook because of your friends, not because of where the buttons on the software appear. Suppose you’re spending ...
17 new “VC” deals totally totally $370M in new investment. Expecting a run on nerf gun and bean bag chair inventories later today… From Dan Primack: Rearden Commerce, a Foster City, Calif.-based provider of ecommerce solutions, has raised $133 million in new VC funding. Citi was joined by return backers American Express and JPMorgan Chase. ...
Excellent article from Silicon Valley Product Group on VP Product roles: The VP Product Role If you take a look at the list of open product positions at the end of my recent newsletter, you’ll notice a record number of VP/Director of Product positions. In part this reflects the growth we are experiencing in our ...
Every so often I’ll see an M&A deal that’s so brilliant I want to fist tap the corp strat team who made it happen. Yum brands buying Little Sheep is that kind of deal. With the “liberal IP rights” enjoyed in the Chinese culture, I don’t know if this is the same franchise as “Little ...