







Sometimes, it's more important to be good than it is to be nice.
Don't soften feedback.
When I talk about balancing being directive and empowering as a leader, the distinction between being kind and being nice often comes up.

Kind Engineering: How To Engineer Kindness
How do you avoid becoming a Brilliant Jerk? Read this article to learn practical tips on communication, honesty and psychological safety.

How to Be Great? Just Be Good, Repeatably
A thought piece on what it takes to truly be great and what that even means in the first place.

It’s Not Enough to Be Right. You Also Have to Be Kind.
Takedowns and clever quips are easy, but empathy and persuasion are better

Be jealous. Make demands. Want more.
Here's to a passionate nonmonogamy where things aren't always fair and people are needy.

Meet Facebook’s Mr. Nice (Published 2014)
Arturo Bejar is trying to create empathy among teenage users to curb cyberbullying and harassment.

The 5% Rule
...I learned a lot from that period, but one of the things I learned that I did not expect was what I now call my '5% rule.' No matter how kind, warm, thoughtful, amazing, cheerful, consistent, and perfect I treated people roughly 5% of them would just be terrible (yes, I have the numbers to back this)...

How to Deliver Constructive Feedback in Difficult Situations
Thoughtful, empathetic language can make or break your business relationships

Positive Alignment: Artificial Intelligence for Human Flourishing
Existing alignment research is dominated by concerns about safety and preventing harm: safeguards, controllability, and compliance. This paradigm of alignment parallels early psychology's focus on...

Opinion | To Make the World Better, Think Small (Published 2016)
It is easy to become numb to suffering. Feeling empathy for individual victims can overcome the numbness.

The Power of Positive People (Published 2018)
Are your friendships giving you a boost or bringing you down?

W Social and the ancient art of neighbourliness - We Can Just Do Things
Good behaviour matters more than good code
W Social and the ancient art of neighbourliness - We Can Just Do Things
Good behaviour matters more than good code
Soul Notes on Twitter / X
“A beautiful person is not always good, but a good person is always beautiful.”— Imam Ali pic.twitter.com/vHg2eTSMFi— Soul Notes (@SoulNotes43) September 30, 2026
The scientific case for being nice to your chatbot
New research confirms that LLMs often perform better when you encourage them. But why?

How can you tell if someone is kind? Ask how rich they are.
Studies show that the wealthy are less empathetic than the poor, whether they're driving a car or serving in Congress.