Author: cahouser
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A Simple Rule for Managing Complexity: The Double Cushion
My favorite business school professor made good money managing extreme complexity: he oversaw consulting gigs involving multimillion dollar real estate purchases, factory operations with thousands of employees, and complicated mergers. He seemed to be able to see around corners.
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It’s Perfectly Fine that Origin Stories are Lies
Blockbuster charged Reed Hastings a $40 late fee, which inspired him to found Netflix. Pierre Omidyar’s wife wanted to trade Pez dispensers online so he spent a weekend building a side project that became eBay. On a trip to Paris, Uber founder Travis Kalanick found himself stranded in the rain for 20 minutes trying to hail a cab. These are all good stories. And they are all lies.
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Go Bigger When You Talk About Your Ideas
A distillation of a talk I gave to the founders of Odisea’s Acelera program, a deep tech startup accelerator in Latam, about why aiming high increases your odds to success.
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The Best Conference of the Year (So Far)
After some conferences I just want to sit in a dark room and vegetate. Voltage Control’s Facilitation Lab Summit 2025 was different. Despite having to exert zero effort at meeting people, I left with a boatload of valuable connections. And this is why I’m calling it now: this is the best thing I will attend in 2025.
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Centuries Old Wisdom in MrBeast’s Leaked Playbook
Unlike polished press releases or glossy marketing assets, leaked documents are raw and unfiltered. As such, they give us a glance at the inner workings of a company. Take, for instance, the leak of the MrBeast Guide to Production.
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When Your Uber Driver Asks You to Lie to the Police
After we landed and collected our bags in the Guadalajara airport, I called the Uber. As the driver loaded our bags into the car, his face tensed. Under his breath, he muttered, “Pretend we’re friends.” Before I could ask him what he meant, a cop from the Guardia Civil sidled up to the car. The Guardia Civil, a federal law enforcement agency in Mexico, is known for enforcing customs and airport rules with an authoritative presence.
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You’re Not Using AI Enough
I was 16, freshly armed with a driver’s license, and ready to explore the world beyond my neighborhood. I’d like to say my newfound freedom led to wild, Ferris Bueller-style adventures, but the reality was far less cinematic. Instead, my first big solo mission involved a financial misadventure that would stick with me for years.
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Winning an Award and the Power of Relationships
This award didn’t happen because I was great (though I promise you, I was). The real reason is Rodrigo—my rock star business partner in Guadalajara.