It’s finally the day before Inauguration. I originally wrote this post on Lucky7, my main blog, on Nov. 14 after it was very clear that the Election had been called. I’ve refreshed it below given what has happened since, with Stop the Steal and the attack on our nation’s Capitol.

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You may be wondering why I haven’t been writing as much on Lucky7 in 2020. Well, I’ve been very busy with data.world but also in campaigning for what would hopefully be a Biden+Harris win over Trump+Pence. I made a New Year’s Resolution to do so, understanding that…

I was debating whether to title this post “The Ultimate Pandemic Workout”, “Maximum Efficiency with Maximum Results”, or something else, but stuck with the thematic of my four-part series on health.

In the first three Parts, I covered:
1. Nutrition (and my vegan power breakfast smoothie recipe)
2. The Cooper Clinic
3. OsteoStrong

Two and a half years ago I had a really traumatic injury the day before the TED 2018 conference in Vancouver. I wrote about it on Facebook:

Last week was a very busy one for me for writing and reflecting. To write is to learn.

I finished my five-part series on leadership during the pandemic in Austin’s definitive cultural magazine, Urbānitūs. I owe a debt of gratitude to the Editor and Co-founder, David Judson, who really brought out the best in me and helped make the series much better. I was also able to work in the historic and tragic events of the week — a week I’ll never forget.

Here are the five, published Urbānitūs articles:
1. Fear
2. Euphoria
3. Depression
4. Acceptance (not surrender)
5. Imagining what lies beyond…

Dear fellow tech CEOs and leaders,

I’m writing to you on this beautiful Sunday in Austin because 2020 has truly been an eye-opening year for me as a long-time tech entrepreneur and CEO. I’ve been founding tech companies and movements since I was 24-years old, and I’ve never thought more about the power of diverse teams than I have this year. 2020 is truly one for the history books on so many levels, including my own personal growth as a leader.

Let me be upfront. My goal in this letter is to help you see what I’ve concluded, and I…

Our son has spent 1.8% of his life hours to date playing Terraria (probably 15% of his life overall on gaming and programming). How do I know 1.8%? Because he calculated it and told me. The 15% overall is a pretty educated guess by me.

And he also just got hired to be a programming tutor and is loving doing that — he’s 11 and is tutoring a 9-year old (who is learning very quickly). That happened as a result of him releasing his first public game and a fellow Austinite taking notice. I asked our son what he wanted…

I woke up early this morning and the first news I read was of Tony Hsieh’s passing last night. It hit me hard — he was only 46-years old. Tony was the long-time CEO of Zappos, only recently retiring in August.

Although I cannot say Tony was a close friend, he was an acquaintance that I had some good history with, most of it indirect. Zappos was one of the original pioneers of customer reviews, which Brant Barton and I decided to bring to the majority of the retail industry when we founded Bazaarvoice (literally named “the voice of the…

In honor of Netflix’s big beat today in the very unfortunate age of COVID-19, I decided to revisit my four-part Bazaarblog series while I was CEO of Bazaarvoice (from our inception in 2005 to our IPO in 2012). The name of the last part? “Netflix vs. Blockbuster: Round Four (Lights Out?)”

First, just to provide a foundation here, Bazaarvoice was named after Chapter 4 of “The Cluetrain Manifesto” (available for free online), “Markets Are Conversations”. I still think it is the best chapter of any book on marketing that I’ve ever read. Bazaarvoice, literally translated, means “the voice of the…

One of the practices that has really helped me as a leader has been the study of Vedanta. It is not a religion (I’m Jewish) but rather a philosophy on how to live a life of happiness. It is all about gaining control over your mind — that your mind is where the secret to happiness really lives. If you would like to dive in, here is a five-minute video on why you may feel so tired “because of your job” to entice you. The great news is that, in these times of COVID-19, their classes are now available online…