It’s been a good year. I honestly feel like this has been one of my favorite years of blogging. Things came a bit easier and I didn’t have any multi-month stretches of writer’s block. Hopefully, you all got something from here as well. So with that, let’s take a look back at the year!
Taxis, Uber, asymmetric information and disruption
Of course the most popular post this year came from 2015! It also happens to be one of my personal favorites. Asymmetric information is a topic that exists in anything that is based on data. Those with the best data can dominate a market while keeping those with less information in a bad position. This is exactly how Google and Facebook can monetize their users so well – they know more about each of us than we do ourselves!
An update on my level of contentedness with iPhone (4 month review).
Naturally, my next most popular post was a review of the iPhone. I’m now back on a Pixel so I smirk a bit at this one. I actually was able to get used to the iPhone more than I expected but it never quite sold me. The Pixel 2 XL though…..loving it from the first moment I started using it.
Just because a document is comprehensive doesn’t mean it actually says anything.
I spent a lot of time this year thinking about how to tell stories better. This was one of my early posts on the topic and, reading it again now, I’m still on board with the conclusions. Sometimes it is hard to find good rules of thumb for how to summarize messages down and I still think these are good ones to follow.
Authenticity and decision making – always two good topics for discussion. Authentic leaders who make decisions are a very rare breed. I feel like more of us could do well by simply being honest and saying what’s on your mind. Putting your cards on the table clears the air and helps get everyone on the same page. But often, some will use that information against you because they feel like life is a zero-sum game and your loss is their gain.
If you had told me 6 years ago, I wouldn’t have believed you.
This one just makes me happy. I’m at over 6 years of doing this! I honestly believe this blog has been the single biggest benefit to my experience in working. I get a chance to put my thoughts down and get reactions (sometimes even just from myself). There’s nothing like writing an opinion down on paper to see if it holds up to the scrutiny of supporting it in a few paragraphs.
The only person that can stop you from being successful is you.
One more for good luck! I don’t think I could agree with this post more. Only you can keep yourself from being successful. That doesn’t mean that you’ll make a million dollars this year if you get out of your way or you will suddenly get that big promotion. What it means is that you have an opportunity to make the best of every situation you find yourself in. It means that you can either choose to have a good attitude about what comes your way or you can believe the world is simply trying to keep you down. I know what I choose.