Jun 29
How Tech Workers are Finding Their Footing in a Pandemic —
This piece first appeared in Fast Company
[https://www.fastcompany.com/90515519/tech-workers-are-showing-the-effects-of-covid-19-related-burnout]
The start of 2020 should have been an energizing time for me, personally and
professionally. I had just returned from a long-awaited holiday honeymoon and
closed a new round of funding for my startup. But I found
Jun 27
MC#008: Not So Secret Memo —
🧮 Advertising: Profitable (and therefore Taxable?) + 🚜 The Resilience and Fragility of Rubber + 🪐 Ring Strength
Jun 20
MC#007: The Infant Mindset —
How Rejection Works + Thinking Like a Baby + Making Mistakes
Jun 20
My Pandemic Burnout Piece in Fast Company —
Double header this weekend! Back to your regularly scheduled Making Connections
newsletter next Saturday.
Have heard from a lot of folks who appreciated my piece in Fast Company on how
tech workers are experiencing burnout in the face of the pandemic
[https://www.fastcompany.com/90515519/tech-workers-are-showing-the-effects-of-covid-19-related-burnout]
. I spoke to
Jun 13
On Protests and Movements —
This is an attempt to integrate a series of shorter, related writings that I’ve
published in my newsletter [http://jasonshen.substack.com] over the last few
weeks. Much of it touches on the Black Lives Matter movement, which I wrote
about back in 2016,
[https://www.jasonshen.com/2016/
Jun 13
MC#006: The Exponential —
Bounded performance vs unbounded success. The Thief of Joy. A Movement's Tipping Point.
Jun 07
MC#005: Protest Edition —
The Law of the Instrument. When Aggressive Tactics Backfire. How Much Money is Enough? Who Guards the Guards?
May 30
Making Connections #004 | What opportunity looks like, learning by shipping & the arc of social progress —
Hey friends,
Welcome back the 4th edition of Making Connections, where we take a random walk
down tech, fitness, product thinking, org design, nerd culture, persuasion, and
behavior change.
Today we’re talking about what opportunity looks like, learning by shipping &
the arc of social progress
1. Knowing the
May 23
Making Connections #003 —
Biological thinking, no sweat workouts, "talent needs trauma", birthday coaching
May 16
Making Connections #002 (purpose, iteration, social games, + more) —
Hey friends,
Welcome back the 2nd edition of Making Connections, where we take a random walk
down tech, fitness, product thinking, org design, nerd culture, persuasion, and
behavior change.
1. Dan Pink's "Small P" and "Big P" Purpose
Psychology | Burnout
I was talking to
May 11
The Product Genius Behind Jackbox Games —
This article first appeared on TechCrunch
[https://techcrunch.com/2020/05/04/all-product-creators-can-learn-something-from-jackbox-games-user-experiences/]
During this periodof shelter-in-place, people have had to seek out new forms of
entertainment and social interaction. Many have turned to a niche party series
made by a company best known for an irreverent trivia game in
May 09
Making Connections #001 —
A list of TikTok formats, why friction can be good, working out with a mask, and Pmarca's It's Time to Build
May 08
Making Connections #001 (audio) —
00:18 - Incomplete List of TikTok Formats
02:57 - Friction Theory
04:01 - Working out with an N95 mask will not supercharge your fitness
06:04 - My problem with “It’s Time to Build”
Article link: Making Connections #001 [https://www.jasonshen.com/making-connections-001/]
May 02
Welcome to Making Connections —
A random walk down tech, fitness, product thinking, org design, nerd culture, and persuasion/behavior change.
Apr 12
How to Become More Adaptable —
Republishing my piece from TechCrunch
Apr 04
What's Going to Change —
It’s April 4, 2020. I stopped going to the office on March 13, and according my
Captain’s Log [https://www.jasonshen.com/2020/captains-log/], we’re on Day 24 of
this self-isolation. I don’t have any symptoms, but I’m assuming I have it and
wear a
Mar 14
Captain's Log —
I’ve journaled on and off in various formats throughout my life.
I kept a paper diary, shifted to a “4 lines a day” style daily journal, moved to
Day One’s electronic journal, and also do a personal review
[https://www.jasonshen.com/annual-lessons-learned/] and quarterly updates
[https://www.
Mar 09
Finding Your Edge —
I want to talk about product design and positioning as it relates to Elizabeth
Warren dropping out of the race. This is not about her politics (though I was a
fan) but her brand as a candidate.
Promoting a political campaign is not unlike marketing a new piece of workout
Feb 21
Adaptability is No Joke —
Both Startups and Improv Are About Making Stuff Up on the Fly
I recently participated in an “Improv for Entrepreneurs” workshop run by Mary
Lemmer
[https://el2.convertkit-mail2.com/c/preview/78i7h8hv/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5pbXByb3Y0LmNvbQ==]
, a founder-turned-VC who now teaches improv to companies and professionals.
I’ve done a couple of these
Feb 05
Recharging is for batteries, not people —
Last year, journalist Anne Helen Petersen wrote a widely shared piece in
Buzzfeed naming millennials the “Burnout Generation”
[https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/annehelenpetersen/millennials-burnout-generation-debt-work]
. According to Petersen, we’re overworked, underpaid, and often paralyzed by the
systemic dysfunction of our increasingly volatile world. As a result, many of us