Never stop learning. There's a whole world out there.

Swanagan Ray

Director of Operational Technology | Follow for posts about business, leadership, and technology

I've been here:

Working 3 positions at my job, burning out, turning in my 2 weeks...

Only to have them hire 3 new people, each making significantly more while doing a third of the work.

It feels bad, and is a hard lesson to learn. 

But it informs how I build and lead teams now. And I'm thankful for that.

Appreciation is the only way to fly.

Especially with top performers.

undefined undefined

I’m back! 

Took a week off to finish up my sauna. 

What’d I miss?

This is your regularly-scheduled reminder that life is hard. 

Bad things are always going to happen. 

Your best hedge? 

Keep moving. 

Stay in fighting shape. 

Comfort and complacency never yield anything good. There is strength in adversity. 

Remember what got you a seat at the table in the first place. Every hyper-successful person I know STILL practices the skill that got them there. 

This is the way.

Most new leaders confuse activity with impact.

They spend their days buried in tasks, tweaking details. 

But I learned that the real job is to lead people.

Create a big vision that everyone can get behind. 
Create daily rituals that gets everyone on the same page.
Create dedicated 1-on-1 time with each person and really listen. 

The day-to-day minutia will happen. 

But you can't forget the leadership part of management. 

It's the most important.

You are most effective when you have agency to fix what's broken.

Busywork is demotivating so you avoid it.

This isn't laziness.

It's your system rejecting work that violates your natural operating mode.

Figure out what you are uniquely good at, what gives you joy, and what gives you energy.

This has worked exceptionally well for me. 

Some of us are most productive at night, but more creative in the afternoon. 
Some of us need external stimuli. 
Some of us need complete silence. 

There is no one-size-fits-all.

The key is introspection.

Keep track of where you spend a significant amount of time and what gives you energy. 

Do the work to figure out what those things are.

Some will help you achieve your goals. 

Some will hold you back.

And if a task makes you want to run in the other direction, pay attention to that signal. 

Your body knows before your brain does.

Stop forcing yourself into a box that was built for someone else.

Life can be optimized for what gives you energy and makes you happy.

Believe that.

Most people:

Pick “safe” jobs
Take “safe” bets
Follow the script someone else wrote

But life is too short for that.

You owe it to yourself to find your potential. 

The safe path was just as fatal as the risky one. Especially nowadays.

I'd rather have stories, not regrets.

No one is making it out of this world alive.

So the only real question is:

Do you want your story to be forgettable… or cool?

Reminder that most unsolicited advice (especially on the internet) is worth roughly jack-squat. 

There's nothing wrong with free advice from people you trust like family or mentors. 

But you need a North Star vision and a set of principles. 

Otherwise the noise from the people in the stands will lead in a direction you don't want to go.

“If you do not know how to ask the right question, you discover nothing.” - W. Edwards Deming

This is the best hiring advice I've seen in a while.

If you are feeling left behind in the great Claude Code race of 2026 check out this article. 

It's an easy entry point and productivity use case for daily Claude Code use. 

Let me know what you think!

https://lnkd.in/ghT-Zqgd

taplio

Swanagan Ray's Linkedin Analytics

Swanagan Ray

Performance ScoreSwanagan Ray's LinkedIn Performance

Swanagan Ray's Best Posts (last 30 days)

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

taplio

.css-6ytdur{background-image:linear-gradient(284deg, rgba(39, 43, 72, 1) 0%, rgba(33, 47, 183, 1) 100%);color:transparent;-webkit-background-clip:text;background-clip:text;}Swanagan Ray's Linkedin Analytics

Swanagan Ray

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Swanagan Ray's LinkedIn Performance

Swanagan Ray's Best Posts .css-1emoo84{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:400;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);}(last 30 days)

Ready to grow your LinkedIn presence?

Swanagan Ray's Linkedin Analytics

Performance ScoreSwanagan Ray's LinkedIn Performance

Swanagan Ray's Best Posts (last 30 days)