Quick Bites 2/5/23
Short and worthwhile
George Saunders (Man-Booker-winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo) says:
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind ones
a distillation of his 2013 Commencement Speech, Failures of Kindness.
A decision matrix from Taylor Pearson nicely visualizes a formulation originally from an idea in Jeff Bezos’ 1997 Letter to Shareholders, “Make reversible decisions as quickly as possible and irreversible ones slowly.” Personally, the most significant insight here is in the lower right quadrant where I have to battle my innate desire to get certainty, collect information, and be right.
From Farnam Street’s Brain Food:
To win, you have to avoid losing.
The first thing chess masters do after an opponent makes a move isn’t to think about strategy or winning but rather to ask themselves: what’s the threat?
Avoid stupidity before seeking brilliance.
Are your rich friends moving? It’s a trend, from VisualCapitalist: Migration of the World’s Millionaires.
Learn from the best: David Senra’s Founder’s Podcast presents wisdom from historically successful founders’ biographies and writings. Each of his podcasts—to now 288!—distills highlights from contemporary and historic wealth builders including Bezos, Buffet, Dyson, Carnegie, Thiel, Jobs, and Henry Royce.
Marc Meyer is a Silicon Valley technologist, founder (6 startups, 4 exits, 1 IPO), engineer, executive, investor, advisor, teacher, and coach. He has invested in and advised over 150 companies. He advises and works with accelerators and funds including Alchemist, 500 Startups, HBS Alumni Angels, and Berkeley SkyDeck, where he chairs the Advisor Council. He has an Executive Coaching and Advising practice helping leaders achieve their greatest potential.