Ride The Horse

As a leader, it is important to not lose sight of the skills that got you to where you are today. The quote “don’t be a cavalry captain who can’t ride a horse” highlights the importance of staying grounded in practical skills, even as you take on new responsibilities. This is especially true in the constantly evolving field of technology, where it is easy to get caught up in high-level strategic thinking and forget the nuts and bolts of actually writing code.

For myself, I have found it helpful to make a conscious effort to stay hands-on and maintain my technical skills. One way I have done this is by regularly sharing short videos introducing sample python code with the public through a YouTube playlist.

Not only does this help me stay up-to-date with new developments in the field, but it also allows me to stay creative and challenge myself to think about problems in new ways.

In addition to the personal benefits of keeping my technical skills sharp, there are also practical advantages to being able to “ride the horse” as a leader. Having a strong foundation in the technical aspects of my work allows me to better understand the challenges and opportunities facing my team, and to effectively communicate with and support them. It also allows me to be a more credible and effective leader, as I am able to directly contribute to the work being done rather than just overseeing it from a distance.

In conclusion, it is important for leaders to remember the importance of maintaining hands-on skills and not becoming too removed from the practical aspects of their work. As the saying goes, “don’t be a cavalry captain who can’t ride a horse.” By staying grounded in the technical skills that got us to where we are today, we can better understand and support our teams, and continue to be effective and credible leaders in our field.

글로벌시대의 병신

머리에는 다저스 모자 눌려있고

가슴에는 아이팟을 걸고 있으며

별다방이나 던킨에서 모여 앉아

외국생활 경험을 이야기하거나

외국말을 얼마쯤 지껄이는 자가

어찌 글로벌시대의 인재라 할 수 있겠는가

이는 글로벌시대의 실패작도 아니고

글로벌시대의 쓰레기도 아니다

Globalization이란 헛바람에 날려서 마음속에

주견도 없는 한낱 글로벌시대의 병신이다.

 

- 2007/05/18 17:37 <이재왕의 디지털 錄> 중에서

Why Do Top Talent Choose To Work for a Startup?

For startups, interviewing software engineers is as hard for hiring managers as it is for jobseekers. That is because it is a two-way street. Startups are looking for a very particular type of talent. On the other side, there are specific elements that lead talent to want to work for a startup in the first place. Engineers interviewing with startups are often looking for a particular type of organization, role, and workplace culture. However, a lack of clear information often makes this process more complicated than necessary. The more startups understand what drives candidates to consider this type of employment, the better chance they will have to find the right fit.

My view on building the right team and a thriving company have changed over time. That has been due to multiple failures and a few lucky wins. I recently had a chance to reflect on all this with other startup leaders.

"Build the best team possible."

I recently received an invitation to join a Clubhouse event focused on the topic of startups and hiring. Over 250 people listened in with speakers including early days ex-Uber launchers and a friend of mine who created the very first AT&T developer relations program. When the floor was opened for discussion, we all got to hear several different views on hiring from the perspective of candidates.

There was much reflection on the question of what a candidate looks for when choosing a startup to interview with and eventually work for. Several factors were mentioned that potential recruits look at. They included the TC (total compensation), company culture, and the background of the founders. Following that, some of the event's speakers and audience members who were hiring managers shared from the other perspective. What became clear is that finding better ways to communicate the right information between candidates and hiring managers may better bridge the gap in the interview and hiring process.

"How far does a startup go to hire top talent?"

Obviously, not all startups are funded with venture capital. So not every hiring manager has access to an unlimited expense account or the backing of a People and Talent team. Not every recruitment effort needs that level of finance and effort. Still, are startups doing the right things to find the right fit?

Andrew Kim shared a fascinating statistic with the audience. When searching for new talent, it takes approximately 3-5 seconds for someone from the HR team to screen the first batch of resumes. That is a cursory look compared to the time that some candidates put into perfecting them. Still, I wouldn't be surprised if fellow software engineers spend about the same amount of time skimming through each job opening on LinkedIn. Touché.

