📺 Watch this episode on YouTube. Dima shares his longing for the necessary details and the right level of abstraction, while Slava tries to persuade him that all the details aren't always necessary and everything can be fine anyway. Dima's knowing-doing gap in working on the theme Is lack of specificity really a problem and when? Level of details is what matters, but are all the details always necessary? Understanding of the details shows even an high level of abstraction Details...

📺 Watch this episode on YouTube. From the discussion it is not entirely clear if Dima and Slava talk about procrastination that gets in the way of them accomplishing creative endeavours or all the creative they find to postpone working on hard and important things. Dima did a bit of research on "Lord of the Rings" and J. R. R. Tolkien and he came to appreciate the amount of effort and rigor that went into creation of that fantasy universe Dima also read "Some Desperate Glory" by Emily...

📺 Watch this episode on YouTube. Dima and Slava play literary critics and discuss "Starter Villain" – a book by John Scalzi. Biweekly 32: We Are Bob All Biweekly bookclub episodes on the site and on YouTube Other books by John Scalzi Lock In series: Lock In and Head On Fuzzy Nation The Kaiju Preservation Society Other books Dima and Slava enjoyed Permutation City by Greg Egan Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

📺 Watch this episode on YouTube. Dima and Slava discuss different facets of having fun, discover the golden pentagon of productive state of mind, and nearly form a consultancy to preach that around the world. Theme's corner: times flies Is "leisure" the same as "rest"? Is having fun while working on something important to achieve great results? Slava: "Having fun is overrated." Internet: Having Fun Won’t Make You Happy Create space for having fun however you do that Here's why you...

Slava shares his latest idea and initiative to create a space for EdTech companies to talk and work together on socially important projects. Dima, naturally, gets to ask questions to test the thinking.

📺 Watch this episode on YouTube. Dima and Slava have read "How Minds Change" by David McRaney and discuss how relatively diverse set of stories come (or do not come) together to give a practical framework for influencing others. Follow-up: do not sabotage your future self! A book or a collection of stories? Deep canvassing method appears to have connections to best practices in business communication We do not experience reality directly – our constructs reality for us Assimilation...

📺 Watch this episode on YouTube. Dima and Slava talk about distractions, different ways to categorize them, and discuss how to prevent any kind of distraction from derailing an otherwise productive day. Follow-up on Brazilian education system: Feynman was not wrong Theme corner: Dima's year of next Dima's classification of distractions True distractions Digressions Diversions Slava's classification of task Apples Broccoli Eggs Office distractions vs. home...

📺 Watch this episode on YouTube. Dima and Slava discuss their experiences with LLMs, Slava's recent forays into trainings on using AI technologies, and prophecies about the future of AI, some of which were probably generated with the help of AI. Theme corner: Slava's hierarchy of themes AI sells. At least currently Large Language Model Statistics And Numbers (2024) Slava's AI ghost writer What are the use case where GenAI is most helpful? Are junior developers threatened by...

📺 Watch this episode on YouTube Dima and Slava have read and now discuss "Surely you're joking, Mr. Feynman!", a memoir by the renowned theoretical physicist Richard Feynman. Both Dima and Slava were impressed by style that was simple and easy going How true is the story is the story about Brazilian educational system? Seems legit Biweekly #16: Culture Map Feynman's foray into art and connecting hard science and humanities was especially interesting for Dima Slava was moved by...

📺 Watch this episode on YouTube Dima and Slava discuss whether focusing on working faster can translate into improvements in the quality of the produced results and why or why not this may be the case. Podcast Focused Book Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking Dima's idea of "everything can be done in two weeks" Are fast iterations always possible? Is moving fast only about iterations? Feedback function is important for learning Biweekly 36: How...

📺 Watch this episode on YouTube Slava started a new podcast called STRATsphere Talks about all things strategizing. In this episode Dima and Slava discuss thinking behind this new endeavor and learning after launching first episodes of the new podcast. Follow-up The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York The 99% Invisible Power Broker Book Club STRATsphere Talks Podcast Differences between ongoing podcasts, like Biweekly, and limited series "Continuity" in...

Dima and Slava read the book about how big things get done and discuss where they agree and disagree with the author and what they've learned from the book and from talking about it. Discombobulation continues: Discombobulated by Eminem Dima's struggles with ultra fine Pilot G-2 pens How Big Things Get Done Challenges with examples for something as multi-faceted as big projects Understanding the true goal of the project is critically important for the success of the project Ides...

📺 Watch this episode on YouTube. Dima contemplates getting work done on projects that are not immediate top priority and Slava points out that there is nothing wrong with pushing, as long as it is done in a considerate way. Dima's theme corner Difficult inroads into meditation with Headspace Free-form theme journaling Can projects really be important but not urgent? Enshittification of the Internet Struggles of leading a second priority project Reverse psychology "More power...

