Software Lead Weekly
Issue #676, 7th November 2025
This Week's Favorite
Take Weird Ideas Seriously
11 minutes read.
Packy McCormick's post is why "the crazy ones" are those who push the world forward: "Taking weird ideas seriously means that when you encounter an idea – from others, or from insight – that others would dismiss or may never have thought of in the first place, you study it with the same rigor you’d apply to more standard ones. It means not dismissing ideas simply because they’re weird. [...] On an individual level, weird ideas are alpha. I am a true believer in differentiation, for people and for companies. Weird ideas are a source of differentiation. “If you only read the books that everybody else is reading,” wrote Haruki Murakami, “you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” This is particularly true as more people turn their thinking over to AI."
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
11 minutes read.
Packy McCormick's post is why "the crazy ones" are those who push the world forward: "Taking weird ideas seriously means that when you encounter an idea – from others, or from insight – that others would dismiss or may never have thought of in the first place, you study it with the same rigor you’d apply to more standard ones. It means not dismissing ideas simply because they’re weird. [...] On an individual level, weird ideas are alpha. I am a true believer in differentiation, for people and for companies. Weird ideas are a source of differentiation. “If you only read the books that everybody else is reading,” wrote Haruki Murakami, “you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” This is particularly true as more people turn their thinking over to AI."
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Culture
The CTO Watching the CEO Sell a Feature That Doesn’t Exist
1 minutes read.
My humble effort to help you start the weekend with a smile.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
1 minutes read.
My humble effort to help you start the weekend with a smile.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
The Benefits of Bubbles
13 minutes read.
"What Perez got right is that bubbles install physical capacity; what Hobart and Huber added is that they also create cognitive capacity, thanks to everyone pulling in the same direction at the exact same time, based not on fiat, but on a shared belief that this time is different. [...] And meanwhile, there are massive investments by every hyperscaler and a host of startups to make new chips for AI that promise to be cheaper, faster, more efficient, etc. All of these efforts are getting funding in a way they wouldn’t if we weren’t in a bubble." -- In today's AI bubble, there is funding to try risky ideas that can create new waves of innovation and progress. Ben Thompson explains how some bubbles are healthy and why 2025's bubble is important for future growth.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
13 minutes read.
"What Perez got right is that bubbles install physical capacity; what Hobart and Huber added is that they also create cognitive capacity, thanks to everyone pulling in the same direction at the exact same time, based not on fiat, but on a shared belief that this time is different. [...] And meanwhile, there are massive investments by every hyperscaler and a host of startups to make new chips for AI that promise to be cheaper, faster, more efficient, etc. All of these efforts are getting funding in a way they wouldn’t if we weren’t in a bubble." -- In today's AI bubble, there is funding to try risky ideas that can create new waves of innovation and progress. Ben Thompson explains how some bubbles are healthy and why 2025's bubble is important for future growth.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Taste Is a Competitive Advantage
9 minutes read.
As long as humans buy from humans, appealing to emotion has a leverage that often logic cannot capture: "this is why taste wins in the end: not just because it helps you make better decisions (though it does do that); not just because it creates a coherent experience that will delight the people its supposed to (and repel those it is not); but because it becomes a moat that’s impossible for anyone (or anything) to precisely replicate."
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
9 minutes read.
As long as humans buy from humans, appealing to emotion has a leverage that often logic cannot capture: "this is why taste wins in the end: not just because it helps you make better decisions (though it does do that); not just because it creates a coherent experience that will delight the people its supposed to (and repel those it is not); but because it becomes a moat that’s impossible for anyone (or anything) to precisely replicate."
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Peopleware
Kaz Nejatian's Blueprint
4 minutes read.
Kaz Nejatian (CEO of Opendoor) shares his blueprint on his blog, and I hope it will inspire you to develop your own. I created managerreadme.com as a side project because it was important to have a place where you can read philosophical approaches to management and leadership by others.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
4 minutes read.
Kaz Nejatian (CEO of Opendoor) shares his blueprint on his blog, and I hope it will inspire you to develop your own. I created managerreadme.com as a side project because it was important to have a place where you can read philosophical approaches to management and leadership by others.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
I Have a Long-Running List of These Surprises for First-Time Founders and CEOs.
3 minutes read.
"The hardest conversations are never on the calendar. They start with “Got a sec?”" -- painfully true. Hiten Shah shares nine more surprises that founders (and executives) experience and learn to operate.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
3 minutes read.
"The hardest conversations are never on the calendar. They start with “Got a sec?”" -- painfully true. Hiten Shah shares nine more surprises that founders (and executives) experience and learn to operate.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
An 18-Year-Old Reached Out to Me Asking for the Life Advice I’d Give My 18-Year-Old Self. Here Was My Reply:
3 minutes read.
Sahil Bloom wrote a great reply that I'd share with anyone between the ages of 16 and 30, or if you're trying out a new field. Reading and exercise are relevant at any age, but saying yes a lot is critical, especially when you're building credibility and learning more about your unique advantages.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
3 minutes read.
Sahil Bloom wrote a great reply that I'd share with anyone between the ages of 16 and 30, or if you're trying out a new field. Reading and exercise are relevant at any age, but saying yes a lot is critical, especially when you're building credibility and learning more about your unique advantages.
Read it later via Pocket or Instapaper.
Share it via Twitter or email.
Inspiring Tweets
@stijnnoorman: Shamelessly promote your work. Shamelessly promote your ideas. Shamelessly promote your offers. Shamelessly promote your content. Shamelessly promote your products. Nobody else will do it for you.
@drgurner: Warren Buffett once said: "You are only looking for 3 qualities in people (you hire): Enthusiasm, Intelligence, and Integrity." Rare to find all 3. Snag them up.
- Oren
P.S. Can you share this email? I'd love for more people to experiment and improve their company's culture.
P.S. Can you share this email? I'd love for more people to experiment and improve their company's culture.