Stoa Digest #27: Moving On,
but never completely.
From the Editorial Room
Another 6 months has passed, and this coming weekend our third cohort will be found graduating the General Management Program.
Here’s a few of the things we hope they’ll take, remember and hold dear as their learnings from Stoa:
A positive sum game.
Find Your Tribe
Put Yourself Out There
A positive sum game
In the last 6 months we hope you were able to witness this in whatever small way you might have.
There is enough to go around, so never stress about the scarcity of anything.
The position you're in is also someone else's, and it is on you to choose being a leader in this scenario, vs being a follower.
Choose to share your learnings, and carrying other people in the wake of your rising tide.
Find Your Tribe
At no single point in time have you, or will you, be alone in experiencing something in the world.
The one thing that's clear about the Stoa Community is that it is a diverse one. You will find individuals from all backgrounds, who will be more than happy to provide insight, input and even intelligence on a subject.
All you've got to do is ask.
This not only enables you to grow into a space of more knowledge, but when you're in a sticky spot, you'll have someone to reach out to, for help.
Put Yourself Out There
If you find yourself interested in a subject, whether that means wanting to learn more about it, or even knowing enough to be able to teach someone - share your journey. You can apply this to absolutely any skill, subject, hobby or interest that you can think of.
It allows you to remain accountable to those interested in what you're doing, and simultaneously paves the way for those yet to reach your stage.
Do this in the public eye aka "Build in Public" because this enables you to
Showcase your work
Your learnings, ups, downs and when things go sideways. Allow yourself to ship something a little less than perfect. But then also, take the time to learn & perfect it. It makes you human, and builds you a 👇🏼👇🏼 (read: next point).Network
Your interest is not one you are a lone participant of. Those interested in a similar field might take some time to find you, but if you're committed to it, it'll happen. It takes consistency & time to become known and knowledgeable.Embrace vulnerability
Building in Public isn't only about wins, it's also about losses. It takes a big person to admit their losses, and be willing to grow from them, and we hope that that's something Stoans have grown comfortable with - making errors, but learning from them.
Fellow Spotlight
What were some of the biggest learning environments you've experienced?
I went to Boarding School, and I wouldn't exchange that experience for anything.
I've always had Stage Fright, but in Boarding School there was a time I ended up playing lead character in a play. That was mostly because I was in an environment where I was having fun, and was in the moment, so I wasn't in fear of judgement at all.
This was something I also witnessed at Toastmasters, which is a very rare place to find as an adult. It's completely free of judgement.
I think that's where Stage Fright gets solved. Not Toastmasters, but usually, we're too concerned about the setting around us, instead of what we're doing. This feeds into that fright, but the moment you enjoy what you're doing, you're less likely to feel this way.
What do you think was something that's stuck with you through your last few years of Real World Experience?
“I'd say giving & receiving feedback. It's about finding points of improvement faster than faults, but how do you say it so they want to listen?
Finding faults is easy, but saying it encouragingly, is a skill.
What are some tips you'd offer to someone learning to give feedback?
These are a few of the things I've learnt about giving & receiving feedback -
Good feedback helps everyone collectively
Working for everyone's improvement is a v beneficial thing
Committing to feedback by knowing it's a two way street, is a mutually beneficial aspect of being a leader - and leading by doing.
I give feedback only when I know what it's like to do that specific task - it's v easy to criticise people without knowing.”
What's a key managerial tip you've learnt in your experience?
"If you were in my position, what would you do?" Empower people to ask the right questions, and so long as they're empowered to answer them - let them think through it.”
What's something Stoans are not likely to know about you?
“I like playing the devil's advocate but to help other people.”
What is something you’ve learnt with Stoa?
“It puts you in the thick of people talking about startups. Because there is relentless optimism in ‘we can figure shit out’, and you're constantly meeting people who are committed to their ‘drive to improve’. There's so much colour in diversity than homogenous experiences and Stoa's an eclectic boiling pot of people, it's interesting what different kinds of people come out of this community. I have immense faith in the community to keep helping each other - which is the culture of the community. Contributing to a convv. at any point - you almost always stand nothing to lose, but always have something to gain, as long as you're not doing something detrimental to yourself, there's no reason to pause looking for help in the community.
There are a lot of open, transparent discussion, which is a sense of collaboration - collaboration. makes the world a better place. startups are a concept which represent these values as an ethos.
Here’s where you’ll find Achyut on Social Media: On LinkedIn / On Twitter
Announcements 📣 📣
All those you signed up to be participants of Secret Santa would've received a mail with the person they've been assigned. If you haven't been able to find us, have a look in your Promotions folder please, and move us into your Primary folder. 🥺
Birthday Parttaaayy! 🥳 🎂
17th - Brijendra Kumar
18th - Abhinav Dhar
19th - Ryan Dcosta, Vaishak Gowda
Community Buzz
The Brewers & Their Brews ☕️
Rishabh & friends at Magik are trying out a new thing for the Community world. Check it out here!
Kashif had a serenedipitous meeting with a pothole last week. You'll find it here:
We'll drop the link to Hot Chips in the "For Stoans by Stoans" section, but Pranav covered a rabbit hole of consumer behaviour in Sports Entertainment.
Mridul made a note of startup metrics that get used regularly
Event announcements
Meetups
For Stoans by Stoans ✍🏼📚⏯
Books 📚
The Jaunt - Stephen King ( Short Story)
Watchtime 🎥
Weekend Binges 🥤🍿
Blogs & Resources 🤓
Pranav's new Blog deconstructing what the Metaverse could be when it comes to sports
Sneha wrote about what she thinks the future of work is in an age of Robotics & Automation
Meme Wars 🥲
This week’s shiny new winner of Best Meme goes to …………
🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁
Saumya Saxena
"Pre-Stoa Ujwal Ratra was a vibe"
Special mention of course goes to Ujwal Ratra
To end, we’ll leave you with this:
And at all points of time remember, the learning doesn't stop. There is no exit gate from learning anything, so accepting a lack of knowledge is not only human, but necessary, to keep learning.