The Looking Glass: Why we do what we do

May's weekly Twitter threads, in one handy e-mail

May 27, 2021

Hi there!

Here in California, the cherries are crimson sweet, Disneyland is making magic for families once more, and I’ve gotten to reunite with a few friends and tell them in person how much I’ve missed them.

Over the past month, our team has been growing in size, which has me thinking about recruiting, early product development, and why we do what we do.

What should be next in my topic queue? I’d love to hear from you.

The Designer’s Underrated Superpower

Comfort with ambiguity + trust in the process = critical for innovation

Julie Zhuo @joulee

Designers have many superpowers, but one underrated one is that the work of design leads one to become more comfortable with uncertainty. How does this impact the product development process? Thread 👇

My Favorite Interview Questions

45 minutes is never going to make you an expert on someone’s abilities, but better questions can give you more insight into whether their values fit with yours.

Julie Zhuo @joulee

Is there a term for someone who geeks out on how to get to know someone better? Because I'm definitely in that club. So of course I looooove thinking about interview questions. Thread of my favorite questions to ask folks to understand how they think and work. (1/11)

A 15% Better Product Is Probably Going to Lose

A lesson I learned the hard way — from working on many ‘better’ products that failed.

Julie Zhuo @joulee

Imagine you're using a product and something bothers you about it. Maybe it takes 5 clicks to do anything. Maybe it works but is kinda ugly and clunky. "I bet I could make a new app that's 15% better," you think. "Instant business success!" This is a fallacy. Thread 👇

Which Game Are You Playing?

Where I stretch a metaphor reeeeal far because I am nostalgic for the video games I used to play. But seriously, don’t compare yourself to others. They’re probably playing a different game.

Julie Zhuo @joulee

Life is like a video game. The 💵 question: which game are you playing? Is it Fortnite Battle Royale, where you outshine an arena of others? Pokemon, where you collect and show off your rare finds? Minecraft or Roblox, meta-games where you build games that others play? (1/9)

Warmly,

Julie