Hey, I'm Sebastian 👋

Guiding principles

Throughout my career, these ideas have consistently helped me find clarity and overcome challenges. Will they change in an AI-first world? Time will tell.

• Life is one long game. Long-term success is less about quick wins and more about consistency and patience. If what you want feels unachievable today, just focus on getting 1% closer, every day, every week. It seems Pablo Picasso said: Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.
• Seek first to understand, then to be understood. This has been expressed in many different ways by different people, from 'lead with curiosity' to 'say less and ask more'. If our first response to disagreement was always a question, the world would be a better place.
• Embrace discomfort. I once read that a person's happiness can be measured in the number of uncomfortable conversations they are willing to have. If you do things worth doing, some failure is just part of the process. Far easier said than done, but still true.
• People first. I believe almost every workplace problem is, at the core, a people problem. You need happy, fulfilled people to build a successful business, and you need successful businesses to create environments where people can thrive. The two fuel each other and are not in conflict.

Standing on the shoulders of giants

Everything we create is built on the work of countless smart people who came before us, and are around us today. These are some of the resources that have influenced me deeply. I hope to discover many more in the future.

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (book by Stephen Covey): I think it was the first book I read about personal and professional development. It covers timeless principles of integrity, responsibility, control, and continuous improvement (including one of the principles from above!).
• The Culture Map (book by Erin Meyer): There are so many examples of things that seem perfectly normal in one culture but are considered disrespectful in another. I really like that it ends by suggesting that you should not try to adapt too much, but be true to yourself and aware of the differences.
• The Courage to be Disliked (book by F. Koga and I. Kishimi): It argues that lasting happiness comes from taking responsibility for your life and decisions, instead of blaming others or your environment. It challenges the belief that your past defines you and emphasizes the freedom and empowerment found in choosing how you respond to the present.
• Coaching: This is not a specific resource, but rather a pattern I've seen across many successful people, and experienced myself. Working with a coach you genuinely connect with can be a transformative experience and well worth the investment.
• Online tech communities: Especially when you work in small startups, it's important to have ways to connect with others in the industry. I particularly recommend the Rands Leadership Slack and Refactoring. Remember that you always get what you give.

Last but not least, the inspiration behind this personal website comes from this blog post, with the design based on the Dead Simple Sites collection and the OnFlow Ghost template.