Paradox Pairs
  • Paradox Pairs Series
  • Advertising/Privacy
  • TBM
  • Code Archeology
  • About
  • Mastodon
Agency & Resiliency (#86)
Paradox Pairs

Agency & Resiliency (#86)

Reporting shallow statistics about the number of under represented employees tells us nothing. Diversity initiatives fail if they do not fundamentally alter the institutions power relationships.
Read More
James LaPlaine
Adversarial Collaboration (#85)
Paradox Pairs

Adversarial Collaboration (#85)

Break the endless cycle of critique → reply → rejoinder by embracing adversarial collaboration, a method to solve problems more quickly and transparently.
Read More
James LaPlaine
Principles & Analogies (#84)
Paradox Pairs

Principles & Analogies (#84)

Following an established recipe does not make us a chef, it makes us the cook. First principle thinking is the path to expertise — to becoming a chef.
Read More
James LaPlaine
Goals & Kill Criteria (Paradox #83)
Paradox Pairs

Goals & Kill Criteria (Paradox #83)

Completing a goal that is no longer useful is a failure. Use kill criteria to trigger reevaluation of a goal because, once set, goals ignore changes in the landscape and don't always age well.
Read More
James LaPlaine
Sun & Clouds (Paradox Pair #82)
Paradox Pairs

Sun & Clouds (Paradox Pair #82)

If everyday was a perfect day we'd start to become desensitized, eventually once glorious days would no longer inspire us at all.
Read More
James LaPlaine
Snowflakes & Scope (Paradox #81)
Paradox Pairs

Snowflakes & Scope (Paradox #81)

We should build more custom, one-off solutions when our product development lifecycle is in either exploration or growth stages.
Read More
James LaPlaine
Tribes & Identity (Paradox Pair #80)
Paradox Pairs

Tribes & Identity (Paradox Pair #80)

Our identity is not a commodity to be traded or negotiated. Seeking tribes where open-mindedness is valued, who seek constructive feedback, and where we can bring our authentic selves are the only tribes who deserve our membership.
Read More
James LaPlaine
The re-emergence of Contextual Ad Targeting
Advertising

The re-emergence of Contextual Ad Targeting

Ad platforms continue to push the false narrative that behavioral targeting, a mechanism that relies on creepy consumer data collection, is the pinnacle of marketing. Contextual ad targeting offers better results and better protection to publishers, advertisers, and consumers.
Read More
James LaPlaine
Discipline & Freedom (Paradox Pair #79)
Paradox Pairs

Discipline & Freedom (Paradox Pair #79)

Discipline is freedom's collaborator, focusing our attention on administrative tasks at deliberate times, granting us freedom to use the remaining time for our creative pursuits.
Read More
James LaPlaine
Option & Obligation (Paradox Pair #78)
Paradox Pairs

Option & Obligation (Paradox Pair #78)

Our work has many Right Turn on Red (RTOR) moments, where our actions are options not obligations.
Read More
James LaPlaine
Grit & Quit (Paradox Pair #77)
Paradox Pairs

Grit & Quit (Paradox Pair #77)

All obstacles are not equal, and sometimes those obstacles are signposts that we are pursuing the wrong destination altogether.
Read More
James LaPlaine
Kindness & Directness (Paradox Pair #76)
Paradox Pairs

Kindness & Directness (Paradox Pair #76)

Respecting someone so much that you give them candid, constructive feedback, even when delivering that message is hard, is kindness.
Read More
James LaPlaine
Paradox Pairs © 2023
  • Data & privacy
Powered by Ghost