Adopt a ’long-term greedy, not short-term stupid’ approach to business and life. This means focusing on building enduring value and making decisions that benefit the future, rather than prioritizing immediate, often detrimental, short-term gains.
On an annual basis, sit down and define what you will respect in yourself in 5 and 10 years across relationships (work, family, friends, body, spirituality). This ‘self-judgment day’ should happen early enough to allow for action and change, not just at the end of life.
Codify your long-term goals into projects and conduct quarterly self-reviews to assess progress. Ask yourself if you are actually getting done what you signed up to do, focusing on achieving the conditions you aim for in 3, 5, and 10 years.
Make health a primary obsession and commit to it daily, especially in earlier years. This includes working out every day, eating well, taking appropriate medication and supplements, and scheduling exercise as a non-negotiable appointment before the day begins.
Develop empathy as the most powerful skill, enabling you to understand and appreciate others’ feelings and perspectives without trying to sell them. This deep understanding is crucial for identifying opportunities and building successful businesses.
Build every business with the core objective of being a ‘better competitive alternative’ for your target customer. This means creating something so superior that customers will choose you over all competitors, providing the ‘house advantage’ for long-term success.
Look beyond the product itself to understand the customer’s true ‘job-to-be-done’ or underlying need. Products often serve as platforms for something else, and identifying this deeper need allows for more powerful concept development.
Create a comprehensive ‘concept essence document’ as a script for your business, detailing the environment’s aesthetic, food attitude, humanity of staff, and customer experience. This serves as an organizing tool to align all team members, especially in multi-unit businesses.
In businesses with fixed assets (e.g., restaurants), prioritize getting the concept and execution right in a serious way over rushing to market. The cost of failure is extraordinary and difficult to recover from, making methodical planning essential.
As a CEO, view your primary role as ‘discoverer-in-chief’ and ‘innovator-in-chief’ to protect the ‘discovery’ function within the company. Over time, ‘delivery’ (efficiency, finance) tends to push out discovery, making it crucial for leadership to actively foster innovation.
For investment and business building, identify and bet on categories that have strong ’tailwinds’ or powerful underlying trends. This strategy aims to build dominant players in growing markets rather than fighting against headwinds.
Prepare for an IPO with extreme diligence for a year and a half, simulating earnings calls, refining the narrative, and controlling stock distribution. View the IPO as the beginning of a ‘marriage,’ not the end, and strategically place shares with long-term cornerstone investors.
Cultivate self-belief and trust your own judgment, especially during challenging times and transformations. Have faith to endure the ’long march’ and the pain of change, rather than second-guessing yourself based on external pressures.
Aim for a control position in companies to enable a long-term approach, even if it means sacrificing short-term profitability. This allows for strategic decisions that build a far better company over time, free from external pressures for immediate returns.
Understand that financial statements are trailing indicators and byproducts, not the ultimate ends of a business. Focusing solely on driving the bottom line can lead to short-term decisions that destroy long-term customer experience and company value.
Engage in work and life activities because you genuinely love the process, the challenges, and the people involved, not primarily for money or glory. A passion for the ‘doing of the doing’ is essential for sustained effort and ultimate success.
Redefine entrepreneurship as seeing a better opportunity to serve or make a difference, and then being ‘risk-avoidant’ in the context of pursuing that opportunity. Entrepreneurs protect their path to achieving the opportunity, rather than being reckless risk-takers.
Develop the ability to operate effectively at both a high strategic level (5-year vision) and a granular detailed level (e.g., floor material). Strategy is informed by detail, and no strategy is valuable if it cannot be executed, requiring mastery of both.
Avoid relying on filtered or synthesized information; instead, get into the details and obtain firsthand information. This direct engagement is crucial for pattern recognition, effective strategy, and understanding what truly impacts the customer.
When visiting operational units (e.g., restaurants), focus on assessing your own leadership and the effectiveness of senior management in projecting and delivering the company’s vision. Use these visits to check how well the vision is being executed, rather than micromanaging staff.
For board members, adopt ‘Sherpa management’ by helping management teams navigate challenges and anticipate future obstacles, rather than focusing on liquidity events or financial oversight. The role is to provide experienced guidance and problem-solving support.
The primary job of a board is not to run the company, but to ask good questions that make the management team think deeply. This approach helps management anticipate future challenges and develop better solutions.
Understand that you ‘can’t have it all’ and life involves choices and trade-offs. Make these choices with a clear head, prioritizing what you truly value and respect, and build your life around those priorities to avoid future regret.
Recognize that true legacy is not about personal fame or enduring institutions, but about the values and lessons passed on to your children and the positive impact you have on the lives of others.
When providing capital, aim to be the last investment before an IPO, offering common stock and a right of first refusal for follow-on rounds. This approach ensures founders have confidence in unlimited capital and can focus on building the company without constant fundraising distractions.