All in Life

Confidence versus Volume

Confidence versus Volume

Omer Abdullah
Communications, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Personal Codes, Teams

In my last post, I talked about the Signal-to-Noise ratio and its applicability to our personal and professional lives - how we need to be able to look past the noise that we hear to the core signals, so that we can interpret and react to a situation appropriately.

There’s a related idea that Seth Godin highlighted in one of his recent posts that speaks to the idea of confidence versus volume. And that is, that we sometimes conflate the two - implicitly, when it’s coming from others, or explicitly, when we’re the ones doling it out.

Signal-to-Noise Ratio In Our Lives

Signal-to-Noise Ratio In Our Lives

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Communications, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Teams

The Signal-to-noise ratio measures the level of a desired signal to the level of background noise. It’s commonly used in science and engineering applications but, of course, it has as much application in our professional and personal worlds, metaphorically speaking anyway.

When someone close to us emotionally recounts a personal situation and demands that we get involved and do something about it - and we do.

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 63

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 63

Omer Abdullah
Communications, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life

This month's podcast closes out the year with my thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic that's absorbed all of us this year. I'll share my perspectives on how I've assessed this impact and how I interpret its impact going forward.

Today's podcast discusses how we need to adjust our mindset when we think about the idea of progress. It's important to be optimistic, but that also means recognizing that the path forward will have stumbles and setbacks as well.

Analysis or Opinion?

Analysis or Opinion?

Omer Abdullah
Careers, Communications, Life, Personal Codes

So, is that your analysis? Or is that your opinion?

We’ve entered an age when we seem to have conflated the two together. This is most evident in the mainstream media - where you’re either Left or Right, wrong or right, up or down, etc. But it’s not just the mainstream media, it’s as true in so much of our professional and personal lives as well.

This is how we need to be. This is how we need to think. This is how we need to act.

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 62

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 62

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life

This month's podcast closes out the year with my thoughts on the COVID-19 pandemic that's absorbed all of us this year. I'll share my perspectives on how I've assessed this impact and how I interpret its impact going forward.

Today's episode ask the inevitable question of what we can compare this situation to. Of course, there's no easy answer, so I suggest the one thing we can do to maintain some sense of control: act.

Hinkaku

Hinkaku

Omer Abdullah
Careers, Aspirations, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Personal Codes, Teams

To become a Yokozuna (or Grand Champion) in Sumo Wrestling, there are, broadly, two sets of criteria that have to be met.

The first relates - as we might expect - to power and and skill, specifically performance in recent tournaments with a standard of two consecutive championships as an Ozeki (or an equivalent performance). This is reasonably objective, quantifiable criteria, one that is reasonably objectively measurable.

A Few Things To Be Thankful For...

A Few Things To Be Thankful For...

Omer Abdullah
Life

As we celebrate Thanksgiving here in the US, I thought I’d take a moment to share some of the things that I’m thankful for in this strange year that is 2020.

I’m thankful that I got to spend more time with my family, including my son who is a Junior at college. I once read that by the time your kids go to college, you will have spent about 80% of the time you’ll ever spend with them. This year, I got to unexpectedly (and happily) push that percentage up a few points.

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 61

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 61

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Entrepreneurship, Life, Personal Codes

This month's podcasts discusses the idea of happiness. It's such an important ideal and the next few podcasts talk about how we define it, grapple and fight for it, and ultimately, continue to pursue it.

Today's episode closes the month on a philosophical note - the idea that happiness is like Inbox Zero - it is elusive, we will never permanently achieve it, but we shouldn't stop striving for it.

"We Get To Carry Each Other"

"We Get To Carry Each Other"

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Communications, Entrepreneurship, Life, Personal Codes

I was doing an Interval workout on the treadmill recently, following along with an online trainer (i.e. where you alternate bursts of high intensity effort with periods of lower effort).

At one point, having just completed a particularly intense interval, the trainer announced, “Well, that was a tough one. And we get to do that two more times!”

