I have developed these tenets through my experiences and the learnings I derived from travel, work, and engagements with people from across the globe. These are ever-evolving and most likely will change as I re-evaluate my thinking and continue to learn more.
Information is the key to efficiency – how, why, and when we use information can change the outcome and disrupt (for the good) so many industries. My involvement in project LESA and Let’s Order proved the initial hypothesis of this.
We experience life in our own way – these experiences form the lens through which we perceive the world. The very same object means something else to me than to you. Scent, sight, or visiting a particular location triggers memories from past experiences. We can never fully know how someone else feels in that situation/place or will react to certain stimuli. But by all means, we need to improve our EQ and understand this basic premise as the first step. Events in my life and have solidified my basis for this thought. Empathy is something we have to continuously work on to expand our understanding of how people work.
History is the ever-abundant teacher – many of our greatest learnings exist in the past, history is the greatest teacher of all. From cycles that repeat to predicting how things will work out, history and past precedent play a role. Our system of law actually rests on this principle of precedent, although past practices can be wrong, it’s lessons are without bias. If we fail to learn from the past, we are doomed to repeat it (not an original thought) but every few years it screams out as a reminder of this principle.
Never stop learning – I have been wrong many times, but the worst scenarios were when I wholeheartedly believed I knew something to the borderline of stubbornness. One must be open to new ideas (with a healthy dose of skepticism)… trust but verify. Sources obviously matter, but being open to other sides means listening to not just their argument but understanding where their point of view is coming from. (See my points on experience and history above).
We outgrow our titles – what we’ve been is not necessarily who we still are. Being a founder a decade ago doesn’t necessarily mean we are still a founder; our thinking and tolerance for risk changes as we succeed/fail in our endeavors. For instance, does someone who was an athlete in their early 20s still consider themselves an athlete in their 50s? We have to be okay with outgrowing our titles, even those we are fondly attached to, as we evolve into who we are today (and to give us the freedom to explore new paths).
