2024 Learnings

I want to end 2024 by sharing two of my learnings from this year.

1- Sometimes you just need to do what you know and follow the course of things.

I’ve experienced layoffs during my time at Groupon and Amazon. Layoffs are tough. Valuable people are let go. They’re the ones most affected because they’re out of the game. But those who stay aren’t spared either; they’re still in the game but in a changed, often challenging environment.

Layoffs bring sweeping organizational changes as companies adapt to reduced headcount. These changes are rarely smooth or organized. They create uncertainty, discomfort, and frustration. Your scope might be reduced. You might be moved to a different team, start reporting to someone new, lose team members, or feel disheartened by decisions about who was let go.

Chaos spreads, and entropy rises everywhere.

In these moments, your leadership will be tested to its fullest extent.

It’s easy to show frustration and anger, but that’s the last thing your team and leaders need or expect from you. This is your chance to show your maturity as a leader. Step up. Help steer through the complexity, build from the ground up, and guide things back on track.

When the waters calm, you’ll stand out as a steady, mature leader capable of handling complexity and uncertainty.

Let things take their course. Focus on what you can do. Reduce the entropy. Be patient.

Let me share a story about doing what you know.

A woman visits a local bakery shop to meet the owner. She tells him that a few years earlier, there was a visitation at the funeral home across the street on a bitterly cold winter day. People were lined up around the block in the cold when a mysterious man appeared and gave them all hot coffee.
​She tells the bakery shop owner that she suspects that man was him. He nods and replies, "Yes, I felt so bad for them and wanted to do something, but all I could do was make coffee, so I made coffee."

She proceeds to tell him that the visitation was for her 16-year-old son, who had sadly passed away, and thanks him for that tiny act of kindness that meant so much.

2- Never, never, never give up.

There were so many times I could have given up before reaching the milestones I’m most proud of today: my university degree, leaving Argentina, moving to the US, meeting my wife, and a few more.

Everything truly worth achieving will test your resolve and tempt you to quit. Don’t give in.

Success favors those who show up, embrace failure, try new things, and aren’t afraid to look silly. Persevere—no one’s watching, so don’t let doubt hold you back.

What I’m saying isn’t new, but we often give up—usually before trying, out of fear of failure. Amigo, nobody cares.

As Winston Churchill said: “Never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.”

Thanks for reading. I hope you all have an amazing 2025!