Sunday Reads #130: Even Nigerian princes have something to teach us.
Ever wondered why phishing emails are so sloppy?
Welcome to the latest edition of Sunday Reads, where we look for cheat codes to life, business, and careers (sometimes we even find them!).
If you’re new here, don’t forget to check out some of my best articles: The best of Jitha.me. I’m sure you’ll find something you like.
And here’s the last edition of my newsletter, in case you missed it: Sunday Reads #129: How this guy built two $100Bn+ businesses in 10 years.
This week, let’s first talk about Nigerian princes and other email scammers. Ever wondered why their emails are so sloppy and far-fetched? Like, do they not want us to fall for it??
Next, lessons from Andy Grove and Peter Drucker, legendary management gurus. 5 simple principles, to double your effectiveness as a leader.
And of course, some golden nuggets and link love.
PS. Do subscribe if you haven’t 😊.
PPS. I’m thinking of starting a podcast soon. If you have any previous experience with the medium, I’d love to pick your brain! Do drop me a line 🙏.
1. Aren't we lucky email scammers make spelling mistakes?
Have you ever wondered why email scammers are so sloppy?
Like, maybe they'd be more effective at fooling people if they weren't a "Nigerian prince"? And if they didn't make all those silly spelling mistakes (even in the subject line!).
Thank god these successful confidence tricksters haven't mastered basic English yet...
Well, what if I told you it was all deliberate?
I wrote a thread about this a few days ago. Check it out. I hope you like it!
2. Become a 2x better manager in 11 tweets.
Andy Grove and Peter Drucker are legendary management gurus.
Regular readers of this newsletter know that I frequently quote from High Output Management and The Effective Executive, both seminal works.
But here's why: they're actually brilliant!
I have become at least 2x better as a manager, by employing their basic principles.
I read their books (twice each) and distilled the learnings so you don't have to.
Here it is, in 11 tweets.
[PS - this is a condensed version of a longer post I wrote a year+ ago. Here's the blog post - How to manage your team LIKE A BOSS (even while working remote)].
3. Golden Nugget of the week
I get into a funk quite often.
About to start my most important task of the day. But let me check email again first - what if I got something in the last 2 minutes?
Refreshing cricket scores when I'm supposed to start prepping for a call 2 hours later.
Sometimes I finally do important tasks so that I can procrastinate on even more important tasks.
But I found a hack to get out of the funk.
It's really simple.
It's called the Five Minute Rule. Here's how it goes:
Don't feel like working on your research paper / workshop document / <insert other important thing>?
Convince yourself to work on it for just 5 min.
No strings attached. Honest. You can start a timer for 5 min and get going.
What happens most times (to me at least), is that the 5-minute-later me is actually a little more excited about the task at hand.
Anyway. That's how last week’s blog post got written.
4. Link love.
Do you want to be better at email?
40 One-Sentence Email Tips is a great list.
Some gems:
1. The simplest way to get fewer emails is to send fewer emails.
6. If you reply to emails immediately, you train people to expect you to reply immediately.
38. No one ever says “I wish the paragraphs in that email were longer.”
The new Dune movie is out!
I watched the new Dune movie yesterday.
Do check out the movie if you liked the book.
I loved the book, as you know (I've read it twice so far; I'm sure I'll read it again).
Reviews online are mixed. But I won't lie, I had goosebumps when I heard the Litany against Fear.
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.
That's it for this week! Hope you liked today’s edition. Drop me a line (just hit reply or leave a comment through the button below) and let me know what you think.
Would love if you could also share it on Twitter so more people can see it. Thanks a lot!
Until next time, wish you good health, safety, and sanity.
Jitha