Slava wonders about planning ideal weeks and quizzes Dima about his approaches to balancing long-term and short-term and dealing with the unplanned. Discombobulation continues Slava's theme corner Some Bullet Journal videos Minimal Bullet Journal Setup Simple 2024 Bullet Journal Setup Some articles from the Internet about ideal weeks How designing your ideal week can increase your productivity (and sanity) How to Better Control Your Time by Designing Your Ideal Week ...

📺 Watch this episode on YouTube. In the last episode recorded in 2023 Dima and Slava discuss their yearly themes and talk talk what is in cards for them in 2024. Biweekly #9: Themes. 2023 Edition The Theme System Your Theme by CGP Grey Looking back at 2023 themes and laying out themes for 2024 Themes and journaling Seasonal and monthly themes Resting meaningfully and intentionally Visual reminders for themes

📺 Watch this episode on YouTube In this unusual book club episode Dima and Slava depart from their usual business literature repertoire and discuss sci-fi novel "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)". Follow up Dima is fascinated with the word "discombobulated" Challenges of taking notes while on the run "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)" on GoodReads Challenges of human replication, artificial intelligence, self-identification Slava read all the books set in the Bobiverse and Dima tries to...

📺 Watch this episode on YouTube Dima describes his adventures into Zettelkasten and together with Slava they discuss ins and outs of note taking. Follow-up Rely on team to solve teamwork challenges Zettelkasten Method Niklas Luhmann published over 70 books and nearly 400 scholarly articles on variety of subjects Videos about Zettelkasten, Obsidian, and smart notes Zettelkasten Obsidian Workflow How to take smart notes Slava uses Sidekick Notepad Note taking software ...

📺 Watch this episode on YouTube Slava talks about the experience he had facilitating co-creation of L&D course and together with Dima they brainstorm ideas for overcoming challenges Slava encountered. Dima once again tried to pronounce "Birmingham" correctly Baader-Meinhof corner: word "illustrious" L&D Mastery course Collective creativity Points series of events was creative 3 ways a problem and a team shape one another Assemble a team and let it find the best problem...

📺 Watch this episode on YouTube Dima and Slava sit with Viktoria Pysarenko to talk about Vita's experience of attending a transformative experience by Tony Robbins, general idea of such motivational events, and the lessons they teach us. Vita's Instagram What is Unleash the Power Within? Is this a training? Is this an even? Is this a "happening"? If Tony Robbins is a coach, how does coaching work with 12,000 people Physical activities to get the body and the mind in the desired...

Dima and Slava have read the "No Rules Rules" – a book about Netflix's culture of innovation – and now they discuss how and if it can be used to transplant that culture into another organization. No Rules Rules. Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention Biweeklycast #16: Culture Map All of Biweekly bookclub episodes Increasing talent density is a very sound idea Miracle – a 2004 movie about coach Herb Brooks who brought US ice hockey team to winning the 1980 Winter Olympics Another...

📺 Watch this episode on YouTube Dima and Slava set out to discuss transparency as a potential solution to different challenges, but spend most of the time talking about compensation transparency and its challenges and benefits. Follow-up: do managers overdo it out of desire for everything to go smoothly? Focused #185: How to Be Miserable Compensation transparency – disclosure of employee compensation amounts, either among other employees in an organization, to owners, to government...

Dima and Slava sit down to answer questions kindly crafted by ChatGPT and curated by Slava to debug his challenge of managing five projects of different shape and form. According to PMBOK a project is “a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique project service or result.” Questions Slava selected for the discussion out of 50 generated by ChatGPT How to operate when there are 5 priorities? "Working on a project generates more work for that project" Delegation is important....

📺 Watch this episode on YouTube Dima and Slava sit with Anna Krasilnik to talk about the method of nonviolent communication, its applicability to the real-world professional situations, and seemingly sudden popularity of NVC in some circles. aitiology, or etiology Frequency illusion (also known as Baader–Meinhof phenomenon) Nonviolent Communication The book about NVC: Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life. Dima listened to this other book by Marshall Rosenberg Feelings and...

📺 Watch this episode on YouTube Dima and Slava read the book "The Courage To Be Disliked" and discuss individual psychology and its premises, debate to apply those to "real" life, and spot some contradictions on guidelines laid out by the authors.  The Courage To Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga Individual psychology Is the dialog style of the book helpful? Pressure to achieve and the feeling of inferiority "I'm ok. You are ok." Blue ocean [strategy] Dima's...