Wisdom From A New Friend

Earlier this week, I saw a new friend for coffee—one of the few truly wise people I’ve encountered in Silicon Valley. What follows is unadulterated wisdom from my friend: 

Wisdom over coffee

1. Separate style from substance. Most people judge others based on their message delivery style rather than the content itself. To understand people better, focus on what they’re saying, not how they’re saying it.

2. Test for trustworthiness. To know if someone is trustworthy, look for contradictions in what they say.

3. Evaluate the substance-to-noise ratio. If someone speaks charmingly for a long time to convey something simple, they might have a hidden agenda. 

4. It is hard to figure out in an interview if the candidate is trustworthy but you can understand their grasping power [intellect] and articulation [communication] skills. 

5. Smart bosses do their best to keep their smart employees.

6. Watch for noise in data. For example, data might show that firetrucks are called to a city 100 times in a month, but 98 of those calls could be for non-emergencies like an elderly person falling. The real issue isn’t the frequency of calls, but the type of incidents.

7. Distinguish real-data from reported data. Car insurance companies often raise rates for minor traffic violations, but those don’t necessarily correlate with increased accident risk. To find the real data, you need to understand the context. Speeding in heavy traffic is dangerous, but speeding on an empty road may not be. Similarly, not fully stopping at a stop sign when no one else is around isn't the same risk as when other cars are present.

8. Geniuses are sloppy about things they don't care about. 

9. Solve easy problems to make money. 

10. Prioritize pragmatism over passion. Leave the passion to professors - pragmatism is what leads to results in the real world. 

It was a joy spending time with my new friend, and I’m already looking forward to our next coffee.