joshua steinman (🇺🇸,🇺🇸) Profile picture
@galvanickco. usn & 2x iraq vet. fmr nsc staffer. citizen.
NJ Bill 🇺🇸 Profile picture Julie Walker Profile picture Hecate's Crossroad #QVArmy Profile picture Bagwon Pro American Profile picture Me Profile picture 22 subscribed
Feb 12 10 tweets 2 min read
I routinely get cold inbound from aspiring founders, and my biggest take-away is that the BIGGEST skill unlock for an early-stage CEO is the ability to COMMUNICATE.

When I run into someone who is having issues,

THIS IS THE PROTOCOL:

1/10 Image From 1975-1977, a man named George Heilmeier ran the the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

That's right, the team that builds wild, out-of-the-box technologies like THE INTERNET.

Heilmeier had a test -- a "Catechism" -- that he used to evaluate new ideas:

2/10
Feb 4 12 tweets 3 min read
In my four years on the National Security Council, I interviewed over one hundred people who wanted to join my team.

And I only ever used ONE interview question.

A thread, on how to hire for the most EXTREME cognitive circumstances.

1/
Working on the National Security Council is, for many, the apex of a career in national security.

For me, coming from Silicon Valley, it was an accident.

Former military, I could blend in at the White House. But wasn't a policy wonk.

Just someone who could get stuff done.

2/
Feb 4 11 tweets 3 min read
What do I mean when I say that we are engaged in "high dimensional competition" with the ÇÇP?

Allow me explain with the aid of renowned physicist Carl Sagan.

1/
We love Carl Sagan, even though he fell for KGB psyops like "nuclear winter" which was invented by Russia(read "Comrade J" for details).

That said, he is VERY GOOD at explaining interesting concepts like FOUR DIMENSIONAL SPACE.

Here (please watch!):



2/
Feb 3 9 tweets 2 min read
Everybody wants to do inbox zero but nobody wants to GET STUFF DONE.

So let me break down for you how my data entry strategy helps me drive @GalvanickCo EVERY SINGLE DAY.

For me, email is a transport layer. The real question is what happens AFTER email.

Enter: my database

1/
@GalvanickCo Say I get an email from @Jai__Malik introducing me to a fellow founder. What to do?

> @Superhuman CMD+SHIFT+i for instant intro (obv)
> “Hey [x], would love to chat … @calendly… etc”

THEN WHAT?

I’m gonna talk to this person in two weeks. How can I make sure I’m READY?

2/
Feb 3 19 tweets 4 min read
What the heck, I’ll just do a quick thread to open-source what few people know but don’t want to admit:

How this op often gets run in Washington.

(thread on how to “work” the current system in DC)

1/ FIRST.

BUILD THE DOOR.

> Pick out a few key think tanks and start running regular programs there.

> You want “BROOKINGS LUNCH AND LEARN ON [your topic] [presented by ~company~]” events every quarter

> Target top hill staffers with free lunch

SBF was all ofer this

2/
Jan 28 14 tweets 3 min read
ARE YOU DESTINED TO DEAL?

I didn't go into finance after college, but sometimes wish I had. Thanks to @jnconkle, who flagged this epic talk by a senior Goldman Sachs investment banker – James Donovan – covering TEN SKILLS he thinks are CRUCIAL to closing deals:

1/ @jnconkle I watched this video wearing my CEO hat.

And the SIX TANGIBLE, and FOUR INTANGIBLE SKILLS Mr. Donovan highlights here are important NOT ONLY for investment banking, but doing deals in the private sector as well.

Here they are:

2/
Jan 8 8 tweets 4 min read
This highly irregular story about SECDEF being out of commission for almost a week, with few in the chain of command knowing, is the latest in a string of incidents of OPERATIONAL incompetence.

Let's dive in...

1/ This isn't a partisan issue.

