William Liao @williamliao
Taiwanese American, daily blogger of ideas about impactful work in service of others, photographer (ephemera.photography)
William Liao last shared their writing
spotting weeds
To be “lost in the weeds” is to be so caught up in minor detail as to completely miss the point.
Imagine two people getting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum.
One person spends this opportunity scanning the painting while admiring da Vinci’s creation;...
Imagine two people getting a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see the Mona Lisa at the Louvre Museum.
One person spends this opportunity scanning the painting while admiring da Vinci’s creation;...
William's Pantry
🍺
40
Beers
🥟
46
Dumplings
🧇
29
Waffles
🍪
29
Cookies
🍵
49
Teas
🍣
38
Sushis
☕️
38
Coffees
🍫
41
Chocolate Bars
🍍
36
Pineapples
🥓
36
Bacons
🥚
36
Eggs
🥩
26
Steaks
🍊
45
Tangerines
🍓
25
Strawberries
🥃
28
Whiskeys
Collections
Managing your energy
Every day we give away our limited energy in the form of time, effort, and emotion.
You might give some energy to work.
You might give some energy to family and friends.
You might give some energy to side projects.
Ideally, you — or anyone for that matter...
You might give some energy to work.
You might give some energy to family and friends.
You might give some energy to side projects.
Ideally, you — or anyone for that matter...
You do you (but be flexible)
Some people do their best work in the morning; others work better in the afternoon or even late evening.
Some people prefer a narrow scope of work; others prefer more flexibility in their approach.
Some people prefer to only check Slack and e-mail during certain times of day;...
Some people prefer a narrow scope of work; others prefer more flexibility in their approach.
Some people prefer to only check Slack and e-mail during certain times of day;...
First things first
Activity doesn’t equal productivity.
What you do and what order you do it in matters.
Here are two simple heuristics to help determine both:
To determine what, consult your values: what do you care about the most really?
To determine order, consult time: what will matter in...
What you do and what order you do it in matters.
Here are two simple heuristics to help determine both:
To determine what, consult your values: what do you care about the most really?
To determine order, consult time: what will matter in...
Ideas don't have departments
“Ideas don’t have departments” — Matt Sheley, Global Senior Manager, Customer Experience @ Cook MedicalIt’s important to be good at coding if you’re a software engineer.
It’s important to be good at analysis if you’re a data analyst.
It’s important to be good at selling if you’re a...
Stopping rules
“One of the biggest mistakes business people make is staying in something too long. A stopping rule helps you get out of that.” — Dr. Kathleen EisenhardtStarting can be difficult. Stopping can be even more difficult.
At what point do you decide to disengage from a project?
At what point do you...
False starts
In March of 2016, the idea of consistently writing excited me so much that I declared my intent to do so on Medium:
Subject: Starting on Medium
Body (snippet): From now until the end of June (at the very least), I am fully committing to publishing at least 1...
Subject: Starting on Medium
Body (snippet): From now until the end of June (at the very least), I am fully committing to publishing at least 1...
Effective communication
Know your goal.
Know your audience.
Use 6th-grade language.
State your most important points first.
Keep it simple.
Know your audience.
Use 6th-grade language.
State your most important points first.
Keep it simple.
Change blindness
“The problem is you want to see the change happen now”
That’s the sage advice that a director gave our team when we express frustration overseeing just a few people adopt a solution we’d just launched.
Change comes in many forms:
Sometimes it’s easily observable, like a light...
That’s the sage advice that a director gave our team when we express frustration overseeing just a few people adopt a solution we’d just launched.
Change comes in many forms:
Sometimes it’s easily observable, like a light...
Allocating commitment
Effectively allocating your commitments, like many things, is a skill.
You can do it poorly and reap suboptimal benefits, or you can do it effectively and reap maximal benefits. There are at least a couple schools of thought on how to think about commitment:
Commitment as a spectrum: you...
You can do it poorly and reap suboptimal benefits, or you can do it effectively and reap maximal benefits. There are at least a couple schools of thought on how to think about commitment:
Commitment as a spectrum: you...
Smell the roses
If you’re alive,
if you have a roof over your head,
if you have food and water,
if you have friends and family who you love and love you back,
if you have all or any combinations of these things: congratulations, you’ve already won the lottery multiple times over.
...
if you have a roof over your head,
if you have food and water,
if you have friends and family who you love and love you back,
if you have all or any combinations of these things: congratulations, you’ve already won the lottery multiple times over.
...