Is meditation just exercise for System 2 thinking to make it stronger at resisting System 1 thinking and thus used more often? How the two systems of my brain (System 1 and System 2) are like the two fuel systems in my body (glycogen powered and fat powered) and how I might optimize my brain for big feats the same way I’ve optimized my body for big feats in the past. Training System 1 to do more things the way I want it it at low cost. Having System 2 last longer without tiring out. Do I even want to be CEO of Google in 10+ years or would I rather found something or lead something up and coming? Is reinvigorating a company a good thing or is it better to just let it go and start fresh? What are the super powers of successful CEOs and how many of
Last month I accepted a role at Databricks. I’m writing this post explaining my decision mostly for me to look back on and hold myself accountable to, but perhaps it will also help anyone else going through a similar decision. I’ve decided to be candid about the decision as that is the only way this post will be helpful for others. I suspect the ideas will be relevant for multiple groups of people: those in the exact situation (deciding between Google and Databricks), those in similar situations (people considering Databricks or people deciding between another large tech company and a smaller tech company), and even those people making general career decisions. I mainly want this current blog post to be about Databricks and the reasons behind my deciding to join them, but it is impossible to consider that decision completely in a vacuum. Every decision represents passing by some other
Last week I accepted a role at Databricks. I wanted to write about why I made that decision (like I previously wrote about my decision to accept a role at Google), but I realized it is impossible to discuss that decision completely in a vacuum. Every decision represents passing by some other opportunity, and in this case, the other opportunity was Google. With that in mind, before I write about my decision to join Databricks, I’ve decided to take this as a chance to explain a bit more about how I make career decisions. I think this post help provide context for that post while also serving its own purpose as a valuable look inside how one particular (and peculiar) person thinks about this type of decision. Ready for some spreadsheets? My Job Rubric If you’ve stumbled upon any of my blog posts previously, you might have picked up on
I recently resigned from my role at Google after four years (technically 20 days short of that) and so I wanted to take a moment to pause reflect on my time there. You can see previous updates for my 3rd year, 2nd year, 1st year and upon deciding to join. To start, I should be clear, that I’m >50% sure that I’ll work for Google again at some point in my career and I currently have a 7.5% chance assigned to me being the CEO at some point. Google is a great company and has many productive years ahead of it. My leaving Google is less about me leaving and more about me being lured away. I wasn’t looking to leave (in fact, I was setup for another few years of fast-paced growth) but a company reached out and made me an offer I wasn’t able to turn down (more
My work at Google is so mentally taxing that it turns my brain to unresponsive mush by the end of the day. I look forward to going home to see my kids, play with LEGO, wrestle, watch Disney movies and eventually fall asleep (sometimes before they do). My time spent with my with four kids, ages 4-8, so tries my patience. Answering ‘why?’, mediating conflicts, thinking about how to train them, consumes so much of my EQ that by the end I just want to be alone, in silence, running through the woods. Running for 4, 12, or 24 hours, covering up to 100 miles of mountainous trails is so physically demanding, the by the end I just want to sit in my desk chair and relax my body. Perhaps occupy my mind with a meeting or a few emails. Sometimes people ask me how I do everything. The answer
Tree types that are nice to have in a yard Giant killing and why I feel so connected to the character of David in that story Whether there are laws of physics that make it so enterprise software has to be horrible. Or, if it possible to make beautiful enterprise software and what that would require High performance cars Why there isn’t an EV minivan yet Risk Koi ponds What the chances are that I will be the CEO of Alphabet some day. What that would require of my and why I might or might not want to do it. How to prepare for it. Decentralized trust. What it is and how we would model it in a programmatically accessible way Walking across the state of Washington on the PCT The creation process behind the Ninja Turtles and why those characters were such a phenomenon How to structure decision making
I recently finished my third year at Google and so I wanted to take a chance to reflect on what I’ve learned and see how I’m progressing along the goals I set for myself when I joined. You can see previous updates for my 2nd year, 1st year and upon deciding to join. Things I’ve Learned During Three Years at Google 1. Things can Change Very Quickly or Very Slowly My first two years at Google were pretty stable in terms of the team around me and our mission. Our team grew a lot, which meant new people were joining the team, but there was very little attrition, especially from my management chain. My third year was a completely different story. In a period of six months I experienced churn in my SVP, VP, Director, manager, ENG manager counterpart, ENG TL, and TPM counterpart. I would have a hard time
I recently finished my second year at Google and so I wanted to take a chance to reflect on what I’ve learned and see how I’m progressing along the goals I set for myself when I joined. Things I’ve Learned During Two Years at Google 1.By Year Two, You’re A Veteran It seems a bit crazy, but in only two years, I’ve now been at the company longer than most of the folks I interact with. I’m the expert in my domain. It seems like just yesterday I was starting out, looking at a list of names my manager sent me and scheduling meetings with these folks to basically say ‘hi, I’m new and I think we will work together’. Now on a weekly basis new folks join and I’m on their list of names. 2. Credibility Is Earned Much In the Same Way Everywhere I’ve spent my whole career
Our living spaces and how we do best when they exist in the space between indoors and outdoors How corporations learn and retain knowledge as employees come and go Salt water hot tubs Structuring incentives and limitations to get the right behavior Walking – there doesn’t seem to be a limit to how far we can walk aside from sleep and injury The qualities that make the best ice creams – low air content, lots of creme, natural rich flavors Hobby churn, the pros, cons and how that can be its own niche The pros and cons of being front-stage vs behind it – Buffett vs Munger
I recently finished my first year at Google and so I wanted to take a chance to reflect on what I’ve learned and see how I’m progressing along the goals I set for myself when I joined. Things I’ve Learned During My First Year at Google 1. Google is Still a Startup When I joined I wasn’t sure what the company would feel like and how things would work. Would it feel like a big company where everything had lots of process? Would I be able to get things done at the pace I enjoy or would the overhead slow me down? What I’ve found is that generally, in both good and bad ways, the day to day work of my project area still feels like a startup. It took me some time discover that but I now feel like I have a decent read and have been able to