The Secretary of Defense is, by federal law, "the principal assistant to the President in all matters relating to Department of Defense... [and has] authority, direction and control over the Department of Defense."

And what have we found out?

2/
Jan 2 12 tweets 3 min read
Hark, dear friends, as I speak in praise of a friend and colleague, @Jai__Malik, and the gracious and deliberate finale of his firm, @CountdownCap.

All good things must come to an end, especially in finance, where timing is everything.

Allow me to tell you a story...

1/
Image 2021. Fresh off a four-year stint on the National Security Council overseeing all cyber, telecom, supply chain, and cryptocurrency policy for @realDonaldTrump, I was unemployed, and (according to every person I talked to) unemployable.

But two friends and I had an idea.

2/
Jan 2 6 tweets 2 min read
Do you have kids? Let me tell you why you should

BUY A GOOD SUV.

For over a decade I drove the Volkswagen GTI. Bought one as I went into the Navy. And another as I was leaving, eight years later. I loved it.

That is, before I realized it wasn't survivable...

1/6 My wife was six months pregnant, and I decided to take her away for a relaxing weekend up in the mountains.

We stopped on our way out of town to see her parents. Their next door neighbors had decided to rebuild their home, and the lot was an active construction site...

2/6
Dec 12, 2023 9 tweets 3 min read
As Sun Tzu once said:

Why run an information operation, when you could run the PLATFORM where EVERYBODY ELSE has to run THEIR information operations?

Or, a thread on "Why any serious October 7th public messaging strategy needs to start with banning T1kT0k."

1/9
Like it or not, TikTok has become the dominant force in political sense-making for people under 30.

And it's radicalizing them.

2/9
Image
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Nov 30, 2023 4 tweets 1 min read
Former WH Staffer here.

Best guess: every tweet sent by this POTUS has ~8 sign-offs:

- WH Comms proposes
- (or DPC/NEC/CEA proposes)/get a look
- WHCO initial clearance
- WH Comms revises
- WHO (AP’s) get a look
- WH Comms revises
- WHCO gives final sign off
- WH Comms tweets WH Comms = Communications office

DPC/NEC/CEA = Domestic Policy Council, National Economic Council, Council of EconomicAdvisors

WHCO = White House Council’s Office

WHO (AP’s) = White House Office. The senior-most officials (holding rank of “Assistant to the President)
Nov 18, 2023 10 tweets 3 min read
Even as today’s events play out in real-time, we must recognize that the deceleration (“safety”) movement is incredibly well resourced, well planned, and is playing for keeps.

So, in the spirit of my previous AMERICAN INFLUENCE threads, here’s how I would push back:

1/
Enabling acceleration is really about promoting liberty. And the converse is true about the deceleration movement. So across every line of effort I’ll discuss, we must focus on freedom as the North Star.

2/
Oct 26, 2023 8 tweets 2 min read
Just tuning in?

The National Security Advisor tried to take a "Middle East Peace" victory lap in the top US foreign policy journal.

Days after publication, Hamas gruesomely murdered 1000+ Israeli civilians.

The online version just dropped. Quietly revised and reversed.

1/8 As a former National Security Council senior staffer, I'll touch on the most egregious items:

> Accuracy
> The National Security Advisor's core role
> Deceiving the American people
> The publication's complicity

And how they are emblematic of rot at the highest levels.

2/8
Sep 28, 2023 15 tweets 3 min read
HOW TO FIND YOUR NEXT JOB -- FROM INSIDE YOUR NETWORK

Friends or colleagues often ask for my help with a job search.

If we have worked together, and you demonstrated competence, I'm always happy to help.

But this is a poor substitute for engaging with PEOPLE YOU KNOW.

1/
SO: YOU WANT TO FIND A NEW JOB

This happens a lot, and it's nothing to be ashamed of. Sometimes you find yourself on the wrong side of a downsizing movement. Or you just didn't click with a manager.

It's ok, it happens to the best of us.

