Subject to self-serving bias, I guiltily attribute success to myself but blame others for a failure. What could be a remedy for that? Some celebrate thanksgiving & others thank heavens.
Thank you for reading
“無論什麼事情，得之於人者太多，出之於己者太少，因為要感謝的人太多了，不如謝天吧！” — 謝天, 陳之藩
“No matter what, people contribute the most, whereas I contribute little. Because there are too many people to thank for, I thank heavens instead.” — Thank heavens, Zhi-Fan Chen
Almost a year ago, I started to write regularly on Medium. I intentionally keep the stories on the paywall. Not that I expect to earn a real fortune from it. Rather, it’s a proxy to measure the value created, and the sharing experience itself is a fortune valuable to me anyway. But to my surprise, Medium has sent me $44 in the past year. Thank you all who are reading. Together with your contribution, I donated $104 to Wikimedia. Wish you & your community happy holidays 🎇.
Adding social capital
“…get the fucking money. I’m serious, do not. Get it. It is going to be made. It is going to be allocated. And, you have a moral imperative to make sure that if you have a point of view that matters. And, you want to reflect it, you get it…” — Money as an Instrument of Change, Chamath Palihapitiya, the founder & CEO Social Capital
Indeed for the better or worse, economic incentive drives the world in a predictable way. Nevertheless, we are currently in a period that money is too cheap to predict the fortune of a venture. For example, the US VCs raised $96B, a record high capital. The mega-deal is the main driver in 2021. However beyond a threshold, too much financial capital could be a distraction. You may be “lucky” enough to have that problem. Even if you are not, your portfolio is always better with a proper mix of financial & social capital. Balancing them right as you go is a skill worth mastering.
Grateful for a better team
Over time, I reckon increasing social capital is a better mental model to build a stronger team. Because in the long run, a stronger team always thrives. Since that, I often preach to colleagues & friends: the additional advantage of working with a good team is not just working with them.
No, I’m not a fan of networking events or team-building exercises. Instead, I prefer to add social capital by connecting the dots, bridging the gaps, or contributing to the causes as we interact with each other. So, you can form an authentic bond and makes the team stronger.
Don’t get me wrong, it should not be an obligation for anyone to fulfill an expectation of others. But, it’s your choice to participate in whatever you care about. Because whenever you are grateful, you will find your way to build a better team personally & professionally.
Full Disclosure
The opinions stated here are my own, not those of my company. They are mostly extrapolations from public information. I don’t have insider knowledge of those companies, nor a whatever expert.
