One of the weirder experiences most of us can relate to is being in a meeting where nearly all of the participants disagree with the decision being made, but the power dynamics keep anyone in the room from objecting. It’s never a great feeling, and it seems to happen for a few different reasons
I'm not one to extol the virtues of failure. I get annoyed whenever people talk about “celebrating failure.” That said, there are some benefits to getting your ass handed to you every once in a blue moon.
Investing time, money and energy into a strategy, only to have the market not respond is like taking a punch. You might not get knocked out, but the effect of multiple blows can take a toll on your confidence and enthusiasm.
I nearly scrapped this column, because they’re not bad ideas per se. Both are still in fashion today, especially in the startup-o-sphere, and like many popular ideas there's more than a grain of truth to them. But these two ideas have run themselves ragged, and I see them doing more harm than good when I encounter them.
Several months ago, I shared a few of my favorite pieces of business wisdom that I've come across in some of the books I've enjoyed most. Inc.com was kind enough to republish that piece afterward, and based on the enthusiastic feedback from that, I decided to do another today. I recommend reading any of these books if you haven't, but if you don't you'll now at least have a small piece of wisdom from each.
I’ve probably singled out thousands of little concepts, quotes, and anecdotes over the years that have shaped how I think about things and surely shaped the way I write. Interestingly, the ones that have stuck with me the most are often tangential to the main thrust of the book. As I was reading Peter Thiel’s Zero to One (which earned its’ share of margin notes), I thought it might be interesting to share a few of the things I’ve come across in my reading which I suspect many overlooked in these books. And so, from my bookshelf to yours, here they are (with links to Amazon titles where applicable):
