Boris is the wise ol’ CEO of TNW who writes a weekly column on everything about being an entrepreneur in tech — from managing stress to embracing awkwardness. You can get his musings straight to your inbox by signing up for his newsletter!

In the book I’m currently reading, there’s a scientist who is doing a lot of thinking. It’s not just some ‘everyday thinking’ mind you, but constructive, scientific thinking.

She’s gone as far as to eliminate ALL distractions around her, to make sure it’s impossible for her to lose her train of thought. And what’s her biggest distraction? Her phone.

Now I agree that our phones can be hugely distracting. I just checked my statistics, and last week I picked my phone up 90 times a day on average… and that’s actually 17% down from the week before that.

Indeed, that’s a lot of distracting moments and I wonder how often a pointless notification interrupted a vital thought process. Maybe I was close to a major scientific breakthrough, but it was lost forever when you liked my Instagram post. We’ll never know.

But a life without distractions is an empty life. Instead, I desire to manage my distractions, rather than eliminate them. It also doesn’t hurt that some of my best work is done while I’m distracted.

A casual chat with a neighbor about an utterly irrelevant subject might provide the breakthrough I was looking for. Doing the dishes or ironing my shirts can be highly meditative and inspiring. That doesn’t mean that everybody agrees with me though.

Once, an employee told me that the random tasks assigned to people around the office were too much of a distraction. We were a smaller company back then, and we all had to do groceries at least once a week or even do the dishes.

When you’re out shopping, you can’t write code, reach out to a client, or design a new logo. I get that. But it does allow you to chat with a co-worker, look at how other companies do package design, or find other sources of inspiration in the world around you.

And who knows, maybe there’s a reason you let some things distract you, while you ignore others. Perhaps you let the things through that might help you in the long run?

I learned this lesson at my first office outside of my house, which was in a members club. It was a little like Soho House, but at a different time. I found the distracting environment a great place to work and start a company.

One evening, I was intensely focused on a programming challenge. I had worked on it for a few hours and couldn’t quite figure out the solution.

As I was searching for clues, someone tapped me on my shoulder. The stranger pointed at my screen and asked me if the stuff I was doing was important. I nodded yes. He shrugged, pointed behind me, and said, “Well, you’re missing the show.”

You might not believe me, but I swear that a few meters behind me, a local fashion designer was showing off her new lingerie line. While I was working, they had built a whole catwalk and put down chairs, and were now in the middle of a show.

I eventually did turn around and watched the rest of the show — which didn’t particularly help with my programming challenge if I’m being honest — but it does show that if you’re really into your work, nothing unimportant can distract you. And in my case, not even lingerie models.

Can’t get enough of Boris? Check out his older stories here , and sign up for his newsletter here .

We’re all bad listeners — here are my tricks to become a better one

Boris is the wise ol’ CEO of TNW who writes a weekly column on everything about being an entrepreneur in tech — from managing stress to embracing awkwardness. You can get his musings straight to your inbox by signing up for his newsletter!

Many conversations are just one person waiting for the other person to stop talking so they can tell their own story. How do I know? Ehm… well maybe I find myself too often in that situation.

Sometimes it’s fine though, and you’re both just associating freely, letting one thought lead to another. But other times, it’s just because you’re bored by someone’s story and want to impress others with your own better story. Every now and again, however, it’s simply because you’re too lazy. Again, I’m speaking from experience.

While I’m guilty of these fundamental conversational sins just as much as everyone else, I console myself with the fact that at least I’m aware of my wrongdoing. Also, I’ve got neat tricks to force myself to pay attention.

First up: imagine the life of the person you’re listening to.

This definitely sounds weird, so let me explain. When I’m talking to someone and feel my attention slipping, I focus on the person’s face and imagine what it tells me about their life. I look at the crow’s feet around their eyes, do they love to make people laugh? Or maybe they go to see every rom-com that’s released in the cinema? I see their tanned skin and wonder if they ever backpacked in an exotic country and what amazing things they might have experienced there.

Everyone has a story, and they’re all worth listening to. Pretty soon, I’ll appreciate this person more, and because I’m so focused on them and invested in the idea of their life, I’ll be able to listen better to what they have to say now.

My other ‘trick’ revolves around empathy.

It’s a word that seems closely related to pity or compassion, but empathy is more than that. It’s the ability to understand other people‘s emotions or even predict and understand someone’s thinking.

