Some Observations

I love ideas.

We all have them.

Some are fixed, some are fleeting, and most are evolving.

Our ideas are like snapshots in time that depict who we are or who we were at a given moment.

About a year ago, I decided to start formally capturing and publishing some of my own ideas.

The ideas are centred on the topics of change, relationships, work, and mental models.

Publishing ideas can be a scary thing, which is partially why I've waited a year to write this.

My hope as you read this, is that you will find an idea that's interesting, and play with it.

Poke it, turn it upside down, remix it, and even consider sharing it.

In the post below, I've summarized five major ideas that I've explored over the past year and included some relevant posts for each.

If you're interested in following along this year, feel free to subscribe at: Shum's Blog.

I publish a new idea every Sunday and I intend to do so for as long as I am able.

Before you go any further, I want to sincerely thank you for the gift of your attention.

It's precious, and I am deeply grateful that you are choosing to spend some of it here.

Thank you.

Some Observations: Five Ideas to Explore

Quality

The topic of quality has probably been the one I've thought of most in the past year. Inspired by one of my favourite novels (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance), it's such a seemingly simple thing, and exploring it continues to be both enlightening and just plain fun. This is the only topic so far that I've written in a series of parts, with more to come soon. If it seems a bit vague to you right now, just see if the following question intrigues you, then keep reading: Regardless of the context, what does quality feel like?

Relevant posts and reading times:

• How to Feel Quality (4 min read)
• How to Feel Quality Part Two (2 min read)
• How to Feel Quality Part Three (1 min read)

Sunk Costs

Stealing directly from one of my heros (Seth Godin), a useful way to live is to ignore sunk costs. I think we can learn a lot about ourselves but studying how we approach sunk costs. It helps that they're everywhere. This collection of posts ranges from exploring sunk costs at work, to asking what nature can teach us about sunk costs.

Relevant posts and reading times:

• Sandcastles in the Sea (2 min read)
• Your Past, Your Present, and the Work (2 min read)
• The Purpose of a Leaf (1 min read)

Effort

Like many things, effort exists on two dimensions: quantity and quality. In the collection below, I've explored questions like whether it's easier to start something or stop something, why we might have preferences around the kind of effort we give, how we may be able to apply effort in one area to help benefit another, and more.

Relevant posts and reading times:

• Idealism vs. Incrementalism (3 min read)
• Start or Stop (2 min read)
• The Distance From Zero to One (2 min read)
• Endings (2 min read)
• Reps (2 min read)

Measurement

I was debating for a while whether I should really title this section Leverage, because it's also a theme in these posts. For a long time I've been fascinated by the things we measure, and how it's often the little things that actually make the big differences. This collection of posts explore measurement with an increasingly inward-looking lens.

Relevant posts and reading times:

• Quantity (1 min read)
• Measuring Progress (2 min read)
• Every Point is not Equal (2 min read)
• Minutes on Court (2 min read)
• Your North Star Metric (2 min read)

Hidden Things

The visible masks the invisible. The collection of posts below are explorations of the invisible. Invisibility is everywhere if you really look for it.

Relevant posts and reading times:

• Work in the Dark *my very first post* (1 min read)
• Context (2 min read)
• Two Sides of Beauty (2 min read)
• The Feelings Column (2 min read)

Thank you again for the gift of your attention.

I wish you a safe and happy start to 2023.