Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
The world bombards us with conflicting advice. On the one hand, we’re told that quantity is the key factor in success. Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hour rule states that practice is the only path to mastery. The Beatles played 10,000 hours of gigs in Germany before returning to England and stardom. I’ve certainly leveraged the benefits … Continue reading Quantity, Quality, and Inactivity
Entrepreneurs are frequently admonished to “stay hungry.” These words are almost like scripture, having been cited by Steve Jobs himself in his legendary 2005 Stanford commencement speech. Intuitively, these words seem to be true across a host of domains. Starving artists of all types feel the curse of the sophomore slump; going from hungry unknown … Continue reading Don’t Stay Hungry
In the startup world, many make the assumption that being demanding means being mean. We read stories about Steve Jobs making people cry, or Jeff Bezos screaming at people in one of his “nutters.” I get the sense that most people decide that Leo Durocher was right–nice guys do finish last.* * The actual quote: … Continue reading Demanding But Nice
Confidence is widely seen as a positive virtue. We like people who are confident, especially here in America, especially here in Silicon Valley. (Some might even call us arrogant) Yet in my own experience, confidence doesn’t always win you points with me. Confidence is a dual-edged sword–it can cut both ways. The key is credibility. … Continue reading Confidence Is Only Valuable When Accompanied By Credibility
Like many people, I’m addicted to reading about Steve Jobs. I’ve said before that he’s a towering figure whose name will be on a par with Ford or Rockefeller–an all-time great. But I’ve also had a hard time reconciling the greatness and pettiness of the man. I recently read a Wired article from 2012 that … Continue reading The Real Lesson of Steve Jobs: Results Trump Personality
The late, great Steve Jobs will almost certainly live on as one of the most famous businessmen of all time, on a par with titans like John D. Rockefeller and Henry Ford. He revolutionized industry after industry, and built the most valuable company in the world. That’s why I was fascinated to read some of … Continue reading Steve Jobs, Master Negotiator?
Unbelievably, Apple is now worth more than Google or Cisco. Steve, I bow down to your magical powers. This reminds me of a line from our HBS musical, spoken by the evil Darth Venture to his younger self via the magic of time travel: “Go find a kid with hippie hair named Steve Jobs. Fund … Continue reading Steve Jobs Rules
It’s the bastard love child of Fake Steve and Bill Watterson. And it’s brilliant.
Wow. Apple is now worth more than IBM. Damn, Steve Jobs is good.