Learn how to be confident in the face of change and uncertainty.
Discover insights and conversations: From getting to the heart of the matter of our lives, to what matters most, this is the place where new ideas come alive↓
The stone and the tiger have no choice in life. The stone must gravitate and the tiger must pounce. Only human beings are faced with the mind-boggling responsibility of having to choose, at each and every moment of their lives, what to do and what to be. It is both a necessity and an invitation.
The idea that we have a choice, a say: is a central precept of transformation.
Be racket-free: Give up being right, even when you know you were.
Be powerful: Be straight in your communication and take what you get.
Be courageous: Acknowledge your fear (you don't necessarily have to get rid of it) and then act.
Be peaceful: Let go of the interpretation that there is something wrong.
Be charismatic: Give up trying to get somewhere. Be entirely fulfilled in the present moment.
Be enrolling: Share your new possibilities in such a way that others are touched, moved and inspired.
Be unreasonable: In expectations of yourself and others beyond what you would think they are capable of.
We are always under tight deadlines, because time is our most valuable asset.
If you make a promise, set a date. No date, no promise.
If you set a date, meet it.
If you can’t make a date, tell us early and often. Plan B well prepared is a better strategy than hope.
Clean up your own mess.
Clean up other people’s messes.
Overcommunicate.
Question premises and strategy.
Don’t question goodwill, effort or intent.
“I’ll know it when I see it,” is not a professional thing to say. Describing and discussing in the abstract is what we do.
Big projects are not nearly as important as scary commitments.
If what you’re working on right now doesn’t matter to the mission, help someone else with their work.
Make mistakes, own them, fix them, share the learning.
Cheap, reliable, public software might be boring, but it’s usually better. Because it’s cheap and reliable.
Yesterday’s hierarchy is not nearly as important as today’s project structure.
Lock in the things that must be locked in, leave the implementation loose until you figure out how it can get done.
Mostly, we do things that haven’t been done before, so don’t be surprised when you’re surprised.
Caremore.
If an outsider can do it faster and cheaper than we can, don’t hesitate.
Always be seeking outside resources. A better rolodex is better, even if we don’t have rolodexes any more.
Talk to everyone as if they were your boss, your customer, the founder, your employee. It’s all the same.
It works because it’s personal.
