“The idea is not to nurture it and save it and savor it and water it.”
Regarding a brilliant idea that you might have, Betty Liu quoted Jay Samit in her book Work Smarts:
“The Idea is to kill your idea… What can you do to destroy this idea?… as you keep on knocking and attacking that idea, what survives, what comes out of that furnace is hardened and can survive competition and defend itself.”
Liu had a series of successful career in news media, starting as a financial journalist, to a news anchor for Bloomberg Television, and to the founder of 2 new businesses. After seeing a recent interview given by her, I became curious about her book that shares the lessons learned from the vast CEO connections she cultivated as a financial news profession.
I would simplify (or oversimplify) the plethora of advises shared in the book by dividing them into 2 buckets: Self-Mastery and Interdependence.
Self Mastery themes:
Opportunity + Preparation = Luck. Be prepared.
The Company of One is the entrpreneurial mindset of striking out on your own, not being tied to a job.
Keep it simple and don’t overthink.
Always Be Moving (ABM) is about moving forward in every direction that gets you to your goal.
Kill Your Idea.
Learn how to Make Fast Decisions . . . and reverse them if you get new information.
Know what you’re not good at and dream where you have the biggest chance of success.
Be physically fit.
On Fear for entrepreneurs: fear the regret rather than the failure.
Five basic ingredients of personal finance:
Minimize debt;
Better to own versus rent (eventually);
Save early and invest;
Diversify your investment into different asset classes;
Buy insurance to protect and update your will regularly.
On Flow: the path towards the goal is the flow but that flow has to find its finish.
Interdependence themes:
The importance of Likability (Q Factor), and how to improve it:
Put others ahead of you;
Follow up;
Be consistently timely;
Say something genuine: Liu’s example demonstrate this by saying more specific details.
Six keywords for networking: “What can I do to help?”
Advise from Adam Grant:
Expand your giving to people you don’t know well (weak ties) or use to know (dormant ties); and
Set boundaries on who, how, and when you help so you don’t burn out.
On Asking for a Raise:
It’s not personal, it’s just business;
You make money, I make money;
Know when to hit the road;
Write yourself a check: rather than ask “How do I ask for a raise?” ask “How do I earn the most out of my career?”
Five of Jimmy Lee’s “killer work-habit” workout:
Ask questions;
Don’t guess;
Look sharp;
Being on time is being late;
Prepare like a demon.
When you have a lot meetings packed end-to-end, devise a physical routine to give yourself space to think and prepare mentally in-between:
Walk over for a Diet Coke;
Go to the bathroom.
Below are a few more points that echo from many other literatures and sources:
On Negotiation:
Prepare. Know what the other party wants.
Listen carefully.
Don’t let your emotions get in the way of a good deal (while recognize the emotions on either side). Separate the people from the problems.
Elon Musk:
Reasoning by principles (rather than by analogy) is necessary to make inroads into a new area;
Solicit negative feedback, particularly from people who have your best interest in mind;
Have a good team around you.
Information is key. Be curious and also share knowledge to relate to people.
Have a sense of humor.
I will end this notes with a survey from the book: CEO’s seem to sleep between 5 and 6 hours. Warren Buffett enjoys the most sleeps from this group:
Probably average 6-7.
Sometimes 5.
Sometimes more than 10 on weekends.
This reminds me of the book Why We Sleep.