Ben Kuhn
6 notes in the collection. Writes at benkuhn.net (opens in a new tab)↗
First saved Actually doing things on July 31, 2026.
Kuhn argues that jobs, hires, relationships, and blog posts follow heavy-tailed distributions, so you should draw many samples, filter for maybe-amazing over probably-good, and expect to fail a lot.
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Kuhn argues the people he admires most are great at thinking clearly about uncomfortable questions, like whether to pivot, quit, or break up, as Wave's CEO did through a dozen pivots, and offers ways to get better at it.
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Kuhn argues that reflecting someone's words back is cargo-cult listening, and that good listening comes from real curiosity about the details of their situation, without which your advice is usually wrong.
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- NewActually doing things 3 min
Looking back at his successes, Ben Kuhn found the hardest part was simply getting up and doing things outside his routine, which matters more than talent.
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Ben Kuhn argues the usual complaints about startup pay miss how much stock options are worth once you count the option to leave and the chance of a big outcome.
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Updating his 2014 job-hunting criteria after years at Wave, Kuhn now ranks fast company growth first, then deep alignment, impact, mentorship, and earned responsibility, while caring little about hard problems or income.
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If you like Ben Kuhn, try
- Jakob Greenfeld18 notes · also on agency and people
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