And the 2020 irregularity continues… Welcome to October 👋
Its a ‘Blue Moon’ month, and you know what that means… even weirder things ahead, so strap in. As if 2020 hasn’t been wild enough, the universe thought it would be cool to throw a full moon out on Halloween night for shits and gigs.
While the moon won't actually look blue, the second full moon in one month is typically referred to as a ‘blue moon’. This happens every 2.5 to 3 years, or "‘once in a blue moon.’ While a blue moon seems rare, a full moon on Halloween across time zones is even more rare -- an event that hasn't occurred since 1944.” 🤯
Although full moons typically are associated with strange/bad things, I, for one, am optimistic about what’s ahead in the coming month and beyond. Despite society’s continued polarization, anxiety levels at an all time high here in the US, and a second wave looming, I believe we are at an inflection point in humanity’s history.
The power to shape and improve the world for the better starts now. Lets use this time of increasing uncertainty as a wake up call for change… and let’s not forget that with destruction comes creation. There is no better time than now to adjust your outlook and put some positive energy out there in the world.
With that, I am sending good vibes to all y’all to kick this month off - starting with a playlist of ‘flow state’ tunes. Check it out in #otherthings below, if you haven’t yet!
❤️ Likes, shares, and ‘my contacts’ adds are appreciated! It helps others discover what they have been missing out on while ensuring gmail doesn’t junk this thing either :)
⬇️ #thinkingthings, #followerthings, and #otherthings ⬇️
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🤔🤔 #thinkingthings
🟥 >>>> Coinbase is a Mission Based Company
Kicking off with a bold, pointed, and controversial post written by the CEO and founder of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong. In the post, Armstrong addresses head on his company’s vision, culture and role in society all against a politically charged backdrop.
It felt right to share this post because it resonates with me on a few levels…
1) this is coming from a top leader within the industry I compete in via my company, Alkemi;
2) the assertive stance Armstrong takes in his post is relevant for all companies/industries (‘choose a side’);
3) the timing of the post is extra pertinent given the polarized macro backdrop; and
4) ESG (a theme this post overlaps with) is the industry my brother, Charlie, operates in and one that is becoming an increasingly relevant trend across all industries, regardless of sector.
Coinbase, if you aren’t familiar, is a the largest US-based company operating the crypto space (my industry), whose mission is to build an open financial system for the world. Their CEO, Brian Armstrong, is someone I have always looked to for guidance on how to run/scale a company and, historically, I have always been a big fan of Armstrong’s transparent leadership and value system reflected at his company (see his many blog posts here).
~~ Before moving on, if you haven’t yet, I encourage you to click the above link and read his post in its entirety~
Although I am broadly supportive of Brian’s controversial post (as I think the spirit of his message is on point) and the intent behind it, I am not sure I fully agree with all of his points. Companies, when big enough - like in Coinbase’s case, for example - should be used as a platform for positive change and back the causes that the employees (family) care about. Employees are like family at the end of the day, especially at a start up where the work never ends. Drawing a hard line in the sand on complex issues is a maneuver that implies the world is black and white… there is only right vs. wrong, when in fact everything is only grey.
I find Brian’s post to be bold and I support the spirit of his post - driving clarity, transparency, a laser focused vision/offering, all while taking a stand… however, I am not entirely sure he fully accounts for the diversity and complexity of these issues he is trying to address with his narrow mission statement… not to mention the fallout from the post more broadly, which is seemingly becoming more distracting than the culture issues his company was dealing with pre-post… and here.
My takeaway is that there isn’t a clear path to approaching any of the societal issues facing the world right now. In this day in age, it is table stakes for leaders at companies to be sensitive to the ongoing macros trends while driving a culture/vision that is transparent, open, and ever-evolving… no one is perfect, but in my experience, I have found that people are willing to support and work with you, if you are passionate, honest, humble and take ownership. Whatever comes after that, tends to fall into place accordingly…
With that, I will share a few takes/ reactions from other publications. If you feel strongly about this topic this week - I encourage you to hit reply and let me know your thoughts! I would love to hear from you.
>> Context on the post/company per Axios:
Coinbase, the crypto company, most recently valued by investors at over $8 billion, is setting itself up as a guinea pig in a culture battle that's more about stereotypical Silicon Valley vs. stereotypical Wall Street than it is about progressives vs. libertarians.
In the past week, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong published a blog post discouraging politics in the office and offered a severance package for employees who disagreed with a new mission statement. According to three employees, who all spoke with CoinDesk on the condition of anonymity, Armstrong and other managers at the San Francisco-based crypto exchange said in company-wide meetings that they had been planning this move for six months.
Behind the scenes: Armstrong's blog post came 3 months after he wouldn't immediately commit to publicly endorse Black Lives Matter, when asked during an internal Q&A session, which prompted a partial employee walkout.
