The Looking Glass: If someone’s gonna do it, why not you?

What I wish the little voice in my head would say, and other threads

Julie Zhuo
3 min readOct 5, 2021

Hello readers,

It’s decorative gourd season, mf-ers! Also the start of Q4 which for many teams means the start of holiday seasonality or planning for next year. I hope you find plenty of optimism among the chaos!

When I look back at my posts the last month, a similar theme comes through loud and clear: the practical ways to remind oneself that this can be done, even when it feels fuzzy and full of shadows. Enjoy!

What I wish the little voice in my head would say

Otherwise known as the mantras of growth and self-compassion.

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Julie Zhuo @joulee

7 things I’m trying to train my mind to think when I am totally freaking out.* 1) Imagine looking back on this in N days/weeks/months. You’ll have learned so much, and you’ll have some great stories to tell! (In the grand scheme of things, time passing fixes everything!)

5:45 PM ∙ Oct 1, 2021

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What is Meant by a “Data-Informed Culture”

As well as its various misconceptions.

(Also, this is a semantic nitpick, but certain things — like a recommendation algorithm — should be “data-driven,” as in, the decisions are wholly made by data.

Team cultures / product decisions should probably *never* be “data-driven.” After all, there’s such a thing as taking smart leaps of faith and acting with good common sense.)

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Julie Zhuo @joulee

What a data-informed culture is (a thread): 1. Constantly seeking to understand the true drivers of a phenomena 2. Accountability to measurable goals that are good proxies of one’s mission and values 3. Fast iteration and experimentation 1/5

9:28 PM ∙ Sep 9, 2021

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Have a marvelous October!

~Julie

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Julie Zhuo

Building Sundial (sundial.so). Former Product Design VP @ FB. Author of The Making of a Manager. Find me @joulee. I love people, nuance, and systems.