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Adam Kalsey

This is the blog of Adam Kalsey. Unusual depth and complexity. Rich, full body with a hint of nutty earthiness.

Currently Reading

Daily Reading from April 27, 2011

27 Apr 2011

Links to what I’ve been reading recently.

  • 4 essential ways to attract investors — "(Editor’s note: Doug Collom is vice dean and an adjunct lecturer on venture capital and entrepreneurship for Wharton | San Francisco. He submitted this story to VentureBeat.) There really isn’t a one-size-fits-all formula that can be followed for optimizing the ..."
  • Presenting Smartly | part one — "Presenters can learn a lot from comedians on developing a better act. The process in how a presenter crafts, develops, and delivers a presentation is much the same in how a comedian puts together their act. Presenters and comedians have ..."
  • 13 Ways To Pull Off A Killer Demo Day Presentation
  • Learning the Right Lessons from the Amazon Outage — "As most nerds know, Skynet gained self-awareness last week and decided as its first act to mess with Amazon Web Services, creating havoc for anyone that wanted to check-in on the Internet to their current physical location. In hindsight Skynet ..."

Recently Written

Decoding Product Leadership Titles
Mar 18: Not all product leadership titles mean what they sound like. ‘Head of Product’ can mean anything from a senior PM to a true VP. Here’s how to tell the difference.
What branding can teach about culture
Jan 8: Culture is your company’s point of view in action—a framework guiding behavior, even in the unknown. You can’t copy it; it must reflect your unique perspective.
Think Systems, not Symptoms
Dec 15: Piecemeal process creation frustrates teams and slows work. Stop patching problems and start solving systems. Adopting a systems thinking approach helps you design processes that are efficient, aligned with goals, and truly add value.
Your Policies Aren’t Your Culture
Dec 13: Policies guide behavior, but culture is the lived norms and values of your team. Policies reflect culture -- they don’t define it. Netflix’s parental leave shift didn’t change its culture of freedom and responsibility. It clarified how to live it.
Lighten Your Process Burden
Dec 7: Everyone hates oppressive processes, but somehow we keep managing to create them.
Product Add-Ons Are An Expansion Myth
Dec 1: Add-ons can enhance your product’s appeal but won’t drive significant market growth. To expand your customer base, focus on developing standalone products.
Protecting your Product Soul when the Same Product meets New People.
Nov 23: Expand into new markets while preserving your product’s core value. Discover how to adapt and grow without losing your product’s soul.
Building the Next Big Thing: A Framework for Your Second Product
Nov 19: You need a first product sooner than you think. Here's a framework for helping you identify a winner.

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What I'm Reading