01
See the good in people.
Deep down, almost everyone is a fundamentally good person. We all want to make the world a better place, but most of us don’t have the time, energy, or know-how to diverge from the crowd in all but a few aspects of our lives. The most impactful innovations are those that make it as easy as possible for people to do the right thing, like a plant-based burger so good a carnivore can’t resist it, a transit system so fast you’d be a fool to hop on the highway, or a local business that is both a great employer and the best product on the market. If you strive to make doing the right thing easy, people will rally behind it.
02
No one is an expert in everything.
Building something big means figuring out how to ask for help or advice from people smarter than you in almost every aspect of the project. If you’re the linchpin in most areas of the venture, that’s a bottleneck; not an asset. A strong leader has a few core competencies related to their field but is first and foremost a humble, empathetic, and inspirational communicator who can leverage the passion of others into something bigger than the sum of its parts.
03
Do it for our grandparents.
Our grandparents cared immensely about the world they built for us and we owe it to our grandchildren to do the same. Success means enjoying the great things life has to offer and ensuring they’ll still be around in some form for others to enjoy after we’re gone. Growth and innovation are valuable, but a stable and peaceful society with abundant resources and a healthy natural world has been achieved many times in the past, is largely intact today, and is more than enough to leave for tomorrow.