What does all this mean?

The two-way street of hiring comes down to communications. Perhaps, for hiring managers, taking the time to draft a unique and personalized job description would go a long way for a startup. Maybe candidates would take more than a few seconds to review it if they believed it wasn't another carbon-copied template. As for the job seeker, making their resume more useful to the hiring manager by highlighting specific problems and challenges one has solved in her/his career could help. Apparently, video resumes are becoming more popular and can add a new dimension to the review process.

Alex Donn reminded the audience of something that goes easily forgotten for candidates: know what you value. This is critical before beginning the search process, and it is vital throughout the hiring process. Your values are quite different from your market value. Ironically, I believe the latter is more spoken about and discussed. Understanding your own values prepares you to make a better decision about the jobs you seek to pursue. Also, candidates with clear values make the role of the hiring manager a lot clearer, especially for startups.

Great opportunities find top talent - and vice versa. When these two meet, I believe it is due to the alignment of vision, value, and priorities. Startups and engineers need to understand their own unique values. Startups are relatively risky, but candidates know that. They also know that startups create a unique opportunity for growth. Great startups need the talent to get things done and also to make critical decisions. As a result, top talent is given a chance to make complex and mission-critical decisions and grow at a rate not always possible at an established organization.

Yes, startups have risks, but they can also provide comparable rewards, and candidates know that risks also apply to joining a corporation if you are not clear about what you are seeking. Still, if candidates are simply focused on finding a job with better pay and more flexible office hours, they may not find their home with a startup.

Find your rocket ship.

My reading list for 2021

The Culture Map: Breaking Through the Invisible Boundaries of Global Business --by Erin Meyer

How Asia Works Success and Failure in the World's Most Dynamic Region --by Joe Studwell

Caste The Lies That Divide Us --by Isabel Wilkerson

The Rules of Contagion Why Things Spread - and Why They Stop --by Adam Kucharski

The Age of Surveillance Capitalism The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power --by Shoshana Zuboff

Weapons of Math Destruction How Big Data Increases Inequality and Threatens Democracy --by Cathy O'Neil

The Four Steps to the Epiphany --by Steve Blank

The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success --by William N. Thorndike

The Philosophy of Success

Christian Ziege is a retired German football legend and is currently the Head Coach for FC Pinzgau Saalfelden. He started his playing career at Bayern Munich, where he won two Bundesliga titles and a UEFA Cup before moving to A.C. Milan, winning an Italian Scudetto.

His career as a professional footballer went through Bayern Munich (1990-1997), A.C. Milan (1997-1999), Middlesbrough (1999-2000), Liverpool F.C. (2000-2001), Tottenham Hotspur (2001-2004) and returned to Germany with Borussia Mönchengladbach in June 2004 before announcing his retirement in October 2005. I had the privilege to watch Christian Ziege play during the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea. Aside from his play on the field, his mohawk was one of the most memorable World Cup haircuts of all time.

The audio recording is from a recent call with coach Christian Ziege. He spoke about his philosophy of success, which I believe applies to sports and beyond. In a similar case, I think many startups fail due to lack of teamwork and lack of transparency more so than due to lack of financial capital—something to remind ourselves as entrepreneurs.

"I'm talking about the greenkeeper, the owners, about the board, about the coach, the assistant coach, the players, the guy who's washing the clothes. If you want to reach something, if you want to have success in this club, and this is all we want to have. We all have to stick together and go in the same direction."

Stay in the deep end.

Taekwondo and me

I started learning Taekwondo (a Korean martial art) at an early age. Taekwondo had taught me numerous amount of lessons as a competitive athlete but also those applicable to my life in general. And now that I look back - as I celebrated my 40th last week - it wasn't the gold medals that helped mold and shape me into the person I am today.

