Curiosity Chronicle

Today’s newsletter is brought to you by Ascend’s Leadership Program ! Ascend’s Leadership Program for women will empower you with the skills and frameworks required to influence at all levels, conquer imposter syndrome, and accelerate your career. You’ll leave the program confident and armed with the skills, tools, and support to have your ideas taken seriously, empower your team, and move up fast...

Special Announcement: The Bloomboard I’m excited to announce the launch of my job board - The Bloomboard - where I will curate and share unique, exciting roles in finance and technology every single week. The goal? To foster open access to jobs for candidates and spread awareness of amazing, high-growth companies and roles. The board will be curated by me personally, meaning it will only include c...

A great commencement speech is filled with wisdom. 10 powerful lessons from the best commencement speeches of all time: #1: Connecting the Dots "You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future." - Steve Jobs, Stanford 2005 Life is uncertain. Have faith that your dots will somehow connect....

The story of the last few weeks in business has been the ransomware attack that took down the Colonial Pipeline. On ransomware-as-a-service, DarkSide, and what happens when publicity becomes really bad for business: First, a few definitions... What is ransomware? Ransomware is a type of malware - a software designed to cause harm to a computer, server, or network. Ransomware is used to encrypt the...

Intellectual curiosity is a competitive advantage. But contrary to what you’ve been told, it has nothing to do with intelligence. 10 ways to start developing your intellectual curiosity today: #1: Scrub Your Windows “Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in.” - Isaac Asimov Curiosity is a light that can only enter when your me...

Warren Buffett is a treasure trove of wisdom. But contrary to what you have been told, most of it has nothing to do with investing. 10 powerful lessons for life from the Oracle of Omaha: #1 - Wait For A Juicy Pitch “You don't have to swing at everything - you can wait for your pitch." Life doesn’t reward you for the number of swings you take. Focus on identifying the juiciest pitch. When it comes,...

In his final Amazon shareholder letter, Jeff Bezos shared a powerful mental model on maintaining your distinctiveness. On the fight against normalcy (in your career, startup, writing, or life): Jeff Bezos founded Amazon in 1994. In 27 years at the helm, he grew it into one of the largest and most influential companies in the world. Today, it is worth almost $1.7 trillion. Each year since its 1997...

The story of the last few weeks in finance has been the secretive rise and rapid downfall of Archegos Capital Management. A thread on the underlying mechanics of the Archegos saga and how a $20 billion fortune vanished into thin air... First, let’s set the stage. Archegos Capital Management is the family office of Bill Hwang, a former prodigy of hedge fund legend Julian Robertson. Hwang previously...

Kaizen is a powerful concept for unlocking growth in your career, startup, business, writing, or life. A short thread on what it means and the magic of continuous improvement... Kaizen is a Japanese word meaning “improvement.” In practice, the term is used to convey continuous improvement. It is a dynamic process - ongoing, incremental, compounding daily improvements. The origin of the concept of...

Focus is a competitive advantage. But in a noisy world, it is increasingly difficult to find. 5 tactics for finding focus in your career, startup, or life: #1 - Eliminate Low-Value Decisions Mark Zuckerberg is famous for having only one outfit in his closet. While an extreme example, there is a lesson here: Eliminate decisions that require energy but do not create commensurate value. Redeploy that...

Ikigai is a powerful concept for finding purpose and clarity to unlock growth in your career, startup, business, writing, or relationships. A thread on its meaning and how it can change your life... Ikigai is a combination of the Japanese words “iki” (or “life”) and “gai” (a term to describe value or worth). It roughly translates to “reason for being.” It is all-encompassing - it is not simply abo...

The story of the week in the business world is the blockage of the Suez Canal by a massive container ship. Weighing 200,000 metric tons, dislodging the ship is no easy problem to solve. But while it happened in 2021, the roots of this problem date back to 1937, when a truck driver from North Carolina had a simple idea that would completely change the world. Malcolm Purcell McLean was born in 1913...

To outperform, you need serious competitive advantages. But contrary to what you have been told, most of them don't require talent. 10 competitive advantages that you can start developing today: 1. Intellectual Curiosity Intellectual curiosity is a real-world superpower. We all have it, but most will never embrace it. For the curious mind, anything is possible. Fortune favors the curious mind. 2....