The reality: Silicon Valley tech companies have largely adopted the mantra that employees are family, in part to help justify long hours. And families are expected to discuss and argue over a wide range of topics — usually with mutual respect and support built-in. Armstrong, instead, wants to create a bright-line between employee and family.
The counter: Some critics of Armstrong's post insist that because the personal is often political, it's impossible for certain employees to divorce the two. But this is, in itself, could be considered a form of tech privilege — imagine a supermarket cashier making that argument, to justify talking politics with customers.
Moreover, many tech companies have been castigated for upselling their humanitarian motive and downplaying their profit motive. In this case, Armstrong is saying Coinbase is a business. Full stop.
>> Tidbits from Armstrong’s post that resonated with me:
Default to trust: We assume positive intent amongst our teammates, and assume ignorance over malice. We have each other’s backs.
Sustained high performance: As compared to a family, where everyone is included regardless of performance, a championship team makes a concerted effort to raise the bar on talent, including changing out team members when needed.
I believe most employees don’t want to work in these divisive environments. They want to work on a winning team that is united and making progress toward an important mission. They want to be respected at work, have a welcoming environment where they can contribute, and have growth opportunities. They want the workplace to be a refuge from the division that is increasingly present in the world. They want the workplace to be a refuge from the division that is increasingly present in the world.
Change happens in the world only when a smart, talented, group of people come together to focus on a hard problem for a decade or more. Many companies never stand the test of time, because they decide to dabble in unrelated efforts, and distract and divide their workforce in the process.
My goal is to create clarity for all employees going forward about how we’re going to operate. I suspect the vast majority of people will be excited to proceed in this direction — after all, the mission is what we all signed up for and is what Coinbase is uniquely positioned to achieve as a company.
With a strong, united culture, we can build a company that changes the world. At Coinbase, that culture means staying focused on our mission and being the best company we can be.
>> From CoinDesk, the crypto industry’s leading publication, which brings up a lot of great points for consideration (and says it better than I can)
The questions this raises are huge, and the timing fits right into tectonic shifts already underway in the role of capitalism in our evolving society. Let’s look at some of the questions, to which there are no clear answers.
Armstrong says Coinbase has “an apolitical culture.” What does that even mean, in these times of growing polarization on practically everything? Even being apolitical can be taken as a political stance. What’s more, when a company whose mission is to bring “economic freedom to people all over the world” requests that activism and politics be left at the door, you get a glimpse of how institutionalized the crypto ethos is becoming.
What is an employment contract? Some will answer that it is monetary compensation for certain output. Others will argue that you give up your time in exchange for payment. If the latter, can the organization paying you dictate what you do in that time?
Does a company have the right to define its own mission? The answer might seem like an obvious yes, but an extension of that is, does a company have the right to ignore topics its employees care about? Here the issue gets more divisive.
Is a company’s responsibility to its shareholders or its employees? Armstrong believes that focus is core to achieving the mission, and that is what shareholders have a right to expect. But the success of intelligence-based businesses largely rests on the employees. We’re not talking about widget-producing factory floors here. This is an environment in which specialized talents and inspiration matter, and those are supplied by motivated people. So, some could argue that Armstrong’s responsibility is to his employees, because that will make the company more profitable and the shareholders happy.
🟥 >>>> 8 Secrets to a Fulfilled Life
On a positive note (keeping in line with this week’s opening), I thought it appropriate to share some food for thought on how one might go about putting some more positivity out there in the world :)
Outside of the clickbait title, I quite enjoyed this post… its written by a columnist from The Guardian who has covered ‘wellbeing’ and tips on how to live a healthy life over the past 10+ years. Below are some of his pointers, a lot of which I thought were filled with solid food for thought:
There will always be too much to do – and this realization is liberating. Today more than ever, there’s just no reason to assume any fit between the demands on your time – all the things you would like to do, or feel you ought to do – and the amount of time available. Thanks to capitalism, technology and human ambition, these demands keep increasing, while your capacities remain largely fixed. It follows that the attempt to “get on top of everything” is doomed. (Indeed, it’s worse than that – the more tasks you get done, the more you’ll generate.)
The upside is that you needn’t berate yourself for failing to do it all, since doing it all is structurally impossible. The only viable solution is to make a shift: from a life spent trying not to neglect anything, to one spent proactively and consciously choosing what to neglect, in favour of what matters most.
When stumped by a lifechoice, choose “enlargement” over happiness. I’m indebted to the Jungian therapist James Hollis for the insight that major personal decisions should be made not by asking, “Will this make me happy?”, but “Will this choice enlarge me or diminish me?” We’re terrible at predicting what will make us happy: the question swiftly gets bogged down in our narrow preferences for security and control. But the enlargement question elicits a deeper, intuitive response.
