[this is a rough note, I spent about 30m on]
A lot of the advice I hear on how to build a big company is some form of “have grit”, “lead well”, “make something good”
I felt annoyed at how abstract this is. How do I do it minute by minute running a company?
Now I’ve worked fairly close with founders who’ve made billion dollar companies
Seeing behind the scenes what these people do it feels a lot more tangible how to do it
So I’m tracking a list of the things that stood out to me as “oh this is probably why you won”
Behaviours
If a thing you want doesn’t go your way just shrug it off and ask questions to understand why
Be super comfortable getting roasted/insulted, online, in person - just ask questions to clarify, walk away if its not helpful, don’t expend emotional energy on most conflicts.
be able to list what the top thing on your mind is today, this week, this month, or other time frame
If you disagree with something say you disagree but neutrally. Be comfortable having disagreement without turning it into heated conflict.
If a person says a thing you disagree with just be curious and excited to learn more
Say no thanks when they don’t want to do something but respectful or thankful of the request
Simplify your thought to 1 line in layman terms, if it’s more complicated learn to make it simpler
If you’re in a meeting and deciding on something cycle through everyone at the end to confirm if they felt heard before you lock in the decision
If you have an idea and you can begin it in a couple minutes just do it now. Call the person. Send the msg. Draft the design.
Start important conversations with "What's on your mind about X?" rather than presenting your view first
When joining any conversation, ask "What context am I missing?" before contributing
When someone raises a concern, immediately pull out your notebook/doc or phone and write it down. This shows you take their input seriously and helps track important feedback. Don’t ignore feedback.
More broadly
I think really epic things happen because of a bunch of smaller behaviours put together
Building a big company is one “epic thing”
And so if you compose a bunch of the right behaviours it makes it more likely to do the epic thing
I also think most behaviours are just habits
Yes brain chemistry has some influence, but my experience is I can learn to change behaviours over a few months of intentional focus, even the stuff I thought was “just me”.
So if I have a few months I’ll focus on changing a behaviour if it matters a lot long term, otherwise I’ll work with people who compliment me.
I’ll use building a big company as the behaviour I want but I think this can apply to other goals
The behaviour I want to learn most is listening better. I will put 1000 hours in if I must to get this.
Another one I don’t really care to learn, and will compliment on is attention to detail. I default think bigger picture and only in detail when I’m specifically fixated on something. I like working with people who are naturally super detail when needed.