The magic of a good opener

January 17, 2023

When you’re writing, it’s not worth stressing about your opener. Just start writing. You can figure out your intro later, before you click Send. But when...

The power of awesomeness

January 13, 2023

I started this Substack in November. Now we’re nearly halfway through January (!), and it’s still going strong. I’m proud of that. More generally, though,...

Making tough decisions

$ · January 11, 2023

Obviously I recently launched paid subscription support. Good ol’ Lextra Credit. And now I’m faced with the constant decision: What’s paid, and what’s free?...

Cheat codes

January 10, 2023

I’ve written previously about playing mind games with yourself, and how effective just telling ourselves that we have an advantage can be. (It’s all an...

Lextra Credit: It Begins

$ · January 5, 2023

On Transparency

$ · January 5, 2023

My role at my last several jobs involved a lot of dealmaking. Closing deals where you (the company) feel good, and the other side feels pretty good, too —...

Play mind games with yourself

January 3, 2023

Happy 2023! When New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday (as it did this year), many companies treat Monday, January 2nd as a day off — to make sure we don’t miss...

The habit of habit-setting

December 30, 2022

I’m not a huge believer in New Year’s resolutions. I support you if you’re making some, and wish you endless success in achieving those goals! But my focus...

Response Times

December 27, 2022

Last week, I announced the launch of Lex Friedman Consulting. And earlier this week, the podcast industry newsletter Podnews mentioned me. My own...

Introducing Lex Friedman Consulting

December 21, 2022

I’m delighted to announce the launch of Lex Friedman Consulting. I’m leaving Wondery and Amazon at the end of the year to start my own business, helping...

The Importance of Passion Projects

December 20, 2022

You are not your job. You can love your job, take tremendous pride from your work, and even — if you want it and it meshes with your version of work/life...

How To Do Better Video Calls

December 16, 2022

Even though we’re squarely in the pandemic? SHMANDEMIC! phase of COVID-19, video conference calls aren’t going anywhere. They’re here to stay. Whether you...

The Listening Tour

December 13, 2022

When I’m joining an existing team at a new job, my favorite way to start is with a listening tour. I don’t always call it a listening tour, but in my mind,...

Let's Start at the Middle

December 9, 2022

Beginnings are hard. I’m not talking about the first day of a new gig. This time, I’m really talking about writing. Thanks for reading Your Intermittent Lex!...

Forget Business

December 7, 2022

Not long ago, I wrote about the trick to self-confidence. (Short version: Act confident — fake it — and you’ll seem confident, which has essentially the same...

Shameless self promotion

December 5, 2022

A lot of people hate writing bios. And they hate job interviews and cover letters and resumes. Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash For many of us, it is no fun...

Confidence Person

December 2, 2022

I was talking to my pal Marko a few days ago, and he told me “I just need your confidence.” And because I’m a kind person, I told Marko what I believe is the...

The secret to my success

November 30, 2022

Some folks think they can finally get organized if they find the right app. What’s more, for some folks, that might actually be true. But if you’ve gone...

Writing great emails

November 28, 2022

I can’t speak for you, but I get too much email. My kids are still young enough that they’re excited about their inboxes, and they’re surprised when they get...

Be hard on yourself. And go easy on yourself.

November 25, 2022

I promise I’m not going to keep on writing in opposites. This isn’t Great Expectations, folks. You may know I host a daily podcast called Your Daily Lex....

Wait, *I'm* in sales? No I'm not!

November 23, 2022

When I was a full-time tech writer, I occasionally got invited to give talks at various conferences. That was fun. One of my favorite talks was “Think Like a...

Sales isn’t sales

November 22, 2022

I wrote previously about when I first started selling podcast ads. I’d like to start with a little more color on how that happened: I started cohosting a...

Okay, so we're doing this

November 20, 2022

As I write these words, it's fewer than 24 hours since I left Twitter. I'm sad about it. I loved Twitter. Different people like Twitter for different...

Podcasting, tech, media.

April 29, 2021

Welcome to Your Intermittent Lex by me, Lex Friedman. I work in podcasting. I've worked at five startups and gone through five acquisitions and one IPO. I...