A friend turned me on to Adam Grant. He is a professor at Wharton. I listened to one of his podcasts, followed him on Twitter, and just read an incredibly insightful post he wrote on “Does Trying to Be Happy Make Us Unhappy?” He cites a lot of neuroscience evidence in his post, which I
‘Extreme Ownership’: A Book about Navy SEALs
A friend mentioned a new book about Navy SEALs, called Extreme Ownership. It draws lessons between what SEALs do and business situations. So, I bought it and read it. I’ve long been fascinated by the mental toughness of special ops. soldiers and the to-the-brink training program they go through, which weeds out most applicants. I’ve read
I’m Jo, and I’m a Recovering ENTJ
A bit ago, I put into my Twitter and LinkedIn profiles that I am “a recovering ENTJ.” It’s a bit of a joke but there’s a serious point behind it all. I’m a huge fan of the Myers-Briggs personality framework and questionnaire (more here). When I first learned about it at b-school, I was struck
Rest in Peace, Tom Stemberg
I on Friday read with great sadness about Tom Stemberg’s death. I recalled my last two interactions with him. One was puzzling and the other was comforting. Let me explain. Shortly after announcing that I wanted to quit my job and start a new VC firm, I ran into Tom. “Why leave?” he asked. “It’s
Learn a ‘Jedi Mind Trick’ at UnConference
I’m really looking forward to Friday’s Mass TLC UnConference. It is one of my favorite events of the year. In case you’ve never been to it, I think you should go. There is a host of 1:1 mentoring sessions with other entrepreneurs, angel investors, and VCs. And, there is a series of speaking topics that
Not Your Average Sunday
I went away for my autumn fly-fishing weekend. Saturday was tough, as I had to work hard to land four fish. Today, Sunday, was crazy: I caught 62 trout, amidst freezing weather and a few snow squalls. Here is a view of my Saturday morning. I caught quite a few trout, including rainbows, browns, and brookies.