About our Guests
Brad Kratochvil is a Software Engineering Director in Site Reliability Engineering in Google Zürich. He grew up on a farm in Nebraska. He can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/bkratochvil/
Cristina Vintila is a Staff Security Engineering Manager in the Google Cloud Office of the Chief Information Security Officer in Google Zürich. She grew up on a farm in Romania. She can be found at https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristinavintila/
Main Takeaways from this Episode
An annual retrospective practice can help us be more intentional about our lives and relationships. Having a set time and place for a retrospective ritual can help cement it and make it a regular part of your life.
Challenging conversations can be easier when walking together, outdoors, in nature – and facing in the same direction and walking. Together, these factors help you feel like you’re solving problems together, in a non-competitive environment.
If you know you have certain behaviors under stress that you don’t like, it can be useful to discuss those with your partner (or friends or family) during a calm time, and, if you’re comfortable, let them know they can call you out on them if you start to behave that way.
People have different risk tolerance, but open communication and preparation can help reduce the distance: Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. And stretching, over time, can extend our capabilities and comfort level.
Sometimes it’s easier to apply blamelessness to other people than to ourselves. In situations where we blame ourselves, a useful question is: would I say this to my best friend? And if you wouldn’t, you probably shouldn’t say it to yourself.
We have limited time on this mortal plane; making a list of all the things you want to get done makes it more likely you’ll be able to do more of those things, especially as some of them may become harder to do as you get older.
Blamelessness is even more important when the stakes are high.
Best Practice Links
Annual Retro template (which includes some recommendations for bookstores, coffee shops, TV shows, books, bars, food, and travel).
Product Links
Antifragile, by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, by Oliver Burkeman.
Contact
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