2/
Aug 29, 2023 22 tweets 5 min read
The armchair pundits are talking about policy again and it’s MADDENING.

All the white papers in the world mean nothing.

AMATEURS talk policy. PROFESSIONALS talk personnel.

That’s right kids, it’s time for:

AMERICAN INFLUENCE 205: CABINET-MAKING

1/🇺🇸 Image With the Democrat and Republican primaries in full swing, the nattering class are out in force, showing off their thinky bits:

“We should do this!”
“We should do that!”

I’ll concede: it *does* make for bad television. 🤪

But it’s worthless for getting stuff done.

2/17
Aug 11, 2023 9 tweets 4 min read
Some Senator from Colorado just proposed a bill to give half a billion dollars a year to a new federal commission tasked with censoring the internet and social media.

It’s about as un-American as it can be.

let’s take a look:

1/9 https://t.co/k4EDC0ml3Z
Image “(b) PURPOSES OF COMMISSION. The purpose of the Commission is to regulate digital platforms, consistent with the public interest, convenience, and necessity…”

Not even trying to hide it!

2/9 Image
Aug 2, 2023 8 tweets 2 min read
I coordinated U.S. supply chain policy when I was on the National Security Council (2017-2021).

And from where I stand, the time is about right for a daring Governor to create an AMERICAN MANUFACTURING HUB to rival those in Asia.

Here’s a simple roadmap:

1/8
LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION:

Want to build a new world-class manufacturing hub? You need power and water.

I like nuclear, it’s cheap and “GREEN.”

Next, access to 🚛 🚛 🚛 and ✈️ ✈️ ✈️.

BONUS: close to a rocket launch facility. You’ll thank me in 2030. So will
@elonmusk!

2/8
Aug 1, 2023 12 tweets 3 min read
In my four years on the National Security Council, I interviewed over one hundred people who wanted to join my team.

And I only ever used ONE interview question.

A thread, on how to hire for the most EXTREME cognitive circumstances.

1/
Working on the National Security Council is, for many, the apex of a career in national security.

For me, coming from Silicon Valley, it was an accident.

Former military, I could blend in at the White House. But wasn't a policy wonk.

Just someone who could get stuff done.

2/
Jul 9, 2023 13 tweets 3 min read
Wondering where your friendly, neighborhood, controlled opposition talking head comes from?

Sit right down, anon and get ready for

AMERICAN INFLUENCE 204: CREATING A PUNDIT OUT OF THIN AIR

1/12 You have certainly seen them.

You might have even read their books, listened to their podcasts, or watched a video of them on You Tube.

But where did that novel media "personality," who just so happen to tut-tut at your slightly-out-of-the-mainstream ideas, come from?

2/12
Jul 1, 2023 11 tweets 2 min read
Lots of talk this week on what constitutes a “win.”

Most of it defeatist.

“Oh but this will just make it…”
“It would have been better if…”

This attitude is INSANE.

Having engaged in high-stakes IRL competition, here are some lessons learned on why

WINNING IS WINNING.

1/
TIME PREFERENCE.

TACTICAL and STRATEGIC wins are RADICALLY different.

99% of wins are TACTICAL. Unless the adversary is generationally discredited, your win is a SMALL piece if a larger STRATEGIC effort.

Don’t conflate the two.

Take a breather and GET BACK IN THE FIGHT.

2/
Jun 16, 2023 16 tweets 5 min read
They said it couldn’t be done.

American manufacturing was over.

And yet, six years ago, a small group of us at the White House, including @RealPNavarro, @SecretaryRoss, Robert Lighthizer, Karen Kelley, Matt Pottinger, myself, and others, disagreed.

THIS IS OUR STORY

1/ At the time, I was the “Senior Director for Cyber” on the National Security Council.

I coordinated our nation’s cyber policy. But over time, I was also put in charge of telecom policy, and supply chain policy.

BIG DEBATES WERE AFOOT.

2/