Two sets and a run – No.21
Life updates in card game form
Growing up, I played a ton of cards with my Grandma.
Evelyn Smith (nee Podkul) adored games, so we played a variety of them. All the time. That was my culture.
Looking back, those games shaped me profoundly. When friends point out how I treat life like a game, they surely don’t always mean it as praise – but it is one! We’re here to have fun, and that playful perspective is my Grandma's lasting gift.
One after-dinner game we’d play was International Rummy. For the unacquainted, you’re dealt 12 cards, and you have to make a different hand across 7 rounds – starting with two sets of 3 (6 cards), and ending with three runs of 4 (12 cards and out). Any leftover cards at the end of the round are totaled, and low score overall wins.
I was largely terrible at International Rummy growing up, and my petulance at age 12 was unmatched. I’d quit, demand rule changes, and toss my cards. Everyone hated it. On one teenage occasion, I dropped a hard MF, and my Grandma banned me from the converted bumper pool table. Ah, the memories. I’m so glad I grew up.
Anyway, my favorite hand to compete in was two sets and a run.
Meanwhile, I’m 4 hours into an 11-hour flight home from London, I've shared fuck-all with you in the past year, and there's a lot going on. We need a theme to tie it together, and here we are – two sets and a run.
One set from the work, one from home, and one (magical) run.
The Work
Three brief career notes. Today we’re:
Published
A few years ago, I shared a peek into my time in the research world.
Today, we’ve come full circle with a published piece. In it, we ask:
How do world class research labs bring new folks up to speed?
How do teams return to work from years ago?
How do the foundations of hypertext point to futures of collaboration?
And I’ll be damned, we found some patterns.
With Siyi Zhu as PI, and my long-time collaborators Joel Chan and Rob Haisfield, we synthesized the interviews from Scaling Synthesis and a Sloan Foundation grant, and crafted a piece we hope shapes future tools for thought.
Such a nice feeling to wrap that period of my life.
Plus Joel, Siyi and I got to hang for the first time IRL in Hawaii while working on this!1
Acquired
I woke from a classic afternoon cat nap on August 5th, hopped on a call, and left with news that my life would change. Heyday as we knew it was done. Six weeks later, we were officially acquired by BetterUp.
This is, in many ways, the goal. Build something people want. Then sell it.
That said, there's so much nuance in that goal. The joy of building. The folks surrounding you. The product you're crafting. The people who love your product. The quiet hum of depleting runway. The moment you realize it’s over.
All of it shapes the outcome.
And even though we didn't build our dream of the megaco that changes millions of lives, we will take the win. Two years I won’t forget.
Human
Shortly after the news settled, I reached out to three companies. Two that I've admired for a long time, and one agency that scratched a deep itch.
A rather unfounded goal of mine from the past five years is to build an agency with my friends. One primary problem – I know nothing of the business! I've never worked in anything resembling a consultancy.
I'll cut to the chase. One thing led to another, and I joined Human Agency as Managing Director of Technology, leading an AI integration project at an amazing design-build construction company, Clayco.
What’s that mean? Think:
How can teams like Legal get the most out of ChatGPT Enterprise?
What can we build to help environmental designers?
How can we bring computer vision to future job sites?
The project, the team, the client, the philosophy. We're aligned in so many ways, it's actually hard to imagine.
Oh yeah, our founder is also named Brendan L(ind), so my last name is ringing out in meetings like I'm back on a baseball field. What are the odds?
And just like that, we're immersed once again.
How fun.
If your company is trying to figure out what the AI boom looks like for you, let’s talk.
Home
Well, mostly travel. Here’s a quick set of three from birthday month.
London
So this was 72 hours ago.
I'm on a flight home from London because I'm a man parading about with a full-blown football problem.
After the Heyday news, the timing was perfect to catch a match. Shoob’s birthday lined up with a home match, and he and my Dad have caught the same bug I have. We had to make the journey.
So we met in Chicago, saw MJ Lenderman rock our socks off with dear pals, crossed the pond, and took in a belter of a match. Three quick fire goals in the second half directly in front of me made for full blown ecstasy.
The people sang. The sun shone. The pints were enjoyed.
Plus we got to spend a whole weekend with Josh! What a treat.
Birthdays
Three weeks ago, I made a visit back to Indiana, My lovely mother turned 60, and Donna and I showed up for a surprise bash.
My Dad mowed the lawn into a 4-hole golf course, the fire roared late into the evening, friends filled the home, and I paid a mild price for the dozen toasts I raised. All out of love.
All the while, my Dad managed to keep it all secret. Utterly amazing if you know anything about his openness.
Parks
Donna and I also took a trip to America's lovely Pacific Northwest post-acquisition. It was her first time north of Portland. How wonderful to share the experience with her.
We scooted about Washington for a week – meeting up with Shoob and friends in Seattle, staying in Olympic National Park, and then later at Mt. Rainier – deep away from the light pollution. Holy stars!
I also caught a ballgame at my 24th(!) park. Slowly but surely, we're stacking them up.
We’re on a run
The past three months have been energizing, gutting, joyous, and transformational. A proper run if we’ve ever had one.2
In any case, it’s scorpio szn.
With lots of love!
Yr friend,
Bren
No leaving Rob out – I see him every few weeks in Oakland, and btw, he’s on to amazing things building WebSim. When I saw him on his birthday this year, I asked what his goal was.
He’s done it.
And I didn’t even mention The National at The Greek, a return to Cody’s, our second anniversary at Chez Panisse, playing baseball again, buying a bike(!), the Oakland Beers playoff run, pals visiting, and hiking the Pacifica coast.
The days of late have been righteous.
So exciting to read this, Brendan. The days of late have indeed been righteous. You sound so fully alive.