Kubernetes
I had a coffee chat with Sophia today, we got talking about Kubernetes, and I shared this comic that actually explains pretty well what the 'open source container orchestration system'.
I find it interesting how polished Google's more recent open source efforts are, with serious marketing budgets. Another project that had a huge launch (though not as much fanfare these days) was Tensorflow. I wonder if this was the lesson from having come up with MapReduce, but see the technology popularized as Hadoop instead?
Content: International Committee of the Red Cross
This article came to the top of the list on what next to feature. It highlights the delicate balance between maintaining confidentiality to help those in need, against exposing the morally-corrupt but risking access in future missions (enclosed below).
What I didn't pick up as prominently on the first reading was how the founder of Médecins Sans Frontières came out of ICRC, with the goal of creating an organization that combined relief with advocacy.
Content: Life in Mono
I can't remember where I first heard this. How apt given the song sets a wistful mood.
Content: Yassin Falafel
OK I'm going to gush about Square again, though it's a timely refrain of the theme of adapting to an adopted homeland (Farouk al-Kasim of a previous post).
Seriously, though, I was blown away when I watched this.
Content: The Ride of a Lifetime
The first book I listened to on Audible was Bob Iger's biography. In general I've not been a fan of this genre; biographies I've read in the past have narratives that go on and on about how this person was destined to be successful, all the stars align. In this one, I recall he worked hard and treated people with respect. I remember an honest and candid retelling of his rise to the top, where in no way was the path assured.
The Ride of a Lifetime and Shoe Dog - I'd love to find more books like these. I recorded this exact quote on my phone so I could replay it again and again.
A company’s culture is shaped by a lot of things, but this is one of the most important - you have to convey your priorities clearly and repeatedly. In my experience, it’s what separates great managers from the rest. If leaders don’t articulate their priorities clearly, then the people around them don’t know what their own priorities should be. Time and energy and capital get wasted. People in your organization suffer unnecessary anxiety because they don’t know what they should be focused on. Inefficiency sets in, frustration builds up, morale sinks.
You can do a lot for the morale of the people around you (and therefore the people around them) just by taking the guesswork out of their day-to-day life.