If you're new here, welcome to Zoom Out —where I share what’s been on my mind professionally, along with my unique takes on AI and the Future of Health.  

Now onto this week’s issue…

The Ukraine-Russia war has shown the world how corrupt, under-equipped, and untrained the infamous Russian army is, and instead, how resilient, creative, and capable the Ukrainians really are.

It was a shocking revelation to the West, but not to the Ukrainians.

They knew that the Russian mentality and work ethic were rooted in incompetence and laziness.
It’s always someone else’s fault. It’s always someone else’s responsibility.

And that’s exactly where the West is different from the East.

We take responsibility and blame ourselves first before we blame someone else. We don’t complain. Once we have a plan, we get to work.

Work…

I became intrigued by this word recently. So I zoomed out and decided to look up the etymology of this undoubtedly important word in Russian and English.

And I found exactly what I was looking for.

The word “work” comes from the Old English word “weorc” or “worc,” which means “deed, action, something done; business, military fortification, construction.”

This Old English term is derived from the Proto-Germanic “*werkan,” which means “to work, operate, function, produce by labor.”

You see how it’s like a compressed spring ready to jump out and do something. It’s all about action that creates something of value.

In Russian, the word “work” is “rabota” (работа). And its etymology is very straightforward.

In the Old Russian language, the word “работа” (rabota - work) was derived from the word “раб,” which means “slave.”
And a slave is someone who’s not only told what and when to do something but is forced to do so against his will.

So right away, the difference is striking: business vs slave.

Same word. Such vastly different roots.

Those Russian men who are aimlessly drafted and sent to the hell of war don’t question anything (I’ve watched hundreds of interviews with them). It’s in the DNA—not to ask questions. The fear is greater than themselves.

As a Ukrainian, I, of course, had to look up the etymology of the Ukrainian word “праця,” which means work in Ukrainian.

The word “праця” comes from the Proto-Slavic root “*pràca,” which meant “work,” “labor,” or “activity.” This root traces back to the Common Slavic word used in various Slavic languages with a similar meaning.

Related Words and Forms:

• Polish: praca
• Belarusian: праца
• Czech: práce
• Slovak: práca

That’s why the Ukrainian freedom-centered mentality has always been different from the enslaved mentality of the Russians.

This war was always inevitable.

And now, zooming out a little more to see how this all maps onto business, I never wanted our employees to feel like they’re slaves who come to work every day but can be replaced tomorrow without hesitation and forgotten.

From Day 0 at Techery, we started to work on our culture, where each individual person is a contributor and an assistant to others, rather than a nameless soldier coding some invisible insignificant piece of a client’s software project.

We sacrificed growth for high-quality culture.

Because you can’t grow fast when your core values are so demanding. You just won’t be able to find a lot of people who perfectly fit in culturally.

But it was our sane choice, and I don’t regret it.

This war will not have a glorious end. It’s already too bitter to evoke pure emotions.

But it will end. And I hope that good will prevail over evil once again, and our kids and grandkids will live in a better world, where they’ll enjoy going to work to create, add value, and make a difference—not out of fear of making the wrong step.

In my next newsletter, I’ll tell you a few stories of bad apples at Techery and what those cases changed in our policy so that you could potentially borrow something for your organization too.

That’s all for this week…but one more thing. If you’re enjoying this, can you do me a favor and forward it to a friend? Thanks.

-Alex

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What else was on my mind last week 👇

FUTURE OF HEALTH
We might hold some clues

I always felt like my age group (40-60) was left out of the picture when it comes to meaningful medical studies and breakthroughs. Well folks, it looks like we’re finally getting some spotlight.

Researchers suggest that the middle-aged brain may hold clues to future cognitive health, according to a review in Trends in Neurosciences. 

The team highlights that ages 40 to 65 mark a critical shift in brain aging, an often overlooked period. They argue that understanding brain changes during middle age—like shrinking hippocampus volume and altered gene expression—could help identify early risk factors for dementia and other cognitive declines.

This could potentially enable earlier and more effective interventions for maintaining cognitive health into old age.

I wish they had done it earlier. Maybe we’d see a different Presidential Debate this year. Ok, ok, I’m outa here.

🫠 THIS MADE ME SMILE