#686: Dustin Moskovitz, Co-Founder of Asana and Facebook — Energy Management, Coaching for Endurance, No Meeting Wednesdays, Understanding the Real Risks of AI, Embracing Frictionless Work with AI, The Value of Holding Stories Loosely, and More

1198 snips

Aug 10, 2023

Dustin Moskovitz, co-founder and CEO of Asana, shares his journey from Facebook to revolutionizing team productivity. He discusses innovative concepts like 'No Meeting Wednesdays' for better energy management and the significance of conscious leadership in enhancing team dynamics. The conversation dives into the duality of AI—its potential benefits and the risks it poses, particularly concerning security. Dustin emphasizes the need for proactive strategies in the evolving tech landscape, advocating for ethical solutions and fostering a healthy work culture.

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ADVICE

Back Pain Hack

Address back tweaks immediately with rest, yoga, or other remedies.
Use lidocaine patches for relief; they're effective, cheap, and odorless.

ADVICE

Create a User Guide for Yourself

Create a user guide for yourself to help your team understand your quirks and preferences.
Share it during onboarding to ease communication and manage expectations, especially as an introverted CEO.

ADVICE

Coaching for Endurance

Coach your team for the long haul, emphasizing consistent smaller breaks to prevent burnout.
Discourage the mentality of solely relying on long breaks, like sabbaticals, for recovery.

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Churchill: A Life

Martin Gilbert

This book provides a comprehensive and intimate portrayal of Winston Churchill's life, drawing from his fifty-five years of public service. It spans his early military career, journalistic work, and political leadership, offering insights into his personal life and contributions to British foreign policy and social reform. The narrative is enriched with eyewitness accounts and interviews with Churchill's contemporaries.

Maker's Schedule, Manager's Schedule

An Essay on Time Management

Paul Graham

Paul Graham's essay highlights the differences between the manager's schedule, which is filled with meetings and short intervals, and the maker's schedule, which requires large blocks of uninterrupted time for creative work. It discusses the challenges that arise when these two schedules intersect.

The Road back to you

Ian Morgan Cron

Suzanne Stabile

This book uses the Enneagram, an ancient personality typing system, to help readers understand themselves and others better. It combines practical advice with Christian spirituality to foster deeper self-awareness, compassion for others, and a stronger connection with God. The authors provide introductions to each Enneagram type, questions to help identify one's number, and steps to pursue deeper self-awareness, making the Enneagram accessible and applicable in daily life.

Getting Things Done

David Allen

Getting Things Done (GTD) is a personal productivity system developed by David Allen. The book provides a detailed methodology for managing tasks, projects, and information, emphasizing the importance of capturing all tasks and ideas, clarifying their meaning, organizing them into actionable lists, reviewing the system regularly, and engaging in the tasks. The GTD method is designed to reduce stress and increase productivity by externalizing tasks and using a trusted system to manage them. The book is divided into three parts, covering the overview of the system, its implementation, and the deeper benefits of integrating GTD into one's work and life[2][3][5].

Measure What Matters

Laura Patterson

John Doerr's "Measure What Matters" explores the power of Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) as a goal-setting system. The book showcases how OKRs have been used by companies like Google and Intel to achieve ambitious goals. Doerr emphasizes the importance of setting clear, measurable objectives and tracking progress regularly. The book also highlights the importance of aligning goals across teams and organizations. It provides a practical framework for setting and achieving ambitious goals in various contexts, including business and personal life.

The paradox of choice

Why More Is Less

Barry Schwartz

In 'The Paradox of Choice,' Barry Schwartz argues that the abundance of choices in modern Western society, while seemingly beneficial, can actually be detrimental to our psychological and emotional well-being. He explains how the explosion in choices, from mundane decisions like buying jeans to profound challenges like balancing career and family, has paradoxically become a problem rather than a solution. Schwartz synthesizes current research in social sciences to make the counterintuitive case that eliminating choices can reduce stress, anxiety, and busyness. He offers practical steps to limit choices, focus on important ones, and derive greater satisfaction from decision-making. The book also introduces the concepts of 'maximizers' and 'satisficers,' highlighting the differences in their decision-making processes and outcomes.

The Scout Mindset

None

Julia Galef

Dans "The Scout Mindset", Julia Galef explore la différence entre deux approches mentales : le "Mindset du Soldat", axé sur la défense de ses croyances, et le "Mindset du Scout", qui privilégie la recherche de la vérité, même si cela remet en question ses propres convictions. L'auteure argumente que le Mindset du Scout est essentiel pour une prise de décision rationnelle et efficace. Le livre propose des outils et des techniques pour cultiver ce Mindset, en encourageant l'ouverture d'esprit, la remise en question et l'acceptation de l'incertitude. Galef utilise des exemples concrets et des anecdotes pour illustrer ses points, rendant le livre accessible à un large public. L'ouvrage est une invitation à adopter une approche plus objective et plus rigoureuse dans la formation de ses opinions et dans la prise de décisions.

A lamp in the darkness

Jack Kornfield

Nonviolent Communication

A Language of Life

Marshall B. Rosenberg

Nonviolent Communication (NVC) is a framework created by Marshall Rosenberg that aims to enhance communication by promoting compassion and empathy. The book outlines a four-step process for effective communication: observing what is happening without judgment, identifying and expressing feelings, recognizing and articulating needs, and making clear requests. Rosenberg emphasizes the importance of separating observations from evaluations to avoid defensiveness and promote genuine human connections. The book includes practical exercises, role-plays, and real-life examples to illustrate how NVC can be applied in various relationships and situations, including personal, professional, and conflict resolution contexts. It also discusses how NVC can help in developing self-compassion and resolving conflicts by focusing on the underlying needs rather than the actions that trigger emotions[1][3][5].

The Beginning of Infinity

Explanations That Transform the World

David Deutsch

In this groundbreaking book, David Deutsch argues that explanations have a fundamental place in the universe and that improving them is the basic regulating principle of all successful human endeavor. The book takes readers on a journey through various fields of science, history of civilization, art, moral values, and the theory of political institutions. Deutsch explains how we form new explanations and drop bad ones, and discusses the conditions under which progress, which he argues is potentially boundless, can and cannot happen. He emphasizes the importance of good explanations, which he defines as those that are 'hard to vary' and have 'reach', and argues that these explanations are central to the Enlightenment way of thinking and to all scientific and philosophical progress.

The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership

A New Paradigm for Sustainable Success

Diana Chapman

Kaley Warner Klemp

Jim Dethmer

This book distinguishes between unconscious and conscious leadership, offering a roadmap to help leaders transition from fear-based to trust-based leadership. The 15 commitments outlined in the book aim to enhance self-awareness, accountability, and collaborative relationships. By practicing these commitments, leaders can achieve more energy, clarity, focus, and healthier relationships, both personally and within their teams. The commitments include ending blame and criticism, speaking candidly, finding unique genius, and creating win-for-all solutions, among others. The authors provide practical exercises and resources to help leaders implement these commitments effectively[2][3][4].

The Making of a Manager

Julie Zhuo

In 'The Making of a Manager,' Julie Zhuo shares her personal journey and insights from her experience as a manager at Facebook. The book emphasizes that great managers are made, not born, and provides practical advice on key aspects of management such as building and nurturing a strong team, running productive meetings, giving feedback, and developing self-awareness. Zhuo highlights the importance of focusing on purpose, people, and process to achieve better outcomes and create a healthy team culture. The book is filled with everyday examples and transformative insights, making it a valuable resource for new and veteran managers alike.