When someone tells a story, I stare at their face and try to imagine what they are thinking and what they want to achieve with the story they’re telling. Basically, I refocus my attention from my own thoughts to the speaker’s story by thinking about their motivation, making me a better listener.

Giving someone your full attention is an easy way to make someone feel appreciated. Unfortunately, there’s a voice in your head that’s always screaming for attention too. Find your own way to shut it up to give someone 100% of your attention and see what happens.

Can’t get enough of Boris? Check out his older stories here , and sign up for TNW’s newsletters here .

3 biggest brand lessons from the PlayStation vs Xbox console wars

Xbox and PlayStation. The titans of gaming. They have been going head to head since 2001 when the first-generation Xbox was released and pitted against the PlayStation 2.

For the past 20 years the gaming community has followed every rumor, development and announcement from the two brands with minute attention. Yet despite the investment, energy, and innovation that has been shown, neither has emerged as a clear winner for gamers’ hearts and minds.

The upcoming launch of the PlayStation 5 means it’s a salutary moment to survey a battlefield littered with the marketing campaigns and claims of previous generations of consoles and discern if there are any valuable lessons for new brands in the gaming sector and beyond.

Bumps in the road

Despite record sales, a key reason no victor has been crowned is because of the volatility of the releases over the years, with technical issues overshadowing any chance of runaway success.

The historical cause has been down to the pressure to get the product on the shelves at speed for key selling moments like Christmas. This means that the consoles themselves often have unresolved technical issues.

For example, the Xbox 360 had issues with its graphics processing unit overheating , which warped the motherboard. Additionally, game developers were frustrated to find the platform didn’t have the power to handle the games they were developing, meaning had to build to a lower spec, compromising the overall experience.

Likewise, when Sony used the Cell chip in the PS3, the console’s architecture wouldn’t allow easy porting of code across both platforms, so the playing performance of titles like Assassin’s Creed was poorer on PlayStation than on Xbox.

The point? No matter how much pressure you’re under to deliver, don’t rush your product launch until you are absolutely sure you have it right.

Xbox and PlayStation have survived the bumpy road due to the strength of their brands. When building your brand, it is important to nurture loyalty and trust from your audience. This will only come from delivering on your brand promise and supporting and listening to your communities.

There is a perception amongst the startup community that first is best and you should go with a minimum viable product, but if it’s a choice between beating the competition to the shelves or getting it right then it’s the latter that builds long-term loyalty and lifetime value.

Relationships matter

The inconsistency of console performance, coupled with the direction the console wars are now heading, provides possibly the biggest lesson of all in our complex global business world — make your relationships with partners a priority.

Up to this point the console wars has been an arms race focused on the consoles, but now the games themselves are taking center stage. This was highlighted by PlayStation’s Future of Gaming announcement spotlighting the games that will be exclusive to the PS5.

We have seen this already play out in the streaming space, where the content has become bigger than the platforms themselves. Consumers now choose streaming services — whether Netflix, Amazon Prime or Disney+ — based solely on the content available. Killing Eve eclipses the BBC in the same way that Tiger King eclipses Netflix.

Content can deliver a knockout blow

In the gaming world, the content wars are warming up and exclusivity is everything. Sony is doubling down on developing exclusive games for the PS5 to attract gamers; including Spider-Man: Miles Morales , Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart , and Horizon: Forbidden West .

Additionally, Rockstar Games announced that an “expanded and enhanced” version of the hugely popular Grand Theft Auto V will release in the second half of 2021 on the PS5 — eight years after its launch. And a new standalone GTA Online will be available for free on the PS5 exclusively for the first three months of launch.

Another step in this direction is Sony’s launch of PlayStation Studios , a new umbrella brand to unite the games developed by Sony Interactives’ Worldwide Studios. The promotion around the announcement showcases beloved games characters and demonstrates the strength of the games on the PlayStation, rather than the technical abilities of the console itself.

The success of both Xbox and PlayStation now relies on a good relationship with game developers and the manufacturers that enable those games to run smoothly on the consoles. The emphasis going forward will be on the strength of relationships and the bonds created with developers to ensure the best content is available to users.

Just like Ellie and Joel in The Last of Us, the lesson here is that no one can do it alone. Whether you’re a character facing a post-apocalyptic world or launching a brand-new game to market, your partners are everything. Keep them close.

When you add into the equation the announcement that Sony and Microsoft are partnering around cloud gaming, we can see that brand rivalry isn’t even a barrier to the best partnerships. Just as every game throws a curveball at the player, the gaming market can expect surprises in terms of trends and alliances.