The capacity to tolerate minor discomfort is a superpower. It’s shocking to realise how readily we set aside even our greatest ambitions in life, merely to avoid easily tolerable levels of unpleasantness. You already know it won’t kill you to endure the mild agitation of getting back to work on an important creative project; initiating a difficult conversation with a colleague; asking someone out; or checking your bank balance – but you can waste years in avoidance nonetheless. (This is how social media platforms flourish: by providing an instantly available, compelling place to go at the first hint of unease.)
The advice you don’t want to hear is usually the advice you need. I spent a long time fixated on becoming hyper-productive before I finally started wondering why I was staking so much of my self-worth on my productivity levels. What I needed wasn’t another exciting productivity book, since those just functioned as enablers, but to ask more uncomfortable questions instead.
The future will never provide the reassurance you seek from it. As the ancient Greek and Roman Stoics understood, much of our suffering arises from attempting to control what is not in our control. And the main thing we try but fail to control – the seasoned worriers among us, anyway – is the future. We want to know, from our vantage point in the present, that things will be OK later on. But we never can. (This is why it’s wrong to say we live in especially uncertain times. The future is always uncertain; it’s just that we’re currently very aware of it.)
It’s freeing to grasp that no amount of fretting will ever alter this truth. It’s still useful to make plans. But do that with the awareness that a plan is only ever a present-moment statement of intent, not a lasso thrown around the future to bring it under control. The spiritual teacher Jiddu Krishnamurti said his secret was simple: “I don’t mind what happens.” That needn’t mean not trying to make life better, for yourself or others. It just means not living each day anxiously braced to see if things work out as you hoped.
The solution to imposter syndrome is to see that you are one. When I first wrote about how useful it is to remember that everyone is totally just winging it, all the time, we hadn’t yet entered the current era of leaderly incompetence (Brexit, Trump, coronavirus). Now, it’s harder to ignore. But the lesson to be drawn isn’t that we’re doomed to chaos. It’s that you – unconfident, self-conscious, all-too-aware-of-your-flaws – potentially have as much to contribute to your field, or the world, as anyone else.
Humanity is divided into two: on the one hand, those who are improvising their way through life, patching solutions together and putting out fires as they go, but deluding themselves otherwise; and on the other, those doing exactly the same, except that they know it. It’s infinitely better to be the latter (although too much “assertiveness training” consists of techniques for turning yourself into the former).
Remember: the reason you can’t hear other people’s inner monologues of self-doubt isn’t that they don’t have them. It’s that you only have access to your own mind.
Selflessness is overrated. We respectable types, although women especially, are raised to think a life well spent means helping others – and plenty of self-help gurus stand ready to affirm that kindness, generosity and volunteering are the route to happiness. There’s truth here, but it generally gets tangled up with deep-seated issues of guilt and self-esteem. (Meanwhile, of course, the people who boast all day on Twitter about their charity work or political awareness aren’t being selfless at all; they are burnishing their egos.)
If you’re prone to thinking you should be helping more, that’s probably a sign that you could afford to direct more energy to your idiosyncratic ambitions and enthusiasms. As the Buddhist teacher Susan Piver observes, it’s radical, at least for some of us, to ask how we’d enjoy spending an hour or day of discretionary time…. And the irony is that you don’t actually serve anyone else by suppressing your true passions anyway. More often than not, by doing your thing – as opposed to what you think you ought to be doing – you kindle a fire that helps keep the rest of us warm.
📲🧑🏽🤝🧑🏻 #followerthings
^Paul Graham’s take on the Coinbase mission… one of the tech industry’s leading voices and one of my mentors (from afar)
^Found this data pretty interesting…
📚⏯️🎤 #otherthings
With my favorite month of the year coming up (but not because I was born in October or anything), it just felt right to make a playlist. I will continue to add to it over the coming weeks, but give it a listen/follow if you’re feelin’ musical.
FALL FLOW 10/20: The playlist has more of an overall chill flow vibe, with some of my timeless favorites sprinkled in. It only felt right to name it ‘fall flow’ given this being the year of ebbs and flows… 2020 has been a balancing act for many of us no doubt.
Give it a listen 👂, fade out, and find yo’ flow.
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Stay safe out there. Peace and love to all y’all.
Curiously,
-Block
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About me:
My friends call me Block. I am the CSO & Cofounder at Alkemi.Network, a company focused on bridging digital finance for institutions. This newsletter is my passion project.
I am endlessly curious and blissfully dissatisfied. I love new ideas, obsessed with all things technology, and am always seeking to broaden my perspective while striving for balance, of course.
I am a futurist, investor, entrepreneur, builder, advisor, life long learner, hockey player, traveler, podcast addict, hip-hop head, e-newsletter junkie, event planner, and comedic-short producer. Follow me on Twitter here and Instagram here.
“Find a question that makes the world interesting.” - Paul Graham