(This is part of an open ended series of posts where I write down random things I feel are sharable from the years of mailing lists I’ve not caught up on…)

For awhile there I was obsessed with flashcard decks. (I do think there was a window where a Test Heuristics one woulda been successful.) I can’t remember how I stumbled on Plucky, but they built one running 1:1s. Mine tend to be more social / feelings than tactical and thought the cards might help. Of course, they work much better in person than remote and the whole covid thing hadn’t happened yet.

(Also, Plucky is a great name for a company.)

Anyhow, 62 messages from September 2019 to November 2025.

  • ‘Start every Monday morning with this question and see what happens’
  • ‘I added a section to my to-do list called “Purgatory.” This means BLOCKED but I’m not ready to unblock them yet.’
  • ‘Denying joy is not going to help us stay in the game.’
  • ‘… asking for help is a skill worth building.’
  • ‘Brave people solve problems at inconvenient times.’
  • Freytag’s Pyramid – I knew about this, but didn’t know it a) had a name, b) what the name was
  • People, Performance, and Succeeding as a Manager (HBR Work Smart Series)
  • ‘When am I in a position to make that phone call? Who is blocked by something that only I have access to? How can I change someone’s trajectory by phoning a friend?’
  • What Is HALT? The Dangers of Being Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired
  • ‘A manager from Stitch Fix shared a practice that the company had adopted: if you enter into a meeting distracted by something unrelated to the topic at hand, you can do a clearing. Like this: “If I seem distracted, it’s because my kid is home sick today. It’s not you!” “I just got off of a call with a frustrating stakeholder and I’m trying to recalibrate as we start this meeting.” “I didn’t sleep well last night so I might not be at my sharpest today.”’