My Why

It could be anybody; why NOT me?

I'm a corporate worker interested in the creator space. I talk about Business school, Productivity, Technology, and Learning about anything.
Also...let's go Ravens!

Mostly all people derive their life satisfaction from two things: creation or destruction, and some people just drift toward one rather than the other.

I love finding patterns out of chaos, whether in companies, society, or family. As a business professional, I spend most of my days dealing with people in a corporate environment, patching up things here and there, trying the make the business run smooth.

But I also admire the hell out of those who can create something the world wants. To me this is the ultimate life satisfaction, and everybody should become (or at least try to) a creator in some sort.

And that’s why I decide to create www.michaelshoe.com.

About Me

My name is Michael and I’ve got over 10 years of experience working in the sport and entertainment business in Hong Kong, the United States, and Mainland China. I started my professional journey with the two-time NFL Champion, the Baltimore Ravens, before I moved back to Mainland China to work on a few large venue projects. I’m currently working at a large corporation in Shanghai.

I know a thing or two about business, and about two years ago I got hooked on personal and organizational productivity. I applied to business schools twice and got accepted by a few schools, but life got in the way so I never really attended. And I love learning and figuring things out.

What You Will Get From This Site

Business School

While applying to business schools, I noticed that the information related to the whole process was very segmented. There are school rankings from multiple sources; articles on how to write essays from various online sources, mostly from admission consultants; and so on. Considering that the cost of full-time MBAs routinely exceeds 250,000 USD these days, a large number of students could be blindly throwing money away without fully contemplating all the pros and cons. In this part, I will try to level the playing field, a field that is heavily tilted in favor of the business schools and against the applicants, by writing about things both before and after the admissions, things such as the application process and job prospects, etc.

Productivity

I became somewhat addicted to the productivity tools, i.e. the Notion, Logseq, Amplenote, Mem, etc. The list goes on. However I don't believe a knowledge worker should be confined by her own tools, and her own thinking and actions are the main drivers of her productivity. In this part, you will find various articles on mental models, skills, and tools useful for the modern knowledge workers.

Technology

I'm not a tech guy...but everybody, regardless of their job functions, will need to master some level of technology. In this part, expect to find practical things on the application of technology from a businessperson's perspective.

Learning (about anything)

I'm an avid learner and I believe learning is the ultimate skill, above everything else. I will share how I learn new skills and/or knowledge, and maybe some books I've read along the way.

Byproduct (from building this site)

Building this site is really an ongoing learning process, and whenever I learn about how to solve a problem, I will publish the solution here just in case someone else might encounter the same problem.

What's In It For Me

To Prove that business people can create useful things

My day job is about setting strategy and overseeing processes; I'm not necessarily "creating stuff". However at the bottom of my heart, I believe in creating things, and I want to prove that business people can be great builders. I don't have an ultimate goal about this site yet, but vaguely I know I want it to be something that business people (including MBA students) can learn to build their own things, such as a startup community for founders with business backgrounds.

To build secondary income streams

I'd be lying if I don't mention the money side of things. I've calculated my own number toward a humble financial freedom so I can free myself from clocking in and out at my day job. Will see how it goes.

I hope you can take something away from this site. If you want to get in touch, please subscribe and reply to the email directly, connect with me on Twitter, or write to me at hi@michaelshoe.com. Thanks!