Principles: Life and Work

it’s always best to assume you’re missing something.

b. Managing the people who report to you should feel like skiing together. Like a ski instructor, you need to have close contact with your people on the slopes so that you can assess their strengths and weaknesses as they are doing their jobs. There should be a good back-and-forth as they learn by trial and error. With time you will be able to deci

Reality is optimizing for the whole—not for you. Contribute to the whole and you will likely be rewarded. Natural selection leads to better qualities being retained and passed along (e.g., in better genes, better abilities to nurture others, better products, etc.). The result is a constant cycle of improvement for the whole.

Distinguish open-minded people from closed-minded people.

Distinguish big problems from small ones.

To synthesize well, you must 1) synthesize the situation at hand, 2) synthesize the situation through time, and 3) navigate levels effectively.

The two biggest barriers to good decision making are your ego and your blind spots.

Think of your plan as being like a movie script in that you visualize who will do what through time.

Dreams + Reality + Determination = A Successful Life.