It was a curious choice of words. We get to do that two more times. Not we have to, or we need to. We get to.

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 60

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 60

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Entrepreneurship, Life, Leadership, Personal Codes

This month's podcasts discusses the idea of happiness. It's such an important ideal and the next few podcasts talk about how we define it, grapple and fight for it, and ultimately, continue to pursue it.

In today's episode, I share two thoughts on happiness. The first is about the path to happiness and that it starts with kindness - to ourselves. The second is what happy people are actually like i.e. they aren't assholes.

Run The Problem. Don't Let The Problem Run You

Run The Problem. Don't Let The Problem Run You

Omer Abdullah
Careers, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Personal Codes

One of my favorite quotes is “Own your outcomes”, and speaks to the need for us to take ownership for whatever happens to us.

It doesn’t mean we can control whatever happens to us, because many times we can’t. Things happen, whether we like it or not.

But what we can do is take ownership for our situations, stop complaining or commiserating, and control how we respond. In other words, run the problem and don't let the problem run you.

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 59

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 59

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Life, Personal Codes

This month's podcasts discusses the idea of happiness. It's such an important ideal and the next few podcasts talk about how we define it, grapple and fight for it, and ultimately, continue to pursue it.

Today's episode is from something I wrote about back in 2018, when Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain - two people who had it all - took their own lives. I discuss how happiness is never what it appears to be and that we don't know the roof is leaking until we're on the inside.

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 58

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 58

Omer Abdullah
Life, Personal Codes

This month's podcasts discusses the idea of happiness. It's such an important ideal and the next few podcasts talk about how we define it, grapple and fight for it, and ultimately, continue to pursue it.

Today's episode focuses on how we define happiness, and specifically how it all boils down to expectations. That is, our happiness is always down to us and what we expect.

Intuition And Our Biggest Decisions

Intuition And Our Biggest Decisions

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Entrepreneurship, Life

I like to think I’m a pretty rational guy. That I consider the pros and cons when making decisions. It’s been drilled into me - through college, business school and then consulting - specifically, the need to be balanced, thoughtful and to consider all aspects before deciding on a path. Nothing controversial or unique about that. I’m sure we all think and behave the same way.

But that rationality belies a reality of making decisions that all of us also grapple with: the role of intuition.

We're Less Alone Than We Think

We're Less Alone Than We Think

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Communications, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Teams

I think it’s ingrained in us, this desire to get things done by ourselves. In many ways, it’s a compulsion, and the bigger, more complex the issue, the stronger the desire to go it alone.

It might be an issue of strategy or one of people; a difficult relationship or a complex initiative. When we’re in its ‘throes’, we absorb ourselves in, well, ourselves.

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 57

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 57

Omer Abdullah
Careers, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Teams

This month's podcasts focus on people - the teams we work with, the people we surround ourselves with, and how we should think about them. People make all the difference.

Today's episode focuses on the power and value of community. We weren't meant navigate the world alone, no matter what we might think. And the last few months have shown the value and need for human connection, more than ever before.

Putting Small In Perspective

Putting Small In Perspective

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life, Strategy

There’s a mythology that's built up around the idea of growth that’s only accelerated in this age of on-demand news and ubiquitous social media.

We’re so enamored by the pursuit of growth (and scaling and valuations) that we discount those who aren’t interested in that ethos. That the idea of lifestyle businesses and staying “small” is a “settling” of sorts. That not growing is a failure of some sort - of the idea, the offering and the entrepreneur.

The Key To Solving Big Problems

The Key To Solving Big Problems

Omer Abdullah
Aspirations, Careers, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Life

I moderated a panel discussion this week about the topic of Sustainability, particularly as it relates to the Procurement function within organizations. It’s a big, meaty topic, one that has been getting plenty of airtime over the last decade and much more so in recent years.

And precisely because the subject is so big and meaty, there are many angles to it, many aspects to rethink, many stakeholders to get aligned. And, as a result, there are many actions that can be taken to effect change on this front.

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