#19: Do you keep a beginner's mindset?
As we grow older and gain more experience, it's easy to believe we know it all.
Hey friends,
In this edition, I will talk about:
my mini-vacation
cultivating a beginner’s mindset
3 posts I liked
a breathing technique for relaxation
my favorite questions for interviews
1/ Days off and festivals
It was a chill week, as Tuesday was a public holiday in Romania (St. Mary), I also had Friday and Monday off, and it was a good time to rest. It was not only rest, though, as we went to a festival outside Bucharest called Summerwell.
It’s probably my favorite festival; it was the 11th edition, I think, and I’ve been going almost every year since the 2nd.
It was fun. We hung out with some friends, ate some street food, drank some beers, and listened to some good music. I particularly like this festival as it is a chill, family-type one. It’s in a sort of park, and you have a lot of green places and lawns where you can just put a blanket down and sit.
“A festival like a holiday” was the motto, but it felt like a picnic to me.
It was also a delight to see Florence and the Machine live again, and they put on a great show, again. I love the band, and Florence really has a hypnotizing presence.
It was fun and all, but somehow we managed to get home on the first night at 3:30 AM, and this kind of messed up my schedule for the next few days.
As I’m training almost every day in the gym and doing at least 3 runs a week, a bad night's sleep has its effects on my recovery.
So Saturday we got home earlier, before 11 PM, and I could go to bed a lot earlier.
This helped me run 13K on Sunday, which is the longest I’ve ever run.
Even though I won’t be able to run the half-marathon, at least I am breaking my record every week.
I learned several years ago that I should focus more on the process than on the outcomes.
From Sunday to Tuesday, we just chilled, went to a massage place, visited relatives, and went out with friends.
I needed these days as we didn’t have a proper vacation all summer, and this should keep us energized until we go on our honeymoon next month.
2) Cultivating a beginner’s mindset
It’s easy for us, as leaders, to become closed-minded.
As we gain experience, assumptions, pride, and politics can all promote an “expert” mindset. We “know it all”. This leads to complacency and a lack of innovation.
That’s why the most effective leaders adopt a continuous “beginner’s mind,” no matter their level of experience.
A "beginner's mind is an attitude of openness, curiosity, and lack of preconceptions. It enables rapid learning and connection with your team.
Not to mention that it makes us more empathic.
But it’s not easy to have this attitude.
Because, as Ryan Holiday’s book says, “ego is the enemy”. We often find ourselves looking for confirmation rather than discussion.
Because of our hard work and other circumstances, we get into a position of authority, and we think we are the only ones who are right.
We stop listening. We stop wondering. We stop doubting.
So, what can we do to cultivate a beginner’s mind?
Ask lots of questions, especially “why”. Don’t assume you know it all already.
Admit when you don’t know; remind yourself and others that you don’t have all the answers. This honesty and transparency will be highly appreciated.
Seek critical feedback. Ask others for constructive critiques of your leadership and behavior.
Spend time with those less experienced; their perspectives will challenge your assumptions.
Engage in learning outside your field. Explore completely unrelated areas to spark new neural connections.
Reflect on your mistakes and vulnerabilities. Analyze failures and areas for improvement without ego.
Approach tasks as if for the first time. Don’t rely on old formulas. Find new solutions.
“When you look at something through a new lens, you see opportunities that were always there but you never recognized.”
Jeff Bezos
Stay humble, curious, and committed to continuous growth.
3/ 3 Posts I liked
3 tweets or LinkedIn posts that made me think, educated me or amused me over the last week
Companies want to leverage the online presence of their employees
These free leadership courses from Ivy League universities
A quick trick to build wealth:
4/ The 4-7-8 breathing method
I’ve been trying this for a few days, and it seems to work.
The 4-7-8 breathing method is a simple yet powerful relaxation technique that can help reduce stress, anxiety and improve sleep. It was developed by Dr. Andrew Weil and involves regulating your breathing to stimulate the body's relaxation response.
To practice the technique, start by placing the tip of your tongue against the ridge behind your upper front teeth. Keep it there for the whole exercise. Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whooshing sound. Then close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of 4. Hold your breath for a count of 7. Exhale completely through your mouth, making a whooshing sound to a count of 8. This is one breath cycle. Repeat the cycle 3 more times for a total of 4 breaths. Make sure to inhale and exhale gently without straining. Perform the exercise daily whenever you feel stressed or before bedtime to promote relaxation and sleep.
The video is very funny, as it seems it worked better for the dog.
Let me know how it goes ;)
5/ My own favorite piece of content
I’ve decided to write one piece of long-form content every day for a while, either a Thread or a long post.
This was my favorite for the week:
I have interviewed hundreds of people in my 16-year career in Tech.
I like to challenge them and see how their minds work.
Here are my top interview questions (with their expected answers):
Q1: Why are manhole covers round?
A: Manhole covers are round because a circular shape is the only one that cannot fall through its own opening. This makes them easier to manufacture, handle, and place back in position.
Q2: How many basketballs can fit in a school bus?
A: The candidate needs to estimate the volume of the bus, the free space and then divide it by the volume of the basketball.
This is similar to Jeff Bezos' question about the cost of cleaning all the windows in Seattle.
Q3: How many times does a clock's minute hand overlap with its hour hand in a day?
A: This is a logical/math question, and most people will say it's 24.
But the correct answer is 22, as between 11:00 and 1:00, the hour hand is moving too quickly for the minute hand to catch up.
Q4: If you could only choose three people to travel to Mars, how would you decide?
A: Not a right or wrong answer, but you can watch the candidates' reasoning when it comes to creating a team diverse enough to survive in those conditions.
Q5: How much does the Internet weigh?
A: There are two possible answers here.
The first is that the Internet doesn't have a physical form, so it doesn't have weight.
The second could estimate the weight of all the data centers and connected devices.
The first answer is enough.
Q6: How many barbers are there in London?
A: Again, an estimation game, taking into consideration the number of people in London and how often they go to the barbers.
Q7: If you were a kitchen appliance, what would you be and why?
A: This will give you insights into what the candidate thinks about himself/herself and his/her best traits.
Q8: How would you price a chocolate bar?
A: Especially for the marketing and sales guys. They need to take into consideration the price of the ingredients, the packaging, and the whole distribution and selling system of a product.
Q9: How does a hotel room get cleaned in under an hour?
A: By following a specific process and using efficient methods.
This question makes the candidate think about optimizing processes in their day-to-day work.
Q10: How would you decrease traffic congestion in a major city?
A: Another one for the candidate to think about implementing the right system to make a process more efficient.
• denying car access
• improved traffic lights system
• better prices for public transportation
Thank you for reading, and let me know if you liked something in particular in this newsletter.
Until next time,
Leo
P.S.: If you would like to read my content on a daily basis, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter and Linkedin.
P.S. 2: If you want to take your Productivity to the next level, check out my extensive Productivity course that can accelerate your career.