Julie Zhuo

California

Articles

The Looking Glass: What Aladdin Should have Wished For

Dec 26, 2024 | joulee.medium.com | Julie Zhuo

A letter to my daughter about happinessDear Readers,Where has the time gone? The sun casts its daily spells and now the twilight of another year upon us. I’ve spilled much digital ink this past year, but I’ve been negligent on this blog as of late. My mind has been in other places — with my company, my family, or simply trying to observe itself like some kind of ouroboros. I’ve watched roiling waves. I’ve lived weather.
The Looking Glass: Sharpening Judgement

Sep 12, 2024 | joulee.medium.com | Julie Zhuo

What makes up excellent judgement? Here is my take:Judgement = quality of decision model + richness of data + clarity of mindWhenever any of us has a strong feeling about something, it will be based on a framework or algorithm we have in our brains. I call this the “decision model.” Our decision model typically lives in the subconscious, but if we are particularly aware, we manage to pull parts of it into our consciousness to be described or analyzed.
The Looking Glass: The Curse of Perfect

Aug 28, 2024 | joulee.medium.com | Julie Zhuo

The Looking Glass: The Curse of Perfect In the house that I grew up in, there was a formula for the American Dream. Dear Readers, I’m working on 2 new pieces that are in varying states of draftiness. Instead of rushing them out, I’m going to sit with them a bit longer and in the meantime, pull out one of my favorite personal pieces from the archives. Have a lovely week! In the house that I grew up in, there was a formula for the American Dream.
The Looking Glass: Managing your Manager

Aug 6, 2024 | joulee.medium.com | Julie Zhuo

If feedback is a gift, then performance review season is like work Christmas! Rather than worrying about being called out as an imposter, take the feedback that your manager and peers have neatly packaged for you and fully embrace the opportunity for a growing moment. Here are some ways to make the most of the performance review process:Performance reviews often start with a description of your strengths and recognition for the ways you had impact, followed by constructive feedback.
Culture Changers

Jul 17, 2024 | joulee.medium.com | Julie Zhuo

Gate #1: Know what existing belief you want to change and where it came from. What is the belief that you worry is leading the team astray? Where does it come from? (The CEO's anxiety brought about by demanding board members and a chip on her shoulder? That terrible, horrible, no-good outage of 2021?
The gifts of 40

Jun 28, 2024 | joulee.medium.com | Julie Zhuo

Dear Readers,I have consumed a thousand remixes of Thing I'd wish I'd known when I was younger. I gobble them up - every tweet, every tarnished cliche. At first, it was because I wanted somebody else's hard-earned wisdom to rub off a bit on me, so I might skate by life's obstacles with a little more song and ease. Alas, someone should have told me then that wisdom cannot really be told. The Looking Glass is a reader-supported publication.
Holding Up the Mirror

May 31, 2024 | joulee.medium.com | Julie Zhuo

The most important ingredient for giving effective feedback is care for the other person. Your intent must to be genuinely help the other person. You must see and validate them, and thus want what's best for them. If you go into giving feedback with a kind of I mantra in your head - I want to sound smart, I want them to like me, I give them a piece of my mind - it will reflect in your delivery.
The Looking Glass: The Origins of Leadership and Burnout

Apr 16, 2024 | joulee.medium.com | Julie Zhuo

The hero’s journey, and where things go wrongDear readers,I meant to sit down and write what I’ve learned about innovation, but somehow in the process this morphed into a different kind of essay. I blame this on my absolute sheer delight at listening to Beyonce’s remix of of Dolly Parton’s Jolene. What is innovation but the story of the hero’s journey, and what is a hero’s journey but the classic story of leadership? I hope you enjoy this two-sided tale.
The Looking Glass: The Stories That Become History

Mar 29, 2024 | joulee.medium.com | Julie Zhuo

In celebration of some of the women that set the bar for meDear Readers,When I look back on my working life, there are episodes which feel like a bad sitcom, where I acted in such a way that the me-of-today is thoroughly mortified. The Looking Glass is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Oh, there are seasons where I puffed my chest, where I played “cool girl,” where I wore the smooth mask of professionalism.
Medium

Mar 8, 2024 | joulee.medium.com | Julie Zhuo