In 1992, I received an invitation to the USA Taekwondo Junior State Championship held in Ohio. Even before arriving at the arena, I felt confident that my competitions were no match for me. My games were in Sparring and Poomsae (also referred to as "forms") during the event. Without a doubt, Sparring was my thing even though I was a light kid back then. So I competed in the FIN weight class, which is for those not exceeding 54kg. As one can imagine, height and reach are crucial in Sparring matches. Unfortunately, I was not only light but also very small in stature. That didn't bother me because I knew I had speed. 

Then came the gold medal match. My final opponent was a tall skinny white kid. From the beginning of the gold medal match, my opponent was utilizing his long legs to block and cut away most of my attacks. I was frustrated and felt the opponent was playing dirty. I eventually lost the match due to the mercy rule. I cried my way home and cried even more after returning. I ended up taking two silver medals that year, but I was neither satisfied nor happy with my results. What made it even sadder was the fact that I didn't realize who my real opponent was.

The following year, I was fortunate enough to receive yet another invitation to the same event. Long story short - I took home two gold medals during the 1993 USA Taekwondo Junior State Championship. What was the difference? Ego. I destroyed my ego before getting killed by my opponent on the other side of the floor. I was more self-aware. I knew what I was able to do, but more importantly, I didn't guess what I did not know.


Most of my repeated mistakes or failures probably occurred due to my ego and lack of self-awareness, which applies to my entrepreneurial journey. In 2013, when I moved to Austin Texas to start my next startup company, a mentor and now a good friend had asked me an important question which I will carry with me for the rest of my life on this planet.

"Why are you here?"

I ask myself this question even today. Do I know why I am doing the thing that I am about to do? Am I going to regret my decision today when I look back after another 40 years?

Keeping myself self-aware has brought me more joy, happiness, and satisfaction than any success on the surface. And I believe as long as I can continue to ask myself that simple question, I should be good to go.

Taekwondo is a Korean martial art, a competitive sport, and a method of maintaining all-around fitness, including mental well-being. And this sport has not only disciplined me physically but also brought me down to earth to keep my ego at bay.

Be the humble beast.

Data visualization of the Austrian Regionalliga

The Austrian Regionalliga (which means Regional League) is the third-highest division in Austrian football, after the Austrian Bundesliga and the Second League. It is divided into three groups: East (Ost), covering the states of Vienna, Lower Austria and Burgenland; Central (Mitte), covering the states of Styria, Carinthia, Upper Austria and the exclave of East Tyrol; and Eliteliga West, covering the states of Salzburg, Tyrol (with the exception of East Tyrol) and Vorarlberg.

--from Wikipedia

Here's a data visualization demo of Regionalliga division leaders from 2019/2020 season.

초라한 일상

In 2004, 2XJC the indie rap group from South Korea was invited to perform during the Autumn Hi Seoul Festival. After 16 years, the song 초라한 일상 which was showcased in front of a live audience has been released via several popular music streaming services. This version of 초라한 일상 was the first take from a home studio recording using a single Shure SM58 microphone.


Here are the lyrics to 초라한 일상.

--

늘 그렇듯 하루를 마칠 이런 시간되면 마치 만신창이
꼴로 꿀을 찾아 헤매다 보면

어느 새 저기 날아가는 쪽 새 어느 세월 따라잡지라는 생각 
날 조여와 족쇄 채워진 난 벙어리가 돼

이렇게 한참을 쫓다 지붕만 쳐다 봐 닭 쫓던 강아지의 심정
이젠 정말 내 심정 쉴새없이 날아드는 총알 견제구를 피해 

2루 넘 봐 쉽지 않아 가끔 난 run down 걸리기도 해
그래도 결코 포기할 순 없는 나만의 것 위해 기도해

나만의 삶이란 단지 생존 게임 너머 어떤 의미 찾아 달려
오르막에선 힘이 딸려 허나 쉬고 다시 뛰려면 다리가 풀려!

