Why do I write?
I always envy people who write well because of their ability to express thoughts in a structured way. I believe people who write well, think well and vice versa.
We used to see each other face, but now it’s just words
Since March 2020, everything went online, most of them still are. My human connection shrinks to my circles of closest people (family, ex-colleagues, classmates). It has gradually become clear, writing would be the main way to reach out to new connections in this new country that I’m in for sharing, inspiration, and support, whether it is done actively (DM, tweet, email) or passively (substack newsletter, medium blog).
In a physical world, appearance, gestures, and social norms would play a part in communication. In the digital world, it’s just words.
Writing may be the closest thing to working
Spending 5 years in an audit firm, I’ve experienced first-hand the benefits of being a generalist. It’s about having an overview in different finance topics, hands-on knowledge in a variety of industries, and dealing with a broad range of stakeholders so next time, when you’re encounter a new case, you can produce multiple approaches.
My current goal is to be at a crossover of finance & strategy. Finance people are risk-averse (we have to be!!!) while business strategy tends to be bold and risky. But understanding what’s the other side of the table doing is always an effective way to start a collaboration. Writing about strategy may be the closest thing to working in strategy!
I like the feeling of researching & writing about something I don’t know well. You’ll always hesitate and wait for the perfect moment, but technology and strategy playbook evolve quickly. Write now, think aloud!
Here is what I’m going to do
- Start small by tweeting my thoughts to people.
- Committe to writing weekly, on topics that I care about (consumer tech, business strategy, community, …).
And I will regularly come back to this post to reflect on my journey. By the way, I’m also learning French through writing, starting with words, then phrases since December 2019 and now moving to sentences. It kind of works.
Wish me luck!
