Nic HaralambousBlog
Real stories and actionable frameworks from 20+ years of building, failing, and learning.
How to become more interesting and interested
While everyone uses AI to sound like the average, you stand out by smashing your random interests together. How curiosity, self-efficacy and high agency make you more interesting, and more successful.
Are you using ai to fix your toilet?
AI makes me more engaged with the world, not less. From fixing my shower to making sense of my health data, how I use it to feed curiosity and tinker, without letting the tool use me.
The News is killing your happiness... don't let it!
I quit the news and my anxiety dropped while the world carried on fine. Why doomscrolling breeds helplessness, what Wrexham taught me about local impact, and how to think global but act local.
Five things I did to build a killer team
How I fixed a team that couldn't ship: less process, more trust. The Dunbar number, why high-trust low-process teams win, and the five moves I made to build a team that actually delivers.
How I stopped being an asshole in conversations
I used to argue to win and catch people out. How 'give it five minutes,' Chesterton's fence and asking 'why am I talking?' moved me from winning arguments to actually understanding people.
Everything I love about being unemployed
Two weeks after leaving full-time work, a raw update: reclaiming my own hours, making meetings a choice, ditching micromanagement, and watching the confidence the job chipped away come rushing back.
I write to you every week
Every week I'll send you my three favourite things from the week and at least one idea that I can't stop thinking about.
Is your business idea viable AND valuable?
For 15 years we obsessed over whether an idea was viable. AI made building nearly free, so viability isn't the question anymore. The real one: is it valuable, to your user and to you?
Answer these four questions first
Before building any side project, answer four questions: what you want from it, how it fits your life, the one problem it solves, and the single person it's for. Everything else comes after.
Do Not Start a Side Business
Before you sketch mockups or one-shot an app, answer four questions: what success looks like, how much time you have, the single problem, and the exact customer.
Move Slow and Fix Things
AI promises speed, but organisations mistake output for progress. Slow down, fix the basics, and escape the Apathy Arch before your best people check out.
The obvious value of stating the obvious
From MSISDN jargon at Vodacom to AI hype today: why stating the obvious is a superpower when everyone else stays quiet.
Be the change you want to see in young men
From a noisy cinema to Louis Theroux’s Manosphere: male role models, algorithms, and choosing to model respect in public instead of only whispering from your seat.
Want these ideas as a keynote?
The ideas on this blog come alive in Nic's keynotes, in person or virtually. Real stories, actionable frameworks, tailored to your team.