내 머릿 속 난 이미 저만치갔어 home steal 노리네
허나 몸에선 노린내 털어내려 애써 땀내
사람들의 오감의 정의 나는 한낱 주정뱅이 노숙자!

물에 빠진 생쥐 마냥 그게 모냐 대체 모냐
너희 부모님이 너 그러고 다니는 거 아시냐 모르시냐

표정과 시선으로 내게 말해- 사람들 가득찬 도시의 거린 미어터져
무작정 달리고 싶은 나는 속이 터져 목이 터져라 외쳐
내가 만든 rhyme 과 flow는 내 삶의 탈출구

그러므로 너희는 쉬지말고 랩하라 rhyme이 끊기는 순간
초라한 일상으로의 다시 회귀 허나 너무 슬퍼 하지마 누구도 예외일 순 없지

일상이란 신이 아닌 우리 인간 존재가 짊어진 업보 어쩌면 선물
앞과 뒤가 다른 우리 삶의 음과 양 이 모든 진리 함축한
동전 한 닢 위에 웃고 계신 충무공의 백원짜리 힘껏 집어 던져

아프리카에선 열 개 사네 축구공 내 주머닛 속 충무공
모두 모아 떨이 지하철에 아주머니 겸손하게 내민 주머니

작은 동전 한 닢에 웃고 우는 세상이란 희극일지 비극일까 아님 복걸복일까
생각하며 걸어가다 뛰어가 날 순 없을까

지난밤 꿈 처럼 세상에 모든 코흘리개들의 꿈처럼
그 철없던 시절 꿈이 나를 만들어

이렇게 마음대로 freestyle rap을 하면서 
머릿 속에 한껏 활개치는 망상의 날개를 그대로 읊어 대면서

초라한 일상에 한편에 단편의 단상을 마치네

Hyun-Jin Ryu's contract is one of the biggest ever inked by the Toronto Blue Jays

For those who follow Major League Baseball, some of you might have heard the news that the Toronto Blue Jays have signed left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu to a four-year, $80 million contract. This contract is one of the biggest ever inked by the organization.

Back in March 2019, there was an article on bleacherreport.com ranking the top starting pitchers. However, Hyun-Jin Ryu was not mentioned in this article amongst the top 25 pitchers heading into the 2019 season.

  • Patrick Corbin 
  • Zack Greinke 
  • Chris Sale 
  • Kyle Hendricks 
  • Trevor Bauer 
  • Carlos Carrasco 
  • Mike Clevinger 
  • Corey Kluber 
  • Kyle Freeland 
  • German Marquez 
  • Gerrit Cole 
  • Justin Verlander 
  • Walker Buehler 
  • Clayton Kershaw 
  • Jose Berrios 
  • Jacob deGrom 
  • Noah Syndergaard 
  • Zack Wheeler 
  • Luis Severino 
  • Aaron Nola 
  • Jameson Taillon 
  • Madison Bumgarner 
  • Miles Mikolas 
  • Blake Snell 
  • Max Scherzer

So... I wanted to visualize the outcome of 2019 season and see if the data could possibly tell us a different story. This blog post is by-no-means an attempt to prove a point or to defend the quality of Hyun-Jin Ryu's contract.

Hyun-Jin Ryu's 2019 season data was added to a graphical chart along with the other top 25 pitchers mentioned from the bleacherreport.com article.


My reading list for 2020

That Will Never Work: The Birth of Netflix and the Amazing Life of an Idea by Marc Randolph

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson

The Manual: A Philosopher's Guide to Life by Epictetus

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know about the People We Don't Know by Malcolm Gladwell

What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture by Ben Horowitz

Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business by Paul Jarvis

Alchemy: The Surprising Power of Ideas That Don't Make Sense by Rory Sutherland

The Future of Management by Gary Hamel

Do Better Work: Finding Clarity, Camaraderie, and Progress in Work and Life by Max Yoder

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

Homo Deus: A History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari