I have been contemplating starting this blog for almost 2 years now. I have several loose excuses as to why I never pulled the trigger, but the gnawing question that I could never get over was: What difference does it make? The interwebz (do people still say that?) is already full of explainer blogs, long form blogs, data blogs, bite-sized blogs etc. etc. The world almost surely does not need another blog? And as a startup co-founder and Dallas Cowboys fan, surely my plate is full already?
But the penalty cost of this contemplation was getting to a point where I had to make a judicious adjudication on whether it was worth it. So, in true startup fashion, I decided to draw up a “pitch-deck” that the builder-me can pitch to the investor-me. Builder-me’s story addressed the following topics:
What is the problem?
What is the solution?
Why is it better?
How will it work?
What is its’ SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity, Threat)?
How will it make money?
I am happy to announce that it all went swimmingly and the investor-me has agreed to provide seed-funding in the form of allocating some week-hour capital to the builder-me. And, we are off to the races!
But before I start, I thought I will give the project what the corporate types call “Vision and Mission” statements- a framework through which I will rotate words. And so here they are, dear readers, The Constitution of this Blog. If I go astray, please hold me accountable.
Be Optimistic: The greatest irony of our times is that while our digital lives are constantly being fed an unhealthy diet of rage-clicks, in IRL we are actually living in an era of unprecedented peace and prosperity. We are doom-scrolling our way into record levels of anxiety and depression. No doubt, our challenges are significant. And that’s precisely why we adopt optimism strategically as a value to increase our odds of success. For I have never seen a pessimist winner.
Stay grounded in Rationality: As a data-nerd, I considered making it a ‘analysis’ blog but decided against it because there are folks who do a far better job at it and nobody cares about data anyways. I will strive for good arguments grounded in logic, intellectual honesty and first-principle thinking, supported with data.
Take on Big Solutions: As a society, we excel in diagnosis. We are very very good at identifying and even universally agreeing on what the problems are. The challenge is that we absolutely suck at prognosis. We can never agree on what to do about anything or how to do them(unless it’s a crisis, in which case we panic and do things haphazardly or do too much). Are we limited in our imaginations of what-can-be? Are we too dismissive of solutions due to all kinds of biases? Let’s let our imaginations fly!
Be Funny: Not ha-ha funny. But the kind where you read to the end of a sentence and go ‘ha, that’s funny’. It’s not the validation I need, but one I seek.
Welcome!