Tom Schmidt

"Inspiration is a guest that does not willingly visit the lazy."

Operating with a modest initial budget of $15,000, Senator Truman ingeniously augmented its resources by appealing directly to the American public via CBS Radio, encouraging citizens to report any defense-related waste they observed in their communities. These citizen letters became a routine and valuable starting point for the committee's... See more

"The ultimate form of preparation is not planning for a specific scenario, but a mindset that can handle uncertainty."

“People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully. I’m actually as proud of the things we haven’t done as the things I have done. Innovation is saying no to 1,000 things.” Steve Jobs

in a world where AI slop is everywhere and it’s easier than ever to build software

what goes up:

the value of known celebrities goes up

the value of dotcoms goes up

the value of strong distribution channels goes up

the value of proprietary data goes up

the value of taste and curation goes up

the value of trusted brands goes up

the value of... See more

You frame the problem yourself, make an initial pass, then use AI to challenge your assumptions, uncover blind spots, and sharpen your argument

generates a brief for them to follow to execute that idea, complete with framing—contrarian, narrative, practical, philosophical, etc.—for maximum impact

When you experience someone else’s genius work, a little part of you feels, “That’s what I could have, would have, and should have done!”

Someone else did it. You didn’t.

They fought the resistance. You gave in to distractions.

They made it top priority. You said you’d get to it some day.

They took the time. You meant to.

When this happens, you can... See more