Business Quotes
Elon Musk's Business Wisdom
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I think it’s important to reason from first principles rather than by analogy. The normal way we conduct our lives is we reason by analogy. [With analogy] we are doing this because it’s like something else that was done, or it is like what other people are doing. [With first principles] you boil things down to the most fundamental truths…and then reason up from there.
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Every person in your company is a vector. Your progress is determined by the sum of all vectors.
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Sam Altman's Business Wisdom
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Great execution is at least 10 times more important and a 100 times harder than a good idea.
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Fast iteration can make up for a lot; it’s usually ok to be wrong if you iterate quickly. Plans should be measured in decades, execution should be measured in weeks.
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Naval Ravikant's Business Wisdom
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Howard Marks's Business Wisdom
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- Keep a portion of your assets completely safe from markets.
Steve Jobs's Business Wisdom
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One of the ways that I believe people express their appreciation to the rest of humanity is to make something wonderful and put it out there.
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True design isn’t just about appearance—it’s about function, usability, and problem-solving.
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- When creating something, prioritize how it helps users accomplish their goals.
- Test your designs by observing real people using them.
- Simplify features until each part serves a clear, useful purpose.
Charlie Munger's Business Wisdom
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Complexity is a hiding place for confusion. Simplicity forces clarity. You can't fake understanding with simple words.
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- Remove one unnecessary step from your workflow today.
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Systems outlast heroes. Pick what works regardless of who runs it.
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- Keep a "Business Fundamentals" checklist on your desk.
- Look at what the company actually sells and who buys it.
- Evaluate opportunities by asking: would this work with average management?
Warren Buffett's Business Wisdom
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- Invest in things that you use every day.
John Rockefeller's Business Wisdom
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Achieving exceptional success requires the courage to leave a comfortable and secure situation in pursuit of a much higher, but less certain, reward.
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- Evaluate one major area of your life (career, location, relationship) that is "good" and ask if its comfort is preventing you from pursuing something truly exceptional.
- When faced with a new opportunity, consciously weigh the potential for greatness against the fear of losing your current "good" situation.
- Practice letting go of smaller "good" things, like a familiar but unchallenging project, to create the capacity and courage to aim for something "great."
Bill Gates's Business Wisdom
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Negative feedback reveals your biggest blind spots and offers the clearest path to improvement.
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- Actively seek out and listen to dissatisfied customers without defensiveness.
- Identify patterns in complaints to uncover root problems.
- Use criticism as a blueprint for product, service, or communication upgrades.
Paul Graham's Business Wisdom
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In the very early stages of your startup, you should focus on doing tasks and activities that are highly manual, time-consuming, and personalized to get your first users and make them extremely happy.
Actionable Takeaways
- Actively Recruit Your First Users Manually.
- Deliver an "Insanely Great" Experience to Early Adopters.
- Embrace Unscalable Manual Efforts to Learn and Iterate.