blog / blogchains / the-quarantined-independent

The Quarantined Independent

A new blogchain on surviving a global pandemic as an indie

A faster, looser and rougher counterpoint to my book project as I put that on pause and focus on staying alive as an independent in the middle of a global pandemic…

  1. The Quarantined Independent

    Written on 8 April 2020.

    2. For the past few years I’ve been writing a book, serializing the posts on my blog: The Strategic Independent. I’ve always thought of this book as trying to be a “201” level reference - useful for those who already figured out the basics. It contains things like how to effectively embed yourself inside client organizations, balancing strategy...

  2. After Peacetime

    Written on 13 April 2020.

    3. There’s a bunch of discussion right now about the peacetime CEO / wartime CEO mental model (for example here). For those not familiar, from Ben Horowitz at A16Z: Ben Horowitz in Peacetime CEO/Wartime CEO - Andreessen Horowitz

  3. Collective Narratives & Sensemaking in Uncertainty

    Written on 30 April 2020.

    4. In my last post in this blogchain I said that one of the ways to navigate uncertainty was through sensemaking - and that the only way to run sensemaking in times of uncertainty is through group efforts - diverse voices combining, sparring & mingling with tight feedback loops. Well - today is the public launch of The Yak...

  4. The Challenges of Remote Consulting

    Written on 6 May 2020.

    5. Being a remote consultant is tough. I’ll be honest, I’m having a hard time being as effective as usual. There’s three core issues I’m seeing with remote consulting: Lack of business context Lack of improv people context Faster planning cycles I’m going to walk through them and see if we can find solutions together… 1. Lack of...

  5. Can Calendly Unbundle NYC?

    Written on 26 June 2020.

    6. Venkatesh from ArtofGig is examining his own consulting practice and recently wrote this (subscribers only - but I highly recommend subscribing): What exactly is the value of being able to take a lot of casual, serendipitous, impromptu meetings with potential clients? And how does this equation change due to the pandemic-related travel freeze,...