The most interesting things are usually produced by someone working, and leading a team, relentlessly for a long time. The best source of relentlessness is obsession. Many people “have that dog in them,” but it won’t come out until they’ve embraced their obsession. David… Show more

if someone’s much better than you at something, they probably try much harder. You probably underestimate how much harder they try. I’m not saying that talent isn’t a meaningful differentiator, because it certainly is, but I think people generally underestimate how effort needs to be poured into talent in order to develop it. So much of getting go

... See more

Those who really win (an industry, or in a career) did so by delaying gratification. One of the greatest competitive advantages in a startup team — or any bold new project or turnaround — is simply sticking together long enough to figure it out. This is hard because our natural human tendency is to crave short-term rewards and seek short-cuts to sa... See more

I think about who I’m most drawn to, and it’s always been those that exude intensity. People with a unique ability to get  consumed  by something. Maybe that’s some flaw in my system—to be drawn to intense, obsessive people—or maybe I am predisposed to noticing outliers. Because pretty much every outlier is obsessive, whether we’d like t

... See more