- The system can be changed and normal is not permanent
- Find the smallest viable audience
- Pick your customers, pick your future
- Outdated maps might be worth less than no map at all
- Reliability is a superpower
- There are no side effects, merely effects
- There’s usually an opportunity to be of service
- Silence is an option, and so is leadership
- There is no perfect moment to begin
- Shame is a dream killer
- Everyone who disagrees with you believes they are correct
- Ship the work
- Treat different people differently
- I am not stuck in traffic, I am traffic
- Invest in slow growth
- The problem with the race to the bottom is you might win
- Uncomfortable facts are often the most helpful ones
- A good deal is better than a big deal
- When in doubt look for the fear
- Avoid arguments, embrace conversations
- Easy to measure doesn’t make it important
- Find clarity about who the customer is (and isn’t)
- Genre is a platform, not a fence
- Lowering expectations can increase satisfaction
- Improve project hygiene
- Ask what the system is for
- We might not need more time, we simply need to decide
- Consider the cost of keeping a promise before making it
- Earn enrollment
- Helping someone get what they want is easier than changing what they want
- Not all criticism is equally valid
- Write down the things you’re sure you’ll never forget
- Focus on the hard part
- Quitting one thing is the only way to find the focus to do the next thing
- Perfectionism is not related to quality
- Your competitors are actually your allies
- Surfing is better than golf
- Criticize ideas, not people
- Cannibals rarely get a good night’s sleep
- Status roles are the unseen force in almost every system
- Embrace necessary discomfort
- Gratitude is a more useful fuel than anger
- Create tension and relieve stress
- Imposter syndrome is real, and it arrives whenever we’re doing important work
- Solve interesting problems
- Offer dignity
- Ignore sunk costs
- Don’t try to fill an unfillable hole
- This might not work
- Consistency is more useful than authenticity
- People like us do things like this
- Simple hacks rarely fix long-term problems
- Trade short-term wins for long-term impact
- Today’s world is unpredictable, and this is as stable as it will ever be again
- Generous doesn’t mean free
- Make assertions
- Invest in skills that compound with effort
- Culture conceals systems, and systems construct our future
- Peeves make lousy pets
- Reassurance is futile
- Take responsibility, demand freedom, don’t seek authority
- Ideas that spread, win
- Earn trust through action
- Become the person your future thanks you for and forgive the past for the mistakes it made
- Attitudes are skills